- When you're locked in a brutal battle
with an intractable adversary, what do you do?
You play to your advantages.
Well, the biggest advantage Motorola's razor
has over the Samsung competition, besides nostalgia
is this large external display.
And with the update I'm about to show you,
it just got a whole lot more useful.
I'm Mr. Mobile and on this episode of "Into the Fold"
an exclusive first look at Android 10
for the Motorola razor.
A found that's pushing the boundaries of what you can do
with a foldable without even opening it.
(upbeat tech music)
So naturally, Android 10 coming to the razor
is just a good thing in general.
It takes it to software parity with Samsung's Galaxy Z flip.
It brings over the expected upgrades like gesture navigation
and dark mode and most importantly,
it demonstrates that Motorola's standing
behind its foldable.
For a company with frankly spottier reputation than most
when it comes to updates, following through on
this particular promise is reassuring.
This software also ports a few features
from Motorola's Edge+ flagship, but let's save those
for last because the biggest changes are out here.
Now, even with the software that was loaded at launch,
you could access a lot of functions
while the razor was closed.
Thanks to the familiar mode hold display.
Thankfully, that's still here and Motorola tells me
it has no plans to retire it,
but there's now a deeper layer waiting
when you unlock the phone.
Kind of miniature version of Android 10
that you control with gestures.
Swipe left to right and it's camera shortcut.
You can go back home with an up or a back swipe
and then, check out the other side.
A shortcut's panel,
where you can drop a few favorite contacts and with a tap,
call them on speakerphone.
Reminds me of back in the Nextel days
when I could make calls without opening my flip
because Motorola gave me the buttons
on the outside to do it.
A rare feature then and now.
Oh and there's also a dial pad if you just wanna punch
in the numbers yourself.
Of course, the primary function
of the outer display is notifications.
In the new paradigm, you swipe up
and you'll see them arranged in a prioritized list of cards.
Now, personally, I prefer the older Moto display
with its wire frame design language
and that neat trick it does were it detects
when you approach it.
It does this by using the speaker to blast out
an ultrasonic wave that you can't hear,
but the phone can hear and it also hears
when those sound waves bounce off your approaching hand.
It's really cool.
Anyway, Moto display isn't going anywhere
and I'm thankful for that.
But the new cards format might ease the learning curve
for those who haven't owned a Motorola phone before.
You know, instead of figuring out a whole new interface,
it's just like the notification shade
you're already used to.
And just like that main notification shade,
your media apps share space alongside your messages.
With cards to control playback.
And if you're taking an exercise walk,
turn-by-turn directions come up in their own card
that sits on top of the stack.
What if you get a message in the middle of all this?
Well, just hit reply and your keyboard pops up.
Complete with your own theme customizations and everything
to let you tap or swipe a response
without even opening the phone.
Now, you might be asking why anyone would want
to do all this stuff on a tiny 2.7 inch display,
when a big luxurious 6.2 inch panel
is just a wrist flick away and the answer comes
in three parts.
First is just plain efficiency.
Critics of folding phones point out
that they're not always easy to open with one hand.
And sure, they might have a point.
(phone slamming)
So the more you can do on the outside, the better.
The second reason is protection.
Folding displays in general are very fragile
and Motorola's particular implementation here
causes the panel to lift up slightly
when you open or close it.
Now the razor has a water repellent nano-coating
on its internal components, but I'm not eager to test it
in a rainstorm.
So again, the more you can get done out here
on the exterior display, the more situations you'll be able
to use the phone in.
And the third reason, battery life.
The razor's battery is quite small for a modern phone
and in my case, it typically dies after 12 hours
of heavy use instead of the 16 or 18 I've gotten used to.
The smaller and lower resolution outer screen
is more power efficient.
So using it instead of the big one can help.
Folks, you know, I always talk downsides if they're here
and yeah, some of this is a little undercooked.
For one thing, the new cards view doesn't,
yet show notifications from as many apps
as Moto display does.
Reminders, weather, even the razor's own housekeeping tips
just don't show up.
Other times, an app will create a card, but it doesn't give
you as much text or information as Moto display does
in the same instance.
I was able to talk to Motorola's engineers about this.
I mentioned it would be nice, for example,
to have calendar widgets on the outside display
or be able to send a text from it and they told me,
they're actively working on new features just like those.
