The 6,000 mAh battery in the Razr Fold should be a concern for Samsung and Google: Here’s the reason.

      The main obstacle preventing foldables from breaking into the mainstream smartphone market is their battery life, an issue that Motorola aims to address. Most leading smartphone brands in the U.S. offer their own book-style foldables, justifying their higher prices with complex hinges, flexible displays, and other engineering feats, yet this sophistication doesn’t seem to translate to battery performance.

      While a foldable can expand to double its screen size—which is its key selling point—its battery life does not likewise double. Regrettably, among the two popular book-style foldables in the U.S., Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold, the average battery life still falls short compared to standard smartphones.

      Motorola is now entering the scene with its first book-style foldable, the Razr Fold, which features a substantial 6,000 mAh battery that supports 80W wired charging. This represents a significant advancement, as it is the first foldable to be introduced in the U.S. with such a capacity.

      If successful, the Razr Fold has the potential to fill the existing battery life gap before Samsung or Google can catch up.

      The battery dilemma faced by foldables

      Consider what powers the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 or the Pixel 10 Pro Fold: two screens (the cover and the foldable display), a top-tier chipset typically used in traditional smartphones, and at least a couple of rear-facing cameras, all while maintaining a continual Wi-Fi or cellular connection.

      This cumulative power demand explains why foldables require larger batteries to match the battery life of standard devices. A few years ago, when the technology was still developing, using a 4,000 or 4,400 mAh battery in a foldable was standard.

      It seems that manufacturers, particularly in the U.S., may be intentionally limiting battery capacity in foldables, while Chinese brands like Honor and Oppo have been pushing the boundaries.

      This is precisely the challenge that the Motorola Razr Fold aims to tackle.

      Battery specs for competing devices

      I briefly used the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and by many standards, it is an impressive device. It is the thinnest book-style foldable in the U.S., measuring just 4.2 mm when open. However, with a 4,400 mAh battery averaging about six hours of screen-on time, it didn’t last an entire day for me.

      Charging takes around 90 minutes due to its 25W wired charging capability, making it impractical to quickly charge before leaving home; users need to plan ahead.

      Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold made significant strides with its 5,015 mAh battery and up to 39W charging, providing between seven and eight hours of screen-on time and truly lasting a full day of use.

      But is that sufficient? Not really. In an era when phones are hitting the 7,000 mAh mark (such as the OnePlus 15 and OnePlus 15R), which can last nearly two days between charges, needing to charge a foldable around 8 or 9 PM feels inadequate for a $2,000 device.

      For foldable phones to compete with mainstream options, manufacturers need to improve battery life, which is why the Razr Fold captures my interest.

      What to anticipate from the Razr Fold

      The Razr Fold's 6,000 mAh battery is about 36% larger than that of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and 20% larger than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s. This advancement is due to the same silicon-carbon battery technology employed in modern Chinese flagships, which efficiently packs more energy into a smaller space without increasing size. Consequently, the Razr Fold unfolds to a thickness of just 4.7 mm, slightly thicker than the Fold 7, but not significantly concerning.

      Drawing on my experience, I speculate that the Razr Fold, with its 6,000 mAh battery and Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip—which is actually less powerful than the Snapdragon 8 Elite in the Fold 7—might offer around eight to nine hours of screen-on time with mixed-use.

      If Motorola has effectively optimized its software for a large-screen foldable—though this is uncertain given that it's the company’s inaugural foldable—screen-on time could approach or exceed nine hours.

      Achieving this would enable the foldable to rival the battery life of current flagship devices. Failing to do so would lead to disappointment, with the phone likely clocking in at seven to eight hours, akin to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold despite its larger battery.

      Motorola must not miss this opportunity

      Charging speed is also critical. The Razr Fold's 80W wired charging capability surpasses Samsung's offering on the Fold 7 by more than three times and doubles what Google provides on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. However, it’s important to note that this performance remains unproven, and we’ll need