-
Best flip phone
Motorola Razr+ (2024)
The new 2024 Motorola Razr+ takes our favorite folding smartphone and makes it even better. This updated model has a faster chip, brighter screen, more RAM, and some camera upgrades over its predecessor. However, the clamshell design will mostly appeal to a niche crowd (and one that’s already invested in the Android ecosystem).
Pros
- Compact folding design
- Bright and vivid 165Hz display
- Useful cover screen
Cons
- Clamshell design isn’t for everybody
-
Classic iOS experience
Apple iPhone 15
$730 $830 Save $100
Apple’s flagship smartphone doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. It’s a great phone and packs some excellent improvements, including a few features formerly found only on the “Pro” models. The Razr+ is innovative, but the iPhone 15 is the better choice for most people.
Pros
- Powerful new Bionic chip
- USB-C port
- Lovely Retina display
Cons
- 60Hz refresh rate is a let down
It’s an exciting time to be an Android user, with brands like Samsung and Motorola reinventing the smartphone with unique folding designs. Motorola just released the new 2024 Razr line, which includes the flagship-tier Razr+. The 2023 Razr+ was our favorite folding phone, but can Motorola’s new clamshell pull iOS fans away from the iPhone 15? Let’s pick these two smartphones apart and see how the Android flip phone compares to a classic Apple flagship.
Price, specs, and availability
Apple rolled out the iPhone 15 family last September, which includes four models: the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max. The standard iPhone 15 is the entry-level model. Retail pricing ranges from $799 for the 128GB model, to $1,099 for the 512GB model. It’s available for purchase from third-party retailers like Best Buy, major network carriers, and directly from Apple.
Motorola revealed its new Razr lineup in June. The 2024 Razr and Razr+ are successors to last year’s releases and will be officially available for purchase in July. The Razr+ is the higher-end model, and carries a sticker price of $999 for the standard 256GB model.
-
Motorola Razr+ (2024) Apple iPhone 15 SoC Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Mobile Platform Apple A16 Bionic (4 nm) Display 6.9″ FHD+ pOLED display (2640 x 1080) | 413ppi | LTPO | Foldable AMOLED | HDR10+ | 10-bit | 120% DCI-P3 colorgamut, 4.0″ pOLED display 1272 x 1080 | 417ppi | LTPO | Flexible AMOLED | HDR10+ | 10-bit | 100% DCI-P3 colorgamut 6.1-inch Dynamic OLED Display, FHD+ resolution 2556×1179 RAM 12GB LPDDR5X 6GB RAM Storage 256GB built-in storage UFS4.0 Up to 512GB Rear camera Main camera 50MP (f/1.7, 0.8μm) or 12.6MP (1.6μm QuadPixel) | OIS | Instant-all PixelFocusTelephoto 50MP telephoto lens (f/2.0, 0.64um) or 12.6MP (1.28μm Quad Pixel) | 2x optical zoom Main: 48MP, (ƒ/1.6) Ultrawide: 12MP, (ƒ/2.4) Telephoto: 12MP (ƒ/1.6) aperture Front camera 32MP (f/2.4, 0.7 μm) or 8MP (f/2.4, 1.4um) QuadPixel 12MP (ƒ/1.9) Battery 4000mAh non-removable 3,349mAh Charge speed 45W TurboPower charging support 20W wired, 15W MagSafe wireless, 7.5W Qi wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless Ports USB 2.0 USB Type-C Connectivity Wi-Fi 5G, Wi-Fi 6/6E, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 5G (Sub-6GHz and mmWave) Gigabit LTE, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.3 Dimensions Open: 73.99 x 171.42 x 7.09mmClosed: 73.99 x 88.09x 15.32mm 5.81 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches (147.6 x 71.6 x 7.80mm) Weight 6.66 oz 6.02 ounces (171 gm) Colors Midnight Blue, Spring Green, Peach Fuzz, Hot Pink Black, blue, green, yellow, pink Operating System Android 14 iOS 17 Price $999 Starting at $799
Related
Related
iPhone 15 review: A major yet sneaky upgrade from its predecessor
Apple’s iPhone 15 might look like last year’s iPhone 14, and the iPhone 13 before that. But it’s an upgrade that impresses nonetheless.
Design and display
Flip phones won’t replace the classic formula
Design-wise, the 2024 Motorola Razr+ and the iPhone 15 are about as different as smartphones can be. Apple isn’t afraid to innovate (the company pretty much invented the smartphone as we know it) but usually doesn’t rock the boat too much with its yearly releases. The iPhone 15 is instantly recognizable as an Apple device, sticking closely to the design language established by previous releases. Apple made one wise change, which was to ditch the proprietary Lightning interface in favor of a USB-C port for charging. It sports a 6.1-inch FHD+ Super Retina OLED display with a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, so it doesn’t disappoint visually. We’re still stuck with a 60Hz refresh rate on the base model, but that’s hardly a dealbreaker.
The Motorola Razr+ features a folding design, which is not new in the smartphone world but is far from widespread adoption. It has two displays: the main interior folding display, which measures 6.9 inches when opened, and a 4-inch cover screen. The cover screen offers access to all of your apps and notifications, so you don’t even have to open the Razr+ to use it for most things. The main screen is a bright and vibrant FHD+ pOLED panel with a 165Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits (a dramatic increase over the previous Razr+), whereas the cover display is an FHD pOLED panel with a peak brightness of 2,400 nits.
