Samsung may be the king of the foldable smartphone market, but it’s not the only manufacturer making foldable phones. Many Chinese manufacturers are also making foldable phones, including Motorola, which revived its mega-popular RAZR brand to launch its first proper foldable phone in 2019.
However, the new Moto RAZR failed because of a high price tag attached to a device with surprisingly outdated specs (for example, it featured a single 16MP rear camera and a tiny 2,500 mAh battery), and it simply could not compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip.
Motorola then launched another RAZR phone with a folding display earlier this year. While this newer model is cheaper, it’s still costlier than the Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4, which gave the 2022 Moto RAZR no quarter and conquered the sales charts.
But according to a new rumor, it looks like Motorola has a plan. The Lenovo-owned manufacturer seems to be hoping it can eat into Samsung’s market share by launching not one but two new foldable phones next year. Motorola is reportedly working on new RAZR phones codenamed Juno and Venus for 2023.
While the specs of those phones are currently unknown, should Motorola manage to reduce the asking price even further and bring it in line with Samsung’s flip phones, it could spell trouble for the latter. Well, maybe “trouble” is too strong a word, but it certainly could help Motorola increase its presence in the foldable market even further.
Of course, competition is always good, because it ends up benefiting the consumer at the end of the day. Still, Samsung probably won’t be too happy about the whole situation if Motorola does launch two RAZR phones next year. Motorola could basically have the first mover advantage by launching one of the two phones in the first half of next year, because Samsung is likely going to wait until the second half of 2023 to launch the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Whatever the case may be, this rumor suggests that the fight — one even Oppo is trying to participate in — for a piece of the foldable segment pie might heat up next year. We’ll have to wait and see just how much of a dent Motorola will be able to make, but there are certainly some interesting times ahead as the foldable segment continues to grow, and Samsung might want to be prepared as well as it can be to stay ahead of its rivals.
