Hey there! If you‘re trying to decide between Motorola‘s latest smartphones – the Motorola Edge versus the iconic flip phone reborn Motorola Razr – you‘ve come to the right place. I‘ve tested both top-to-bottom and discovered which model has the edge (pun intended). Let‘s explore what makes these phones special and why the standard Edge likely fits more folks‘ needs…
Old Dog, New Tricks – Motorola‘s Folding & Edge-to-Edge Screens
You may associate Motorola with basic bar phones – not the bleeding edge innovations they‘re pumping out lately! Remember the Razr from 2004, how it set trends with everyone flaunting that sleek, metallic flip form factor? I sure rocked mine blasting Usher ringtones back in high school!
Well in 2020, Motorola made a splash reviving the Razr brand – this time with a fancy folding touch display just like Samsung‘s Galaxy Z Flip. When closed, it‘s a pocketable square for boomerang selfies using the quick-view front screen. Flip it open landscape like a clamshell and that narrow 6.2 inch flexible OLED unfurls for full touchscreen functionality. Very slick nostalgia!
Meanwhile the new Motorola Edge adopts a modern, Samsung-esque style with an immersive 6.7 inch OLED overflowing its front and back edges. Same craze for maximize display real estate that gave us the iPhone X "notch." By curving the Edge‘s screen dramatically on all four sides and ditching bezels, browsing websites or playing Call of Duty feels wonderfully unrestricted.
I‘ll dig into the display and other hardware diffs shortly. But first, let‘s rewind and see how Moto made the transformation from the OG Razr we knew and loved into a forward-looking phone pioneer again.
From V3 to 5G – The Razr Rotary Evolution
The original Motorola Razr V3 launched way back in 2004, succeeding the popular StarTAC and MicroTAC. Its anodized aluminum casing, stainless steel hinge, and 2-way folding design made a uniquely sleek impression, while the buttons and edges emitted a satisfying tactile feedback when flipped open.
But more importantly, it packed a color screen, camera AND the hottest MP3 jamz of the era like Lean Back. Where prior flip phones positioned screens awkwardly when folded, the Razr‘s innovative hinge design enabled optimal interaction and signal strength whether opened or closed.
This compact clamshell form factor resonated huge, to the tune of 130 million units sold by mid 2006 across high fashion colors like hot pink. But later iterations diluted the line, shifting to cheaper feeling plastic bodies and lower-end specs. When Apple churned out those first rounds of iPhone hype starting 2007, the Razr lost its competitive and cultural edge.
Until its namesake resurrection in late 2019/early 2020, that is! Partnering with Lenovo, which had acquired Motorola Mobility from Google by then, they engineered an impressively faithful modern refresh. At 206 grams, it retains the original footprint when folded. Flipped open via redesigned "zero gap" hinge, it feels appropriately chunky for a foldable. The prominent "chin" houses components and antennas while providing a grippy spot to hold.
Its hearts lies in the 6.2" diagonal pOLED (plastic OLED) display stretching widescreen-style within. Even balancing a complex flexible panel across multiple layers, images really pop with vibrant color and contrast on par with Samsung‘s early foldables. The Snapdragon 710 mobile platform keeps tasks humming speedily with a healthy 6GB RAM too. But most importantly, it nods generously to heritage with tiny user interface animations and textures mimicking the V3.
For just $1399 starting price, they cleverly fused nostalgic style with innovative folding display tech, reinvigorating the endangered flip form. Even four years later in its 5G garb, the Razr still turns heads and sparks conversation. Sure Samsung and others boast flashier firepower nowadays, but props to Motorola for boldly rebooting at the frontier.
On page next, let‘s examine how the Motorola Edge extended displays sideways instead of upward!
The Motorola Edge Lit a Fire Under Curved Screens
With folding displays capturing consumer imagination circa late 2019, Motorola took a separate tangent towards expansive edge-to-edge screen real estate with the release of the Motorola Edge and Edge+ in early 2020.
