Motorola was just hours away from launching its next generation foldable smartphone on August 2nd, the Razr 2022, when it unexpectedly canceled the event.

No information was provided for the cancellation, though a Google translation from Motorola’s official Weibo account said, in part that "We are deeply sorry for this, and thank you for your enthusiastic support for moto's new products. For information about new products, you can continue to pay attention to moto's official information platform."

The moto Razr 2022 is hugely important for Lenovo-Motorola.  The company was an early entrant in the foldable race, unveiling its first Razr foldable in 2019.  However, that device did not perform well in the market with cumulative global shipments of the Razr in 2019 totally in the low thousands and failing to even reach 100 thousand units shipped in 2020.  The company did not introduce a new model in 2021; its 2022 introduction was expected to reboot the brand in foldables.

Speculation is rampant as to why the Razr 2022 launch was canceled at the last moment.  Supply chain issues, production delays due to Covid lockdowns in China, and current geo-political issues related to Taiwan / China Taipei have all been mooted.  What is certain is that Motorola is currently in last place among foldable display smartphone vendors and the cancellation of the launch of the Moto Razr 2022 is sure to create precisely the kind of buzz that the company will not want.

Our Device Technology (EDT) service closely tracks the foldable display smartphone sector.  Clients who want to know how many foldable display smartphones vendors are shipping in each region can learn more, here.