For a smartphone firm that has been centered on the finances and mid-range phase since its inception, it was a giant shock when Tecno went all-in and unveiled its first folding smartphone throughout MWC 2023. Dubbed the Phantom V Fold 5G, this horizontal folding smartphone is a direct competitor to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold collection, and can be made completely in India. This might be one of many causes for its extremely aggressive worth of Rs. 88,888, which is round the place we normally discover vertically folding or flip smartphones. Tecno just lately launched this cellphone in India, and we acquired to spend a while with it. Here is what we predict.
It’s only pure to attract comparisons with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, and its specs, the brand new Tecno Phantom V Fold 5G is fairly well-equipped. From its flagship-grade 4nm SoC and as much as 512GB of storage, to its large 7.85-inch LTPO AMOLED show, it checks all of the essential bins. The cellphone itself is cumbersome, identical to every other folding cellphone of this kind, and is supposed for use with two fingers. It’s on the heavier facet too. When folded, there’s nearly no seen hole between the 2 halves, which I fairly like. At its thickest level (close to the hinge), the Phantom V Fold 5G continues to be slimmer than the competitors at 14.5mm.
The Tecno Phantom V Fold 5G has an aluminium body. The corporate has developed a proprietary hinge which it says minimises the crease. This may nonetheless be felt in the event you run your finger throughout the centre of the folding display, however it’s is simply seen at excessive angles. The outer show additionally has a delicate curve on one facet which is an fascinating design selection. The ports and buttons are the place you’d count on them to be, and the ability button additionally homes the fingerprint sensor. In my temporary time with this cellphone, its construct high quality gave the impression to be respectable, though I did discover a little bit of play within the hinge when the cellphone was folded.
The crease of the folding show (left) is simply seen at excessive angles
The again panel of the Tecno Phantom V Fold 5G’s black variant is made out of recycled plastic waste, whereas the white variant makes use of an “natural silicon leather-based” materials. There is a distinctive digital camera module on the again which features a 50-megapixel major digital camera, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide digital camera, and a 50-megapixel telephoto digital camera able to 2X optical zoom. The selfie digital camera on the outer display is a 32-megapixel sensor, whereas the folding display will get a 16-megapixel sensor in a hole-punch cutout. The digital camera app has a whole lot of further options to benefit from the folding display and we’ll discover all of them within the full evaluation.
The Tecno Phantom V Fold 5G runs HiOS 13 Fold, which is predicated on Android 13. Tecno says that over 1,000 apps have been optimised to benefit from the folding show and ought to work in split-screen and multi-window modes. Whereas the show can keep unfolded at about 90 levels, I discovered that it does not maintain its place very properly in the event you attempt to depart it open it at different angles. I am curious to see how this can have an effect on day after day use and productiveness.
The outer show of the Tecno Phantom V Fold 5G is a 120Hz LTPO AMOLED panel
The Phantom V Fold lacks wi-fi charging, however makes up for that with a big 5,000mAh battery and 45W wired charging. Based on Tecno, the Phantom V Fold 5G ought to have the ability to cost fully in underneath an hour. Its outer show is a 6.42-inch full-HD+ AMOLED panel, whereas the within will get a 7.85-inch AMOLED show with a 2K decision. The Phantom V Fold 5G is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ SoC.
The Tecno Phantom V Fold 5G is probably the most reasonably priced folding cellphone of its form in India in the mean time, and that by itself ought to pique the curiosity of many who need to get their first foldable. The benefits of a horizontal folding cellphone versus a vertical one are simple, and price contemplating now which you can get both kind for roughly the identical worth. Nonetheless, that is Tecno’s first stab on the premium smartphone market in India and it will be fascinating to see how consumers reply to the Phantom V Fold 5G. We’ll have our full evaluation of this cellphone prepared in due time, so be sure to do not miss that.
