Motorola Razr Fold vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra | TechTalkTown
Motorola Razr Fold vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Motorola Razr Fold
Motorola
8.3
Best US book foldable, big battery
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Samsung
8.4
Iterative but polished
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 Ultra
What Reviewers Agree On
The 6.9-inch QHD+ LTPO AMOLED with Gorilla Armor 2 anti-reflective coating is the best smartphone display you can buy right now.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy and larger vapor chamber deliver benchmark-leading, consistently smooth performance with minimal thermal throttling.
Battery life on the 5,000 mAh cell easily lasts a full day, with most reviewers ending on 30-40% remaining.
The new rounded corners and flatter titanium frame make the phone noticeably more comfortable to hold than the S24 Ultra.
The new 50MP ultrawide is a real, visible upgrade — sharper detail, better low-light performance and autofocus for macro.
Gorilla Armor 2 and the titanium frame make this one of the most durable flagship phones available.
Seven years of OS and security updates match the best in the industry and help justify the long-term investment.
Deal Breakers
The S Pen lost Bluetooth functionality this year, so remote shutter and Air Actions gestures are gone — a sore point for long-time Samsung owners on Reddit who see it as another feature cut from the 'everything phone.'
At $1,299 the hardware year-over-year gains are minimal, and Reddit sentiment on r/gadgets and r/Android echoes what reviewers say: the Ultra no longer feels special enough to justify the premium.
Qi2 wireless charging only works through a separate magnetic case — the phone itself has no built-in magnets.
The main 200MP and 5x telephoto cameras are physically unchanged from the S24 Ultra, so image quality gains are marginal.
Galaxy AI features are guaranteed free only through the end of 2025, with Samsung hinting at future paid tiers — and Reddit users on r/gadgets are already skeptical the features justify being front-and-center at all.
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 Ultra
Pros
The 6.9-inch QHD+ LTPO AMOLED with Gorilla Armor 2 anti-reflective coating is the best smartphone display you can buy right now.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy and larger vapor chamber deliver benchmark-leading, consistently smooth performance with minimal thermal throttling.
Battery life on the 5,000 mAh cell easily lasts a full day, with most reviewers ending on 30-40% remaining.
The new rounded corners and flatter titanium frame make the phone noticeably more comfortable to hold than the S24 Ultra.
The new 50MP ultrawide is a real, visible upgrade — sharper detail, better low-light performance and autofocus for macro.
Gorilla Armor 2 and the titanium frame make this one of the most durable flagship phones available.
Seven years of OS and security updates match the best in the industry and help justify the long-term investment.
Cons
The S Pen lost Bluetooth functionality this year, so remote shutter and Air Actions gestures are gone — a sore point for long-time Samsung owners on Reddit who see it as another feature cut from the 'everything phone.'
At $1,299 the hardware year-over-year gains are minimal, and Reddit sentiment on r/gadgets and r/Android echoes what reviewers say: the Ultra no longer feels special enough to justify the premium.
Qi2 wireless charging only works through a separate magnetic case — the phone itself has no built-in magnets.
The main 200MP and 5x telephoto cameras are physically unchanged from the S24 Ultra, so image quality gains are marginal.
Galaxy AI features are guaranteed free only through the end of 2025, with Samsung hinting at future paid tiers — and Reddit users on r/gadgets are already skeptical the features justify being front-and-center at all.
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 Ultra
Samsung reshaped the Ultra this year with rounded corners and flatter sides, keeping the grade-5 titanium frame and introducing Gorilla Armor 2 front and back. Most reviewers find the new shape more comfortable, though a minority think it still feels utilitarian. The phone is marginally thinner and lighter than the S24 Ultra despite a slightly larger display. Reddit users on r/Android flag that the new rounded corners make the Ultra visually less distinct from the base S25 than past generations.
The rounded corners and straighter sides make the S25 Ultra more comfortable one-handed than the pointed S24 Ultra.