They're also broadening that notification support
to include more apps.
Unfortunately, some things like not being able
to compose a reply from a Gmail notification.
Yeah, that's an Android restriction,
which Google would have to lift.
On the whole, even in its current state,
I think there's enough good here in the form
of added capability to offset those frustrations.
Now, if Moto display wasn't still here to fall back on,
I'd be annoyed with how much is still missing
and you can certainly make the point
that having two competing UI approaches on the screen
might confuse some users.
That's how I felt on day one, but now I'm actually glad
to see this kind of experimentation.
I mean, this is why I made this video,
an episode of "Into the Fold" instead
of just a hands-On or whatever.
Foldables are still the wild west of design
and it's great to see manufacturers exploring
how we interface with them.
Trying several approaches to see what works best.
If you're the type to say, well for $1,500,
I should have a perfect experience.
Hey, I'm not gonna say you're wrong, necessarily.
But also, you probably shouldn't buy a foldable phone
for a few generations and that's fine.
Speaking of "Into the Fold," let's zoom out
for the rest of this and fulfill part of our mission,
which is seeing how foldables, like the razor,
have evolved and aged since announcement.
Well first off, I know you're gonna ask so,
no, don't expect any miracles from the camera.
There have not been significant changes to the tuning here,
so while new features like Color Spot and Cut Out might
be fun on a better shooter, it continues to be just okay
on the razor.
Kind of like my quarantine hair.
I know, I miss my barber too.
Then there's wear and tear.
With all foldables, there's the omnipresent apprehension
of breakage and this phone is hardly an exception.
While Motorola is adamant that those durability issues
on the first round of review devices
were isolated instances, I'd be lying if I said
these creases didn't concern me a little.
And that's why I've been using the Galaxy's E flip
and Galaxy fold as much as I can for the past few months
and it's also why I postpone the long term review
of the ladder to episode three of "Into the Fold."
Guys, I just need a little more time with it
to really get a complete sense of how it's holding up.
For the same reason, I'm gonna mix the razor
into my daily rotation and use it just as often
as I can till Motorola takes it back.
So far, no...
Squeaky hinge, but keep asking me on social.
Subscribe on the Mr. Mobile, ask me in the comments.
I will never not want to talk about foldable phones,
so please, hit me up anytime.
Oh, this just in, I promised you more coverage
at the beginning of this video, so back to you, other me.
Thanks slick.
Yeah, I promised I'd touch on the new interface.
Motorola so-called My UX is more customizable now
and it's also plenty fast,
despite the razor's older processor.
I had been worried
about Android 10's edge swipe back gesture
feeling a little funky on the razor, but it doesn't.
The only speed bump is with the home gesture,
which the chin kind of interrupts until you figure it out.
Finally, let's talk about this blush gold, huh?
When I unboxed it, I thought it was gaudy AF,
but it's one of those colors that changes,
depending on the lighting.
Sometimes it's hammered copper.
Other times it's weirdly pinkish.
Other times, it's like a big hearty bar
of gold-pressed latinum.
Do I wish they'd just make the classic silver
from the 2004 razor?
Oh God, yes.
What are they thinking not doing that?
But this shade it does grow on you and there's always black
if you just wanna go stealthy about it.
Motorola tells me this update will hit razors
in the field by mid May.
In the US, the phone is still available, exclusively,
through Verizon and yeah, it's still $1,499.
A recent buy one get one offer made it much more attractive
for a limited time, but sadly,
that limited time ended yesterday.
Deals like that, of course seldom stick to singles,
so I'll keep an eye on it and let you know
on a future episode of "Into the Fold"
if another one comes calling.
Time for you to sound off, friends.
Does the new interface change your perception
of the razor or folding phones in general?
Did you take advantage of that BOGO offer?
If so, how's it going?
Let me know down in the comments.
This video was produced following six days
with a razor review sample, running a pre-release build
of Android 10 provided by Motorola.
I conducted two interviews with company engineers NPR people
for information and quotes, but the company did not provide
any compensation for this coverage and as always,
I never allow the subjects of that coverage to preview
or approve my content before I publish it.
That means they're seeing this for the first time,
right alongside you.
Please subscribe to the Mr. Mobile on YouTube
if you'd like to see more videos like this.
Until next time, thanks for watching, stay safe at home
for now, but in spirit, stay mobile my friends.