Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Razr+ Review

Tom's Guide

Motorola Razr+ vs the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. Which is the ultimate flip phone in 2024? Kate and John face off to argue which one they think is worth your money. Who do you think wins?

Transcript

00:00Flip phones are still considered a little niche,

00:02but today we're pitting two of

00:04the very best clamshells against each other.

00:06John, what have you brought?

00:08I've got the Motorola Razr Plus.

00:10Whereas I'm going to be defending the Galaxy Z Flip 5.

00:14On Tech Takedown, we at TomSka

00:16pit two devices against each other to

00:18help you decide which to invest in.

00:20Over two rounds, each opponent is allowed one minute to

00:23make case for why their device is the best one to buy.

00:26Their opponent will then be offered

00:27a 30-second rebuttal in each round.

00:29In today's episode, Kate takes on John to

00:31see which flip foldable you should consider.

00:34Two rounds, who wins, you decide.

00:36All right, John, I'm going to get us started.

00:39I got a minute coming up on the clock.

00:40The first reason I think someone should buy

00:42the Galaxy Z Flip 5 over that Motorola Razr Plus is that

00:46the Z Flip 5 has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor,

00:50whereas that's working on an older processor.

00:53Think about it, if you're going to be spending

00:54$999 on a phone because that is how much both of these cost,

00:59you want something that is the most future-proof.

01:02Even just looking at all of our benchmark testing,

01:05especially those Geekbench scores,

01:06the Z Flip 5 has the edge.

01:08If you're going to do any type of mobile gaming,

01:11you want the best possible performance

01:13for so many reasons on that end.

01:15And let's just talk about the fact

01:16that when you buy a phone now,

01:18you want it to last you several years.

01:20I'm of the belief that you need your smartphone

01:22two years at least.

01:23Why are you going to be upgrading more than that?

01:25That's a lot of money, and if you want something

01:27that's going to keep you working the longest

01:29with the performance that customers come to expect,

01:31that app developers are going to come to expect to work with,

01:34you really need the latest and greatest,

01:36and that's why the Z Flip 5 with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

01:40is the way to go.

01:41All right, John, now you have 30 seconds.

01:43Give me what you got.

01:44Well, I don't think that it matters

01:46what the specs are with the processor.

01:48Yes, it is a newer chip, but honestly,

01:50when you look at the core experience,

01:52what you have with the user interface,

01:54it's just as smooth and quick and responsive

01:56as the Galaxy Z Flip 5.

01:58And with gaming, I think there's not a big difference.

02:01You look at the two. I've played games on that phone.

02:03I've played games on this one.

02:04First-person shooters, they pretty much

02:06perform exactly alike.

02:08There's not a whole lot of difference.

02:09Yes, the Geekbench scores do favor the Galaxy Z Flip 5,

02:13but when it comes to real-world applications

02:15where you can use it for,

02:17it's not going to be much of a difference.

02:19All right, John, your turn.

02:20What's one big advantage you can give me

02:22about the Motorola RAZR Plus?

02:24Well, it's up to its name, the RAZR Phone.

02:25It's a better-looking phone,

02:26better design than this thing here.

02:28Look at this. It's kind of chunky.

02:30It took Samsung five generations to design this,

02:33but Motorola did a fantastic job.

02:35It's more stylish.

02:36Look at the hot red, just different.

02:38It stands out.

02:39You have the vegan letter, so it's really easy to hold.

02:42And not only is it aesthetically pleasing,

02:45but it's also more ergonomic than the Z Flip 5

02:48because the Z Flip 5 has all these sharp edges,

02:51not really the best as far as holding it,

02:54whereas this has more rounded corners

02:56and you have those metallic accents.

02:58So when you're looking at this phone

03:00and you're just whipping it out,

03:01there's something just satisfying about it opening.

03:04And as far as design goes, too,

03:06they did a better job with the hinge design.

03:07They actually came out first with the gapless design

03:09versus the Z Flip 5.

03:11There's also the crease.

03:13It's not as prominent versus the Samsung Z Flip 5's crease.

03:17So when you're watching videos, it just looks more seamless.

03:20So overall, as far as the design goes,

03:23it's just a lot better than what Samsung has done.

03:27Okay, I'll give you, I can't do the one...

03:32Oh, maybe I can.

03:34I like the curved design, but come on.

03:36Everything is about the sharp edges these days.

03:38That's the devices.

03:39That's what's hit.