Bezels are 15 percent smaller, giving a 6.9-inch screen without the phone growing physically larger.
The flat sides make the Ultra comfier one-handed, though the look is less distinctive than older Ultras.
The phone is flat and slab-like, and sharp edges still dig into the palm during long sessions — the OnePlus 13, Pixel 9a and Xiaomi 15 Ultra are all more comfortable.
Samsung has finally struck gold with the S25 Ultra design — a flat frame with rounded corners that improves looks and handling.
It has become a beautifully crafted, ultimately gorgeous slab of glass and metal after six months of daily use.
Samsung reduced weight by about 15g versus the S24 Ultra, which is noticeable in the hand.
The phone is slightly thinner, has thinner bezels, and a more pronounced camera ring — none of which makes a huge usability difference.
Rounded corners make it 'just the same generic looking rounded corner slab' — the iconic square-corner Note/Ultra look is gone.
Performance
Motorola Razr Fold
Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 with 16GB RAM — fast for everyday use and surprisingly good in long sessions, but the choice of the non-Elite chip in a $1,899 phone is the headline criticism.
Motorola stuck Qualcomm's excellent Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (16GB RAM, 512GB) inside its first full-fold flagship.
With a phone this expensive it is a bit disappointing Motorola couldn't go all the way with the Elite chip.
In a 20-minute stress test the Z Fold 7's 8 Elite was ~10% better on the first loop, but the Razr Fold ran better through the 20 minutes and ended ~20% ahead on sustained performance with similar thermals.
Recording 4K120 for a long time makes the Snapdragon CPU run quite hot, though it cools down fairly fast.
The non-Elite chip, 243g weight and IP49 dust rating could be causes for concern, even if the experience is smooth.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy delivers a meaningful generational jump in both CPU and GPU, rivaling Apple's A18 Pro and outscoring the iPhone 16 Pro Max in multi-core. The 40 percent larger vapor chamber keeps the phone cool even under sustained gaming loads. The r/apple thread citing a 36% GPU lead over the iPhone 16 Pro Max generated heated discussion, with most commenters conceding the Snapdragon chip is genuinely fast even if they still wouldn't switch.
The phone benchmarks crazy high, rivaling Apple's A18 Pro — a little lower in single core but higher in multi-core.
Samsung's 40 percent larger vapor chamber keeps the phone from warming up in normal use and benchmarks are up 30-40 percent depending on the task.
Playing Genshin Impact at max settings for nearly an hour produced no stutters and no hot spots — a noticeable improvement over the S24 series.
Multi-core Geekbench hits 9,793 versus the iPhone 16 Pro Max at 8,772 — the S25 Ultra pulls ahead thanks to extra cores and 12GB of RAM.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is the most welcome generational upgrade this year, with a boosted 'for Galaxy' variant delivering more CPU headroom than the standard chip.
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 Ultra
The 5,000 mAh battery is unchanged but the more efficient chip pushes real-world endurance comfortably beyond a day — Engadget measured 29h 27m video runtime, Mrwhosetheboss got nearly 9 hours of screen-on time. Wired charging tops out at 45W, wireless at 25W. The Qi2 Ready implementation without built-in magnets is a consistent frustration, and Reddit users openly say the OnePlus 13's silicon-carbon battery was the more exciting release this year.
Most days end with 60 percent left over — good but not amazing for a modern flagship.
Local video rundown lasted an incredible 29 hours 27 minutes — almost two hours longer than the S24 Ultra.
Battery life is just under 9 hours of total screen-on time per charge, regularly ending days with 30-40 percent remaining.
Standby time after half a year of use remains excellent — never a single battery issue during long-term testing.
Qi2 Ready is frustrating — you need a third-party magnetic case for MagSafe-like functionality, and some cases have weak magnets that pop off.
Software & AI
Motorola Razr Fold
The surprise strength — Motorola's foldable software is widely called the best balance of Pixel simplicity and Samsung multitasking, undercut only by Motorola's update-timeliness history.
