Motorola may reboot its vintage flip phone in 2019
New details emerge about the foldable, dual screen phone that could be the next Razr.
- Coauthor of Uninvested (Random House, 2015)
The celebrated Razr may return -- with a foldable display -- this summer.
The rumored Motorola Razr resurrection may take 2019's red-hot foldable phone trend in a new direction, XDA Developers reports. Taking a decidedly different tack than Samsung's Galaxy Fold or Huawei's Mate X, Motorola's foldable phone is said to resemble the iconic Razr but with a new interior folding display in addition to a smaller exterior screen.
The phone's interior display, which can be used to trigger the camera and display up to six "Quick Settings" tiles, will also double as a trackpad that can be used to navigate web pages in Google Chrome, according to the report. The exterior display will feature Google Assistant animations and, possibly, notifications, media controls and a clock.
Read more: All of the foldable phones that are coming
The Wall Street Journal first reported that Motorola would revive the Razr brand with a new $1,500 device launching on the Verizon network in the US. A patent filing with the World Intellectual Property Organization, discovered by blog 91Mobiles and then reported by The Verge, includes illustrations of what could be the forthcoming Razr phone.
Images from a design patent filed by Motorola in 2017. The filing went public in December.
Motorola, a division of Lenovo, plans to unveil the foldable smartphone this summer, a person familiar with the company's plans told CNET.
The Galaxy Fold will launch in the US on AT&T and T-Mobile starting April 26 for $1,980 (roughly £1,500 or AU$2,800). Huawei is expected to release the Mate X -- though probably not in the US -- sometime this summer starting at 2,300 euros (approximately $2,600, £2,000 or AU$3,660).
