Motorola Razr Plus (2024) vs Razr Plus (2023): Expected upgrades

Intro

There have been plenty of rumours and reports revealing what Motorola has prepared for its new high-end flip phone. In fact, it is more than enough to start discussing the potential differences between the upcoming Razr Plus and its predecessor from last year.

Before we get into the details, though, you should know that we don’t expect any price hikes with this new generation of the Motorola Razr Plus, so expect a starting price of $999. Of course, all of the information below is subject to change if any surprises happen during the announcement, so take it with a grain of salt.

Design and Size

No visually striking design changes

Given the leaked renders, we expect to see the same design for the 2024 Razr Plus that we got with the Razr Plus from 2023. That means you can expect somewhat thick bezels, a round shape, and a large cover screen as the secondary display at the back.

The frame will be made out of aluminium and the back panel will most probably remain glass, although we are really hoping for a tougher Gorilla Glass Victus. Arguably the most important part of the Razr Plus‘ design is its hinge, which will presumably be made out of stainless steel, just like with the predecessor.

Here are a few of the leaked Razr Plus (2024) renders to give you a better idea of what it will look like:

The renders also show the colors in which we expect the new Razr Plus, which are Midnight Blue, Spring Green, and Hot Pink; that’s one less color option compared to last year, when the 2023 version of the phone also came in Black. That said, even though we haven’t heard of a black variant, there will most probably be one for the 2024 model too.

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

Display Differences

Reports claim that we might see an even larger cover display with the new Razr Plus that will measure at 4 inches vs the 3.6 inches one that’s on the predecessor. The main (foldable) display is said to remain a 6.9-inch OLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate.

The one upgrade we might see with the new model, however, is higher brightness levels to make it more visible in bright conditions. The Razr Plus from 2023 is not bad, coming in at 1400 nits of peak brightness and around 1000 nits during our own display lab tests. Motorola’s Edge 50 series managed to get 1200 nits in our display tests, so we might see similar results with the 2024 Razr Plus.

The 144Hz refresh rate and 1080 x 2640 pixels have not been rumored to change, so we can assume the new Razr Plus‘ display will be equally smooth and sharp.

Performance and Software

More horsepower and higher base memory

As for storage and memory, there is a chance Motorola will have the base version of the Razr Plus start with 12GB of RAM instead of the 8GB from the previous model. Storage will be the same, though, with a choice between 256GB and 512GB. Leaks also point at faster and more power efficient UFS 4.0 storage vs the UFS 3.1 on the 2023 Razr Plus.

As for software support, we are probably looking at the 3 years of Android updates and 4 years of security patches, at least judging by the company’s Edge 50 Ultra flagship. That’s also the same amount of software support the Razr Plus 2023 got, so nothing new on this end.

Camera

The cameras are the most exciting part

We are expecting two brand new cameras, and one of them might even surprise you. While the Razr Plus from 2023 came with a 13MP ultra-wide, the new Razr Plus will drop it for a 50MP 2X telephoto. The switch to a telephoto camera is probably a well thought out one, and we would venture to guess that users tend to use that one more often than the ultrawide camera nowadays.

That’s not all though, as the main camera is also getting an upgrade, going from the 12MP on the predecessor to 50MP on the 2024 edition. Now, if it is anything like the Edge 50 Fusion or Edge 50 Pro main camera, we are in for a treat, as it would be a massive jump in image quality compared to the 2023 Razr Plus.

The selfie camera will probably be the same 32MP one we saw last year, so we don’t expect any major differences in image quality from that one.

Battery Life and Charging

Double the charging speed

The new Razr Plus is said to come with a slightly larger 4000 mAh battery, compared to the 3800 mAh one inside last generation. Whether that would result in longer battery life won’t be too clear, as the results are also affected by the chipsets and the general power efficiency of the phone, but we do expect at least the same endurance we saw last year with the 2023 Razr Plus.

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 we got with the previous model. Wireless charging will likely stay at 5W though.

Specs Comparison

From this spec sheet it quickly becomes clear where we can expect the most improvement. The Camera system is the most obvious massive upgrade over the previous generation, but also the chipset and the much higher wired charging speeds. 

The specs we have gathered for the 2024 Razr Plus are based on rumors though, so keep in mind they might change when the phone gets announced.

Summary

All in all, we are looking at a significant spec bump throughout many of the phone’s aspects with the Razr Plus in 2024. Whether the aforementioned improvements merit an upgrade will depend on your budget and preference, but in our view the new cameras and more powerful chipset alone are two great reasons to make the jump.

Of course, it is best to wait for our full on comparison if you plan to grab the new Razr Plus, so stay tuned for a more detailed battle between Motorola’s premium foldables.