Remember when foldable phones were exorbitantly expensive? Well, thanks to Black Friday, we’ve seen a foldable phone drop to $499, which is the lowest price on record for a mobile device with a folding screen yet.
OK, so this phone in question isn’t a bleeding edge flagship like a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, but the Motorola Razr (2023) is still a capable, relatively new smartphone that allows you to get more screen in a compact package.
Motorola Razr (2023)
$500 $700 Save $200
The 2023 Motorola Razr offers a 6.9-inch folding OLED screen with a 144Hz refresh rate, a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset, and, thanks to Black Friday, the cheapest price for a foldable yet.
Why would you want a foldable phone?
They’re versatile and take up less space
I’m a phone enthusiast, so I’ve been on board the foldable phone train since day one. But many casual users might not know what the point of one is. Sure, they’re flashy and unique, but there are some functional benefits, especially for a clamshell form factor like the Motorola Razr. You’ll get a very large slab screen — 6.9 inches here — that can fold in half and fit easily in your pocket. The Razr’s 6.9-inch screen is gorgeous, too. It’s an FHD panel with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz. And unlike Samsung’s foldables, the crease of this Razr is barely noticeable.
In addition to being more compact, the bendy nature allows the Razr to do things a conventional phone cannot, such as double as its own tripod. The top half can fold upright at various angles, while the bottom half sits on a flat surface. This allows for hands-free video calls and selfies.
There’s also a secondary 1.5-inch outside display that shows crucial information when the phone is closed. In a way, this is a good phone for those who are trying to check their phone less. You can also use the secondary display to take selfies, which means you’re shooting with the superior main camera.
And despite early concerns about durability, I have tested enough foldables (including dropping my share) to say that those concerns should be put to rest. Sure, a foldable phone screen is still technically more fragile than a conventional glass screen, but you’d really have to be careless to damage a foldable phone these days.
This phone is not Motorola’s highest-tier foldable phone, but despite that, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip powering this phone is still very capable. It’s built on the 4nm architecture, and it can handle all modern apps without issues, including the most graphically intensive games on the Google Play Store.
$500 is a good price to try your first foldable
If you’ve been intrigued by the rise of foldable phones over the years but have found the prices too high, now is as good a time as any to try. This Black Friday deal makes the Motorola Razr the cheapest a foldable phone has ever been, and one of the best Black Friday phone deals we’ve seen yet.
