You really can't beat having Gwen Stefani perform at a phone launch, and that's exactly what Motorola did for its Razr Fold announcement at CES earlier this year. The brand behind the iconic Razr V3 and its contemporary relaunch as a folding-screen flip phone is releasing its first book-style foldable later this year. And similar to its flashy Vegas event, it's hoping to put on quite a show with the upcoming phone.

The modern version of the Motorola Razr launched in early 2020. It had a mix of V3 nostalgia and a contemporary Android phone with a cutting-edge folding screen. Six years later, Motorola sells three models: The $700 Razr (2025), the step-up $1,000 Razr Plus (2025) and the top-of-the-line $1,300 Razr Ultra.

This strategy of offering Razr models at different prices has proved successful for Motorola at a time when foldable phone sales are increasing annually, despite Razr accounting for only a relatively small share of the overall smartphone market. In 2026, foldable phone sales are forecasted to increase 30% compared to 2025, according to a report by the market research firm IDC.

Motorola is one of the few foldable phone brands that hasn't had a book-style foldable. Its biggest competitor, Samsung, is on its seventh generation of foldables with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Meanwhile, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the third generation of Google's foldable book design. So it's crucial for Motorola to make its new phone stand out, and the Razr Fold seems to offer something we haven't seen in US foldables: luxury.

Motorola has already embraced unique materials and colors for its devices. The current Razr flip phone line comes in a variety of finishes and fabrics. There's even one with a wood back. As a result, Motorola's clamshell phones have a distinct personality that appeals to people who want their handset to be an expression of who they are. With the Razr Fold, Motorola is leaning into that approach even more by giving the phone a premium, luxurious design aimed to appeal to a wider audience.

"We are positioning ourselves more and more now after we introduced the Razrs as a lifestyle tech. So it resonates with this being not purely tech, but also something that you can express," Rudi Kalil, president of Motorola North America, told CNET.

While Motorola isn't going as far as Apple did with the original Apple Watch, which had models in silver and 18-karat gold, the Motorola Razr Fold I got to try with a "silk" textured back was closer to a nice wristwatch than the Bauhaus minimalist aesthetic we currently see dominating phone designs.

Kalil noted that Motorola's approach is design-first. The company wants to include the best specs that it can in its phone, but it always starts with how it should look. The camera array is probably the biggest element on a phone, along with the shape and materials, where a company can influence a phone's appearance. And the Razr Fold's camera bumps seamlessly meld into the back.

"The intent is to always blend in the camera so it doesn't protrude very highly. It is part of the back," said Mago Martin, Motorola's marketing director for North America.

With MWC 2026 here, we still don't know many specs and features about the Motorola Razr Fold. I did learn that it will support a stylus. Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 3, 4, 5 and 6, which limited stylus use to the main screen, both of the Razr Fold's screens will support stylus input, so you can go back and forth between them and have a consistent experience.

As far as what's next for Motorola? Kalil hints at an exciting 2026 for the brand's fans.

"We will continue to double down on the things that we understand that are valuable for consumers. We started in the past with first bringing the technology. Then we incorporated colors. Then colors and materials," Kalil said.