The Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 is a great phone, but keep your eyes off the price tag

Motorola’s latest and best flip phone, the Razr Ultra 2026, is finally here — but it comes bearing a price tag that’ll leave you double-checking your numbers. It’s no secret that the crunch for AI processing power is straining the entire tech industry, leading to component shortages and rising prices across the board. With that context in mind, then, Razr Ultra 2026’s new $1,500 sticker price makes sense. After using the flagship Razr Ultra 2026 for over a week, minimal upgrades and a $200 price hike compared to the Razr 2025 model prove to be a combination that’s hard to forgive.

The hardware inside is still rock solid. It has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset we saw last year, and it can run circles around the Exynos chip inside Samsung’s competing Galaxy Z Flip 7. Throw in a new 50MP primary shooter with LOFIC sensor technology and a 5,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, and it’s clear the Razr Ultra 2026 is once again the cream of the crop of flip phones. I just can’t get over the exorbitant price point. If you’re intrigued by this year’s flagship Motorola clamshell foldable, my advice is to go with the 2025 model instead or wait for the 2026 model to receive discounts.

Here’s everything I learned testing the Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 against some of the best Android foldables on the market.

Motorola sent us the Razr Ultra 2026 for review. It had no input on the contents of this article, and didn’t see it before publishing.

7/10

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

RAM

16GB

Storage

512GB

The Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 is the brand’s highest-end flip phone, sporting a 7-inch main screen and a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. It has a triple 50MP camera system with a main and ultrawide sensor on the rear, plus a selfie camera on the inside. Plus, this phone offers a 5,000mAh battery with 68W wired charging.

Pros & Cons

• New 50MP LOFIC main camera sensor
• Silicon-carbon tech delivers 5,000mAh battery in same footprint
• Still fast thanks to Snapdragon 8 Elite

• Not any thinner or lighter than last year’s model
• No significant chipset or display upgrades
• Prohibitively expensive at $1,500

Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 pricing and availability

The Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 is officially available for purchase as of May 21, 2026. The smartphone is available on Motorola’s website and from partner retailers like Best Buy and Amazon, starting at $1,499.99. Interestingly, the Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 isn’t available at cellular carriers. This could push buyers interested in Razr flip phones to opt for the base or Plus models instead, which you can get from a carrier.

For a limited time, if you buy the Razr Ultra 2026 from Motorola, you’ll get a free set of Moto Buds 2 Plus and a free four-pack of Moto Tags thrown in. You can also save $400 with the trade-in of an eligible device.

The Razr Ultra 2026 copies the 2025 model’s design

It’s not any thinner or later, making the Galaxy Z Flip 7 look better

If you’ve held the Motorola Razr 2025 before, you’ll know exactly what to expect from the Razr Ultra 2026. There aren’t many design changes here, to the point that the Razr Ultra 2026’s 15.7mm thickness when shut and 199-gram weight are both identical to its predecessor. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that this is slightly a bummer — the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 feels sleeker and modern with flat sides, a thinner 13.7mm profile, and a weight that’s 11 grams lighter. One redeeming Razr Ultra 2026 quality is its Pantone colorways, as both the bluish-purple Alcantara fabric and the dark wood finishes look incredibly sharp.

The two minor design changes to speak of are related to the cover screen and rear camera lenses. The lens covers themselves stick out a bit more and have a textured, sharper surrounding finish. Additionally, the cover glass is now Gorilla Glass Ceramic, which should better protect the external screen against scratches and cracks.

Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf

As for overall durability, there’s a titanium hinge assembly that makes the Razr Ultra 2026 feel satisfying to fold and unfold. The smartphone is safeguarded with IP48 dust- and water-resistance, so you don’t have to worry too much about splashes and debris. That said, the Razr Ultra 2026 isn’t completely dustproof like the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, so keep this in mind.

The bottom of the handset features a physical SIM card slot and a USB-C port for 68W wired fast charging. When unfolded, you’ll find the power and volume buttons on the right side of the phone, and an AI key on the left. Unfortunately, this dedicated AI button only works with Moto AI features. It’d be nice if I could remap it to activate Gemini, but instead, I can only choose between using it for Moto AI or disabling it entirely.

These are still the most capable flip phone displays

In terms of quality and software capabilities, the Razr Ultra 2026 shines

Cover screens on flip phones are spacious enough that running any Android app on them is a breeze. Motorola’s Android 16 skin is superb here, and new Google features like Live Updates are finally supported on the Razr Ultra 2026’s cover screen. You won’t find some of the artificial guardrails on Motorola’s flip phones that you’ll find on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 7 or Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE. Any app “just works” without unfolding the device, and you don’t even have to think about it. I often found myself killing time by sending messages, checking my email, and even browsing the web — all on that relatively small cover screen.

