CNET
Anyone who bought a new, foldable Motorola Razr with 5G from Amazon might’ve encountered a surprise on unboxing it. Namely, someone from Amazon might’ve gotten there first.
The new Motorla Razr ships in a special box that shows off the unfolded screen. Amazon is opening up the package to fold the phone shut before shipping.
Amazon
“NOTE: originally, Razr was meant to be shipped in the unfolded position,” read a now-removed note at the top of the unlocked phone’s Amazon listing (and a hat-tip to our friends at The Verge for spotting it). “However, in order to better protect the display we have folded your Razr — it’s safer, but may not look as elegant as we hoped.
“We apologize if you see fingerprints on your device, but we assure you your Razr is brand new,” the note concluded.
The new Razr is built from aluminum and Gorilla Glass 5, and can withstand being folded 200,000 times, Motorola tells us. But Motorola ships the phone in a special box designed to double as a speaker base and show off the unfolded OLED screen — and apparently, that gave Amazon some pause before shipping the $1,400 device.
Some customers weren’t happy, and complained in Amazon reviews about receiving a premanipulated device.
“There was not protector film on the inner screen, the protector film on the outer screen was [offset] really bad and the device came folded inside its packaging,” reads one such review. “Last but not least, when inspecting the lid of the box I could notice that someone did some hand cutting inside in order to make the lid fit with the phone folded…”
Motorola tells CNET that it’s now packaging the phones in a folded position from the start.
“Motorola is packaging the new Razr in its closed form at the factory level, so devices are not being reopened by Amazon,” a Motorola spokesperson says. “Once the device leaves our facilities it is not reopened.”
Amazon didn’t immediately respond when asked if it alters the position of any other phones prior to shipping.
Read more: The best phones of 2020
Originally published Oct. 29.
Update, Oct. 30: Adds comment from Motorola confirming that new Razr phones are now being packaged in the folded-shut position to begin with.
