The Motorola Razr 2025 is a flip style Android powered smartphone. It has an Octa Core CPU, 8GB of memory, and a 256GB storage. As with all flip phones, the phone is about half the size of a normal phone when closed, and full size (6.9″) when open. This allows me to carry both the Motorola Razr 2025, and the iPhone at the same time – albeit in different pockets. The phone is using Assurance Wireless for the carrier. Assurance Wireless is a lifeline provider which provides free service for low income households, and therefore – I qualify. The Motorola Razr 2025 supports 1 nano-SIM, and 1 eSIM which means I can have 2 carriers, and 2 telephone numbers on this one phone. And as with my personal policy, I will never buy a locked phone from the carrier.
While I am not replacing the iPhone with the Motorola Razr 2025, I am complimenting it. The reason for the Motorola Razr 2025 is to run Android apps that do not have a comparable iOS app, and yes – I came across at least 1 app that met this parameter. Since the app needs a data connection, I have acquired Assurance Wireless with this service while still keeping my regular cellular number. As for the superficial things, I would have preferred a black Motorola Razr 2025, but I choose the most conservative color I can pick. I bought the Motorola Razr 2025 from Motorola’s website for $700 + taxes for a total of about $750.
The Good
There are a few things that are good about the phone. First, there is the nano-SIM which was needed in my situation. The second is it is compact for its size, and the third is its responsiveness. While I only had a few days with the phone, I was able to make and receive a phone call. This in turn assures that not only my service works, but so does the phone itself.
While having a nano-SIM might seem like a step backwards technology wise, there are still carriers that do not support eSIM. Therefore, if you want to use that particular carrier, you must have a SIM slot. Thankfully, most phones I came across while studying for the best option, it will seem as if most Android phones support a nano-SIM, and a eSIM making the phone a dual SIM phone. By being dual SIM, I can have 2 carriers on the phone, and therefore 2 phone numbers. Needless to say, I only need one.
When unfolded, the screen is 6.9″. When folded, it is a bit smaller. The phone has an external “cover” screen which shows notification, and other bits of information when the phone is closed. If I happen to be using an app on the cover screen, and open the phone – then it would bring up the app forefront on the screen therefore reducing the friction of having to reopen the app in the main screen. This makes the phone much easier to carry even when compared to my iPhone which is a constant 6.9″ screen that does not fold. Yes, I will consider buying a flip iPhone!
The last thing is its responsiveness. The fingerprint reader is in the side button which also functions for the Gemeni AI. The phone simply does whatever I thrown at it, and while I am not a gamer, I hadn’t noticed any hiccups. Even with my iPhone that is nearly 3 years old – there are a few hiccups. One of the reasons for this could be attributed to the lack of bloatware on the phone. If you want Facebook, you have to go the Google Play Store, find Facebook, and install it. This lack of bloatware definitely goes a long way in performance.
The Bad
Motorola hasn’t had the best of luck to OS updates. Motorola is promising 3-4 years of OS and security updates. This is a little low for my preference as I typically like to keep my phones for a long time, and will not use a phone 2 versions old. For $700USD, this is pretty disappointing.
I would have liked a micro-SD card for my Razr. While 256GB is a good bit in storage, I am wondering if I will have that capacity in a few years. While my iPhone’s 128GB storage has been holding up, I am imagining that the Android OS will be more bloated to cater to the various device configurations. My friend has a $200 phone with a micro-SD card support for up to 1TB, and the phone’s storage is 128GB. This means a $200 phone can essentially have more storage for personal files than my $750 phone.
The Ugly
It is going to take me some time adjusting to using an Android phone. I am committed to this though. And yes, this means I carry 2 phones with me nowadays. Still, it is not Motorola’s fault that I am likely to be rusty on Android, so obviously – they get a pass here.
There are 2 exterior camera. Most phones in the $700 price range has 3 cameras. I don’t consider this as a negative since I don’t take pictures enough to care, but I am sure this might be a consequence for someone that does take a lot of pictures.
The color is fine. It is a very dark blue color which is OK, although I would have preferred black. This is fine as I will eventually get a case for my phone when I am finished paying the Motorola Razr 2025 off. This will likely be in a few months.
Conclusion
If you are a fan of flip phones, then you can’t go wrong with the Motorola Razr 2025. At least this is my opinion. It’s not a powerhouse, but considering there is a flip tax where flip phones are just much more expensive than a similar spec candy bar style phone, this is a reasonable price for the features you get. It has a Mediatek CPU which hasn’t been known for intensive games, but I am sure you can play some games on the phone.