It certainly helps that the display technology on both the cover screen and main folding display is excellent. Both are AMOLED LTPO panels with support for up to 165Hz refresh rates, offering responsiveness beyond what we typically see from 120Hz flagships. The cover screen is a 4-inch panel with 3,000 nits of peak brightness, while the primary display is a 7-inch panel with 5,000 nits of peak brightness. You also get HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and Pantone-validated colors to make the screens really pop.

The display crease is easy to forget about, and the 22:9 aspect ratio makes the Razr Ultra 2026 feel like a normal phone when unfolded.

Next-gen camera tech on a foldable? Sign me up

A new LOFIC primary shooter completes a trio of 50MP cameras

Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf

At first glance, it might seem like Motorola didn’t change much about the Razr Ultra 2026 camera system, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, the Razr Ultra 2026 sports a trio of 50MP cameras, just like the Razr Ultra 2025. However, the old primary shooter has been swapped for a brand-new one, and it’s using next-generation Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor (LOFIC) sensor technology. It’s still a 50MP shooter with an f/1.8 aperture, but this new sensor technology allows the Razr Ultra 2026’s main camera to capture more light, delivering more consistent colors and brightness — even in challenging conditions.

I took a bunch of snaps with the Razr Ultra 2026 throughout my review period, and came away impressed with Motorola’s color science. There is a vibrant pop to the colors in these photos, but they look too oversaturated. The colors and brightness appear consistent throughout all parts of the images, solving a gripe I’ve had with previous Motorola cameras. Some models, including the base Razr 2026, tend to overemphasize high dynamic range in certain areas of a photo, leaving others dim. This wasn’t an issue on the Razr Ultra 2026.

The secondary camera is a 50MP ultrawide lens with a 122-degree field of view, and it’s great for wide shots. The inside houses a 50MP front-facing camera, but I like to use the cover screen and primary camera to take selfies on foldables like the Razr Ultra 2026 for the best results.

It’s still fast, but now longer lasting

Motorola didn’t upgrade the chip — the battery is another story

Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf

The biggest criticism of the Razr Ultra 2026 will probably be the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite that’s carried over from the Razr Ultra 2025 model. Trust me, I get it — seeing the same chip as last year’s phone on a new one that’s $200 more expensive is sure to sting. However, I don’t think it’s too much of an issue here. On one hand, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip is plenty powerful. On the other, flip phones are so thermally constrained that even the Snapdragon 8 Elite here can overheat and throttle, and a newer Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 mobile platform would only make things worse.

This 3nm chip is paired with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage, and it performs about how you’d expect in the Razr Ultra 2026. This phone consistently outdoes the Exynos chip inside the Galaxy Z Flip 7 in most tasks, with the occasional AI and graphics-heavy workflow tripping the Motorola phone up. The Samsung foldable is definitely more efficient and has a better thermal profile. I tried running the 3DMark Steel Nomad Light Stress Test on both phones, and only the Samsung flip phone finished it without posting an overheating warning.

Silicon-carbon battery technology hasn’t made its way to the U.S. like many enthusiasts would’ve hoped, but Motorola is starting to change that. The Razr Ultra 2026 has a 5,000mAh silicon-carbon battery that adds 300mAh of capacity without increasing the thickness or weight of the device. It’s an impressive feat, especially when you consider that this is the same battery capacity of the larger, non-folding Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. The 68W wired and 30W wireless charging is just the icing on the cake — this is a flip phone with zero battery compromises.

Should you buy the Motorola Razr Ultra 2026?

You should buy the Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 if:

• You have $1,500 to spend and want a Moto foldable with three years of Android OS upgrade support
• You want Motorola freebies like Moto Buds 2 Plus and Moto Tags to sweeten the deal
• You can’t wait a few months to see if Razr Ultra 2026 discounts arrive

You should NOT buy the Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 if:

• You’d rather buy the Razr Ultra 2025 at less than half the price
• You want to wait for the Galaxy Z Flip 8 before deciding on a flip phone
• You need to see major deals before buying the Razr Ultra 2026

The Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 is a classic case of a good phone at an unfortunate price. Last year, Motorola proved that flip phones don’t have to come with major compromises compared to their flagship and big-screen foldable counterparts. This year’s revision, with an even better main camera sensor and a larger silicon-carbon battery, is a worthy follow-up. At $1,500 and with no carrier discounts available, the Razr Ultra 2026 is simply a non-starter. However, if post-launch discounts shave a few hundred dollars off the sticker price, this foldable becomes seriously tempting.

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

RAM

16GB

Storage

512GB

Battery

5,000mAh

Release date

May 21, 2026

Operating System

Android 16

The Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 is a fine phone, but minimal upgrades paired with a $200 price hike make for a poor value proposition. If you’re interested in this model, consider the Razr Ultra 2025 instead, or wait for discounts to hit the 2026 model.