Getting customers to maneuver from iOS to Android (or vice versa) is not any simple feat, and firms like Samsung and Google have been making an attempt numerous methods to persuade customers to make the swap, to a point of success. Motorola could also be considerably of an underdog within the Android house lately, however the firm has gone via a significant shift in recent times to attract extra customers to its model, with smartphone gross sales reaching document highs in 2024. Now, Motorola is seeing the fruits of its labor attain even iPhone customers, and an organization government tells me how the corporate used the success of the Razr to steal iPhone customers away.
A telephone you possibly can really feel pleased with
It’s no secret that I’m an enormous fan of flip telephones, and I really feel just like the Razr has set the usual for what a contemporary flip telephone ought to be. Not solely does the design stand out by evoking a way of nostalgia and ingenuity (foldables are nonetheless considerably area of interest), however the massive cowl display is exceptionally purposeful, supporting full app use and selfies from the first digital camera while not having to open the telephone. It’s no surprise iPhone customers, specifically, have an interest within the Razr, based on Nicole Hagen, Motorola’s head of world product advertising and marketing.
I had a possibility to interview Hagen throughout Lenovo Tech World 2024, throughout which the corporate revealed some attention-grabbing factors concerning its progress whereas offering a take a look at its upcoming Moto AI options. In our interview, Hagen addressed how Motorola has began leaning into premium units after being extra of a significant participant within the finances house for years.
“We actually began leaning into, from a model perspective, extra premium units,” she stated, explaining that “premium” could be a notion at any worth level, together with extra reasonably priced and accessible telephones like Motorola is thought for. “However from a Motorola standpoint, we wish to ensure that we are able to supply these customers a tool that they will really feel pleased with.”
The 2023 Razr Plus was my first foldable telephone, and I used to be instantly drawn to it, utilizing it as my main machine for a complete 12 months. There have been some shortcomings, resembling battery life, digital camera high quality, and the shortage of notably sturdy water resistance, however that was all addressed with the brand new Razr Plus 2024. Along with a a lot better digital camera and longer-lasting battery, the telephone brings an excellent bigger cowl display at 4 inches and improved software program that enhances the expertise of utilizing the telephone whereas closed.
In truth, most of my time spent utilizing the telephone is spent whereas it is closed, and that is the place folks actually begin to discover, particularly iPhone customers. Usually, after I’m out and about, I’ll get approached by strangers or associates who’re curious concerning the telephone. In the event that they’re Android customers, they’ll usually ask if it’s “the Flip,” referring to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip collection. Nonetheless, iPhone customers usually gained’t hassle making an attempt to guess, and I’ll cheekily reply by displaying them the Motorola emblem on the again of the telephone and saying, “It’s the brand new Motorola Razr.”
In fact, simply listening to that is sufficient to get a response out of them, particularly in the event that they grew up when the unique Razr was all the fashion. That normally prompts extra questions concerning the foldable type issue and the quilt display, and I’ll fortunately exhibit a few of the options, like utilizing apps on the quilt display, utilizing the exterior show to take selfies, and easily slamming the telephone shut as if I simply dramatically hung up on somebody.
They’re normally fairly impressed with what they see, however that enthusiasm kind of simmers when the eventual “nevertheless it’s not an iPhone” remark comes. Nonetheless, I can inform that their curiosity has been piqued, and based on Hagen, no matter Motorola is doing is clearly working.
“We’re seeing, particularly for Razr, a variety of the curiosity—a variety of the site visitors—from the cell perspective, in addition to conversion gross sales, coming from iOS,” she advised me, explaining that it’s about extra than simply the tech, calling the Razr “a phenomenal accent” that may provide help to stand out. “You don’t must sacrifice model for tech, and we’re seeing a variety of iOS customers coming over, particularly into the Razr franchise.”
Intelligent advertising and marketing
Android Central’s editor-in-chief, Shruti Shekar, was a long-time iPhone person till not too long ago when she lastly switched to the Pixel 9 Professional. Nonetheless, it was the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 that kickstarted her want to change again to Android, as she beloved the shape issue, the quilt display, and the design selections. She wrote how Motorola performed to its strengths properly with the Razr advertising and marketing technique, hitting a steadiness between nostalgic and classy by utilizing Paris Hilton to assist launch the telephone whereas additionally utilizing very Gen Z-centric imagery on its social media.
