motorola introduced its motorola razr 40 Series smartphones in India and we got the motorola razr 40 Ultra which is currently the top-of-the-line and newest flip phone of the year from the brand. The motorola razr 40 Ultra has a flip-style design and has the world’s largest external display and also the world’s slimmest flip phone (6.99 mm) in addition to its flagship-grade specifications. The primary highlights as we can see are its slimmest creaseless gapless splash-resistant design, its dual-screen 6.9-inch 165 Hz FlexView pOLED LTPO main display + 3.6-inch 144 Hz QuickView pOLED cover display, dual cameras (12 MP OIS + 13 MP), 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 octa-core SoC, Dolby stereo speakers, and more. Here’s what we have to say about this flip phone in our motorola razr 40 Ultra review.
motorola razr 40 Ultra Specifications & Features
- Display & Design: 6.9-inch FlexView pOLED LTPO display, 10-bit color depth (1.07B colors), Full HD resolution, 1 Hz – 165 Hz refresh rate, HDR 10+, 123% DCI-P3 color gamut, 1,400 nits peak brightness, 3.6-inch QuickView pOLED display, 1056×1066 resolution, 144 Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 1,100 nits brightness, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection, IP52 dust and spash resistant
- Software: Android 13
- CPU: 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 octa-core SoC clocked up to 3.0 GHz (1x Cortex-X2 Prime core, 3x Cortex-A710 based Kryo cores + 4x Cortex-A510 based Kryo cores)
- GPU: Adreno 730 Graphics
- Memory: 8 GB LPDDR5 RAM
- Storage: 256 GB UFS 3.1 internal storage, no microSD card support
- Main Camera: Dual cameras (12 MP f/1.5 OIS primary + 13 MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle + macro), OIS support, LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 32 MP f/2.4
- Connectivity & Network: USB Type-C, Wi-Fi 6E (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax), Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, IR Blaster, GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
- Others: Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Face Unlock, stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, Hi-Res Audio (Wired & Wireless)
- Cellular: 5G network, dual SIMs, dual 5G standby, e-SIM support, VoLTE support
- Battery & Charging: 3,800 mAh battery, 33W Turbo Power fast charging, 5W wireless charging
- Colors: Phantom Black (Glass Back), Viva Magenta (Vegan Leather)
- Price: ₹89,999 (8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage)
- Availability: 15th July 2023 on motorola.com/in, Amazon.in, Reliance Digital and other retail stores, pre-booking is available from 3rd July 2023
Design, Display, & Build Quality
On the design front, the motorola razr 40 Ultra instantly grabs the attention, it’s a flip-style smartphone that looks incredibly cool and stylish while the large cover screen offers a mesmerizing experience and creates a wow factor upon notice. The razr 40 Ultra has a dual-screen design – a foldable main screen and a cover screen and it looks fantastic. The razr 40 Ultra is the world’s slimmest flip phone (6.99 mm) in addition to the world’s largest external display (3.6-inch).
The motorola razr 40 Ultra is available in glass design and Vegan Leather variants. The color variants for the motorola razr 40 Ultra include Phantom Black (Glass Back, 188.5 grams), and Viva Magenta (Vegan Leather, 184.5 grams). The motorola razr 40 Ultra features the slimmest creaseless gapless design with a 7000 series aluminum frame and IP52 dust and splash-resistant design. As per motorola India, the number of components in the hinge is reduced to 85, and the hinge holds the display at 45° ~ 120°, so it can stand on its own at multiple angles. The flip phone has undergone 400,000 opening and closing tests.
Digging more into its display, the motorola razr 40 Ultra equips a 6.9-inch FlexView pOLED LTPO display inner screen with a refresh rate of 1 – 165 Hz, 10-bit color depth (1.07B colors), a Full HD+ resolution (2640 x 1080 pixels, 413 ppi), support for HDR 10+, 123% DCI-P3 color gamut, and 1,400 nits peak brightness. The outer screen is a 3.6-inch QuickView pOLED display with 1056×1066 resolution (413 ppi), 144 Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 1,100 nits brightness, and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection.
The display quality is brilliant, it’s bright, high in contrast, and offers a great multimedia experience. The 165 Hz refresh rate makes the screen extremely smooth and responsive while the cover screen has a 144 Hz refresh rate. Unlike the other cover screens, this one is a full-fledged display with almost all things that can be done from the outside (like a mini smartphone), both displays are competent performers.
