The Motorola Razr Fold has an accessory problem that no one’s talking about

Foldable phones are fragile. That’s what a lot of people think, and while I don’t think foldables are as delicate as their reputation implies, you should protect a folding phone in the same way you would any other.

I hate display scratches, even minor ones, so I always use a screen protector and a case with every phone I have. Then I got the Motorola Razr Fold, and that changed. Not because it’s a phone that doesn’t need screen protectors, but because it’s almost impossible to find quality accessories for the phone.

Look on Amazon for screen protectors and cases for the Razr Fold, and the first thing you’ll notice is the lack of recognizable names. Spigen, Otterbox, Caseology, and ESR don’t make any accessories for the phone. The majority of cases you can get for this phone are from Rukey or FNTCASE, and many offerings don’t have a brand name.

There’s nothing wrong with getting a cheap case; I’ve bought plenty over the years. But when it comes to a phone as special (and expensive) as the Razr Fold, I want something nicer. I want something that feels nice to hold and use and, above all, inspires confidence that it’ll survive any accidents.

The only cases I could find from brands I know come from Poetic and Thinborne, and they’re polar opposites. The Poetic is a thick, bulky, rugged case designed to make sure the Razr Fold survives the apocalypse. The Thinborne is a stylish, thin affair that’s more about ergonomics and style. Of the two, the Thinborne is what I gravitate to. That aramid fiber won’t resist as big a drop as the Poetic, but it will keep the phone safe against most wear and tear — and that’s a trade-off I’m willing to make with a phone as big and heavy as this one.

If you own a Razr Fold and want a nice case, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Thinborne. If you’re incredibly clumsy, look to Poetic.

You might be wondering why I’m complaining if there are two good options for the phone. Put simply, two isn’t enough. One is thin and light, the other thick and heavy. What about the in-between? Some might not like the Thinborne case’s style. My wife, for example, has always loved the huge variety of cases from Casetify. No such luck for the Razr Fold. It’s the same story with dbrand — don’t hold your breath if you prefer skins to cases.

The screen protector situation is somehow worse. I prioritize a screen protector on a folding phone over a case. One of the things I do every day in the kitchen is bend the hinge to 90 degrees and place the phone’s screen down on the counter while I watch YouTube. Without a screen protector, it’s only a matter of time before the screen gets scratched. In my experience, a matter of time equates to about a week.

In the UK, I have only two options. One is an awful plastic screen protector that feels disgusting and, in the case of the one I bought, is slightly too big for the phone. Second is the glass screen protector you see above. It came with no instructions of any kind, and it had adhesive only in the black bezel, none in the transparent part of the screen.

I’ve used six of these, and each one has slowly shifted left or right on the screen as I use the back gesture, because the small amount of adhesive in the bezel isn’t strong enough to keep it in place. They all lifted at the top and bottom, allowing dust ingress, and even worse, there’s an air gap between the clear glass and the display, so touches don’t always register while typing. Funnily enough, the Thinborne case came with an identical screen protector included in the box. The case actually fixed the adhesive issue by going over the edges of the screen protector, but it didn’t address the air gap.

On Amazon US, you have more options. There are a few glass screen protectors that, in the photos, look to have full adhesive across the whole thing. Despite that, there are reviews that complain of the edges chipping off and the same airgap issue I’ve had, so I wouldn’t recommend that, either.

The Poetic case, which I mentioned earlier, has a screen protector built in, but there are downsides. Because it’s built into the case, you can’t easily replace it separately if you scratch or crack it. Even though the listing says the screen protector is glass, reviews mention that it’s actually plastic, which won’t feel as good and will scratch easily. It’s also going to make SIM swapping harder. The Razr Fold’s SIM tray is on the half of the phone with the cover screen, so you’ll need to remove the part of the case with the screen protector every time you need access to it.

Motorola makes one first-party case for the Razr Fold. It isn’t available in the UK. You read that right: Motorola doesn’t even sell the cases it makes for its own phones in all the markets where those phones are sold. Better yet, Motorola doesn’t make any screen protectors at all.

Compared to Samsung and Google, Motorola doesn’t come off looking good. Google and Samsung don’t need to make their own accessories — Spigen, ESR, Casetify, and other big names make a plethora of cases for Pixel and Galaxy phones, yet first-party options still exist. Motorola doesn’t have the same kind of popularity with third-party accessory makers. Its customers are a captive audience who, in most cases, have no option but to pay Moto more to keep their phones safe, yet the accessories don’t exist.

Don’t let my harsh words fool you into thinking I dislike Motorola or the Razr Fold. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The Razr Fold is my favorite foldable I’ve used, and I’d even put it forward as a contender for phone of the year. My love for this phone is why I’m being so hard on it.

My review unit goes back to Motorola later this month, and I’m seriously considering buying one. However, the difficulty I’d have keeping it in good condition gives me pause. My mechanical sympathy makes me dislike getting even a scratch on a review unit that isn’t mine — that’s why I spent my own money buying screen protectors for it. The idea of going through that with a phone I’ve spent my own money on? That’s a hard pass.