The very first commercially available cell phone ever made was built by Motorola back
in 1983 and was called the Motorola DynaTAC 8000. It sold for $4000 dollars. Fast forward
40 years and now we have the Motorola Razr Plus, which sells for only $1000 dollars,
and it's what we'll be durability testing today. It does a few more things than the
original DynaTAC, including, but not limited to folding in half. Let's get started.
[Intro]
Whether you call it the Razer Plus or Razer 40 Ultra, this flexible phone comes with a massive
list of caveats for usage. Like don't remove any screen protectors. Clean out dirt before closing
the phone. And keep dust away. Basically it seems like Motorola would prefer users of the Razr to
tote the phone around on a velvet palanquin to prolong its fragile existence. We'll know
how many of these warnings we actually need to follow by the end of my testing.
At first glance, the Razer Plus looks and acts indistinguishably from the Samsung
Flip 9. As it nears its fully open unfolded stage, it springs to its 180 degree position
with the two exterior glass halves of the phone touching in the center,
which will hopefully give it an advantage during the bend test. If you remember,
the Pixel Fold's halves did not physically meet in the center and we all know how that turned out.
The internal crease of the phone gets bowed into a teardrop shape inside of the hinge so
the screen does not get pinched too drastically, and still satisfyingly snaps shut with no gaps
between the halves. The biggest change I think with this newest foldable from Motorola comes
with a large square 1 to 1, 3.6 inch, triple display on the outside. This display allows for
near full functionality of the phone without ever needing to flip it open. Personally,
I think that people who are less addicted to technology are genuinely happier than people
who are staring at their screens all day. And having a smaller screen would
help the feeble human brain better withstand the corporate algorithms,
attempting to liquefy our gray matter. I like having the addiction-reducing access on the front
while still being able to flip it open to a full size phone when it comes time to get work done.
Speaking of flipping it open, let's see what that inner screen is made from. We know that
plastic scratches at a level 2 or 3. And honestly, we don't even need to talk about the other numbers
since the Razer Phone Plus scratches at a level 2 with deeper grooves at a level 3. And yes,
there does appear to be an included plastic screen protector with a cutout around the 32 megapixel
front facing camera. But remember, this is the very screen protector
that Motorola says is non-removable. So it's not just protecting the screen,
it is the screen. Like we expect with all folding phones, the inner screen is super
soft and susceptible to damage. There is also a very thin grilless earpiece slit up at the top.
Flipping the phone shut and making our way to the exterior screen, which does look rather amazing,
we can work our way further up the numbers on Mohs scale of hardness to find that the
outer screen scratches at a level 6, with deeper grooves at a level 7...right where we'd expect
Gorilla Glass Victis to land. The exterior frame of the phone is made from 7000 series aluminum,
including each individual volume button, and the power button that doubles as a
fingerprint scanner. Instant thumbs up from me. The top of the Razer Plus is pretty bare.
And on the left side of the phone we have our removable SIM card tray but no expandable
storage. The bottom has our loudspeaker, microphone hole, and 30 watt USB-C port.
The
back panel's made up of a very, very textured piece of scratch resistant
Gorilla Glass Victis. So far I'm a pretty huge fan of the external aesthetics. However,
as we learned back on Sesame Street, sticks and stones are how we really break dones. Dust getting
inside the folding mechanism is a legitimate concern and something we should worry about,
especially with the landray list of warnings that Motorola gave us when we turned on the phone. The
Razer Plus does have an IP rating of 52 which means that we do have some protection against
dust, but almost no protection against water. But even with this hefty dosage of dirt so far,
there are no crazy grinding or catching noises to be heard. If we remember back to the original
folding Razr smartphone released a few years ago, it had one of the simplest hinges of all
time. So I imagine there aren't really a whole lot of gears inside to catch that dirt and we'll
have to see just how much really entered when it comes time to take the phone apart.
The fingerprint scanner, even with all its scratches, is able to set my thumbprint. And if
we add a whole lot more scratches it's still able to read and unlock the phone every single time,
even with the extra damage. Speaking of damage, the two large rear camera lenses, a 12 megapixel
normal camera, and 13 megapixel wide angle, both of which are protected by glass and aren't damaged
by my razor blade. Busting out our flame on this square 144 hertz exterior display which
creatively extends its pixels past the camera units, we're able to see that it lasts about
20 seconds under the heat from my lighter before the AMOLED panel burns white and does not recover.
Flipping the phone open to reveal the larger, 6.9 inch, 165 hertz LTPO flexible display,
we see that it only lasts about 6 seconds before going black and not recovering. The
plastic top layer is visibly deformed, and you know, if that's the only deformation
that happens during this durability test, I'll consider it a success. But judging by the fact
that the previous Razor Phone did not pass my bend test, I'm exceptionally nervous to
see how this Razr Plus performs. Bending the phone from the front by slamming it shut does
not seem to cause any damage, even with its dust slathered exteriors. But when bending
from the back to test the structural integrity of the hinge, something really strange happens.
Turns out the flexible screen is actually fine, but the non flexing exterior screen
is the thing that shatters into oblivion, which is extremely confusing. Why would this happen?
Not only is it shattered, but it's also caved in. There is a hollow void behind the screen
that succumbed to the pressure of my thumb and shattered inward, creating a thumb size concave
creator. Never have we ever been able to break a screen with a single finger. Judging by the
size of the void, I don't think it had as much to do with the force of me bending the phone
but more just with nothing being back there to support the glass. Glass is glass and without
proper support, it's just asking to become a thousand dollar single use fidget popper.
Even with the exterior screen shatter, the Razr still bends backwards quite a ways,
but the flexible screen locks out and does not crack or break on its own. The Razer Plus is
still functional – just a little damaged. (Aren't we all?) It'll be really interesting to see how
big that cavern is during the teardown. So hit that subscribe button if you don't want to miss
it. It's free – unlike my hobbies. Do you think we should consider the Razer Plus a fail and put it
on the Shelf of Shame? Or since it has a secondary backup screen inside should we let it pass? It's a
tough call. Let me know down in the comments. And thanks a ton for watching. I'll see you around.