Unbox therapy: With foldables ushering in a new, exciting form-factor (and price point) for smartphones, Motorola went back to its past and resurrected the iconic flip phone design in the new Motorola Razr. Amazon, it seems, is also a fan of the satisfying, visceral thud of the phone flipping shut as it will unbox customer orders of the phone to fold it before shipping.
It may not have rekindled as much interest in flip phones as Motorola would have liked, but the new Razr 5G still features that unique, usable form-factor that made the original so desirable. An eye-watering $1,400 price tag with subpar specs have definitely made it a hard sell, even for nostalgic fans, who'll now have to put up with some added inconvenience if they're buying it from Amazon.
Motorola, as can be seen in the picture below, has a rather swanky packaging for the Razr where it ships the phone unfolded to show off that 6.2-inch OLED screen. However, customers getting the unlocked version from Amazon will get theirs flipped shut in order to protect its display, according to the retail giant, which has added the following note in the product listing:
originally, RAZR was meant to be shipped in the unfolded position. However, to better protect the display, we have folded your RAZR - it's safer but may not look as elegant as we hoped. We apologize if you see fingerprints on your device. We assure you your RAZR is brand new.
There could be an uptick in sales as the Razr 5G is currently going for $999, which is $400 off its original price. This discount, however, is not exclusive to Amazon, as The Verge reports, but can also be found on other retailers like Best Buy and B&H, who'll apparently ship the phone as Motorola originally intended.
Amazon's decision to safely ship the phone like this presumably comes in light of all the various logistical adventures that such packages go through from the warehouse right down to home delivery. The approach, however, also means that someone will already have had a hands-on with the phone before resealing and shipping it, ultimately tainting that brand-new unboxing experience of a device that still costs a steep $1,000.