The rear side has a dual-camera setup that provides enough room for the secondary display. In terms of competition, the razr 40 Ultra provides a larger cover display as per screen-to-body ratio. The cover screen on the motorola razr 40 Ultra offers personalization such as changing display layout, fonts, colors, theme, and size. It also allows users to access several apps like Music Player, Maps, Weather, and more right from the cover screen.
Moving to the buttons, ports, connectivity, and audio, the right side offers a microphone, volume controls, and a power button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner (you don’t get to see in-display fingerprint sensors on flexible screens yet) while the left side has a dual 5G SIM tray. The bottom has a USB Type-C port, loudspeakers (stereo, one at the earpiece), and a microphone (one more at the top). There are a total of three microphones on the phone and stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support and Spatial Sound for audio enhancements.
Software, User Interface, & Features
The Razr 40 Ultra runs on Android 13 with a near-stock interface means you get a clean Android experience with very least pre-installed apps (Facebook, Dolby Atmos, Moto Additions such as Moto Gestures, Moto Secure – ThinkShield for Mobile, Family Space). The Android 13 operating system comes with a security patch dated 1st March 2023 (out of the box). The Razr 40 Ultra will receive up to 3 years of Android OS upgrades along with 4 years of Android security updates.
The interface is customized with the Moto additions and optimizations for the secondary display. The Moto app gives you the power to take control of the Razr 40 Ultra using gestures, personalization, external display, security, and more. You can customize the interface, personalize the homescreen, use gestures, and manage privacy. You get more features and perks (even for the external display) in addition to all those native features of Android 13.
You get various Moto gestures including Quick Launch, Quick Capture, Fast Torch, Swipe to split, Lift to unlock, Flip for Do Not Disturb, and Side Bar which allows you to open a mini window of the app or task that you launch from the Side Bar. You also get Moto Secure to secure the phone as well as features like Family Space which is a separate space especially for Kids with limited apps to use.
As per our usage, the user interface is extremely smooth in terms of performance, the 165 Hz refresh rate serves for the perfect smoothness and great screen responsiveness. A 165 Hz refresh rate screen is significantly a better performer compared to the 120 Hz refresh rate displays and eventually delivers a smoother UI experience comparatively.
The external display offers many features that can be handy, such as quick shortcuts, camera preview, control center, clock, alarms, music, weather, calendar, battery info, notifications, phone calls, dialer, access to apps and games on a smaller display, and more. Although not all apps (but most) are optimized for secondary display. Playing games on the cover screen is fun, we played the Marble Mayhem maze, took selfies from the cover screen, and also did a lot more which was an amazing experience overall.
The smartphone supports stereo speakers and support for Dolby Atmos and Spatial Sound to enhance the sound quality. Features and connectivity include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers with Dolby support and Moto Spatial Sound, USB Type-C port (v2.0), 5G connectivity, support for VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6e 802.11ax (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz), Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and GPS (GPS, A-GPS, LTEPP, SUPL, GLONASS, Galileo).
Hardware, Performance & Gaming
About the internals, the motorola razr 40 Ultra is powered by a fast 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 octa-core flagship SoC clocked up to 3.0 GHz (1x Cortex-X2 Prime core, 3x Cortex-A710 based Kryo cores + 4x Cortex-A510 based Kryo cores) with Adreno 730 GPU for high-end gaming, 8 GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256 GB UFS 3.1 internal storage. It comes in a single RAM and storage variant and has no option for storage expansion (microSD card).
About the CPU, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is a high-end fast SoC manufactured in a 4nm TSMC process consisting of 1+3+4 Kryo core configurations, one high-performance prime core ARM Cortex-X2 core clocked at 3.2 GHz, three performance ARM Cortex-A710 cores clocked at 2.5 GHz, and four power-efficient ARM Cortex-A510 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz. It comes with a 6 MB L3 CPU cache while the RAM is an LPDDR5 type and the storage is a UFS 3.1 type.
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is faster than the Snapdragon 888 Plus and also ahead of MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000+ (found on OPPO Find N2 Flip), however, below the new 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in terms of performance (OnePlus 11 5G). As per Qualcomm, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 offers higher-clocked CPU and GPU cores at a lower power consumption. The integrated Adreno 730 GPU offers a 30% graphics boost compared to the previous Adreno 660.