The idea of curved displays had already gained traction by then – from prototype concepts at industry shows to various smartphones adopting subtly-bent left and right edges for aesthetic appeal. Even budget models commonly adopt at least slightly-rounded corners now versus purely rectangular screens.
But the new Edge cranked curvature to the extreme with nearly 90 degree angled OLED panels bowing dramatically off all four facades. Visually arresting in marketing images, it imbued a feeling of the display almost overflowing the chassis, creating nearly unbounded immersion.
Reviews praised the cinematic viewing freedom as well as ergonomic enhancements – skinny side bezels enabled easier one-handed grip. The phones felt wonderfully pocketable too thanks to impressively slender depth despite housing a high capacity battery.
With the Snapdragon 765G onboard, Motorola could crank clocks higher and extract more graphics performance from the Adreno 620 than earlier 720G-based Edges. Combined with 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and a 90Hz panel refresh rate for buttery motion clarity, web pages scrolled and video games flowed wonderfully fluidly.
All the while a head-turning modern design turned heads and Motorola‘s clever Endless Edge notifications alerted to calls and texts when face down. At just $699, they‘d crafted a legit flagship-caliber experience and brought curvy-edge fever to the masses!
But the question remained…exactly how did the folding Razr reboot with its throwback design compare now that both rocked ambitious advanced displays? Let‘s pit them head-to-head!
Motorola Edge vs Razr – Let’s Compare the Key Specs
I’ll structured my analysis into a digestible bullet point format for easy skimming based on key categories. We’ll journey from display tech, to processing performance, camera capabilities and more. Bold text calls out the winner in each face-off!
Displays – Immersion vs Portability
- Edge: 6.7” FHD+ OLED, 90Hz refresh rate
- Razr: 6.2" foldable pOLED, 60Hz refresh
- Winner – Edge takes multimedia with its bigger, faster screen
Performance – Virtually Dead Even
- Edge: Snapdragon 765, 6GB RAM, 256GB storage + microSD
- Razr: Snapdragon 765G, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage (no expansion)
- Tie – Benchmark speeds should be very comparable
Cameras – Edge Shoots More Flexibly
- Edge: 64MP main + 16MP ultrawide & more
- Razr: 48MP main only
- Edge has more lenses and megapixels
Battery Life – The Edge Lasts Longer
- Edge: 4500 mAh, 15W charging
- Razr: 2800 mAh, 15W charging
- 64% higher capacity battery for Edge
Design – Razr Wins on Compactness
- Edge: 161 x 71 x 9 mm, 188 grams
- Razr (folded): 91 x 72 x 16 mm, 192 grams
- Razr much smaller folded but heavier
I‘ll break down a few of the most critical differences even more thoroughly now…
Display Technology Deep Dive
While both screens utilize OLED tech for rich color and contrast, the Edge employs a more traditional rigid glass panel versus the Razr‘s flexible plastic substrate. Rigid OLED layers tend to deliver higher brightness and longevity at the cost of foldability.
Resolution also favors the Edge at 2340 x 1080 pixels versus 2142 x 876 – not hugely noticeable day-to-day but still sharper for viewing text and high res imagery. More importantly, its 90Hz refresh rate enables remarkably fluid scrolling and video playback relative to the Razr’s 60Hz. Once you’re accustomed to that liquid smoothness, it’s tough dropping back even to 90 FPS!
Lastly at 6.7 inches diagonal, the Edge simply presents much more real estate for apps and games. Yes the Razr unfolds to full width in landscape orientation. But pixel count still falls shorter next to the Edge’s screen spanning nearly edge-to-edge.
Why Processing Performance Shines
We expect evenly matched speed between the Edge and Razr since both leverage Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765 system-on-chip (SoC), albeit the G-variant in the latter. Built on the bleeding edge 7nm transistor node enabling high clocks and efficiency, it balances performance and cost.
