For much of the mobile phone era, companies have been building luxury versions aimed at catering to those who want a phone with a luxury brand attached to it, and don’t mind paying a premium for it. The pinnacle of this trend was Vertu, a company founded by Nokia in its heyday, that made luxurious and outrageously priced phones for the affluent.
Yet, the advent of the smartphone era yielded a big challenge for these companies. As a big company like Nokia failed to adapt to the rapidly developing customer demand, brought on by the emergence of the iPhone and the Android ecosystem, so did the luxury phone makers.
This meant the concept of the luxury phone also had to evolve as smartphones have, with customers willing to pay a premium for a luxury phone only if it was as capable as the iPhone. For many years, the interim solution was gold-plated iPhones, but as this was an aftermarket and unreliable option, it never became an official offering.
Instead, companies have taken to partnering with some of the world’s favorite lifestyle or luxury brands. There have been collaborations between Coca-Cola and Realme, a Samsung folding phone with Thom Browne, and, most recently, a debut with Jimmy Choo on the Honor Magic V Flip 2.
Now it’s time for the Swarovski debut with the Razr Brilliant Collection featuring the Razr 2025 and Moto Buds Loop adorned with Swarovski crystals and a striking new color way. Having reviewed the Razr 2025 previously, this feature will focus on the design, while recalling parts of the review and comparing the Razr Brilliant Edition with the equally luxurious Jimmy Choo V Flip 2 Edition.
It’s a surprise that Motorola opted not to base the inaugural Brilliant Collection — a new name for current and future products made in partnership with Swarovski — but this may be due to price. At $1,299.99, the Razr Ultra 2025 is $600 more than the Razr 2025, and $300 more than the crystal-laden Swarovski Edition.
For many people, this version of the Razr 2025 is more than enough. The plush quilted finish is fantastic and a joy to hold; in many ways, it makes the Razr feel like a little ring pillow. The striking Pantone Ice Melt color looks spectacular and reflects in an eye-catching way when twirled in the light.
Unlike the Jimmy Choo luxury flip phone below, the Razr 2025 Brilliant Edition features careful touches that make it one of the most unique phones I’ve ever used.
This is apparent in the 35 Swarovski crystals hand-positioned on the body of the phone. There is perfect symmetry in the placement throughout the rear, complete, and the additions above the screen bring to life an otherwise boring part of the phone.
The Razr series has always been about standing out from the crowd, and few people will have a phone like the Razr 2025 Brilliant Edition. Like the rest of the Razr 2025 series, it delivers on this promise of eliciting a reaction, but having used many of them, this is my new favorite Razr 2025 color.
Adding Swarovski crystals, premium leather, or a special finish, while trying to ensure a phone remains affordable, often means compromising on the specifications. This has been a challenge for phone makers for over a decade, especially when adding luxury materials that have a material cost.
The alternative is soft partnerships like the one between Jimmy Choo and Honor for the new Magic V Flip 2 Dreamweaver edition. This features a shimmering rear finish that is akin to a disco ball when twirled in the light. Bizarrely, it also features a flash on the bottom of the phone instead of the main cover display, an odd position that shouldn’t be repeated.
The Jimmy Choo touches expand to the hinge, where it features a “Designed by Professor Jimmy Choo” engraving. This is not your typical flip phone, and it’s clear to see how this differs from Honor’s more traditional colorways; Honor offers fantastic colors for many of its phones, but nothing like this phone.
This was the right phone to offer a branded version of, simply because the Magic V Flip 2’s specifications are on par with the best phones and best folding phones. It features the first 200MP camera on a flip phone, which is paired with a 50MP ultrawide camera. There’s no telephoto lens, but the Magic V Flip 2 is surprisingly good, even when zooming to 10x.
The Honor Magic V Flip 2 is currently only available for sale in China, with a starting price of CNY 5,999, which converts to approximately $840. There are no plans to launch this in the US, but it would likely match the $999 price tag of the Razr 2025 Brilliant Edition.
These are both among the best folding phones you can buy for different reasons, but one key difference is how each approaches the front screen. Both have large 4-inch displays, but Motorola allows apps to use the entire screen — even if the cameras cut off text — while the Magic V Flip 2 seggregates the display into a vertical mini-phone. Both work well, but the Razr’s approach is the current best-in-class.
Both phones offer outstanding battery life, fast enough charging — Honor’s is much faster, however — and great performance that’s a step below flagship. Herein lies the key difference: if you’re in a country where both are sold, or you’re thinking of which phone to import, there’s just one question to ask: better camera, or better design and cover screen?
If the answer is the former, the Honor Magic V Flip 2 is an outstanding flip phone. If you would rather the latter, look no further than the Razr 2025 Brilliant Edition. Either way, you’re getting one of the best flip phones available right now.
Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.
The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.