Motorola's first book-style foldable, the Razr Fold, is slated to launch soon, positioning itself as a strong challenger to phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. While the devices share some design similarities, there are also notable differences across the cameras, displays and batteries. 

US preorders for the Razr Fold kick off on May 14 at Best Buy and Motorola's site, with availability starting May 21. It'll also be sold through Verizon, T-Mobile and Xfinity Mobile in the coming months. The Razr Fold starts at $1,900 for 512GB of base storage.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7, which launched last summer, starts at $2,000 for 256GB of storage. Samsung is expected to launch the next generation of its foldables in the coming months, though it hasn't confirmed any details yet. 

Motorola revived its iconic Razr brand in the form of clamshell-style flip phones six years ago. But this is the first time it's releasing a larger book-style phone that functions as a mini tablet when opened. Foldable phones make up an increasingly competitive market that's only expected to ramp up with the anticipated release of a foldable iPhone. Where Motorola can stand out is by touting the premium feel of its devices, which tend to double as eye-catching fashion statements. 

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7 is equally eye-catching, but for a different reason: It's wildly thin. At just 4.2mm when open and 8.9mm when closed, it's one of the thinnest foldable phones on the market. The Razr Fold isn't far behind, measuring around 4.6mm thick when open and 9.9mm when closed. The Z Fold 7 weighs 215g, while the Razr Fold is 243g. 

Here's how else the two high-end foldables compare.

Razr Fold vs. Galaxy Z Fold 7 displays

The Motorola Razr Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 7 share almost the same display dimensions. 

The Razr Fold has a 6.6-inch cover display with a 165Hz variable refresh rate. The inside display is 8.1 inches, with a 120Hz variable refresh rate.

Meanwhile, the Z Fold 7 has a 6.5-inch 120Hz variable refresh rate, along with an 8-inch main display with a 120Hz variable refresh rate. 

The Razr Fold boasts a 6,000-nit peak brightness for the external display, while the main display has a 6,200-nit peak brightness. I haven't had the chance to take the phone outside to see how the screens look in bright sunlight, but my experience with the Z Fold 7 suggests they'll be plenty bright; Samsung's foldable has a much lower 2,600-nit peak brightness for both displays, which has held up just fine for me when I'm out and about.  

I can spot the crease on the main display of both phones, but it isn't obtrusive or distracting when using them. 

A key difference between the phones is that the Razr Fold supports the Moto Pen stylus, which sells separately for $100. You won't be able to store it in the phone (like you can with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra), but you can tuck it into a holster for safekeeping. The Z Fold 7, on the other hand, nixed S Pen support in exchange for a sleeker design.  

Razr Fold vs. Galaxy Z Fold 7 cameras

Foldable phone cameras have come a long way in recent years, and you no longer have to sacrifice polished photos for the novelty of a unique design. 

The Razr Fold has a triple 50-megapixel rear camera system with wide, ultrawide and telephoto lenses. There's a 20-megapixel selfie camera on the inner screen and a 32-megapixel one on the cover screen. 

The Z Fold 7 has a 200-megapixel wide, 12-megapixel ultrawide and 10-megapixel telephoto camera on the back. There are also 10-megapixel selfie cameras on the inner and cover screens. 

Megapixels don't tell the whole story, so I look forward to taking the Razr Fold out into the world and snapping some shots. 

Razr Fold vs. Galaxy Z Fold 7 batteries

Double the screens means there's even more need for a robust battery. 

The Razr Fold has a massive 6,000-mAh battery. It supports 80-watt wired charging and 50-watt wireless charging, so you should be able to quickly top up your phone, along with 5-watt reverse wireless charging.

The Z Fold 7's 4,400-mAh battery is one of its biggest shortcomings -- though it was still able to last me all day in my testing. Still, I hope the next iteration beefs up the battery, especially now that the Razr Fold is giving Samsung a run for its money in capacity.

Razr Fold vs. Galaxy Z Fold 7 processor and storage

The Razr Fold is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, while the Z Fold 7 has a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. Both can easily power the many AI features loaded onto these devices, as well as heavier use cases like gaming or shooting and editing video. 

The Razr Fold comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The Z Fold 7 comes with 12GB of RAM with either 256GB or 512GB of storage; there's also a 16GB RAM option with 1TB of storage.

Both phones arrive with Android 16 out of the box. The Z Fold 7 has Samsung's One UI 8 overlay and seven years of software and security updates. Motorola also guarantees "7 OS updates and up to 7 years of security updates starting from the global launch date."

Which phone should you pick?

The Razr Fold appears to be a promising pick for anyone on the market for a new foldable phone. We have yet to test the device, but our brief hands-on experience suggests the Razr Fold's premium feel, sleek design and generous displays could make it a solid choice. 

The Z Fold 7, which won a CNET Editors' Choice Award last year, is a great option if you want a thin foldable phone that feels remarkably like a standard slab phone when closed and has top-notch cameras to boot.

We'll have to see how these two high-end foldable phones compare in the real world.