Moto Razr 40 Ultra: Folding smartphone with large external display

Motorola has unveiled two new folding smartphones: With the Moto Razr 40 Ultra, the outer display takes up almost the entire surface of the folded smartphone. In the Moto Razr 40, the outer display is used more as an information display.

The largest external display on a folding smartphone

The outer display is said to cover 85.4 per cent of the surface area of the Moto Razr 40 Ultra - when folded. The 3.6-inch, almost square pOLED display has 1066 × 1056 pixels. Its refresh rate is 144 hertz and the maximum brightness reaches 1100 nits. When you open the Moto Razr 40 Ultra, you are looking at a 6.9-inch pOLED display with 2640 × 1080 pixels, 165 hertz and 1400 nits.

So-called panels are to run on the outer display. Motorola mentions Google News, Spotify and notifications, for example. With an app panel, it should also be possible to use almost any app there. The manufacturer also wants to offer wallpapers and matching games. On the inner display, you can expect the classic Android 13 with Moto UI.

Motorola uses Gorilla Glass Victus for the front and back. The "Viva Magenta" colour variant is an exception. Its back is made of artificial leather. With its moving parts, the smartphone has received IP52 certification. This means it is protected against dripping water, which is less on the scale than protection against splashing water.

The Moto Razr 40 Ultra is equipped with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and eight or twelve gigabytes of RAM. The internal memory is 256 or 512 gigabytes in size. The battery seems rather small at 3800 mAh. You can charge it with up to 30 watts via a power adapter and a USB-C cable or wirelessly with up to five watts.

The cameras in the outer display are a main camera with a resolution of 12 megapixels and an ultra-wide-angle camera with 13 megapixels and a viewing angle of 108 degrees. The inner camera for selfies has 32 megapixels - the outer cameras can of course also be used to take selfies. Half-opened, the Razr 40 Ultra is its own tripod.

Without Ultra, many things are a size smaller

On the outside of the Moto Razr 40, there is only a 1.5-inch OLED display with a 2:1 aspect ratio, 60 hertz and 1000 nits. Its 194 × 368 pixels primarily display information and notifications. There is also space for controls, but hardly a complete app. Like the Ultra, its inner pOLED display measures 6.9 inches, also has 2640 × 1080 pixels and is just as bright at 1400 nits. However, at 144 hertz, the refresh rate is slightly lower - but this should hardly be a problem.

The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 is supported by eight gigabytes of RAM in the Razr 40. The internal memory is 128 or 256 gigabytes in size. The battery is slightly larger than the Ultra at 4200 mAh. However, charging is also possible with 30 watts via cable or five watts wirelessly.

The 32-megapixel camera next to the inner display is shared by both folding smartphones. On the outside, however, the Razr 40 offers a 64-megapixel main camera and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a 120-degree viewing angle. Tests will show what differences there are in image quality.

Price and availability

The Moto Razr 40 Ultra will be available in Europe almost immediately for a recommended retail price of 1199.99 euros. The Moto Razr 40 is set to follow in July and will cost €900.