Flip phones are back, and the competition is heating up. While most manufacturers are sticking to a familiar formula – a small front display that unfolds into a standard smartphone screen – two new contenders, the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 and the Huawei Pura X, are taking different approaches. The Razr Ultra 2025 refines the existing design, while the Pura X dares to innovate, prompting a critical question: what truly defines a flip phone experience?
Huawei Pura X and Razr Ultra 2025 front display
The Razr Ultra 2025 boasts a 4-inch, nearly square, Gorilla Glass Ceramic Cover Display. Supporting a 165Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, this front display seamlessly integrates with the dual-camera setup. Unfolding reveals a 7-inch main display with similar features but a brighter 4,500-nit peak brightness. The main display’s 22:9 aspect ratio is notably taller and narrower than the typical 19:9 smartphone ratio.
Huawei Pura X and Razr Ultra 2025 main displays half unfolded
The Huawei Pura X, however, charts a different course. Its 3.5-inch Cover Display is also nearly square, but the unfolded 6.3-inch main display features a unique 16:10 aspect ratio, typically seen in tablets. This design choice, coupled with a separate quad-camera system, sets the Pura X apart. But does this unique approach challenge the Razr Ultra 2025’s refined design?
Motorola Razr Ultra 2025: Mastering the Cover Display
Moto Razr Ultra 2025 in Rio Red
Building on the success of the Razr Plus 2024, the Razr Ultra 2025 perfects the “small phone” experience on its Cover Display. Features like an AI key for quick access to Google Gemini, increased brightness, and tailored software enhance usability. The dual-camera setup comprises a 50MP ultrawide and a 50MP main camera with in-sensor cropping for 2x optical zoom. Gaming on the Cover Display is also a focus, with dedicated game support.
Motorola Razr Ultra
Huawei Pura X: Embracing the Tablet Experience
Huawei Pura X in white main display open
Huawei’s tablet-inspired approach differentiates the Pura X. Rather than simply shrinking a smartphone, the Pura X provides a compact tablet experience. Running on HarmonyOS, a blend of iOS and Android aesthetics, and supporting Google Play Services, the Pura X offers a fluid and familiar user experience. The Cover Display provides shortcuts to key apps and access to the full phone functionality. It’s effectively a compact 7-inch tablet experience.
Huawei Pura X in white main display open rotated
Two Visions for the Future of Flip Phones
Huawei Pura X and Razr Ultra 2025 back
Both Motorola and Huawei offer compelling visions for the future of flip phones. The Razr Ultra 2025 perfects the Cover Display experience, while the Pura X explores the potential of a tablet-style form factor. While the Razr Ultra 2025 has larger displays, the Pura X offers a potentially superior camera system with its quad-camera setup. The ultimate “ideal” form factor remains to be seen, but the Huawei Pura X demonstrates that innovation in the flip phone space is far from over. The future of flip phones promises to be exciting.