The CPU & GPU has enough power to handle high-end tasks. Gaming is another major aspect of this phone, no wonder what games you play, there’s plenty of graphics power, and it has what it takes to handle everything at max graphics. You can play games with the highest possible graphics, the Adreno 730 GPU is one of the best picks for gamers, even though the latest Snapdragon 8 i.e. Gen 2 is far superior in terms of performance which can be grabbed in lower price segment if you are not a fan of flip phones and all you want is just performance.
Cameras
The motorola razr 40 Ultra equips a dual setup on the rear side (12 MP + 13 MP) and a single 32 MP selfie on the front. Don’t underestimate the cameras, the dual cameras perform as a quad setup, the 12 MP is the primary camera with f/1.5 OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) while the 13 MP is a combo camera with f/2.2 and acts as an ultra-wide-angle + macro and also aids in the depth measuring for portraits.
The 13 MP camera is alone responsible for ultra-wide shots, macro shots, as well as, portraits. motorola has smartly picked the setup to keep the setup simple and compact so that the secondary display can gain as much space. In terms of competition, the razr 40 Ultra provides a larger cover display as per screen-to-body ratio.
The camera app offers limited features, camera modes such as Spot Color, Night Vision, Dual Capture, Photo Booth, Panorama, Pro, Timelapse, Portrait, Scan, video recording up to 4k at 60fps (up to 30fps for HDR10+), slow motion capture up to 960fps (1-sec, 1080p), or up to 240fps (1080p). You can shoot videos in Dual Capture and Spot Color which is great, as well as, Smile to capture, make use of Photo Booth, take selfies using gestures and from the cover screen.
For the cameras, we got some incredible results from the main camera and remarkable wide-angle shots in addition to the great portraits and macro shots. The camera performs top-notch even with just two lenses, we have been using the phone and we are just amazed by its camera performance. The cameras perform brilliantly and the quality is highly satisfactory, take a look at the shots we have shared below.
motorola razr 40 Ultra Camera Samples
Battery Runtime & Charging
On the battery side, the razr 40 Ultra packs a 3,800 mAh battery with 33W TurboPower fast charging support in addition to 5W wireless charging that doesn’t come bundled (sold separately). You can expect a battery life of more than 1 day on a full charge, but depending on your usage, you can extend as much as two days on light/average usage.
The battery capacity isn’t as large as it should be, but it’s the reason why the 6.99 mm slimmest design is achieved. One of the weak points of flip phones is their battery which is usually smaller due to their dual-screen design, flexible display, and slim form factor. Plus, the fast charging may not be the fastest since it heats the phone quite fast which may affect the dual-display. Even though the charging is slower than the OPPO Find N2 Flip (44W), it’s certainly faster than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip (25W).
That said, a 33W charger for a battery with 3,800 capacity will clearly deliver faster charging speeds compared to the larger capacity battery (5,000 mAh or 6,000 mAh). The moto g54 5G with the same speed 33W TurboPower fast charging takes about 40-45 minutes to charge 50% for a large 6,000 mAh battery. You can expect the motorola razr 40 Ultra to charge up to 50% in about 25-30 minutes.
Verdict – motorola razr 40 Ultra Review
The razr 40 Ultra looks incredibly cool, slim and stylish, and eye-grabbing, the secondary display adds a wow factor and immediately catches the attention due to its large size. It also has a brilliant 165 Hz pOLED flexible display and a competent cover screen. Its large external screen with small bezels is ahead in terms of competition and is also the largest display made ever. The secondary display can be extremely useful, it’s fun playing games and taking selfies in addition to all those cover screen perks that give an amazing experience overall.
The razr 40 Ultra is also an excellent performer in terms of cameras and processing power. We got some incredible camera results from the main camera and remarkable wide-angle shots. The performance of the smartphone is top-notch (Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is still quite a lot faster), plus it has Dolby stereo speakers with Spatial Sound adding to the multimedia experience.
For its battery life, it may not be the best for its price, but as said earlier, the battery is still one of the weak points of flip phones due to their foldable design so as fast charging. Overall, the motorola razr 40 Ultra is one of the best flip-style smartphones you can get for this price (₹89,990), do check if you can grab it with some exciting ongoing offers.
motorola razr 40 Ultra Price In India – Where To Buy
The price for the motorola razr 40 Ultra is ₹89,999 for its lone 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage variant and it’s available on motorola.com/in, Amazon.in, Reliance Digital and other retail stores.
