Motorola's New Razr Proves That Flip Phones Can Be Cool in 2019
It's 2006. You're about to get your first cell phone—your parents either finally acquiesced to your incessant begging, or you saved up the money yourself. And the coolest thing on the market is the Motorola Razr, the flat, folding hunk of metal whose hinge you will put to the test by constant flipping it open and snapping it closed, until finally you graduate to one of those piece-of-shit sliding-screen phones and eventually a legit smartphone, years later. 2006, man. A hell of a time for technology.
And because everything old is new again, the Motorola Razr is reincarnated in 2019 as a folding, flipping smartphone with two screens—one on the front, displayed when the phone is folded, and one that encompasses the entire inside of the phone. As if an iPhone folded down onto itself, hamburger style. As if that ridiculous Samsung Galaxy Fold released earlier this fall wasn't ridiculous, and also didn't have a huge, fragile-feeling crease.
Motorola officially revealed the long-rumored, all-new 2019 Razr, an Android device (bummer for Apple enthusiasts) with a 6.2-inch inner OLED display and a 2.7-inch outer OLED display, on Wednesday. The front screen lets you navigate through your notifications, skip through playlists, and take photos, while the inside has all the smartphone Android screen stuff, plus another camera. Motorola says that the Razr's screen is durable and scuff resistant, and its hinge looks to be very similar to the OG. It does not have a T9 keypad (bummer for all predictive text enthusiasts). But. If you turn on a "retro" mode, the inner screen will mimic the look of the old-school Razr, circular dial and all.
Ironically, this nostalgia-baiting flip phone is the newest, most inventive phone design that's been mass marketed in the States in quite a long time. Because it isn't just another iPhone. Because it doesn't take up more space to get that folding screen in there, like absolutely gigantic folding phones of late; it takes up less. It'll fit in a pocket. It'll fit in your palm. You will quite easily be able to do that thing where you one-handedly wrist-flip it up in the air and catch it again, repeatedly, mindlessly, while you try to accomplish things at work. (Motorola debuted the first Razr in 2004 and the previous Droid Razr in 2011.)
To relive 2006, you'll need $1,500, and you'll need to wait until January for the release; there's a registration list open now. In the meantime, there are in-depth reviews to be read and difficult conversations with your iPhone to be had. Just know that if you get your hands on one, you'll finally be able to end a call in the year of our lord 2020 by snapping your phone closed. Nothing's more important than that.
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