I absolutely loved my original StarTAC and Razr flip phones. They were elegant, purposeful, and iconic—back when Motorola ruled the cell phone world and phones were, well, phones. Fast-forward to April 24, 2025: the new Motorola Razr, powered by Perplexity AI, might be the first phone in years that makes me rethink my relationship with my iPhone (and my Galaxy, too… don’t ask).
Apple redefined mobile computing with its slogan, “there’s an app for that,” but in the emerging age of AI agents, the app metaphor feels outdated. Why tap and swipe through dozens of apps when a capable AI agent can do everything faster and more intuitively?
Apple, for all of its innovation, has postponed its “agentic” Siri upgrade and is far behind in the AI deployment race. Meanwhile, Motorola’s bold move to preload Perplexity as a first-party assistant on its flip phones isn’t just about features—it’s a paradigm shift. The assistant isn’t buried; it’s the interface.
The return to the flip phone form factor isn’t just nostalgic—it’s liberating. If an AI agent can handle my calendar, messages, email, shopping, search, and simple tasks, do I really need an app-centric device? After all… there’s an agent for that!
Now, an important footnote: Motorola is a Lenovo company, and Lenovo is Chinese-owned. This is bound to raise questions about data security, supply chain integrity, and national origin trust. In a world increasingly shaped by tech nationalism, these issues can’t be ignored.
Moto may have a hit or a flop, but this should not distract us from the bigger shift underway: the future isn’t app-based—it’s agentic.
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it. This work was created with the assistance of various generative AI models.