In brief: Motorola's first attempt at foldables with the mid-range, yet expensive Razr phone wasn't much of a success, and leaks for the upcoming second-gen model aren't all that inspiring either, save for 5G support and some minor hardware improvements.
Motorola's reboot of the iconic Razr phone generated a lot of prelaunch excitement, but that soon damped after people came to know it was a case of form over function with the company's $1,500 mid-spec foldable.
A successor with 5G support had reportedly been in the works since earlier this year, and now more details have surfaced around the device's hardware, which might disappoint those expecting a flagship-tier device this time around.
According to an XDA Developers source, the upcoming model will use Qualcomm's mid-range Snapdragon 765 5G SoC, bump the RAM from 6GB to 8GB and offer twice the internal storage of its predecessor at 256GB. It will also replace the 16MP rear camera with Samsung's 48MP shooter and the 5MP front camera with a 20MP unit; no dual or triple lenses here.
In terms of software, it will have Android 10 out of the box, along with Motorola's customizations for the Quick View display. It's primarily being developed for the North American and Chinese markets with a September launch window, while availability for other regions is uncertain at this point.
The new model is also expected to address build quality concerns that tainted its predecessor's appeal, one of which reportedly peeled apart for a user during a train commute. Though such an issue is alarming for a new device, it's downright unacceptable for a $1,500 phone that's spent years in development, and which ultimately failed to push the case for foldables already held back by problematic hardware.
Motorola's unique vertical flip form-factor with the reimagined Razr was noted for its usability, despite its hinge being subject to some unfair torture testing. The phone also failed to impress iFixit, who gave it a 1 out 10 for repairability. While the successor would (and should) pretty much retain this design, let's hope Motorola gets the price and hardware sorted out this time.
https://www.techspot.com/news/85370-leaks-motorola-upcoming-razr-foldable-suggest-another-mid.html
