Motorola confirms new edition of Razr foldable smartphone in 2023

Motorola Razr will receive a new foldable smartphone edition this year, confirmed Lenovo, which now owns the Motorola brand. Motorola introduced the Razr, one of the brand’s most famous mobile phones, in 2004. It quickly rose to prominence to become one of the most popular flip phones of the 2000s. In 2020, Motorola renewed the Razr brand in a new foldable form to become one of the first smartphone makers to release a device with a flexible display.

Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang confirmed in an interview with CNBC during Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona that the Motorola Razr is doing well. Moreover, Motorola will launch the next edition of the foldable smartphone “very soon”. He said the device that is yet to be released is “much better”.

Yang gave few details about the upcoming smartphone, but said the handset’s hinge and apps would be improved. Several smartphone manufacturers, ranging from Samsung to Honor, have focused on the hinge to ensure that it is solid and will not create a line inside the mobile screen. Yang said this is where the next era of Razr devices will see progress. A specific release date for the alleged Motorola Razr 2023 has not been announced, but recently leaks suggested a June release.

Meanwhile, Motorola also showed off a concept Motorola Rizr device with a sliding form factor at MWC 2023. Even though hands-on demonstrations were shown, Motorola disclosed little about the specs of this design.

The device shown at MWC 2023 is said to have a 5-inch POLED display with a 15:9 aspect ratio that could expand to 6.5 inches (in a 22:9 aspect ratio). When rolled up, the part of the screen that isn’t in use seems to wrap around the bottom and slide out the back side on the rear panel. When flipped, the rolled-up display on the back is meant to function as a secondary display capable of displaying alerts, similar to the outer display of a standard foldable clamshell.