A new version of the foldable Motorola Razr will be launched this year, according to the CEO of Chinese technology giant Lenovo
which now owns the brand.
The Razr is one of the brand’s most iconic mobile phones and was first launched by Motorola in 2004. It became one of the most popular flip phones of the 2000s.
Motorola revived the Razr brand in a new foldable form in 2020, becoming one of the first smartphone makers to launch a device with a bendable screen.
The Razr retains its folding feature. But instead of a hinge, like the original device, the screen can bend, allowing the phone to fold.
Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang told CNBC Wednesday in an interview at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, that reception to the Razr “is good” and that Motorola will launch the next version of the foldable phone “very soon.”
“I think it’s much better,” Yang said of the yet unlaunched device.
He provided very few details but said that improvements would focus on the hinge and the applications on the device. Smartphone makers from Samsung to Honor that have launched foldable phones have focused on the hinge to make sure it is robust and also does not produce a line in the screen of the device. Yang said this is where the next generation of Razr phone would see improvements.
Over the last few weeks, a number of players have launched foldable smartphones for the global market including Chinese vendors Honor and Oppo.
Foldable devices accounted for only 1.1% of total smartphone shipments in 2022, according to research firm IDC, and are only expected to increase to 2.8% in 2026. But they are seen by electronics makers as a way to push in to the higher end of the smartphone market.
Yang said that the prices of foldables are quite high at the moment but will reduce in the future which could make the market bigger.
“When the technology becomes mature, then the price could go down then you can drive higher volume,” the Lenovo CEO said.
Motorola is known for experimenting with different shapes of smartphones. At MWC, the company showed off a so-called “rollable” smartphone where the display rolls up, CNBC reports.
