REVIEW: After missing out on the flip phone craze by a few years, this Gen Z gal finally got to experience the satisfying snap with a high-tech twist.
Let’s be real, we’ve all watched movies from the early 2000s and thought about how cool it would be to own a flip phone. I got to experience it a little as a kid, but never had the chance to own one myself.
That’s why, when Motorola reached out to me to test their new Razr 50 Ultra flip phone, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see this modern version in a whole new era of my life.
I was prepared for the excruciating headache of transferring from an iPhone to an Android, but much to my surprise, with a little help from my at-home IT man – AKA the boyf – I was away laughing. We downloaded an app and let the tech do its thing.
Being an iPhone girl through and through, I was extremely sceptical about all the hype the Razr had been getting online, especially regarding its camera. So, once I had Instagram and TikTok downloaded, I simply had to do a side-by-side comparison, with my insanely handsome model - my puppy Archie.
For the first test, I set up both phones in a dark room – super riveting stuff, I know. This really showed just how good the camera quality was in night mode. The comparison with the iPhone 15 was tricky because they both had their pros and cons.
The iPhone appeared brighter, making things more visible, but the images were VERY grainy. It was hard to make out any features, and the outlines of objects were quite blurred - not great for the Insta aesthetics.
The Razr camera has a 50 MP high-res main camera, so, it was no surprise when the photos taken on the Razr came out crisp. Compared to the iPhone, the pictures taken in the dark were much sharper – the details were visible, and the overall quality was a lot better.
My next test was a selfie, obvs! I was so excited to try it out in its own “tripod” mode. The external display made it way easier to snap the perfect group selfie because you could actually see what was in the frame, and not guestimate like we did back in the day. Plus, you could share, delete, or favourite images and videos instantly, which overall made it easier to sift through those unusable shots without taking up too much time or precious storage space.
The external display is pretty wild, too. What do you mean I can do basically everything from such a small screen?! Us Gen Z’s are stereotyped to be lazy, so I love that they've made it possible to remove a whole step of opening the phone to reply to someone.
Of course, you can use it for the basics like changing songs or reading a message quickly. But I loved using it to open and reply to messages on all of the different apps, especially Snapchat - I’m guilty of leaving those unread for daysss.
It was also fabulous for pulling up directions without having to fully open the phone. The boyf and I use maps every morning to check the traffic on our way to work, so this made it a lot more efficient, since we already knew the route.
With all the cool features on the external display, it reminds me of an iPod Nano, but a lot smarter, which really suits the whole vibe of this phone.
I, myself, love cooking, but with the cost of living, I try to get as much out of a grocery shop as I can. So, I used the inbuilt Gemini App2 to give me some inspo using AI and the ingredients I already had in the fridge.
Within seconds of telling my phone I had steak, prawns and green beans in the freezer, I was preparing a gorgeous and bloody delish surf and turf!
I find that, generally, new phones are getting bigger and bigger. I'm a small handed gal, so the bigger the phone, the clunkier they are to hold, and run the risk of the terrifying drop. It’s especially difficult when I’m setting out for a run and try to pop my phone somewhere where it won't get in the way.
While the Razr 50 measures at just over 17 cm, I really enjoyed being able to snap it shut to about 10cm and have it seem so discreet. I also loved clipping it over my jeans to really channel the whole Y2K look.
I never thought my head would be turned from my good ol’ iPhone, but with the insanely good camera, the ease of flipping and folding away and all of the other benefits, it’s safe to say I would now be open to the idea of securing a spot as a Motorola girly.
Now, I’m off to end every conversation by sassily closing my phone, I’m obsessed.
