Need to Know
FIRST LOOK
10 5 - 18 February 2020
Motorola Razr 2020
bit.ly/razrThe original Motorola Razr, released in
2004, was an era-defining mobile
phone. Leading the trend for thin
clamshell designs, it went on to
become one of the most popular and
recognisable handsets available.
Now Motorola hopes to repeat its
success with the updated Motorola
Razr 2020 – and this one comes with
a significant difference. While it may
look and feel like the older version
when closed, crack open that
nostalgic clamshell and you’ll find an
Android smartphone with a stunning
6.2in flexible OLED screen. There’s
also a small second screen on the
front of the device that lets you see
text, call and email previews when the
case is closed.that its new Razr will be another
best seller. For a little over a grand,
you get a phone that has a single
16-megapixel camera, no slot for
adding storage or extra SIM cards,
and no headphone jack either.
So the Razr’s desirability comes
down to three factors: how much you
value portability, how much you want
a pioneering phone with a foldable
screen and how nostalgic you feel for
its clamshell design.What happened?
Hardware manufacturer Sonos has
provoked anger from its customers by
announcing that it will end support for
older models of its high-end speakers.
In an online announcement (bit.ly/
sonos494), the company told users
that certain products launched between
2006 and 2009 would no longer receive
updates after May. However, anyone
affected would receive a voucher
entitling them to 30% off new (and
fully supported) speakers.
Angry customers took to social
media to express their frustration.
Some claimed the company was letting
down loyal users, while others said their
speakers would essentially become
doorstops. Many said they’d never
buy a Sonos product again.
After the online outcry, which saw
Sonos fans express disappointment in
the typically restrained way you’d
expect from Twitter users, the company
adopted a more conciliatory approach.
Just days after its announcement, Sonos
admitted that: “We heard you. We did
not get this right from the start,” and
went on to claim that, “come May, when
we end new software updates for our
legacy products, they will continue to
work as they do today. We are not
bricking them, we are not forcing them
into obsolescence, and we are not
taking anything away.”
Sonos pulls the plug on old speakers
The retraction addressed one of the
main concerns users had: that modern
speakers connected to so-called ‘legacy
models’ would not receive updates
either. However, the company will still
end software support for older models.How will it affect you?
If you own a Sonos product, the first
thing to do is check the company’s
original blog post at bit.ly/sonos494 to
see if your speaker is included in the
‘obsolete’ range. If it is, it may be time to
consider switching to a new model,
taking advantage of the 30% discount,
or moving away from Sonos entirely –
although other businesses are likely to
do the same at some point. If you are
affected and don’t fancy buying a newspeaker, Sonos has a single option for
you: keep using your speakers without
receiving updates.What do we think?
We understand that older hardware
can’t always handle new software
updates, and that it may not be cost-
effective for companies to offer them.
However, customers should be able to
buy products with a reasonable
expectation that they’ll work properly
for the duration of their lifetime –
especially when spending a pretty
penny on top-of-the-line speakers.
Expect these sorts of software
shenanigans to occur more often as new
technology continues to outgrow older
hardware (and businesses cash in).Opening this case is a little tougher
than it was on the original device.
Motorola has packed an insane
amount of tech inside, but there’s
no denying how pleasant it
feels. The pin-sharp OLED
screen also shows no sign of
creasing when flipped open.
Mid-tier Motorola phones
always tend to be well-
received – and that’s more or less
what the new Razr is, with solid if
unexceptional performance. It runs on a
Snapdragon 710 processor with 6GB
RAM and 128GB internal storage, which
is par for the course for an everyday
smartphone. Sadly, you won’t be paying
a mid-tier price for this phone. With that
dual-screen design, its price is more in
line with an iPhone than a Moto G7. Not
only could that prove a deal-breaker for
many, it may stymie Motorola’s hopes