Motorola Razr Busted After Only 27K Folds in Durability Test (Updated)

The assumption that you’ll be folding and unfolding your foldable phone seems warranted. It’s a folding phone after all. Due to this, people like testing to see just how many folds your foldable phone can fold, all in the name of folding science. This week, CNET subjected a new Motorola Razr foldable phone to a folding durability fold test, using an official FoldBot folding machine from SquareTrade.

• Watch: Motorola Razr unboxing!

In the video, we get to see the time when the Razr breaks down, which is right around 27,000 folds. While that’s a large number, it’s actually really bad in terms of how many folds a folding phone should be able to fold. For comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy Fold has been tested to fold around 120,000 times before significant hinge deterioration sets in. That’s a lot better than this poor Razr unit.

For some simple math, let’s say you open and close the phone a total of 100 times a day. At that rate, if this 27,000 figure was the same for every device (which we doubt it is), you’re looking at 270 days of usage before breakage. Obviously, that sucks, but we seriously doubt all Razr units are going to breakdown the same way this one did.

Regardless, be careful with your Razr phones, people!

• UPDATE: Motorola uploaded a video to show the “real razr flip test” on Friday, and also provided a statement to CNET about how they believe their test couldn’t properly fold the razr and that’s probably why it broke. They also want everyone to know that they performed extensive testing and are confident in the durability of their foldable phone. The full statement:

[The] razr is a unique smartphone, featuring a dynamic clamshell folding system unlike any device on the market. SquareTrade’s FoldBot is simply not designed to test our device. Therefore, any tests run utilizing this machine will put undue stress on the hinge and not allow the phone to open and close as intended, making the test inaccurate. The important thing to remember is that razr underwent extensive cycle endurance testing during product development, and CNET’s test is not indicative of what consumers will experience when using razr in the real-world. We have every confidence in the durability of razr.

There you have it.

// CNET