Today, we’re comparing two budget phones, one foldable, and the other non-foldable. That makes this comparison rather odd, but also interesting at the same time. We’ll be comparing the Motorola Razr 2025 vs Apple iPhone 16e. Motorola’s new entry-level foldable is $100 more expensive than the iPhone 16e, but they’re in the same price bracket, basically. If you’re looking for a solid budget phone in both foldable and non-foldable sections, these two are probably in your shortlist.
As per usual, we’ll first list the specifications of both smartphones. Following that, we’ll compare their designs, displays, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio output. Both of these phones are quite new, actually. Motorola’s arrived in April, while the iPhone 16e dropped back in February. With that being said, let’s get down to it, shall we?
Specs
Motorola Razr 2025
Apple iPhone 16e
| Motorola Razr 2025 | Apple iPhone 16e | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 171.3 x 74 x 7.3 mm / 88.1 x 74 x 15.9 mm (unfolded/folded) | 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm |
| Weight | 188 grams | 167 grams |
| Main display | 6.9-inch LTPO AMOLED (120Hz) | 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED (60Hz) |
| Cover display | 3.6-inch AMOLED (90Hz) | N/A |
| Resolution | 2640 x 1080 / 1066 x 1056 | 2532 x 1170 |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 7400X | Apple A18 |
| RAM | 8GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 256GB (UFS 2.2) | 128GB/256GB/512GB |
| Main camera | 50MP (wide, f/1.7 aperture, 1/1.95-inch sensor size, OIS, dual pixel PDAF) | 48MP (f/1.6 aperture, 1/2.55-inch sensor size, 0.7um pixel size, OIS, PDAF) |
| Ultra-wide camera | 13MP (ultrawide, f/2.2 aperture, 1/3.0-inch sensor size, 120-degree FoV) | N/A |
| (Periscope) telephoto camera | N/A | N/A |
| Selfie camera | 32MP (f/2.4 aperture, 1/3.14-inch sensor size) | 12MP (f/1.9 aperture, 1/3.6-inch sensor size, 1.0um pixel size, PDAF) |
| Battery size | 4,500mAh | 4,005mAh |
| Charging | 30W wired, 15W wireless (charger not included) | 30W wired, 7.5W wireless (charger not included) |
| Colors | Gibraltar Sea, Spring Bud, Lightest Sky, Parfait Pink (Pantone) | Black, White |
Motorola Razr 2025 vs Apple iPhone 16e: Design
Needless to say, these two phones look quite different. Not only is one foldable and the other is not, but the general design language is quite different. The Motorola Razr 2025 is made out of aluminum and eco leather, while the iPhone 16e utilizes aluminum and glass. The frame on the iPhone 16e is flat all around, while the frame on the Motorola Razr 2025 is slightly rounded.
All physical buttons are on the right-hand side of the Razr 2025. The power/lock button sits below the volume up and down buttons when the phone is unfolded. It’ the other way around when it’s folded. The iPhone 16e, on the other hand, has the power/lock button on the right side. The volume up and down buttons are on the left side, along with the Action button.
The Motorola Razr 2025 has a display camera hole on its foldable display, it’s centered up top. The iPhone 16e has a display notch on its main display. If we flip them over, you’ll notice even more differences. The Motorola Razr 2025 has a cover display on the back, inside of which two cameras are located, and an LED flash too. The iPhone 16e does not have two displays, of course, and has a single rear camera in the top-left corner.
The Motorola Razr 2025 is IP48 certified for water resistance, while the iPhone 16e comes with an IP68 certification for water and dust resistance. Motorola’s handset has a lot larger main display, and is considerably larger in general because of that. It’s taller and wider when unfolded, while also being thinner. When folded, it’s considerably shorter, of course, but also quite a bit thicker. The Razr 2025 is 21 grams heavier in comparison.
Motorola Razr 2025 vs Apple iPhone 16e: Display
The Motorola Razr 2025 features a 6.9-inch Foldable LTPO AMOLED main display. That panel can project up to 1 billion colors, and has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. HDR10+ content is supported, and the peak brightness goes up to 3,000 nits. The resolution here is 2640 x 1080, while the screen-to-body ratio is at around 85%. The second display on the phone measures 3.6 inches, and it’s an AMOLED panel. It also supports up to 1 billion colors, and HDR10+ content, while it offers a 90Hz refresh rate. Its peak brightness is 1,700 nits, and the resolution is 1066 x 1056. Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus protects this panel.
