Motorola Razr gets "most complicated" award from iFixit (that's not a good thing)

The 2019 Motorola Razr has been subject to various repairability and durability tests in the recent past and so far, it’s proving to be a giant $1,500 liability. Folks over at iFixit also recently tooled open the foldable phone to see how easy or difficult it would be to repair it. The results of their teardown might make you revisit your decision to buy the Razr if you were planning to do so. If you’ve already bought it, what you’re about to read might not be very pleasing.

Related: Motorola Razr vs Samsung Galaxy Fold: Battle of the fold

iFixit has given the Razr a 1/10 repairability score. This is one of the lowest scores given by the outlet to a 2019 smartphone. On the bright side, if you compare it to foldable phones from last year, the Razr scored just one point less that the Galaxy Fold’s score of 2/10. We’re joking. There’s no bright side here.

The outlet notes that the Razr’s outer cover is glued on pretty stubbornly and that replacing the two batteries requires near-total disassembly of the phone. Hidden cables also become frequent casualties during its repair.

iFixit notes that there’s a small gap between the hinge and display on the Razr which does not inspire confidence in its construction. The phone uses the same flexible OLED display as the Galaxy Fold. Similar gaps in Samsung’s foldable were also responsible for the death of early units of the phone. However, Samsung later improved upon those issues before the Fold’s wider launch. Sadly, Motorola doesn’t have that luxury since the Razr is already shipping to customers.

iFixit’s disassembly video further shows that the Razr has numerous screws that hold together its complicated insides. Thanks to this, getting to the main display is extremely difficult. It is surprising that Moto offers screen replacements at $299 despite how hard it is to open up the damn thing. That’s less than what it costs to switch out the display on the iPhone 11 Pro Max, which, by the way, has an iFixit repairability score of 6 out of 10.

Another worrying issue about the Razr is that its charging port is soldered directly to the main board. So if it ever goes bust, repairing it could cause physical damage to the main board, which you definitely don’t want happening.

All in all, the insides of the Motorola Razr are in stark contrast to its swanky exterior. Even if you disregard its low repairability quotient, the phone doesn’t offers good enough specs to match its premium price point. In comparison, the Galaxy Z Flip comes with a flagship SoC and a lower price tag than the Razr. If Motorola learned a lesson or two from Nokia, it would know that nostalgia is not enough to sell smartphones.