03:40That's what's modern.

03:41The rest of the design, we're talking about the same thing.

03:44And who cares if Motorola did the gapless design first?

03:48This is gapless.

03:49You get the same type of feel from that.

03:52I think it feels really nice, looks really great.

03:55Well, I don't think so.

03:57All right, sure.

03:58Don't forget, you can check out those Geekbench scores

04:00and the full reviews for both of these devices

04:02at tomsguide.com.

04:04And don't forget to subscribe to this channel

04:06for all the new phone releases this year.

04:08On to round two.

04:09John, what have you got?

04:11The outer screen, it's larger

04:13than the one in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.

04:14It's a 3.6 inch outer display.

04:17And not only that, it's bigger, but it's also sharper

04:20because it has a higher resolution.

04:21But the best part, I think, what separates this

04:24is that it can support different apps.

04:26All apps, in fact.

04:27So whether you're using your Facebook,

04:28your Instagram, or your email,

04:31every app is supported right out from the gate.

04:34So you don't have to download any third party apps.

04:36You can type, you can send messages.

04:38You got a full keyboard.

04:40And you kind of spoke earlier about some games.

04:42With the outer screen here,

04:43you could actually play full screen games.

04:45So one of my favorite games I play,

04:47you have full access to it.

04:49It's not a condensed version.

04:51You could do whatever you do with the main screen

04:53right on the outer screen.

04:54And the last thing here, it's better for selfies

04:56because the larger display, you can see more of yourself.

04:58You can see the other people.

04:59And with the wide angle screen,

05:01it's great for group selfies.

05:03And who made you the selfie expert?

05:06Oh.

05:09Oh, I joke, I joke.

05:11First off, if you were thinking that this display is tiny,

05:14I think you might need glasses.

05:16If you're gonna get a Flip phone,

05:19why would you be concerned

05:20about actually having to flip it open?

05:22The idea of this exterior display

05:24is just being able to see things at a glance.

05:26I don't need to be able to play games on my front display.

05:29I just want to know if I got a text.

05:31I want to know maybe the weather at a glance.

05:33And I'm quite happy with the array of widgets

05:35that are available.

05:37Am I checking Facebook on the outside?

05:38I don't even use Facebook.

05:42Like really, you always open up your phone for everything.

05:45All right, we have the final minute going on right now.

05:48The number one thing I use my phone for

05:51is taking photos.

05:52I know a lot of people would agree with me on that.

05:54If you're gonna get a phone for taking photos,

05:57you want something that has the most capabilities.

05:59And these days, it's not just with the actual hardware.

06:02It comes down to the processing too.

06:04The Z Flip 5 has a larger main sensor.

06:07And what that means is

06:08you're gonna see better low light photography performance

06:10if you go to concerts,

06:12if you're hanging out with your friends in dark restaurants.

06:14I love taking pictures of food.

06:16I need something that can take great low light photography.

06:19Either way, when you're actually in editing the app,

06:22you get all of these AI photo editing features

06:25through Galaxy phones right now.

06:26And that means that you can manipulate images

06:29within reason to be more how you want them to be.

06:32So that includes object removal.

06:33You can resize objects.

06:35You can make photos something exactly how you want.

06:38And that really inspires creativity.

06:40If you're gonna take photos and do that,

06:41this is the phone to get.

06:43You know, okay, I love taking photos as much as anyone.

06:45And don't forget,

06:45check out my photo shootout series on the channel.

06:48Okay, your time's ticking.

06:49Okay, do you actually use those AI features on the phone?

06:52I know a lot of people would rather have true-to-life photos

06:55rather than something that's generated

06:57that could be fake and altered.

06:59And on top of that,

06:59a lot of these AI features you get on third-party apps.

07:02So you technically don't need that phone.

07:04I could download an app

07:05that does the stuff that you mentioned,

07:07removal, background blur.

07:08I could even move someone or crop someone out.

07:11It does it all.

07:12So there's not technically, I'd say, an exclusive feature

07:15because anyone can get it.

07:18I mean, who wants to download another app?

07:19Well, what do you guys think?

07:21Would you go with John and his Motorola RAZR Plus

07:24or with myself and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5?

07:27Let me know in the comments.

07:29As for everything else foldable related and more,

07:31be sure to follow us on social at Tom's Guide.

07:33You can also follow John at John C. Velasco

07:36and I'm at Kate Kozich.

07:38We'll catch you at the next Tech Takedown.

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