We’re annoying like that. Send reviewers to a soccer game and what happens? We stop watching the game. We start fighting over pixels. Motorola invited Patrick Holland and me to Santa Clara. They wanted us to test phones. We said yes. Naturally.
It was Australia vs Paraguay. June 25. The venue has a weird name because of FIFA branding rules. Can’t call it Levi’s Stadium anymore. It’s just “San Francisco Bay Area Stadium” now. Try explaining that to a tourist. Nobody could spot the missing logo. Nobody cared.
“It was only natural to want to bring Motorola’s latest foldables to a World Cup match.”
Motorola sponsors the tournament. Lenovo owns Motorola. They’re practically family. So they handed us their two new toys. The Razr Ultra (2024 model year, actually, not 2026—don’t get me started on their naming scheme). And the Razr Fold. A book-style folder. Expensive. Very expensive.
Let’s break down the hardware first.
Specs that matter (and money)
The Razr Ultra is a vertical clamshell.
– Cameras: 50MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP selfie on the inner screen.
– Price: $1,500 start.
– Vibe: Fast, vertical, compact.
The Razr Fold opens up.
– Cameras: 50MP wide, ultrawide, telephoto. Plus a 20MP external selfie cam and 32MP inner selfie.
– Price: $1,900 start.
– Vibe: Tablet-sized. Heavy wallet damage.
We pointed both lenses at the field. Sun was high. Harsh light. Shadows cut deep into the grass.
Look at the photos. They look similar. Sure. But the Fold handled the shadows better. Less contrast. Smoother skin tones if there had been faces close by. The Ultra kept things a bit harsher. Some people like that contrast. I don’t always.
Then came the zoom. This is where the money talks.
The Ultra does a 2x digital zoom. It’s clean enough. But then? That’s it. No real telephoto lens. Just cropping pixels.
The Fold has actual glass. A telephoto lens. It combines with cropping to give a true 6x preset. Click. Zap. You’re close. Clean edges. The Ultra just gets mushy at that distance. If you need to read a sponsor shirt on a distant defender? Grab the Fold.
Selfies are weird now
We dragged Corinne into frame for a selfie. Here is the thing about foldable selfies. They suck unless you have a camera on the back cover.
The Ultra uses the main 50MP sensor when folded? No, wait. It uses the inner 50MP when open. When closed? The main rear camera flips in software or uses the front? It gets messy. You end up looking at the ground like you’re searching for your keys. Awkward eye contact.
The Fold has a tiny camera on the front of the cover. Snap the phone shut. Point it. Smile. Your eyes lock with the lens. Natural. The resulting image was brighter too. Warmer. The Ultra tends toward darker hues. The Fold lifts the shadows. Makes people look happy. Or at least well-rested.
Night fell. Stadium lights flooded the pitch.
Usually this is where cameras fail. Noise creeps in. Colors turn gray.
Not tonight.
Both phones handled the glare well. The Ultra gave slightly richer color saturation. A punchy blue in the night sky. The Fold? Cleaner. Flatter. More even. I preferred the Ultra’s vibrancy for a party vibe. But if you print the photo, the Fold looked less like a mess.
So, who won?
Does a camera have a “best” setting for a sports event? Probably not. It depends on what you’re chasing.
Want brightness and zoom? Pay extra for the Razr Fold.
Want warmer, punchier colors in a smaller package? The Ultra wins.
Mostly though, they did the same job. We put the phones away eventually. Kicked back. Watched a penalty kick. Forgot about megapixels for thirty seconds. Then Patrick asked if the slow-motion replays were filmed at 120fps.
Yeah. Right back to it.
