Getting shoppers to maneuver from iOS to Android (or vice versa) is not any straightforward feat, and firms like Samsung and Google have been attempting varied 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 today, however the firm has gone by way of a significant shift lately to attract extra shoppers 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 govt tells me how the corporate used the success of the Razr to steal iPhone customers away.
A cellphone you possibly can really feel happy with
It’s no secret that I’m a giant fan of flip telephones, and I really feel just like the Razr has set the usual for what a contemporary flip cellphone must 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 giant cowl display is exceptionally practical, supporting full app use and selfies from the first digicam without having to open the cellphone. It’s no marvel iPhone customers, specifically, have an interest within the Razr, in keeping with 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 gadgets after being extra of a significant participant within the finances house for years.
“We actually began leaning into, from a model perspective, extra premium gadgets,” she stated, explaining that “premium” generally is a notion at any worth level, together with extra inexpensive and accessible telephones like Motorola is understood for. “However from a Motorola standpoint, we need to ensure that we are able to provide these shoppers a tool that they’ll really feel happy with.”
The 2023 Razr Plus was my first foldable cellphone, and I used to be instantly drawn to it, utilizing it as my main system for an entire 12 months. There have been some shortcomings, similar to battery life, digicam high quality, and the dearth of notably sturdy water resistance, however that was all addressed with the brand new Razr Plus 2024. Along with a significantly better digicam and longer-lasting battery, the cellphone brings an excellent bigger cowl display at 4 inches and improved software program that enhances the expertise of utilizing the cellphone whereas closed.
In actual fact, most of my time spent utilizing the cellphone is spent whereas it is closed, and that is the place individuals actually begin to discover, particularly iPhone customers. Usually, after I’m out and about, I’ll get approached by strangers or mates who’re curious in regards to the cellphone. 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. Nevertheless, iPhone customers usually gained’t trouble attempting to guess, and I’ll cheekily reply by displaying them the Motorola brand on the again of the cellphone 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 trend. That normally prompts extra questions in regards to the foldable kind issue and the quilt display, and I’ll fortunately display a few of the options, like utilizing apps on the quilt display, utilizing the exterior show to take selfies, and easily slamming the cellphone shut as if I simply dramatically hung up on somebody.
They’re normally fairly impressed with what they see, however that enthusiasm type of simmers when the eventual “nevertheless it’s not an iPhone” remark comes. Nonetheless, I can inform that their curiosity has been piqued, and in keeping with Hagen, no matter Motorola is doing is clearly working.
“We’re seeing, particularly for Razr, quite a lot of the curiosity—quite a lot of the site visitors—from the cellular perspective, in addition to conversion gross sales, coming from iOS,” she instructed me, explaining that it’s about extra than simply the tech, calling the Razr “an exquisite accent” that may enable you to stand out. “You don’t should sacrifice type for tech, and we’re seeing quite a lot 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 just lately when she lastly switched to the Pixel 9 Professional. Nevertheless, 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 effectively with the Razr advertising and marketing technique, hitting a stability between nostalgic and classy through the use of Paris Hilton to assist launch the cellphone 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 cellphone.
Jitesh Ubrani, analysis supervisor for IDC’s worldwide system 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 probably a pacesetter of the counterculture as Gen Z picks up the model,” he instructed 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 the perfect there when it comes to advertising and marketing.”
Gen Z attraction
The cellphone’s design is a giant a part of the way it’s being acquired, and that is the place Motorola’s partnership with Pantone, a multi-year deal established in 2022, comes into play. If you happen to discover, the Razr Plus 2024 coloration choices don’t embody black or white, that are usually very protected choices for shoppers. If you’d like 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 gadgets. Hagen tells me that the partnership positions Motorola as a life-style model, providing great-looking gadgets that can mirror traits in trend and equipment.
“We’ve got a excessive diploma of confidence that we’ll be on pattern and be capable to provide our shoppers a trending coloration, a trending materials, attending end at launch.”
Because of the partnership, Hagen tells me that Motorola has seen quite a lot of curiosity not simply from iPhone customers but in addition from Gen Z, which tends to return hand-in-hand. Android Central’s senior editor of equipment, Namerah Saud-Fatmi, is essentially the most Gen Z of our employees, and he or she couldn’t assist however gush over the Scorching 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,” type of like how the iPhone is seen at the moment.
“The unique RAZR V3 was one of many first gadgets to develop into a cultural icon. Within the early 2000s, having a Razr was a trend assertion, and a standing image for the period’s prime celebrities and ‘cool youngsters.’ Nevertheless, the system was by no means simply an adjunct — it introduced technological improvements of its time and actually bridged the hole between trend 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 latest report from Counterpoint Analysis reveals that Motorola achieved its highest smartphone sell-through volumes in a single quarter throughout Q3 2024, which follows a pattern 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 unimaginable 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 cost effective we have seen for this unimaginable cellphone.
In the course of the Lenovo Tech World keynote, Luca Rossi, EVP of Lenovo’s Clever Gadgets Group, additionally highlighted Motorola’s document progress. Fueled partially by the Motorola Razr, in addition to the corporate’s flagship Edge gadgets, Motorola is predicted to double its enterprise by 2026, which is nice for a corporation that appeared to teeter on the sting of irrelevance just some years in the past.
Motorola’s strategy with foldables has been notably totally different from firms like Google, which has centered 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 kinds of foldables. Motorola has dabbled in different kind components as ideas, however the firm is clearly centered on what works, and Apple is likely to be sensible to concentrate.
So the subsequent time you’re available in the market for a brand new cellphone, whether or not you personal an iPhone or Android, you would possibly need to think about choosing up considered one of our favourite flip telephones of the 12 months. As Hagen stated, Motorola is targeted on constructing a cellphone that buyers are proud to have, and I couldn’t be prouder to make use of the Razr Plus 2024.
