Joe Maring / Digital Trends

The Motorola Razr Plus instantly became the best flip phone when it launched a few weeks ago because it was competing with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4. Its biggest advantage was the big cover display compared to the tiny widgets-only screen on Samsung’s clamshell foldable phone. The cover screen software remains superior to that of the new Galaxy Z Flip 5, but the Razr Plus starts falling behind when you unfold it.

I’ve been using the Motorola Razr Plus on and off for the past month and got the Galaxy Z Flip 5 a couple of days after its launch. I’ve spent a lot of time with both phones to have a good idea of which one is better, and it seems like the Z Flip 5 is winning this battle.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a nicer design and hinge

Joe Maring / Digital Trends

In my experience, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 feels more premium in the hand. When compared to the Razr Plus, the Samsung phone also has a better hinge. It sits flush nowm with no gap between the two folded sides – just like the Motorola flip phones since the first Razr. But the Galaxy Z Flip 5 hinge instills more confidence in me as a user for two reasons.

In my one month of usage, the Razr Plus hinge has loosened up quite a bit. It was more relaxed than the Flip 5 hinge since the beginning, but I didn’t expect it to loosen this much. When I try to rub the two folded sides against each other (with minimal force), I can feel them moving, and that doesn’t happen on the Z Flip 5. Yes, I’m still just a week into using the Flip 5, but I’ve only used the Razr Plus on and off after having my SIM in it for six days.

Secondly, the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s hinge lets me prop it to any angle I want. The Razr Plus can go up to 135 degrees too, but once you touch the upper screen, it unfolds to 180 degrees. I keep my Z Flip 5 unfolded at around 135 or 150 degrees when I’m on a Zoom call and taking notes on my laptop, or when I’m in bed and still want to use certain apps at specific angles. The Flip 5 also has a setting under Advanced Features > Labs > Flex mode panel that lets you use any app on the upper half of the display with certain controls at the bottom. It has come in handy for me when browsing on Chrome in bed.

Samsung’s flip phone wins the camera comparison

Joe Maring / Digital Trends

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has better cameras than the Razr Plus. On paper, both the flip phones feature 12MP primary cameras, but the way Samsung processes images is better than Motorola’s algorithm.

Motorola Razr Plus selfie from primary camera Prakhar Khanna / Digital Trends

Galaxy Z Flip 5 selfie from primary camera Prakhar Khanna / Digital Trends

For instance, in the above comparison, you can see how the Motorola produces a blooming effect around the lights and an artificial outline around me — as if I added it after clicking the photo (I didn’t). In the same scenario, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 handles the lighting better. I see minimal blooming effect around the light and no outline around me. The details could have been better, but the Flip 5 image looks much nicer overall.

None of these cameras systems are on the same level as $1,000 non-folding phones. But for a flip phone, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 clicks better photos. In the daytime, the Motorola also processes dull-looking shots when compared to the Flip 5. It might be my preference, but I like the output from the Flip 5’s cameras better than that of the Razr Plus.

Motorola trails on performance and updates

Prakhar Khanna / Digital Trends

I didn’t notice a difference in day-to-day tasks like app switching and web browsing, but once you fire up a game, things change. The Motorola Razr Plus gets warm with medium usage, even without gaming. To get the Galaxy Z Flip 5 to heat up, you need to push it to the limits. The difference in the chipset – the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 on Razr Plus and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on the Flip 5 – is apparent when playing games. The processor also helps with better image processing on the Flip 5.

Plus, your Galaxy Z Flip 5 will get four years of major Android upgrades and five years of security updates, as compared to the promised three OS upgrades and four years of bimonthly security updates on the Razr Plus.

One big miss on both flip phones is mediocre battery life. I wish I could get through a day of heavy usage on a flip phone, but that isn’t happening yet. However, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 lasts me a bit longer than the Razr Plus. It’s still not incredible battery life, but it is outperforming Motorola’s handset.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a better flip phone overall

Joe Maring / Digital Trends

I’ve written before about how the Motorola Razr Plus beats the Galaxy Z Flip 5 with its cover screen software. After all, taking advantage of the big screen on the front shouldn’t be as complicated as it is on the Z Flip 5. But the Samsung flip phone is better than Motorola’s on almost every other point.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 features a better hinge, feels more premium in the hand, offers better performance, has longer update support, and captures more detailed shots. This easily makes the Z Flip 5 the better clamshell foldable when compared to the Razr Plus — and the one I’m much happier using.

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