Motorola may join the ranks of foldable smartphone makers by the end of the year, according to a recent report from CNET. A source told the publication that while the manufacturer had plans to release a RAZR branded foldable device in the summer, the launch was quietly delayed. However, the handset may at least be unveiled in 2019, though a market release within the year is uncertain.
This revelation puts Motorola in oddly good company as most of the foldable smartphones that were set to release in 2019, such as the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X, were delayed for some reason. The reasoning behind the RAZR foldable delay is currently unknown; however, there are a decent amount of details available for what consumers can expect from the device.
Patents surfaced in early 2019 with designs depicting how the Motorola RAZR foldable might look. The design is striking in that the handset will likely fold on its vertical axis, making it close more like a traditional RAZR clamshell phone from the early 2,000s.
Just the idea of this design has many tech enthusiasts excited, as the original Motorola RAZR V3 flip phone was one of the brand’s most popular devices in 2004 with approximately 130 handsets million sold while it was on the market. In addition to the unique folding form factor, specs rumored for the RAZR foldable could suggest that it might not be as pricey as other foldable devices we’ve seen thus far.
The handset may be a mid-range product running a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chip and a 2,730 mAh battery. Other specs may include a 6.2-inch 876 x 2142 resolution display and a smaller cover display with a fingerprint scanner embedded in the lower part of the front display. Once available the RAZR foldable might be a Verizon exclusive device, much like most of Motorola’s other smartphones.
The RAZR foldable has already drummed up a bit of controversy with it being revealed that Motorola used a fan mockup to demonstrate details of the device during an international media briefing. However, the mockup does appear to be based on Motorola’s own patented schematics of the phone. Overall, we still don’t have a finalized look at the device; however, we should hopefully be seeing it soon.
