Stress test reveals new weakness in Motorola’s design
Vlogger Zach Nelson, nicknamed JerryRigEverything, known for his brutal smartphone testing, tested Motorola’s flagship foldable smartphone, known as the Moto Razr+ in the US and the Razr 40 Ultra outside of it. Let’s say right away that the brand new Motorola clamshell turned out to be not up to par, failing the standard JerryRigEverything tests.
Nelson humorously described the situation:
This has NEVER happened before… Even after 10 years of testing phones for strength… Manufacturers continue to surprise us with new ways of breaking phones!
The stress test revealed a new weakness in Motorola’s design. While the new flip phone has an aluminum chassis, stainless steel hinge, and Gorilla Glass Victus protection for the outer screen, the last component looks set to fail in unexpected ways.
The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra clamshell failed the survival test in a unique way
The video shows that Motorola has built the Razr 40 Ultra’s outer screen on a weak foundation. Literally. And it’s hard to say whether Motorola realized its mistake or hoped no one would notice.
Covered in Gorilla Glass Victus, the outer screen lacks a structural backplate and has a void behind it, especially around the hinge area. The hinge and inner display passed the flex test, but the outer screen buckled under pressure. There is nothing behind the display to keep the glass from cracking if more pressure is applied to it than usual. Ironically, the internal flexible screen performed better than the external one, which, it would seem, should be stronger.
