There's a lot to like about the Razr Plus 2024, from its design to its massive cover screen. I've also really enjoyed the camera quality, which is a pretty big improvement over its predecessor. It's not perfect, but I find it's more than adequate for my needs, to the point that I no longer find the need to carry a second smartphone with me just for the camera. However, there's one unique aspect about the Razr Plus camera system I thought I could live with, and I'm now realizing just how limiting it is.
I'm talking about the decision to go with a secondary telephoto lens instead of a more traditional ultrawide sensor. It's something we don't often see on flip phones, and I was admittedly very excited that Motorola actually put one on the Razr Plus 2024. But after about eight months with the phone, I find that I actually miss having an ultrawide sensor, and I really hope Motorola brings it back with the Razr Plus 2025.
The Galaxy Z Flip 6 got it right
The reason you don't often find a dedicated telephoto sensor on flip phones is likely due to the size constraints. Given Motorola's decision to include a very large cover screen, there's really only so much room for cameras as they already take up precious usable space on the external display. Adding a third lens would likely just not work with Motorola's current design, and so it has to work with the two is has.
The Razr Plus 2023 went with a secondary ultrawide, and while the camera quality from both sensors wasn't great, I appreciated the versatility. Motorola switched things up last year with a 2x optical telephoto sensor, which takes decent photos, and I like that I can zoom in with minimal loss of quality. However, it's when I want to zoom out that I become disappointed.
Most Android phones I've tested over the past several years have included an ultrawide sensor, so my muscle memory keeps expecting to be able to zoom out when I want a wider shot. And it keeps not happening. It has made me realize just how often I use the ultrawide camera, which is probably about as much time as I spend zooming in. This is why I think this is the one thing that Samsung got right with the Galaxy Z Flip 6.
Samsung's phone retained its dual camera setup with an upgraded 50MP primary sensor and a 12MP ultrawide. It's a fairly standard setup that you can find on the $300 Moto G Power 2025, but I can't help but feel like Samsung is able to achieve a lot more than Motorola, even with the lack of a dedicated telephoto camera.
The company claims the phone can capture optical-quality images at 2x zoom, likely due to the updated primary sensor, and I've been pretty impressed with the images the phone is able to capture, even when put side by side with the Razr Plus 2024.
In the photo above, the differences between the two primary sensors are pretty obvious, as they both have different takes on color science. However, you may also notice that the Razr Plus 2024 has a slightly narrower field of view, which doesn't really help given its lack of an ultrawide camera to get a wider shot.
Looking at the 2x zoom photo below, you can already see how the color science has shifted a bit on the Razr Plus. However, the Galaxy Z Flip, despite its lack of a dedicated sensor, still manages to retain plenty of detail and less noise, rivaling the quality of the Razr.
The next photo is where things get interesting. I zoomed in at 4x, which still uses the Razr's 50MP telephoto camera compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 6's 50MP primary camera. While both photos appear quite fine, I notice that the Galaxy Z Flip 6 still manages to retain more detail and much cleaner lines than the Razr Plus 2024. There is a bit of a softness to it, which I imagine is due to the effects of the AI upscaling, but the image overall appears much nicer than Razr's image.
That said, there are times when the Razr Plus is able to achieve better clarity in an image when zoomed in, highlighting the drawback (if you can call it that) of not having a dedicated telephoto sensor. In the images below, you can still see that the Razr has a slightly narrower field of view, but when zoomed in, the details on the neon sign appear much clearer than on the Galaxy Z Flip 6.
If you look at the "Climate Pledge Arena" sign, you'll notice that the lines in the green letters are much clearer in the Razr images, while the sign is slightly blown out in the Z Flip 6 images, making those lines not as noticeable. It's a small detail and likely a result of the auto HDR on the Razr camera, which the Galaxy Z Flip 6 doesn't appear to utilize. However, the zoomed images also appear a bit sharper overall on the Razr.
Still, this highlights that the Galaxy Z Flip 6, despite not having a telephoto lens, can still hold its own when it comes to zoom. A combination of a newer sensor and tweaks to processing allows the phone to upscale images to a great degree, giving you nearly the same amount of clarity you'd get from a phone with a dedicated telephoto camera.
That is, of course, in addition to the secondary ultrawide camera, which gives you the option to take more dramatic shots of landscapes and scenery, which would otherwise be very difficult for the Razr Plus 2024 without physically moving to capture more of a scene.
Of course, you can always simulate an ultrawide camera to some extent by using the panorama mode on the Razr Plus, but the effect takes more effort and time, and the result isn't really the same as what you would get.
Not everyone agrees that ultrawide cameras are the way to go, as highlighted by this Reddit thread. There are plenty of people who prefer telephoto lenses, preferably if they go beyond 2x optical zoom, such as what you'd find on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. That said, if a camera is limited to 2x optical zoom, it seems almost superfluous to have a dedicated sensor when you could just rely on the primary sensor and then save the secondary camera for an ultrawide.
The Razr Plus 2025 has a chance to right this wrong
There have been a few leaks of the Razr Plus 2025 already and the phone doesn't look to have too many differences from its predecessor. Based on the leaks, it will still sport a large 4-inch cover screen with two rear cameras, although we don't know what those cameras will be or what upgrades Motorola has planned.
The company isn't known for having the most powerful or reliable cameras, but the Razr Plus 2024 shows that the company has the capacity to improve while also trying something new. When I asked last year about the decision to switch to a telephoto camera, Allison Yi, Motorola's executive director of Product Portfolio, explained that it was about the stats and a way to enhance the experience around content creators and bring the focus on people.
"It was a very big debate," Yi told me during the interview. "But from our perspective, it's all about the consumer. What do they want? What do they use? What is the most beneficial to them?" She explained that users opt to use telephoto lenses up to 5x more than they use ultrawide cameras.
That makes sense, but it doesn't fully explain the decision to then stick with an ultrawide sensor on the lower-end Razr 2024. Sure, the cameras aren't as good, but the added versatility is always nice to have.
Still, I can't help but wonder if Motorola would be better off switching back to an ultrawide camera on the Razr Plus 2025 while highlighting a 2x optical zoom equivalent from the primary sensor, the way Samsung does. On the one hand, it would help with the transition to a Razr from an iPhone, many of which come with the ultrawide sensor. The base iPhone 16, for example, touts "2x optical zoom in" despite only having a wide and ultrawide sensor. The Razr, by comparison, would feel a bit limited to someone switching over.
But the most obvious reason the Razr Plus needs an ultrawide camera is that they're simply a great way to get more into a shot, letting users capture group selfies or get creative with action shots.
One day, I would love to see more flip phones with triple camera systems and dedicated telephoto sensors, but for now, we can get the best of both worlds with a standard wide and ultrawide setup.
