Editor’s Desk
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Motorola simply unveiled its new Razr 2025 sequence, and the corporate is taking a web page out of Samsung’s e-book in North America by launching a trio of units. After the earlier two generations solely got here with two telephones, I feel Motorola was sensible to tweak its lineup for a extra aggressive technique, and Samsung might need to take word.
The Razr 2025 sequence includes the bottom Razr 2025, the Razr Plus 2025, and the Razr Extremely 2025. The latter is the latest addition to the lineup, providing premium specs with a premium price ticket. The complete lineup spans a variety of costs, beginning at $699 and ranging as much as $ 1,299. In contrast, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 sequence, which includes a base S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Extremely, ranges from $799 to $1,299 because the beginning costs for every mannequin.
After I requested Motorola why it selected three Razr units for 2025, it mentioned that it is “increasing the household to supply shoppers with extra choices at numerous value factors.”
This is smart as Motorola is understood for providing units with loads of worth at a lower cost level (Razr 2025) whereas the corporate can be attempting to raised set up itself within the premium Android market (Razr Extremely 2025). This provides Motorola a broad attain with shoppers, one thing Samsung has capitalized on with its flagship sequence.
Three’s firm
By now, we’re accustomed to Samsung providing three flagship fashions (excluding the upcoming Edge), a development it has maintained for a number of generations. Apparently, it really works out effectively for the corporate; in any other case, it could have ditched the technique way back. In reality, together with the Galaxy S25 Edge, Samsung seems poised to double down on this technique, highlighting how extra alternative is certainly higher.
But, regardless of the same naming technique, Motorola is not copying Samsung fully. The Razr 2025 telephones supply completely different specs, from the chipset to the digital camera setup, which is how Motorola has been capable of deliver the value decrease than the Galaxy S25. In any case, we’re coping with foldable telephones right here, which regularly price greater than conventional candybar telephones.
Motorola up to date the Razr 2025 chip with the AI-ready Dimensity 7400X, which is not an costly flagship chip, however a more cost effective midrange chip that must be greater than succesful for a $700 cellphone.
Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Technique, agrees, noting that Motorola now has the gross sales quantity to help a three-product lineup.
“They’re additionally shifting up market with a real flagship mannequin that beats the competitors in each spec whereas nonetheless providing extra inexpensive options, creating the halo impact,” Sag tells me in an e mail.
That “true flagship mannequin” prices a whopping $1,299, which is a $300 premium over final 12 months’s Razr Plus 2024 and $200 greater than the already-expensive Galaxy Z Flip 6. It additionally prices the identical because the Galaxy S25 Extremely, regardless of providing considerably higher specs, together with extra RAM, elevated base storage, and quicker charging, amongst different benefits.
That is a fairly penny that would give some shoppers pause. Nonetheless, this is probably not as a lot of a deterrent as I initially thought it could be.
“I don’t assume will probably be a lot of an issue because the firm is providing a sliding scale of capabilities and for many who look after the specs, the Extremely is the proper mannequin,” Sag explains. “The Extremely could be very aggressive as a flagship, and I feel [it] will get the model quite a lot of consideration.”
Like Samsung, Motorola clearly needs you to purchase its premium providing, whereas nonetheless making it simple so that you can get an analogous expertise with two cheaper fashions based mostly on what you possibly can afford and what you need out of your cellphone. Even when meaning making meager adjustments with the Razr and Razr Plus.
Center little one syndrome
The Razr 2025 launched a couple of notable adjustments, together with a bigger battery and an up to date chipset. Nonetheless, the Razr Plus 2025 is basically the identical as final 12 months’s Plus mannequin by way of specs. Simply by taking a look at it, you’d assume they have been the identical cellphone (as a result of they nearly are).
This was the largest query mark for me with Razr’s new technique. We have undoubtedly complained about firms making only a few adjustments with their new telephones, and this kinda takes the cake. That is to not say it is not cellphone; I nonetheless love my Razr Plus 2024.
Motorola made positive to level out to me how this 2025 mannequin continues to be an improve from its predecessor.
“The important thing enhancements embrace the suite of recent Moto AI experiences, the redesigned titanium-reinforced hinge, the primary flip telephones with Pantone validated shade and pores and skin tones, and strong IP48 mud and underwater safety.”
That is not nothing, and the Pantone-enhanced show and cameras truly sound fairly good to me. Nonetheless, like Samsung’s Galaxy S Plus units, I fear that the brand new Razr Plus will fall into that very same awkward center little one state of affairs.
Sag says that whereas that is true to a lesser extent, “the Razr Plus is much extra differentiated from the Extremely than the Samsung fashions are.” Principally, for anybody who nonetheless need a flagship-esque expertise with out paying greater than $1,000, that is the cellphone for you.
However, Sag notes that Galaxy Plus telephones, such because the Galaxy S24 Plus, are in all probability a greater deal, as they sometimes make the most of the identical chipset as their Extremely counterparts, relatively than a much less highly effective model, which permits for value reductions in different areas.
Now it’s Samsung’s flip
Sag believes that Motorola’s new Razr 2025 sequence nonetheless affords nice worth in areas like China, and “particularly within the US market the place foldable competitors is weak.”
This provides me hope that Motorola might execute this three-product technique efficiently, leveraging its strengths as an organization that also is aware of how one can undercut the competitors whereas additionally proving it may possibly actually compete with the massive boys.
That is one thing I feel Samsung must emulate with its foldable telephones. Yearly, the corporate launches one large-screened foldable and a smaller flip cellphone, and each have achieved effectively for the corporate. Nonetheless, with final 12 months’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 value hike and the anticipated value enhance for the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung might want to proceed to supply choices which are inside attain for shoppers.
We’ve written about how Samsung must launch a Galaxy Z Flip FE, and we might lastly get one this 12 months, with Samsung rumored to make use of a much less highly effective chipset (amongst different adjustments) to attain a less expensive price ticket.
That’s undoubtedly a begin, and we might like to see one thing comparable with the Fold sequence, with an choice that prices a couple of hundred {dollars} much less to assist drive adoption. And identical to final 12 months’s Galaxy Z Fold Particular Version, the corporate may supply some sort of ultra-premium mannequin for each Flip and Fold units for the people who find themselves keen to spend extra on the most recent and biggest.
With foldables changing into extra mainstream, providing shoppers extra decisions appears like the most suitable choice for firms, particularly within the U.S., the place there are already so few when in comparison with different areas. So, the place Motorola is doing the sensible factor by emulating Samsung, Samsung and others have to observe swimsuit and provides us extra, and never restrict us to only one foldable mannequin a 12 months.