Motorola delays $1,500 foldable Razr phone due to supply issues

Washington: Motorola is delaying the launch of the foldable Razr smartphone in North America, saying demand for the $1,500 device has outstripped its supply predictions.

The handset, announced in November, was supposed to become available for pre-order in December and begin shipping to customers in January. “Motorola has decided to adjust Razr’s presale and launch timing to better meet consumer demand,” the Lenovo Group Ltd. unit said Friday in a statement. “We are working to determine the appropriate quantity and schedule to ensure that more consumers have access to Razr at launch.”

The company declined to say when the phone would go on sale, but said it does not anticipate a “significant shift” from the original launch timeline. In an interview with Bloomberg News earlier this year, Motorola President Sergio Buniac said he hoped for “a little bit more” demand than supply.

Motorola did not blame technical issues for its delay. Other companies, such as Samsung Electronics Co., have struggled to launch foldable devices on time due to issues with screens failing. When Motorola announced the device, design chief Ruben Castano said “We feel like we’ve really developed a robust solution.”

The foldable Razr looks similar to the original model from the early 2000s, but runs Google’s Android operating system and features touchscreens inside and out. Motorola previously said the phone would also go on sale in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Australia, but it did not share new launch information for those regions on Friday.