Motorola nailed the software — it feels like the perfect middle ground between the Pixel and Samsung approaches to book foldables, with a laptop mode that turns the bottom half into a trackpad.
The Razr Fold is winning me over with something not on the spec sheet — superb multitasking software.
Given Motorola's awful track record for timely updates, you've got to be ready to live with the little launch bugs for a while.
Motorola promises 7 years of Android version and security updates — best-in-class and a huge jump from last year's 3-year commitment.
Counterpoint: Motorola is only committing to 3 years of Android upgrades and 5 years of security patches, so versus Samsung's 7 years it's really no contest.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
One UI 7 on Android 15 is Samsung's biggest skin update in years and earns broad praise for polish. Gemini replaces Bixby as the default assistant on long-press and gains cross-app actions, though the experience is uneven — some reviewers report magical moments, others catch hallucinations. Samsung has committed to seven years of updates, and Galaxy AI is free only through the end of 2025. The r/gadgets thread is openly hostile toward the AI pitch — most top comments view it as bloat, tracking, or a distraction from real hardware progress.
Gemini can put events on the calendar, but it also hallucinates recipes and insists flights leave the wrong city — AI makes things up a lot.
Galaxy AI features will be free only through the end of 2025, so don't be surprised if the AI phone comes with an AI subscription fee.
Having two assistants (Gemini and Bixby) is confusing, and Now Brief still hasn't produced anything insightful in two weeks of use.
Improved natural-language commands throughout the phone feel slightly magical — asking the phone to add the next Knicks game to a calendar just works.
Shutter lag on the main camera still trails iPhone and Pixel — flagged by 9to5Google in long-term testing and cited by r/apple commenters as a reason they haven't switched.
Shutter lag on the main camera still trails iPhone and Pixel — flagged by 9to5Google in long-term testing and cited by r/apple commenters as a reason they haven't switched.
Under heavy loads the S25 Ultra becomes a bit power-hungry, which can cause faster-than-expected battery drain when multitasking or running demanding apps.
Everyday tasks run smoothly and there was no meaningful performance difference versus the OnePlus 13 running the same chip.
Apple users on r/apple concede Apple has fallen behind on GPU performance, saying 'competition is good' after the S25 Ultra posted a roughly 36% GPU lead in benchmarks.
Samsung is cutting corners by calling the phone Qi2 Ready without including magnets, and as the biggest phone maker it should do better.
The S25 Ultra loses in both capacity and longevity to the OnePlus 13, which packs a 6,000 mAh silicon-carbon cell.
Samsung stuck with the same 5,000 mAh cell rather than upgrading to silicon-carbon battery tech like the OnePlus 13.
'The OnePlus 13 was a more exciting release for me, with their new battery tech. Samsung has gotten pretty complacent, for the price they're asking.'
Samsung's AI-powered eraser tool is excellent at removing power lines and telegraph poles, and the filter system carries edits across photos.
Seven years of major Android upgrades and security patches match the industry's best long-term support window.
As it stands today, Galaxy AI on OneUI 7 has the edge over Apple Intelligence — it's more contextually aware and works across apps.
After six months I haven't used any Galaxy AI feature except Gemini — there is no reason to let the phone automate things I want manual control over.
Galaxy AI might not just be marketing hype anymore — the features have gotten from gimmicky last year to actually decent this year.
Now Brief is mostly useless — every click it just surfaces the weather and a random news story.
Samsung is withholding pricing on its AI subscription less than a year before Galaxy AI's free period ends, putting business ahead of users.
'What benefit does the AI in phones even provide... It's just a search engine with a dedicated button' — representative of the dominant r/gadgets view that AI features are not a reason to buy.
r/Android commenters praise One UI 7 itself as a reason to stay with Samsung, calling it hard to imagine switching away from even as they criticize the AI push.
