Phones are undeniably an essential part of modern life, and yet many Australians are holding on to their handsets for longer than ever – one study from last year found that around 76% of us are only upgrading our devices every 3 or more years.1
Of course, that also means hardware longevity and long-term software reliability are both increasingly crucial factors to consider when you’re shopping for a new phone.
That trend is one key reason why Motorola’s 2026 flagship foldables — the Razr Fold and Razr 70 Ultra — are looking to set themselves apart by prioritising both hardware durability and OS and security updates.
From long-lasting batteries to durable and rugged designs, to up to 7 years of Android OS and security updates, Motorola’s 2026 foldable flagships are genuinely designed to go the distance and last for years to come.
How are Motorola's 2026 foldables designed for long-term reliability?
While foldables have been broadly embraced as one of the most exciting evolutions of smartphones, many people still have concerns about factors like battery life and durability. As a pioneer in the foldable phone space, Motorola has been continuously fine-tuning its formula since its first Android flip phone, the Razr 5G, debuted in early 2020 — and seven generations later, the Razr Fold and Razr 70 Ultra are still leading the charge when it comes to integrating the latest cutting-edge hardware.
To achieve a less bulky form factor, foldable phone makers often have to use smaller batteries in their devices compared to conventional handsets — a limitation that has, understandably, led to the notion that foldables can struggle when it comes to day-to-day battery life. With the Razr Fold and Razr 70 Ultra, Motorola has sought to solve this problem by using silicon-carbon battery technology, which is capable of providing higher capacities in the same footprint as traditional lithium-ion models.
Combined with smarter power management, these bigger batteries mean that the Motorola Razr can stretch to up to 43 hours between charges, while the Razr 70 Ultra can last for up to 36 hours. And that’s despite both devices having expansive internal displays — 8.1 inches on the Fold and 7 inches on the 70 Ultra.
Of course, good longevity also means a device needs to be durable enough not to be rendered unusable when it comes into contact with water splashes or a little speck of dust. Motorola has ensured both devices are highly water- and dust-resistant, with the Razr 70 Ultra securing an IP48 rating and the Razr Fold rated at an IP49 for being resistant to high-pressure water jets as well.
And lastly, on the Razr Fold, Motorola has matched Android brands like Samsung and Google for software support by offering 7 years of Android OS updates and 7 years of essential security patches, while the Razr 70 Ultra gets 3 years of OS updates and 4 years of security patches.
What battery technology do Motorola’s Razr Fold and Razr 70 Ultra use?
Motorola uses silicon-carbon battery technology to power the Razr Fold and Razr 70 Ultra foldable phones, allowing for higher capacities than a conventional lithium-ion equivalent while retaining a similar footprint.
Silicon-carbon battery technology is effectively a more advanced version of lithium-ion. It swaps out some of the graphite components found in traditional lithium-ion for silicon ones, which can store around 10 times more lithium ions per gram and also support faster charging speeds. Silicon by itself can expand up to 300% while charging, which can degrade or destroy the battery, so the material is combined with carbon to prevent this.
Silicon carbon technology also has the advantage of being able to withstand more charge cycles than conventional lithium ion designs before the capacity starts to noticeably degrade – about 600 to 1,200 cycles vs lithium ion’s 300 to 600. The combination of charging less frequently and having a higher cycle count means the Razr Fold and Razr 70 Ultra’s batteries should take considerably longer to show their age than foldables using older lithium ion batteries.
Motorola has legitimately led the charge when it comes to adopting silicon carbon technology, which has not been as widely embraced by the big western and Korean smartphone brands. Samsung, for example, has only starting to use silicon-carbon batteries in its recently released foldables — ( and even then, the capacities are still relatively modest) while Motorola set itself apart by adopting silicon-carbon in the Motorola Signature, released in January 2026.
How long does the Motorola Razr Fold battery last?
Motorola officially rates the flagship Razr Fold for over 43 hours of battery life via its 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery. That capacity is larger than competing foldables — even the newly announced Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold, which only offer 5,000mAh and 4,806mAh, respectively.
Moreover, in his unbiased Razr Fold review, TechRadar Editor-at-Large Lance Ulanoff found that Motorola’s 43-hour claim was consistent with his own use, saying he got “at least” two days per charge, and he called the battery test “the real highlight” of his experience. Our Future Labs testing, which involves more demanding high-intensity activity and benchmarking, rated the device at 14-16 hours — longer than any other book-style foldable we’ve reviewed as of August 2026.
When the Razr Fold does eventually run out of battery, topping up takes almost no time at all thanks to its 80W TurboPower fast charging. For as little as 10 minutes of charging time with a Motorola TurboPower charging brick, most users can get up to around 25%, which should still yield 12 hours of battery life.
Does the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra offer all-day battery life?
The Motorola Razr 70 Ultra is officially rated for 36 hours from its 5,000mAh battery, which is also a silicon-carbon cell. For comparison, its newest Samsung equivalent, the Galaxy Z Flip 8, has a 4,300mAh battery.
TechRadar is still finalising our Razr 70 Ultra review, but our sister publication Tom’s Guide called it the longest-lasting battery ever on a foldable phone (both book- and flip-style) following the publication’s rigorous testing.
