Motorola Razr review: With updated specs and 5G, this is what we needed in February - CNET

The Motorola Razr gets the refinements it deserves.

The new Motorola Razr (2020) addresses most of the issues I had with the Razr (2019) that came out in February.

The new Razr gets a slew of upgraded specs, but lacks the top of the line ones found in the Motorola Edge Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

With the new cameras, addition of support for 5G and all the useful enhancements to the external display, the Razr feels like a "normal" phone that can do "normal" everyday stuff with its "anything but normal" foldable build.

Also, when I opened and closed my 2019 Razr review unit in February it made this weird loud squeak.

If you were seriously considering the Motorola Razr (2019) and didn't get it and you have the cash, you should consider this version.

During my time with the new Razr, I used it like a regular phone.

When you close the phone, the sides sit flush, encompassing and protecting the display.

The squeak isn't as loud as the 2019 Razr.

Perhaps my favorite feature is the Quick View display which got a lot more useful with the new Razr.

There are basically three modes to the outside display: The first is a Peek Display mode that lets you see notifications just by pressing and holding on an icon.

The next is like a Peek Display plus mode where you can press and hold an icon, then swipe up to reveal multiple notifications and respond to them.

But it's the third mode -- let's call it mini-Android mode -- where the true power of the Quick View display gets unleashed.

The Quick View display on the Razr is officially the smallest screen I've ever played PUBG Mobile on.

Also, you can go back and forth between the Quick View display and the interior display and pick right up where you were at.

You can also do what I did and go into the Manage apps setting and turn on unlimited which allowed me to try pretty much any app I wanted on the Quick View display.

I could barely make out the controls, but it is possible to play PUBG on the Quick View display.

But this iteration of the Quick View display marks an enormous step in the right direction for Motorola.

The HDR mode works rather well without it being too heavy-handed.

Motorola claims a benefit of using the Quick View display more is it doesn't tax battery life as bad as using the main display.

In my use, the new Razr gets me barely through a day.

I'm getting about 7 hours, 30 minutes of screen-on time and in a test with continuous video playback on Airplane mode the Razr lasted 15 hours, 53 minutes, that's 1 hour, 50 minutes more than the 2019 Razr lasted in the same test.

The new Razr has a larger battery than the 2019 Razr and some of that is to compensate for use on 5G, which can eat up battery life.

That said, I'm excited for Motorola and hope they make as big a step forward with the next Razr as the company did with this one