The Apple iPhone 16e, on the other hand, features a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED dislay. That panel is flat, and it supports HDR10 content. It has a resolution of 2532 x 1170, but its refresh rate is only 60Hz, it doesn’t support high refresh rate. The peak brightness here is 1,200 nits, while the screen-to-body ratio is at around 87%. The display aspect ratio this display offers is 19.5:9. The Ceramic Shield glass protects the iPhone 16e’s panel.
Displays on both smartphones are good, but quite different. The Motorola Razr 2025’s main display can get notably brighter in comparison, while it also has a lot higher refresh rate. The iPhone 16e’s panel is sharper, but it doesn’t support a high refresh rate, plus it is not as bright. Even the cover display on Motorola’s handset has a higher refresh rate and gets brighter than the iPhone 16e’s panel. All displays are quite vibrant and have good viewing angles, though.
Motorola Razr 2025 vs Apple iPhone 16e: Performance
The MediaTek Dimensity 7400X processor fuels the Motorola Razr 2025. That is the company’s 4nm chip, and a mid-range processor at that. It’s essentially a slightly higher-clocked version of the Dimensity 7300X from last year. That chip is backed by 8GB of RAM and UFS 2.2 flash storage inside this smartphone.
The Apple iPhone 16e, on the flip side, is fueled by the Apple A18 processor. That chip has one less GPU core than the regular Apple A18 chip inside the iPhone 16. It is paired with 8GB of RAM inside the iPhone 16e, while Apple also includes NVMe flash storage here. Neither phone supports storage expansion, by the way.
In comparison, the Apple A18 is a considerably more powerful chip, even with one less GPU core. It’s not even close, actually. While both smartphones do offer good performance, the Motorola Razr 2025 will stutter a bit more during use. We will know more once we review the device, but during our short time with it, that much was obvious, not to mention that its predecessor has very similar specs and offered similar performance. The iPhone 16e is the better phone for gaming, without a doubt.
Motorola Razr 2025 vs Apple iPhone 16e: Battery
The Motorola Razr 2025 has a 4,500mAh battery on the inside. The Apple iPhone 16e, on the other hand, comes with a 4,005mAh unit. The iPhone 16e does offer good battery life, but nothing to write home about. We did not test out the Motorola Razr 2025 just yet, but based on what we’ve seen from its predecessor, it will have similar battery life to the iPhone 16e. The Motorola Razr 2025 does have a slightly larger battery pack than its predecessor.
Both of these smartphones should be enough for most people to get through the day. If you’re a power user, you may need to top them out during the day, but it all depends. It all depends on how you use your device and a number of other factors, not to mention that the Razr 2025 has two displays, so it’ll also depend on how much you use which display.
In terms of charging, the Motorola Razr 2025 supports 30W wired and 15W wireless charging. The Apple iPhone 16e supports 30W wired and 7.5W wireless charging. The Motorola Razr 2025 will charge faster despite having a larger battery and the same (wired) charging speed, technically, as it maintains higher charging speeds during the process. It’ll take you a bit over an hour to fully charge the device. Charging the iPhone 16e takes around an hour and 50 minutes. Neither phone comes with a charger in the box, by the way.
Motorola Razr 2025 vs Apple iPhone 16e: Cameras
The Motorola Razr 2025 includes two cameras on the back. It has a 50-megapixel main camera (1/1.95-inch sensor size) and a 13-megapixel ultrawide unit (1/3.0-inch sensor size, 120-degree FoV). The Apple iPhone 16e, on the flip side, has a single camera on the back. That is a 48-megapixel camera (1/2.55-inch sensor size).
Motorola’s handset has a larger main camera sensor. The iPhone 16e offers good performance in the camera department, but it cannot compete with the iPhone 16, especially not in areas with limited lighting. The downgrade in the sensor department really does show when the light goes away. During the day, it does a mostly good job and provides balanced pictures.
We did not get to test out the Motorola Razr 2025’s camera just yet, but we do expect very similar performance as from the Razr 2024. Why? Well, because it has the same camera hardware and basically an identical chip (higher clock speed). Which means it will offer good performance, but not great. Both phones are kind of limited in the camera department, but the Razr 2025 at least has that secondary camera on the back, for ultrawide shots.
Audio
You’ll find a set of stereo speakers on both of these phones. The speakers on the iPhone 16e are a bit louder, but the ones on the Razr 2025 are not bad at all. The sound quality coming from both sets is good.
You will not find an audio jack on these two smartphones. If you need to connect your wired headphones, you can do that via their Type-C ports. Both smartphones also support Bluetooth. In the case of the Razr 2025 it’s Bluetooth 5.4. The iPhone 16e has Bluetooth 5.3 support.
2025-05-01 15:04:52