Motorola Cancels Its Most Important Phone Launch Of 2022 At The Last Moment

Less than two weeks ago, Motorola confirmed the dates for what would be the company's most important launch event for 2022. Motorola confirmed that it planned to introduce the Motorola RAZR (2022) — its next-generation foldable smartphone — at an event on August 2, 2022. Despite this event being limited to China, there was considerable global interest surrounding it. This was because the Motorola RAZR (2022) would have marked the return of Motorola to the foldables space after a nearly two-year hiatus.

Motorola's decision to announce the Motorola RAZR (2022) on August 2 made sense, given that Samsung had, by then, already announced the dates for its August 2022 "Unpacked" event. For those unaware, Samsung's upcoming event is largely expected to center around the company's next generation of foldable smartphones: the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Motorola, it seemed, wanted to steal some thunder from Samsung and beat them to launch the first major foldable smartphone for 2022.

Had things gone according to plan, by now you might have been reading detailed specifications and features of the Motorola RAZR (2022). But instead, just hours before the Motorola launch event was supposed to take place, the company abruptly canceled the event. The announcement of cancelation came from Chen Jin, a senior Lenovo executive also responsible for Motorola's business in China.

Motorola's social media channels in China have been promoting the imminent launch of the Motorola RAZR (2022) for a while now, complete with teaser videos and images showcasing the phone in action. However, with less than five hours left for the launch event scheduled for 7:30 PM local time, Chen Jin took to Weibo and announced that the Motorola launch event was canceled.

Motorola's official handle on Weibo confirmed the developments and apologized to Chinese consumers for the gaffe. A translated version of Chen's Weibo post does not cite any specific reason for the cancellation. What makes the situation even more perplexing is the fact that the Weibo note does not talk about an alternate date for the launch event. Given that Samsung's launch event for its Flip 4 and Fold 4 foldable lineup is a little over a week away, Motorola has very little time on its hand to beat Samsung to the race. However, with today's cancelation, that possibility has all but diminished.

As for the phone itself, Motorola RAZR (2022) is rumored to feature flagship-grade specs this time around. It is likely to use the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and could also boast of a larger cover display compared to the one on the Galaxy Z Flip 4. The rest of the features, however, continue to remain under wraps.