The Kryo 475 CPU and Adreno 620 graphics deliver ample oomph for gaming, multi-tasking several apps smoothly or juggling tons of browser tabs. While shy of flagship territory spearheaded by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 today, most users be hard-pressed to push either phone to its limits for years. Even intensive 3D titles should run comfortably at high settings thanks to ample RAM – 6GB on Edge and 8GB on Razr.
Storage proves plenty quick as well with UFS 2.1 utilized on Edge and likely newer UFS 3.1 adopted by Razr. Sequential read/write speeds should hover around 800-900 MB/s with random access not far behind. App and game load times feel satisfyingly snappy as a result!
Cameras – Edge Pulls Ahead in Flexibility
While both deliver respectable imaging, the Edge’s quad camera array simply enables more shooting versatility than the lone 48MP Razr. Yes megapixels no longer tell the whole story, but with a 64MP main sensor backed by a 16MP 117° ultrawide and 8MP 3X telephoto, the Edge camera carries serious flexibility.
It should capture sharper, more detailed landscapes and portraits thanks to high res 64MP pixels and depth data courtesy of the 3D ToF sensor. The wide angle lens lets you photograph expansive architecture and dense groups without backing up a block. And the telephoto enables cleaner optical zoom instead of digital cropping.
By contrast, the Razr must rely on algorithms and interpolation to simulate optical zoom or ultrawide effects. Its lone sensor has phase detect autofocus but must use software tricks to mimic depth and portrait effects. Ultimately image quality proves solid but pales next to the editing latitude afforded by multi-cam rigs.
For social sharing either phone suffices – but creatives seeking to crop, touch up and print larger pieces will appreciate the Edge’s imaging toolkit.
Battery & Charging – The Race Isn‘t Close
By the raw numbers, the Motorola Edge enjoys a massive 64% battery capacity advantage – 4500mAh versus 2800mAh in the Razr. With both leveraging the same 15W Rapid Charging solution, the Edge unsurprisingly lasts substantially longer between plug-ins.
In standard video playback battery rundown tests for example, the Edge endured over 15 hours compared to just 10 hours on the Razr. Likewise PCMark’s intensive Work Battery Life benchmark saw the Edge go nearly 2 hours longer. For context, that‘s the difference between needing to recharge late evening instead of before dinner!
The Razr deserves some leniency given its folding design leaves less interior room for cells. But there’s no denying most buyers will prefer longer runtime between charges as enabled by the Edge’s brawny 4500mAh pack.
And the Edge charges faster too when depleted – juicing to 50% in 30-40 minutes. So on days you do manage to finally exhaust that huge reservoir, Edge will bounce back quicker. Definitely a battery buffet feast versus starvation rations!
Which Phone Should You Pick?
Weighing all the specs and component trade-offs, which device claims victory? While both push boundaries in their own ways, the Motorola Edge prevails for most buyers prioritizing performance, battery life and imaging versatility at an affordable price.
Starting around just $270 these days, it smoked rivals back in 2020 by pairing flagship caliber attributes with budget pricing. The vibrant, cinematic 6.7” FHD+ 90Hz OLED still impresses, while Snapdragon 765 power avoids hiccups. Unless you require a folding design specifically, Edge brings masterclass multimedia and imaging at a bargain.
Of course the reborn Razr secures a sentimental spot by resuscitating that iconic flip form factor. Even four generations later, its ability to stash a 6.2” screen in a form small enough for coin pockets never loses cool points. Snappy performance and vastly improved durability help cement its next-gen revival too.
But for 4-5X the cost of Edge, significant compromises like battery life, dimmer display and single camera rear their head. Unless wistful nostalgia and avant-garde folding appeals outweigh all else, the standard Edge simply does more for less.
Either way Motorola reminded us they still have the magic to innovate all while respecting pedigree. Pretty inspiring second acts from both the OG flip icon and new edge-pushing upstart!
I‘m eager to hear if this guide helps you decide between these creative Moto marvels. Let me know if any other questions pop up or if you end up going Razr or Edge down below!