The display quality of these phones is close, and while the Razr+ can get brighter, you shouldn’t have trouble using either one outside on a sunny day. The 60Hz refresh rate on the iPhone 15 is a bit of a bummer, though. The form factors are also wildly different. Which design is “better” is subjective, and will come down to whether you’re happy with the classic iPhone design or think folding phones are the future (or at least want to try one out).
Winner: Tie
Performance & software
Does Snapdragon beat the Bionic?
After re-using the A15 Bionic chip for the iPhone 14, Apple corrected course with the iPhone 15, which packs the newer A16 Bionic processor that debuted with the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. It’s a solid workhorse: in our benchmark tests, the A16 Bionic clocked in about 13% slower than the A17 Pro system-on-chip inside the iPhone 15 Pro Max. That means the iPhone 15’s performance is on par with the 14 Pro, which was a $1,000 phone not too long ago.
The 2023 Razr+ runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 system-on-chip, which, like the A15 Bionic, is getting a little long in the tooth. However, Motorola loaded the 2024 Razr+ with an updated Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. This octa-core SoC performs admirably but not as well as the A16 Bionic chip. However, the Razr+ has 8 to 12GB of RAM, which is considerably more than the 6GB of memory inside the iPhone 15. We need to spend more time with the new Snapdragon processor, but neither the 2024 Razr+ nor the iPhone 15 are likely to have trouble with things like streaming videos, juggling apps, and playing mobile games.
Related
iOS 17 review: The bubble is now greener on the other side
Apple is embracing its tight ecosystem with this release, further alienating Android users in the process.
The software situation is much different. The Razr+ is an Android phone and ships with the latest Android 14. The iPhone 15 rolled out with iOS 17, bringing many new changes to the operating system, especially its communication apps. They’re both excellent operating systems packed with plenty of great features, and chances are you already have a preference here. One noteworthy thing is how well Motorola has optimized Android for the unique design of the Razr+. The OS works well with the folding display (such as, for example, shifting videos to the top half of the screen when it’s only partially unfolded), and the cover screen is a joy to use. All of your apps are easily accessible when your phone is closed, and Motorola provides additional widgets made just for cover screen use.
The 2024 Razr+ and iPhone 15 both deliver great performance and a solid and intuitive software experience. But, again, which is better will depend on your preferences (namely, which software ecosystem you favor).
Winner: Tie
Cameras & battery life
This is where a folding phone makes sacrifices
Folding phones aren’t known for having amazing camera setups, and the Razr+ is no exception. Still, the 2024 refresh offers improvements over last year’s model. The new Razr+ has dual 50MP sensors on the rear, a definite upgrade over the dual 12MP/13MP rear sensors on the 2023 Razr+. Curiously, though, the newer model trades the ultrawide lens in favor of a 2x optical zoom. The 32MP selfie cam remains the same, although the cover display makes it possible to use the main camera module for selfies.
The iPhone 15 camera also got a major upgrade with a 48MP main sensor, the same as on the Pro models. On paper, you’d assume the Razr+ has the better camera setup, but there’s more to picture quality than megapixels. In our experience, the iPhone simply takes better pictures. Folding phones like the Razr+ still have some catching up to do in the photography department.
Battery life seems to suffer a little due to the folding design, too, whether it’s because of the device’s physical architecture or the fact that it has two screens. The 2024 Razr+ has a reasonably sized 4,000mAh internal battery. While that’s an improvement over the last-gen model’s 3,800mAh battery, real-world performance is middling. Despite having a smaller 3,349mAh battery, the power-efficient iPhone 15 delivered excellent all-day longevity. That’s not to say you’ll need to keep your Razr+ married to its charger, but the iPhone sets a high bar for battery life.
Winner: iPhone 15
Which phone should you buy?
The 2024 Motorola Razr+ and iPhone 15 are both great phones, but this obviously isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison. Which device you should buy is going to boil down to two questions: whether you’re convinced that clamshell flip phones are the future, and which software ecosystem (iOS or Android) you prefer. Overall, we think the iPhone 15 is the better choice for most people. The standard smartphone design isn’t out of date by any means, and flip phones like the Razr+, while neat, are still sort of a niche thing.
Don’t fix what ain’t broken
Apple iPhone 15
$730 $830 Save $100
The base model iPhone 15 features a 6.1-inch OLED display, and a new 48 megapixel main camera for fantastic image creation. The iPhone 15 also features fast multitasking thanks to Apple’s A16 Bionic chip.
The 2024 Motorola Razr+ is nonetheless a great device. It brings some nice upgrades to the 2023 model, which we named our favorite flip phone when it hit the market last year. The 2024 revision gets boosted hardware, a better camera, a larger cover screen and a brighter (not to mention buttery smooth 165Hz) primary display. If you’re a die-hard Android user or are looking to get your mitts on the best clamshell-style flip phone, the new Razr+ is a winner. It’s just not for everybody.
For the flip phone crowd
Against orola Razr+ (2024)
The 2024 Motorola Razr+ features a few subtle (but welcome) upgrades over its predecessor. These include a new Snapdragon processor, boosted RAM, a larger cover display, and useful AI features.