Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs Motorola Razr Plus (2024): How the tables have turned

The foldable phone market has witnessed significant competition since Samsung's pioneering entry. Motorola's Razr Plus (2023) made a noteworthy impact last year, surpassing the Galaxy Z Flip in certain aspects.

With the recent announcement of the Galaxy Z Flip 6, the Razr Plus (2024) appears poised to maintain its competitive edge. Its larger cover display and noticeably reduced crease differentiate it from Samsung's latest offering.

Furthermore, the Z Flip 6 carries a $100 premium over the Razr Plus (2024), making the latter an even more attractive option at $999. However, individual preferences may lean towards the Galaxy Z Flip 6's faster processor or superior camera capabilities. This comparative analysis will delve into the key differences between the two devices to assist consumers in making an informed decision.

Galaxy Z Flip 6: free storage upgrade and up to $650 off

Get the Galaxy Z Flip 6 at the official Samsung store, and you can save up to $650 on the newly released clamshell phone with eligible phone trade-ins. This is the 512GB version, which now arrives at the price of the 256GB model.

$770 off (63%) Trade-in

$449 ⁹⁹

$1219 ⁹⁹

Buy at Samsung

Razr+ (2024): save $100 and up to 50% extra with trade-in

For a limited time, Motorola lets you get your new Motorola Razr+ (2024) for 50% off with previous generation Razr phones. That means you can save up to $550 on the clamshell foldable. Alternatively, you can order one for 10% off without any trade-ins.

$550 off (55%) Trade-in

$449 ⁹⁹

$999 ⁹⁹

Buy at Motorola

Get your Razr (2024) for up to 50% off with trade-in

Motorola.com has an exciting offer for those owning previous generation Razr phones and wish to get the latest Razr (2024)! This handset arrives for up to 50% off with eligible phone trade-ins. If you don't own an old-gen Razr device (or don't want to trade in any device), you can get the Razr (2024) at its standard price.

$350 off (50%) Trade-in

$349 ⁹⁹

$699 ⁹⁹

Buy at Motorola

If you are looking for the most compact flip phone between these two, then the Z Flip 6 is the one you should check out, as it is considerably smaller than the 2024 Razr Plus.

Durability is also a factor here, with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 coming with a higher IP48 dust and water resistance rating vs. the Razr's IPX8. That said, the "4" in "IP48" references large particles of 1mm and larger than the dust we are used to seeing at home. Still, the Razr does not have that type of guaranteed protection.

The Z Flip also has Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protecting the cover display, whereas the Razr Plus has Gorilla Glass Victus (1st-gen), making the cover display on the Galaxy more durable.

As for their looks, surprisingly, Samsung did not include a larger cover display with the Z Flip 6, which makes the Razr Plus (2024) stand out with its cover screen that spreads throughout the whole upper part of the back panel. The Z Flip, on the other hand, looks a bit outdated in comparison.

Adding even more brownie points to the Razr Plus (2024) is the fact that its inner (foldable) display barely has a crease. Initially, we thought that Samsung has also achieved a similar feat with the Z Flip 6, as at first that's how it appeared. After a bit of folding and unfolding the phone, however, the Z Flip 6 did show a very noticeable crease, unfortunately.

Besides the larger cover displays, there are some changes to the materials used, with the Razr Plus now rocking a silicone/vegan leather lower back panel. The Z Flip 6 still has a glass back panel, which is easier to break and shows fingerprints.

Colors-wise, the Razr Plus comes in Midnight Blue, Spring Green, Peach Fuzz, and Hot Pink hues. Samsung offers more color variants with the Z Flip 6: Silver,  Shadow, Yellow, Blue, Mint, Crafted Black, White, and Peach.

When it comes to the unboxing experience, Motorola is undoubtedly the one that takes the cake in this case. The Razr Plus comes with a color-matching case and lanyard. The Z Flip 6, on the other hand, does not include such gifts. Unfortunately, both phones lack a charger in the box, though.

As we already mentioned, the Razr Plus cover display is larger, coming in at 4 inches, while the Galaxy Z Flip 6 has a 3.4-inch one. But the differences do not end there.

Also read: Galaxy Z Flip 6: Size Comparison

Motorola has also made the cover display 165Hz, which ensures a much smoother scrolling and swiping experience compared to the 60Hz refresh rate of the Z Flip's cover screen. We definitely felt that as we handled the two phones back to back when they are closed.

The main, foldable display of the Razr Plus (2024) is also bigger than that of the Z Flip 6, measuring 6.9 inches vs. 6.7 inches. However, as mentioned earlier, Motorola has done a much better job at avoiding a crease in the middle of the display than Samsung.

Display Measurements:

We found out that the main displays of the Z Flip 6 and the Razr Plus (2024) are about as equally bright during our display lab tests. Our two units were also somewhat similar in terms of color accuracy.

The Z Flip 6 comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which is only natural given that the rest of Samsung's flagship phones in 2024 have that chip. It is the latest and greatest from Qualcomm, and offers a great performance boost compared to the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 that powers the Razr Plus (2024), especially when it comes to multi-core processing and graphics.

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3—notice the "s" after the "8"—is a less powerful version compared to the 8 Gen 3 that you see on most 2024 Android phones.

The benchmark results we got during our performance test showed us that the Z Flip 6 beats the Razr Plus in all categories when it comes to performance. The Z Flip 6 did feel somewhat more snappy in real life, and it seemed to do better during gaming sessions, matching the 3DMark Extreme graphics test results we got.

