Leaked images of the RAZR (2022) suggest a U.S. release is likely
Motorola made some big changes to the specs of the foldable RAZR (2022) this year giving the device more of a flagship feel. By doing this, it also made the RAZR (2022) more competitive with Samsung's own clamshell foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip 4. And considering that the Galaxy Z Flip 3 was the most popular foldable phone in the world last year, Motorola believes it has a shot at grabbing some significant business away from Sammy.
However, up until now, there wasn't any sign that Motorola planned on releasing the RAZR (2022) in the U.S. as strange as that seems. The phone has already been released in China and while Motorola is usually unabashedly loud when it comes to making some announcements (such as telling us that the Chicago Bulls NBA team will have the Moto batwings logo on its jerseys this year), it has been uncharacteristically quiet about releasing the new RAZR (2022) in the states.
Will Motorola release its flagship-spec'd Motorola RAZR (2022) in the U.S?
Why would Motorola decide against releasing a flagship version of the RAZR in the states? It really doesn't make sense. And in fact, images posted by Hall of Fame tipster Evan Blass seem to reveal that the RAZR (2022) will indeed be coming to the U.S. Blass put up marketing images of the RAZR on his Twitter page and it showed messages on the screen written in English (not Chinese, or German, or French).
The redesigned Motorola RAZR 2022 might be coming to the U.S.
There are some things in the images disseminated by Evan that aren't exactly indicative of a U.S. release for the RAZR (2022). For example, the WhatsApp messaging interface is clearly seen in one of the images and the app is not as widely used in the states as it is throughout India, Brazil, and Indonesia. But still, the U.S. is the fourth most popular market for WhatsApp so we can't make any decision about a U.S. release for Motorola's latest foldable based on this one photo alone.
The Motorola RAZR (2022) is getting a huge boost under the hood where the Snapdragon 765G mid-range chipset is being replaced with the powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. Configuration options include 8GB of memory with 128GB of storage, 8GB of memory with 256GB of storage, and 12GB of memory with 512GB of storage. The new models will use faster LPDDR5 RAM compared with the LPDDR4 used on the predecessor. 5G support is expected.
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 20, 2022
The display, when opened, now measures a flagship-sized 6.7-inch of P-OLED with a resolution of 1080 x 2400, and a tall and thin 20:9 aspect ratio. The RAZR (2020) featured a smaller 6.2-inch display with a less impressive resolution of 876 x 2142. The external Quick View display continues to weigh in at 2.7-inches, but the battery capacity is getting a huge leap from 2800mAh to 3500mAh.
Motorola is the third most popular smartphone brand in the United States
The camera array has also been improved. The Motorola RAZR (2020) comes with a 48MP camera sensor and a 20MP front-facing camera sensor. The new RAZR (2022) has a dual-camera setup in the back with a 50MP primary camera, and a 13MP ultra-wide-angle and Macro camera. There is a 32MP front-facing selfie camera that will shoot slow-motion videos. We should also point out that the device has been redesigned with the removal of the chin which was a much-needed change for the new RAZR (2022).
For those U.S. Motorola fans, hopefully, what Blass has discovered is a sign that the RAZR (2022) will be made available in the U.S. After all, Motorola has been red hot in the U.S. where it is now the third most popular smartphone vendor after Apple and Samsung. Some of that is due to the departure of LG from the smartphone industry, but Motorola has made a stunning turnaround and has become relevant once again in the smartphone industry.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: