Motorola Razr Fold vs Samsung Galaxy S25+ | TechTalkTown
Motorola Razr Fold vs Samsung Galaxy S25+
Motorola Razr Fold
Motorola
8.3
Best US book foldable, big battery
Samsung Galaxy S25+
Samsung
8
The unflashy choice that's right for most
Motorola Razr Fold
What Reviewers Agree On
Best battery life of any notebook-style foldable — roughly 14h31m (16h10m optimized), far ahead of the Galaxy Z Fold 7's ~10h44m
DxOMark's #1 foldable camera (≈164 points, ~8th overall), with a triple 50MP system Motorola made a genuine strength
Standout software — multitasking, laptop mode and a Pixel-meets-Samsung balance reviewers repeatedly praise
Excellent, very bright displays — an 8.1-inch ~6,200-nit inner panel and a 165Hz ~6,000-nit outer screen
Active stylus support (Moto Pen Ultra) that works even on the cover screen, a Z Fold limitation
Pros & Cons
Motorola Razr Fold
Pros
Best battery life of any notebook-style foldable — roughly 14h31m (16h10m optimized), far ahead of the Galaxy Z Fold 7's ~10h44m
DxOMark's #1 foldable camera (≈164 points, ~8th overall), with a triple 50MP system Motorola made a genuine strength
Standout software — multitasking, laptop mode and a Pixel-meets-Samsung balance reviewers repeatedly praise
Excellent, very bright displays — an 8.1-inch ~6,200-nit inner panel and a 165Hz ~6,000-nit outer screen
Active stylus support (Moto Pen Ultra) that works even on the cover screen, a Z Fold limitation
Detailed Comparison
Design & Build
Motorola Razr Fold
Motorola's first book-style foldable trades the iconic flip for a Samsung-like book form, with a Material Expressive look, a flat-folding hinge and a notably heavy body.
Motorola's first book-style folding phone is a premium option, not the budget-friendlier alternative the category could use, with a 6,000mAh battery, top-tier chipset and serious camera hardware.
At 243g it's about 28g heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, largely because of the camera array, though it feels balanced and not heavy in the hand.
The design is Google Material Expressive instead of a misguided attempt to match Apple.
Motorola leveraged decades of hinge engineering to pull the screen taut, resulting in a surface that is startlingly flat and masks the crease.
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Undercuts the Galaxy Z Fold 7 by about $100 ($1,899 / £1,799) and includes a case plus a 90W charger in the box
Best book foldable you can actually buy in the US, since the Oppo Find N6 and Honor Magic V6 aren't sold there
Deal Breakers
Uses the non-Elite Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 in a $1,899 flagship — a clear cost-down some reviewers find disappointing
Heavy at 243g (≈28g more than the Galaxy Z Fold 7) and only IP48/IP49 rated, not full IP68
Motorola's poor track record for timely updates, plus a genuine source conflict over whether it gets 7 years or only 3 years of OS updates
Foldable repair costs and Motorola's screen-peeling warranty history are recurring trust concerns
Samsung Galaxy S25+
What Reviewers Agree On
The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy delivers fast, fluid performance with noticeably better thermals than the S24+ — gaming sessions don't stutter and the phone stays cooler under load.
The 6.7-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X with 120Hz and 2,600-nit peak brightness is one of the best displays on any smartphone, full stop.
Battery life on the unchanged 4,900 mAh cell easily lasts a full day, with most reviewers ending around 25-40% remaining.
Samsung's seven years of OS upgrades and security patches is a best-in-industry commitment that justifies the long-term investment.
One UI 7 is Samsung's most polished software ever — the split Quick Settings/notifications shade, snappy animations and Circle to Search are genuine improvements.
Build quality is excellent and the body is meaningfully slimmer (7.3mm) and lighter (190g) than the S24+ despite identical screen size.
At $999 it's $300 cheaper than the S25 Ultra while sharing the chip, RAM, display tech, AI features and update window — it's the value pick of the S25 lineup if you want a big phone.
Deal Breakers
The camera hardware is entirely carried over from the S24+ (and S23+) — same 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x telephoto — and now lags rivals like the OnePlus 13 and Pixel 9 Pro that ship 50MP ultrawides and 5x periscope tele lenses at the same price.