As for storage and memory, the Razr  only comes in a 12/256GB option in the US, while Samsung gives the option to choose from 12/256GB and 12/512GB variants of the Z Flip 6. Both phones come with fast and power-efficient UFS 4.0 storage and LPDDR5 RAM.

Samsung also wins when it comes to software support, with 7 years of Android updates and security patches on the Z Flip 6. In comparison, Motorola continues to offer 3 years of Android updates and 4 years of security patches with the new Razr Plus, just like with its predecessor.

Both phones come with dual camera systems at the back, with the 50MP main cameras. The secondary camera on the Z Flip 6 is what you would expect from a phone in 2024: a 12MP ultra-wide one. Motorola, however, has opted to swap the ultra-wide camera on its premium flip phone with a 50MP 2x telephoto camera.

The selfie cameras are very different between the Z Flip 6 and Razr Plus (2024), with the former rocking a 10MP camera and the latter a 32MP one. Then again, front-facing cameras on a flip phone are not that important, considering you can use the main camera at the back and the cover display in tandem to get much better photos.

As you will see from the photo samples bellow, the Razr Plus (2024) manages to offer the better image in almost all cases. That being said, the Z Flip 6 has such good zoom even without a telephoto camera that it almost feels like there are three cameras at the back instead of two. So, you kind of have to decide between better images or a more comprehensive camera set.

Main Camera

Not only do the colors on the Razr look more natural, but the image also appears to be sharper. Apart from that the HDR performance seems to be similar (both of them are good), and the Z Flip 6 has a wider field of view so it captures more inside the image.



In the low-light scenario we continue to see the Razr Plus (2024) offer better sharpness, especially when you look at the edges of the shot. Colors are also much more accurate on the Motorola. We do find the Z Flip 6 main camera to have done better at bringing out more detail from the shadows.

Also read: Galaxy Z Flip 6 camera: PhoneArena camera score and photo samples

Zoom Quality

Despite not having a telephoto camera, the Z Flip 6 manages to match the Razr Plus (2024) in terms of zoom quality. The Razr's 2X telephoto does offer more detail in the dark areas, though, and its colors look much better in comparison.

Ultra-wide Camera

Of course, since the Razr does not have a dedicated ultra-wide camera, we cannot really compare one to that of the Z Flip 6.

In general, we like the image quality from the ultra-wide camera on the Z Flip 6, and it almost feels like the phone has three cameras at the back given how well it also performed when zooming in digitally.

Selfies

The Razr Plus (2024) provides much more natural colors, whereas the Z Flip 6 makes the skin color sickly by throwing in a green tint to it. There is also more detail in the selfie from the Motorola, and it has been better exposed to show more of the eyes without blowing out the highlights in the image.

Both the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the Razr Plus (2024) have good-sounding speakers. If we had to pick on of the two though, we would probably go for the Z Flip 6, as the Razr has a bit of distortion when the volume is high, especially in the low frequencies.

The Z Flip 6 comes with a slightly larger 4000 mAh battery this time, which is exactly what the Razr Plus (2024) has. That means any battery life differences you see from our dedicated battery tests below is a result of how power efficient the two foldables are.

For context, last year the Razr Plus faired massively better in our video streaming battery tests, but the Z Flip beat it by about an hour or two during our web browsing and 3D gaming battery tests.

Samsung really improved the battery life of the Z Flip series compared to last year's generation, and that shows here. That said, it still has some ways to go before being able to last as much as the Razr Plus in our Web Browsing and Video Streaming battery tests.

Overall, the Razr Plus (2024) is better at preserving its battery than the Z Flip 6, but the latter is not that far behind anymore.

For charging, there is no doubt the new Razr Plus (2024) beats the Z Flip 6 by a landslide as it comes with 45W wired charging. The Z Flip 6, on the other hand, maxes out at 25W. The two come with the same maximum wireless charging speed though, reaching 15W with an appropriate charger.

Here's a quick overview of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs Razr Plus (2024) specs:

There are numerous differences between these spec sheets. We have different sizes between the Z Flip 6 and Razr Plus (2024), very different camera systems, as well as different charging speeds.

It seems this year flip phone lovers will have a somewhat tough decision to make thanks to the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the Razr Plus (2024) from Motorola. Samsung offers a more compact and durable device with longer software support and a more powerful chipset, showing its long experience in the manufacturing of foldable phones.

There's also the fact that the Z Flip 6 comes with all of the Galaxy AI features Samsung introduced with the S24 series, such as the ability to transcribe, translate, and summarize voice recordings directly in Notes, for example. The Razr Plus, on the other hand, mainly relies on Google's powerful Gemini smart assistant, with an easy access to it via the words "Hey Google."

But the Razr Plus has managed to evolve to a level where it can rival and even surpass the likes of Samsung in more than one area. You get faster charging, two larger and more modern displays with higher display refresh rate, a much less visible crease, and a significantly better camera system.

Another benefit for the Razr Plus (2024) is that it costs $100 less than the Z Flip 6. That makes it a big threat to Samsung's clamshell foldable in our opinion, especially considering its cameras and screens.

So, if you are looking for longer software support and the best performance possible the Z Flip 6 sounds like the right choice, but even then we would recommend the Razr Plus (2024) as the better option since it offers much more benefits for a lower price.