Motorola Razr Plus (2024) vs Razr (2024): Expected differences

Intro

Well, it looks like the $300 price difference will be more than justified, but maybe not quite as much as last year. The regular Razr, which will start at $699, will sport a large cover display this year, just like the Plus model, which will start at $999.

Despite the nice visual upgrade, however, the more budget-friendly Razr will probably lack the same level of chip performance and will offer a more modest camera system. It is also said to come with slower charging speeds, but might have longer battery life than the Razr Plus thanks to slightly higher battery capacity. 

Design and Size

Overall the same design, but Razr Plus is more durable

The design of the upcoming Razr Plus (2024) and Razr (2024) is probably the most leaked part about them, which is why we know not to expect any drastic changes as far as looks go. Well, there is one major change, actually, and that’s the much larger cover screen on the regular Razr model, but more on that later.

Materials-wise, we are looking at a stainless steel hinge, aluminum frame, plastic front, and a glass back for the more expensive Razr Plus. The affordable 2024 Razr, on the other hand, will be the same but it will replace any glass element with plastic instead.

Having plastic for the cover display might mean that the cheaper Razr will be much easily scratched compared to the Razr Plus that is said to come with Gorilla Glass Victus. That means having a case might be even more crucial for the regular Razr.

The two phones should have mostly similar dimensions to each other, so you won’t have to pick one based on size and weight.

As for the color options, here are all we expect the new Razr series to come in:

Razr Plus (2024) colors:

Supposed colors for the Razr Plus 2024.

Razr (2024) colors:

Supposed colors for the Razr 2024.

We fully expect the 2024 versions of the Razr Plus and regular Razr to come with a similarly generous unboxing experience as last year’s models. That would mean buyers get a case and a charger inside the box.

Display Differences

Multiple leaks have stated that we can expect larger cover displays for both 2024 Razr models. For the Razr Plus that means going from 3.6″ to 4″ and for the regular Razr that means going from 1.5″ to 3.6″, with the latter being a more stark difference compared to the predecessor.

For the main, foldable displays, we are looking at almost no differences. The only expected difference is that the Plus will probably have a 165Hz refresh rate vs 144Hz on the less expensive model.

Performance and Software

Performance is the main differentiating factor

While Motorola is said to have included Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset inside the premium Razr Plus (2024), it is reportedly planning to use a chip made by a different manufacturer for the regular Razr (2024). The chip is the Dimensity 7300X, which is made by Mediatek.

Even though it is not exactly the best out there, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is still near-flagship level silicon, while the Dimensity 7300X is a mid-range chip. With that in mind, we expect the Razr Plus to perform much better than its cheaper variant in our performance tests, so stay tuned to see just how much better it turns out to be.

As for memory (RAM), there Motorola is rumored to upgrade the base model with 12GB of RAM instead of 8GB. The regular Razr, on the other hand, is said to stay at 8GB for its base version.

The storage situation is similar, with the Razr Plus said to start at 256GB while the Razr at 128GB (like last year). But the difference might be even bigger since the more high-end model might come with significantly faster and more power-efficient UFS 4.0 storage vs UFS 2.2 on the $699 model.

As for software support, we are probably looking at the 3 years of Android updates and 4 years of security patches for both 2024 Razr foldable phones from Motorola. That means the last Android OS you will get is Android 17, and then another year of security patches.

Camera

New main cameras for both, but different secondary ones

While both the 2024 Razr Plus and regular 2024 Razr are reported to come with brand new 50MP main cameras (hopefully the same between the two models), there will have very different secondary cameras.

The Razr Plus will be swapping its 13MP ultra-wide camera for a new 50MP telephoto with 2X zoom, while the Razr will keep the same 13MP ultra-wide snapper from last year. This might mean that the normal Razr will have macro mode but the more expensive model won’t.

The selfie camera is rumored to be the same 32MP one we saw last year on both phones, so we don’t expect any major differences in image quality from that one.

Battery Life and Charging

You get faster charging speed if you get the Plus

The new Razr Plus is said to come with a 4000 mAh battery, which is more than its predecessor’s  3800 mAh one, but not as large as the 4200 mAh battery that the entry-level Razr (2024) is said to have. Whether that would result in longer battery life won’t become clear until we get the devices and pace them through our dedicated battery life tests.

Charging is a different story, however, since reports claim the 2024 Razr Plus will come with 68W of wired charging. That would be a considerable jump over the 30W that the Razr will have. Wireless charging will likely stay at 5W for both models though.

Specs Comparison

Looking at the spec sheets for both 2024 Motorola Razr phones, it quickly becomes clear how the more premium Razr Plus will be superior to the regular Razr. For starters, you have more than double the wired charging speed with the pricier model, although the regular one will probably have much longer battery life thanks to the slightly bigger battery and less powerful Mediatek Dimensity 7300X chipset.

The other big difference will be that the Razr Plus has a 50MP telephoto camera offering better zoom quality, whereas the regular Razr comes with the same 13MP ultra-wide from last year.

Summary

From what we know about the upcoming Motorola Razr series so far, you get a lot of extra goodies if you pay $300 more for the Razr Plus flagship. That includes the 2X telephoto camera, the significantly more powerful processor (remains to be seen just how much), more premium and durable materials, and more.

That being said, much more than last year, the regular Razr seems to be less separated than its high-end counterpart. A big reason to buy a foldable phone is that you can use it while it is closed, and this year that will be much more possible with the 3.6″ cover display on the Razr (2024).

If you don’t need the extra horsepower you might not have to pay $999 for the Plus, especially if there is little to no difference between the image quality coming from the main cameras.