Qi2 wireless charging is 'Qi2 Ready' only — the phone has no built-in magnets, so MagSafe-style accessories require buying a separate magnetic case, and third-party cases are hit-or-miss.
Galaxy AI features are guaranteed free only through the end of 2025, with Samsung hinting at a future paid tier and refusing to commit to pricing.
Virtually nothing has changed externally from the S24+ — same shape, same camera island layout, even the same colors-of-the-year feel. Reviewers from The Verge, Wired, Trusted Reviews and 9to5Google all note this directly.
The 3x optical telephoto is a clear weak spot at $1,000 — rivals at the same price now offer 5x periscope cameras that capture noticeably more detail at longer zoom ranges.
Undercuts the Galaxy Z Fold 7 by about $100 ($1,899 / £1,799) and includes a case plus a 90W charger in the box
Best book foldable you can actually buy in the US, since the Oppo Find N6 and Honor Magic V6 aren't sold there
Cons
Uses the non-Elite Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 in a $1,899 flagship — a clear cost-down some reviewers find disappointing
Heavy at 243g (≈28g more than the Galaxy Z Fold 7) and only IP48/IP49 rated, not full IP68
Motorola's poor track record for timely updates, plus a genuine source conflict over whether it gets 7 years or only 3 years of OS updates
Foldable repair costs and Motorola's screen-peeling warranty history are recurring trust concerns
Samsung Galaxy S25+
Pros
The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy delivers fast, fluid performance with noticeably better thermals than the S24+ — gaming sessions don't stutter and the phone stays cooler under load.
The 6.7-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X with 120Hz and 2,600-nit peak brightness is one of the best displays on any smartphone, full stop.
Battery life on the unchanged 4,900 mAh cell easily lasts a full day, with most reviewers ending around 25-40% remaining.
Samsung's seven years of OS upgrades and security patches is a best-in-industry commitment that justifies the long-term investment.
One UI 7 is Samsung's most polished software ever — the split Quick Settings/notifications shade, snappy animations and Circle to Search are genuine improvements.
Build quality is excellent and the body is meaningfully slimmer (7.3mm) and lighter (190g) than the S24+ despite identical screen size.
At $999 it's $300 cheaper than the S25 Ultra while sharing the chip, RAM, display tech, AI features and update window — it's the value pick of the S25 lineup if you want a big phone.
Cons
The camera hardware is entirely carried over from the S24+ (and S23+) — same 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x telephoto — and now lags rivals like the OnePlus 13 and Pixel 9 Pro that ship 50MP ultrawides and 5x periscope tele lenses at the same price.
Qi2 wireless charging is 'Qi2 Ready' only — the phone has no built-in magnets, so MagSafe-style accessories require buying a separate magnetic case, and third-party cases are hit-or-miss.
Galaxy AI features are guaranteed free only through the end of 2025, with Samsung hinting at a future paid tier and refusing to commit to pricing.
Virtually nothing has changed externally from the S24+ — same shape, same camera island layout, even the same colors-of-the-year feel. Reviewers from The Verge, Wired, Trusted Reviews and 9to5Google all note this directly.
The 3x optical telephoto is a clear weak spot at $1,000 — rivals at the same price now offer 5x periscope cameras that capture noticeably more detail at longer zoom ranges.
The build feels relatively sturdy with a zero-gap hinge and flush closure, though the soft inner screen still makes dust and dirt a concern.
Samsung Galaxy S25+
Samsung slimmed the S25+ to 7.3mm and dropped 6-7g in weight versus the S24+, but otherwise the design is unchanged — same flat aluminum frame, same Gorilla Glass Victus 2 front and back, same IP68 rating, same camera island. Reviewers split between 'this is fine, the design didn't need fixing' and 'this is the S24s.' Notably, the S25+ does not get the Ultra's titanium frame or Gorilla Armor 2 anti-reflective glass.
The design is basically the same as last go-around — flat edges, curved corners and Samsung's signature stoplight rear camera arrangement, with the flat edges making the phone feel more secure in hand.
Both S25 and S25+ are 0.4mm thinner than their predecessors — the slimmest Galaxy phones in nearly a decade barring foldables.
