Motorola was the king of foldable value. The 2026 Razr lineup throws that away

I’m an enormous fan of the Motorola Razr Extremely. I all the time discover an excuse to get it again in my pocket after I’m not testing one other cellphone. So, naturally, I was excited when Moto introduced its new Razr lineup for 2026. Sadly, it didn’t take lengthy for my enthusiasm to soften away.

Smartphone producers appear to have two paths to handle part value will increase in 2026. Samsung launched a brand new chipset and different enhancements for the Galaxy S26, however raised costs on some fashions. Google elected to maintain the Pixel 10a value the similar, however with an older chipset and lackluster upgrades.

Motorola has someway solid a 3rd path with its new Razrs, providing restricted upgrades whereas nonetheless charging consumers extra. It’s a complicated technique that runs counter to what has made the firm profitable over the previous few years. I’m certain Motorola has a plan, but when it desires to go down this path, there’s lots of work that must be accomplished.

I really like what Motorola provides. Its midrange telephones present efficiency and elegance at an affordable value. The Moto G Stylus is a superb instance of this. I respect that consumers who desire a stylus with their smartphones don’t must spend a ridiculous quantity of cash on a Galaxy S26 Extremely. Moto can be placing a battery in its stylus, one thing Samsung eliminated on the Galaxy S25 Extremely. I’m not saying you’ll take pleasure in the similar performance as an costly Galaxy smartphone, however the G Stylus is shut sufficient to contemplate at a fraction of the value.

The Motorola Edge is comparable. It contains a attractive show, clean efficiency, and a succesful digital camera. Its skinny aluminum body feels incredible in the hand, and it’s one of my favourite telephones to hold round. If the Pixel 10a doesn’t communicate to you and also you’re not a fan of Samsung’s midrange telephones, it’s a wonderful different.

Then there may be final 12 months’s Razr lineup. I’ll speak about the Razr Extremely in a second, however the base Razr was an excellent cellphone for $700. It offered all the enjoyable and elegance of a clamshell foldable, whereas sustaining a wallet-friendly value. It was pure Motorola, and I was trying ahead to extra this 12 months.

I didn’t suggest individuals run out and purchase a Motorola Razr Extremely final 12 months for $1,300, however a minimum of I understood it. The cellphone was a monster, particularly for a clamshell foldable. It featured a Snapdragon 8 Elite, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of base storage. I’ll not have liked the price ticket, however a minimum of it was justified.

I don’t get that sense this 12 months. I don’t want all the energy of a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. I’m not enhancing 4K video on a Motorola Razr, and the thought of lengthy gaming periods on a cellphone like that makes me nauseous. However in the event you’re charging me $1,500, I’ll need the newest and biggest, even when it’s simply additional futureproofing if I hold my gadget for a number of years. Motorola’s Good Join software program is incredible, and I believe it bests Samsung’s DeX in lots of areas. I would really like the strongest desktop expertise attainable from my $1,500 smartphone.

If Motorola is actually constructing a way of life model with a premium ecosystem and units, there may be added duty. A flashy design is good, however Moto’s software program assist is woeful. My $1,300 Razr Extremely from final 12 months simply acquired the March safety patch in Might, and I was operating a December patch for months earlier than that. None of that even phased me as a result of I’m simply grateful it even has Android 16 in any respect.

Matching Google and Samsung’s promised software program assist needs to be normal while you set your costs at the excessive finish. And guarantees aren’t sufficient. Each Samsung and Google have accomplished an outstanding job ensuring newer software program runs properly on older {hardware}. One UI 7 on the Galaxy S21 Extremely was an ideal expertise, as was Android 16 on my unique Google Pixel Fold. Strong updates delivered in a well timed vogue should be Motorola’s normal going ahead, and the firm hasn’t proven me that but.

Fortunately, Motorola shows a pattern that means we’d not must pay these excessive costs for lengthy. I’m usually confused by the firm’s excessive preliminary MSRPs. That Motorola Edge I discussed earlier usually begins round $550, and for that value, there are higher options. Nevertheless, that’s not the total story. It solely took a month or two for the value to dip to $400 or decrease, making it one of the finest values you should purchase.

We additionally didn’t have to attend months for the Razr Extremely to return off its $1,300 peak value. It was out there for many of final 12 months for $1,000, making it one of the extra cheap premium flagships you might purchase. Even now, the $800 value makes it extremely engaging in comparison with the $1,500 price ticket of its successor.

Motorola might do one thing related with this 12 months’s crop, despite the fact that I’m hesitant to consider, given how costly elements are. A smartphone with 16GB of RAM won’t ever be low-cost, particularly if it begins with 512GB of storage. The silver lining is the firm’s service retailer presence, so aggressive trade-in reductions and service finance offers are all the time an choice. No matter the answer, I’d be upset if the Razr Extremely and base Razr stayed at their greater costs for very lengthy.

It wasn’t that way back that OnePlus forgot itself. The firm launched the OnePlus 10 Professional, a cellphone designed to compete spec-for-spec with Samsung, with a price ticket to match. It was a catastrophe that set the firm’s units again.

Sure, Motorola has had some success being a trendy model, and that’s completely half of the attraction when shopping for a clamshell foldable, however it could possibly’t neglect about the worth. Motorola is finest as the underdog; I’m anxious this newest technique is a mistake.