Samsung Galaxy Z Flip vs Razr

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With the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip launch just two days away in conjunction with the Samsung Galaxy S20 series, we already know most of the specs about the latest foldable from Samsung.

The Motorola Razr was announced at the end of last year but launches properly in the next few weeks.

With these being the first two flip phones we have seen in years they will both be going head to head, however when you look at the specs they are quite different phones.

As the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip hasn’t been officially launched yet, I have used leaked specs and  I will of course update this comparison should any significant changes occur.

Display, Design and Dimensions

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip

Fundamentally, they both have a similar design, being a clamshell flip phone using flexible OLDED displays giving Samsung Galaxy Z Flip n you a phone with a very tall display.

Dimensions are similar but not the same, the Flip is 5mm shorter overall but actually has a bigger screen with the Razr having a big fat chin at the bottom.

Samsung Galaxy Z FlipMotorola Razr 2019

Dimensions
Unfolded: 167.9 x 73.6 x 7.2 mm
Folded: 87.4 x 73.6 x 17.3 mm
Unfolded: 172 x 72 x 6.9 mm
Folded: 94 x 72 x 14mm
Weight183g205g

Subjectively, from the leaked images of the Flip, I think the Motorola looks nice, obviously playing on our nostalgia for the original Razr.

The main screen of the Samsung is 6.7 inches running at 1080 x 2636 pixels and should have around an 82% screen to body ratio.

In comparison, the Razr has a 6.2-inch display running at 876 x 2142 pixels with a screen to body ratio of 70%. For me, the important difference here is the 876-pixel width, which will cause horizontal scrolling on a lot of websites nowadays.

Motorolla have a much better external display, which I think aids the overall aesthetics, the G-OLED display is 2.7-inches and runs at 600 x 800 pixels making it quite useful for basic functions.

The Samsung has a 1-inch 116 x 300 pixels always-on display which will only be useful for basic notifications.

motorola razr 2019

It is also worth noting that the build quality of the Razr is up for debate with some questionable hinge noises, so it will be interesting to see what issues the Samsung faces in comparison.

Chipset, Ram and Storage

There is a massive difference under the hood, the Razr runs a Snapdragon 710 with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage, which is fine for a £200 phone, and perfectly usable for most daily tasks, but it would leave a bitter taste in my mouth if I had paid £1200+ for my phone.

The Flip Z isn’t quite flagship for 2020, but close enough, it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ combined with 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage. This should make it a beast of a phone, but how that affects battery life remains to be seen.

Camera

Neither phone is going to win any awards for its camera, it is the price you have to pay for the diminutive dimensions a flip phone gives you.

The Samsung has a dual camera set up with 12MP f/1.8 dual-pixel and OIS for its main, then a 12MP f/2.2 12mm ultrawide and on the front, you get a 10MP wide lens.

The Motorolla has a 16MP f/1.7 1.22um Dual Pixel lens with no reported OIS. The secondary lens is a TOF 3D camera, so no ultra-wide here. On the front, you get a 5MP lens.

Battery

The Motorola has a tiny 2510 mAh battery with 15W fast charge. Again, the small nature of this phone means a smaller battery but this will struggle to get through a day of heavy use.

There have been different reports of the Samsung battery live but it is expected to be around 3300 mAh with 15W fast charge and 9W wireless. This is also poor and the SD855+ maybe power-hungry enough that you get worse battery performance than the Razr, but until people get their hands on it I can’t say for sure.

Price

The Motorola Razr launched at $1500/£1200, you can’t buy it SIM-free in the UK. Instead, you will have to go through EE where you will pay £99pcm and £50 upfront for 60GB of data, making this £2426 in total. Looking at SIM-only contracts the 100GB option is £27pcm or £648 over two years, this would make the Motorola Razer a staggering £1778.

It has been reported that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will launch at £1300. Unlike the Razr, it uses both Nano-SIM and eSIM so we should hopefully see it SIM and on multiple network providers, so while it is technically more expensive than the Razr it should be available for less.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip vs Motorola Razr Overall

Only die-hard and affluent phone fans are going to opt for either of these, and it is hard to weigh them both up. I much prefer the design and front screen of the Motorolla but the Samsung is much better specced, a more usual resolution screen and potentially cheaper.

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