Comparing to the OnePlus 13 and Pixel 9 Pro XL, the Galaxy S25 Plus definitely feels like the slimmest device — slim 7.3mm chassis with weight dropping to 190g.
The Galaxy S25 Plus looks like the Galaxy S24 Plus and the other Plus phones that came before — Samsung is hoping sleek new colors help it stand out.
Within two days of using the Navy color, the glass back gathered scratches — durability of the glass is questionable.
Samsung has reached the design that's the least offensive to anyone and looks the most modern — the design is sound and looks good even if it isn't exciting.
Build quality is impeccable — the smartphone is nice and light in your hands and has a very high-quality feel to it.
From the outside these phones are almost indistinguishable from the last ones — this is a Galaxy S 24s, a spec bump with the same design.
The S25 Plus doesn't get the Ultra's Gorilla Armor 2 glass — it's not as tough and doesn't have the same anti-reflective properties, but overall still feels premium.
The Coral Red online-exclusive color is the standout this year — back is a bright matte red with darker blood-red edges, a contrast you don't get on the standard colors.
Battery & Charging
Motorola Razr Fold
The standout: the largest battery in the book-foldable space delivering class-leading endurance, plus 80W wired charging — three times faster than the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Lasting an impressive 14 hours 31 minutes, the Razr Fold is officially the best notebook-style foldable for battery life (16h10m with refresh-rate optimized).
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 managed only 10h44m in the same test, with a 4,400mAh battery versus the Razr Fold's 6,000mAh cell.
I found the battery basically impossible to kill in a single day, even with the Fold's hotspot supplying an entire office internet connection over 12 days.
It charges at 80W wired — over three times as fast as the Galaxy Z Fold 7's 25W — plus 50W wireless and 5W reverse, with a 90W charger and a case included in the box.
The 6,000mAh cell is colossal — about 20% larger than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold's — though there's also more display to power.
If you use the camera a lot or run games, the battery does drain quite quickly and you may need an afternoon top-up.
Samsung Galaxy S25+
Same 4,900 mAh cell as the S24+, same 45W wired and 15W wireless charging caps. The more efficient Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy pushes real-world endurance comfortably to a full day with 25-40% remaining. Real charge time is ~75 minutes wall-to-100% on a 65W charger. The Qi2 Ready implementation without built-in magnets is the consistent frustration, and reviewers note that OnePlus 13's silicon-carbon battery and ~40-minute full charge time make Samsung look complacent here.
The 4,900mAh battery goes all day even with more pixels to light up — frequently ended a day with around 40 to 30 percent battery left and roughly five to six hours of screen-on time.
On several occasions the S25 Plus lasted over 24 hours on a single charge with at least six hours of screen-on time and 10-20% remaining — battery life can satisfy even demanding users.
A quick ten-minute top-up nets around 25%, 50% in 25 minutes, 75% in 40 minutes, and a full charge averages about 1 hour 10 minutes — fastest test was 64 minutes.
Pales in comparison to rivals like the OnePlus 13 which achieves a full charge in under 40 minutes — OnePlus 13's 50W magnetic charger is effectively faster than the S25 Plus on a 45W charger.
Three buying alternatives at $900-$1,000 — OnePlus 13, Pixel 9 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro — each offer something the S25+ doesn't (silicon-carbon battery, best-in-class camera, ecosystem).
Three buying alternatives at $900-$1,000 — OnePlus 13, Pixel 9 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro — each offer something the S25+ doesn't (silicon-carbon battery, best-in-class camera, ecosystem).
Qi2 is one of the most exciting features coming to Android in 2025, but the S25 Plus is Qi2 Ready only — no built-in magnets, so you need a separate magnetic case and third-party options are hit-or-miss.
Galaxy S25+ carries slightly better battery life than the S24+ — a full day with around 25% left over by the evening, versus the S24+ ending around 20%.
Connecting to a 65W charger, after 15 minutes nearly 45%, after 30 minutes 72% — Samsung's slower 45W cap is a deliberate trade for long-term battery health.
An r/Android upgrader said it best: 'I just wish it was using the new silicon lithium batteries that OnePlus has' — Samsung's choice to stick with the same 4,900 mAh cell is the most-criticized hardware decision in the lineup.
