I’ve always thought clamshell foldable smartphones are cool (there’s just something satisfying about snapping them shut) but it’s never felt like their design has a truly useful purpose. Sure, it’s great that they fold up and become smaller, making them easier to slide into a pocket compared to a standard smartphone. I’ve also enjoyed leaving Motorola’s Razr Ultra (2025) open to watch YouTube videos while I do the dishes, and while I’m not a selfie person, the front-facing camera is capable of snapping some cool, very convenient photos of myself.

Beyond that, the Razr Ultra (2025) features solid build-quality, an excellent array of top-tier cameras, a foldable display crease I can barely see and feel, and a durable titanium hinge, making it an undeniable blast to snap the phone shut. This year, Motorola’s flagship also comes equipped with Qualcomm’s powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. I’ve even found its outer display to be useful for quickly checking notifications and playing one particular pre-installed game (Marble Mayhem is fantastic and feels like it was designed for the Razr).

I’m a huge fan of the throwback woodgrain Moto Razr Ultra (2025) color. 

Still, unlike book-style foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 7, clamshell foldables don’t offer a bigger, tablet-like screen when they’re open. In fact, they can often feel downright awkward when unfolded, given their tall size and weighty upper half. With this in mind, over the past few weeks I’ve spent with the Razr Ultra (2025), I’ve tried to find a way to fit the foldable’s unique design into my life.

In nearly every way, Motorola’s latest flagship clamshell is an absolute unit across the board, but my favorite feature has actually surprised me.

Brand

Motorola

SoC

Snapdragon 8 Elite

Display

7-inch foldable OLED (165Hz, 2992 x 1224 pixel resolution), 4-inch external (165Hz)

RAM

16GB

The Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) is a solid all-around clamshell foldable thanks to its durable design, Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, and expansive cover display. 

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It’s a versatile, very expensive desktop clock

This keeps me plugged into notifications, without diving too deeply into the phone

Along with being my primary phone, I’ve been using the Razr Ultra (2025) as a desk-side clock and notification machine. You can do this by opening the Razr Ultra (2025) and placing it in a triangle position or by opening it and pointing its interior screen towards you (I prefer the tent angle). The setting to turn this feature on is under Settings > External Display and either Sleep Display or Desk Display. It sounds silly, but I’ve grown to really appreciate this feature over my past few weeks.

When I’m at my desk, the expansive 3.6-inch 90Hz screen is in its blacked-out, always-on mode where it displays the current time and an array of notification symbols across the bottom (how the time appears can be customized in fun ways, too). When I want to use the cover screen to check a notification, I just tap the display to light it up, and I’m automatically logged in thanks to the magic facial recognition.

At one point, I thought maybe the cover screen would be good for checking out the weather, but as far as I can tell, I can’t get it to change to Celsius from Fahrenheit. 

I can then tap on notifications and quickly scroll through them. If I see one that I need to respond to, I press on it and open the phone. This allows me to easily keep tabs on my growing mountain of notifications without getting distracted by the siren call of scrolling Instagram or TikTok because I’m not actually opening the Razr Ultra (2025) and using its internal foldable screen.

I’ve also started checking my daily schedule with the surprisingly useful Google Calendar Panel that’s accessible by swiping right after unlocking the phone. This has given me a focused way to keep tabs on what meetings I have coming up throughout the day.

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I’m looking forward to figuring out if other cover screen Panels and apps work for me

I haven’t found any more yet, though

Quickly glancing at the Razr Ultra (2025)’s display has become my go-to way to stay on top of notifications.

The experience isn’t perfect, though. Sometimes facial recognition doesn’t work, and I’m forced to put in my PIN, which can get frustrating, especially if you’re trying just quickly to check a notification. I’ve also found that opening apps that aren’t official panels on the cover screen to be a cumbersome, frustrating process that almost doesn’t even feel worth it.

For example, Gmail and Google Maps feel cramped, and I quickly found myself opening the Razr Ultra (2025) to use the apps on the interior display.

It’s like a very expensive sandwich.

Still, it’s been fun to play around with the foldable smartphone’s cover screen, and I’m looking forward to uncovering more ways that it works for me.

This device was provided to Pocket-lint by Motorola.

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