She additionally interviewed former iPhone customers who determined to change to the brand new Razr, with one saying that it gave him a “stage of awe and pleasure for expertise that I haven’t felt in years.” He identified the nostalgic issue of the Razr and even went as far as to say he wouldn’t think about switching again to an iPhone, even when Apple launched a flip telephone.
Jitesh Ubrani, analysis supervisor for IDC’s worldwide machine trackers, acknowledged the shift we’ve seen with Motorola because it revamped the Razr collection. “Motorola went from a pioneer cell phone maker to a dominant one to an underdog to doubtlessly a pacesetter of the counterculture as Gen Z picks up the model,” he advised Shruti in an interview.
Anshel Sag, a senior analyst at Moor Insights & Technique, agreed, saying that “the Razr collection is the tip of that spear, and so they appear to be doing one of the best there when it comes to advertising and marketing.”
Gen Z enchantment
The telephone’s design is an enormous a part of the way it’s being obtained, and that is the place Motorola’s partnership with Pantone, a multi-year deal established in 2022, comes into play. In the event you discover, the Razr Plus 2024 coloration choices don’t embrace black or white, that are usually very secure choices for customers. In order for you the most recent flagship Razr, you solely have standout colours to select from, and so they all include a vegan leather-based end on the again, which differs from the usual glass backs you’ll discover on iPhones and different units. Hagen tells me that the partnership positions Motorola as a life-style model, providing great-looking units that can mirror traits in style and equipment.
“We’ve a excessive diploma of confidence that we are going to be on development and have the ability to supply our customers a trending coloration, a trending materials, attending end at launch.”
Because of the partnership, Hagen tells me that Motorola has seen a variety of curiosity not simply from iPhone customers but additionally from Gen Z, which tends to come back hand-in-hand. Android Central’s senior editor of equipment, Namerah Saud-Fatmi, is probably the most Gen Z of our workers, and she or he couldn’t assist however gush over the Sizzling Pink Razr Plus 2024. When she requested how the colour connects to the roots of the Razr lineup, Maria Jose Martin, director of North America Advertising and marketing at Motorola, defined how the Razr was seen as a “standing image,” kind of like how the iPhone is seen at present.
“The unique RAZR V3 was one of many first units to develop into a cultural icon. Within the early 2000s, having a Razr was a style assertion, and a standing image for the period’s prime celebrities and ‘cool youngsters.’ Nonetheless, the machine was by no means simply an adjunct — it introduced technological improvements of its time and actually bridged the hole between style and expertise.”
The Razr is a success once more
Whereas Hagen didn’t present numbers, it’s clear that Motorola’s technique is pushing the corporate to new heights. A current report from Counterpoint Analysis exhibits that Motorola achieved its highest smartphone sell-through volumes in a single quarter throughout Q3 2024, which follows a development we’ve been seeing with its foldable telephones attaining notable market share numbers.
It positively helps that the Razr Plus and its cheaper sibling have already seen some unbelievable offers this 12 months regardless of having simply launched in July, and we’re more likely to see extra when Black Friday rolls round. On the time of writing, you possibly can presently buy the Razr Plus at a $200 low cost, which isn’t even the most affordable we have seen for this unbelievable telephone.
Through the Lenovo Tech World keynote, Luca Rossi, EVP of Lenovo’s Clever Units Group, additionally highlighted Motorola’s document progress. Fueled partly by the Motorola Razr, in addition to the corporate’s flagship Edge units, Motorola is predicted to double its enterprise by 2026, which is nice for an organization that appeared to teeter on the sting of irrelevance just some years in the past.
Motorola’s method with foldables has been notably completely different from firms like Google, which has targeted its efforts on a larger-screened foldable as an alternative of releasing a less expensive Pixel Flip, or Samsung, which divides its consideration throughout each forms of foldables. Motorola has dabbled in different type elements as ideas, however the firm is clearly targeted on what works, and Apple is likely to be sensible to concentrate.
So the following time you’re available in the market for a brand new telephone, whether or not you personal an iPhone or Android, you may wish to think about choosing up certainly one of our favourite flip telephones of the 12 months. As Hagen stated, Motorola is concentrated on constructing a telephone that buyers are proud to have, and I couldn’t be prouder to make use of the Razr Plus 2024.