Motorola razr (2019) pre-orders are up, asking for $1,500 in Galaxy S season... good idea?

The Motorola razr (2019) has been a hotly anticipated phone — leaked throughout the year of 2019, we finally got to see it in November at an announcement and hands-on event. But, believe it or not, the phone we call razr (2019) was not, in fact, destined for launch in 2019... pre-orders have just went live and it will be shipping in mid-February, 2020.

What makes the Moto razr (2019) special? For one, it's the first foldable smartphone to fulfill the concept in a different way — it's not a phone-tablet hybrid. Instead, it's a clamshell smartphone, which mimics the look and feel of the very popular RAZR from the pre-smartphone era.

Also, it happens to be the first commercially-available smartphone that costs much less than $2,000.

Still, that price drop and form factor seemed to take their toll. Namely, the razr (2019) does not pack top-tier hardware, despite an asking price of $1,500. No, it's powered by an upper-midrange Snapdragon 710, 6 GB of RAM, and a measly 2,510 mAh battery. Plus, there's nothing fancy about the camera — a 16 MP main snapper on the back, 5 MP on the front.

So, for $1,510, you get an upper-midrange smartphone, which will probably be quite decent in terms of performance and camera quality — probably a device that'd cost about $500 - $600 if it weren't a clamshell.

There's no knocking it — the coolness factor is undeniable. But is it worth a $900 - $1,000 premium to you? Especially since we are about to see a whole new generation of Galaxy S flagships get released soon after?