Like the 2026 Razr Fold, the Razr 70 Ultra offers blazing-fast charging speeds, topping out at 68W with a compatible Motorola TurboPower charger. The phone maker claims that most users can get more than 12 hours of battery life after just 8 minutes of charging time.
How does Motorola achieve such long battery life in foldables?
As we’ve mentioned above, the main way Motorola achieves long battery life in its newest foldables is by using high-capacity silicon-carbon batteries, which combine with energy-saving hardware and software optimisations. A great example on the hardware side of things is the Razr Fold’s use of Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide (LTPO) displays that can dynamically adjust their refresh rate and brightness levels to ensure their power use only ramps up when necessary — and some AI-powered software optimisations also help to manage that.
More specifically, the Razr Fold uses LTPO pOLED for both its inner and cover displays, where the refresh rate adjusts from up to 165Hz depending on what apps you have running, and can drop to as low as 1Hz while doing static tasks. The Razr 70 Ultra, meanwhile, uses AMOLED technology for both its displays and has the same 1Hz to 165Hz refresh rate range.
For both phones, ambient light and environmental reading sensors adjust the screen’s brightness levels automatically depending on your surroundings, while Moto AI Services also learn usage patterns to optimise for energy efficiency by turning off power-intensive apps running in the background.
Can Motorola's 2026 foldables handle years of daily opening and closing?
Thanks to a combination of durable ultra-thin glass, anti-shock film and hinges built with premium materials, Motorola’s flagship 2026 foldables are engineered to handle multiple years of daily opening and closing.
The Razr Fold uses a precision-engineered stainless steel teardrop hinge and a titanium inner screen plate under the display to help distribute pressure evenly across the device, helping the screen maintain its shape after every open and close. The Razr 70 Ultra uses much of the same technology as the Fold, but instead has a titanium-reinforced hinge.
The display is also layered with anti-shock film to protect the ultra-thin glass from scuffs or scratches, while also preserving a creaseless look. Ulanoff’s review found that the crease is really only visible when the screen is off, and that it’s not noticeable when playing a full-screen game or taking and viewing photos.
How are the Motorola Razr Fold and Razr 70 Ultra protected against water and dust?
Motorola uses sealed internal components, tight mechanical tolerances and specially designed hinges to protect its 2026 foldables from water and dust. The Razr 70 Ultra has an IP48 rating, while the Razr Fold has a slightly higher IP49 rating.
Motorola’s own tests in controlled laboratory conditions found the Razr 70 Ultra water- and splash-resistant, where it can be submerged in up to 1.5 metres of still, fresh water for up to 30 minutes. It’s also protected against ingress of solid objects larger than 1mm.
The Razr Fold has the same water immersion resistance and 1mm dust ingress as the 70 Ultra above, but it’s also protected against powerful, high-temperature water jets for up to 30 seconds.
What makes the Motorola Razr Fold and Razr 70 Ultra more durable than previous foldables?
The Motorola Razr 70 Ultra has the same IP48 rating as last year’s Razr 60 Ultra, with both improving on older devices like the Razr 50 range, which has an IPX8 rating, meaning it has no official dust-resistance rating but similar water resistance.
The Razr Fold has an even better IP49 rating, which means it can also handle strong water jets. Much older Razr models, meanwhile, have no official IP rating, meaning there is no guaranteed tolerance against water submersion, with the phones only claiming protection via a splash-proof, water-resistant nanocoating.
The Razr 70 Ultra also has a new titanium-reinforced hinge, which makes it stiffer and tighter than the stainless steel and aluminium hinges found in older Motorola foldables. The Razr Fold is Motorola’s first book-style foldable, so there’s no direct predecessor to compare to, but it uses a stainless steel hinge that’s supported by a titanium inner screen plate under the display to help distribute pressure evenly across the device.
For its outer cover screen, the Razr Fold employs Corning’s Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3, which uses nano-crystals infused in the glass matrix aimed at preventing deep cracks. The Razr Fold is also the first foldable to use the technology, with Samsung’s 2026 foldable range the only other handsets to feature Ceramic 3 thus far. Motorola’s testing found Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 had 75% improved drop performance compared to devices with the first-generation Gorilla Glass Ceramic. The Razr 70 Ultra uses the latter, which in turn is more durable than the Gorilla Glass Victus used in its Razr 60 Ultra predecessor.
How long will Motorola supply Android OS and security updates for the Razr Fold and Razr 70 Ultra?
To match the Motorola 2026 foldable range’s hardware endurance with software longevity, the brand has committed to 7 years of Android operating system updates on the Razr Fold and 3 years for the Razr 70 Ultra. The update clocks start from the global launch date of each device, which comes with Android 16 installed out of the box for both. The next Android 17 update is due for a stable release soon for both devices, and will come with new features from both Google and Motorola.
The Razr Fold is Motorola’s second device to get 7 years of Android OS updates after the Motorola Signature, which first launched in January 2026. It also gets 7 years of essential security updates starting from March 2026. The Razr 70 Ultra, on the other hand, will get 3 years of Android updates and 4 years of security updates.
For added peace of mind, Motorola’s website has a dedicated page for security updates, including details on specific patches and a list of fixes included, as well as a form for reporting security vulnerabilities.
To find out more about Motorola’s 2026 foldable flagships, head to the official Motorola Australia product pages: