For a smartphone firm that has been centered on the funds and mid-range section 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 The folding smartphone is a direct competitor to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold sequence, and might 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 often discover vertically folding or flip smartphones. Tecno not too long ago launched this telephone in India, and we obtained to spend a while with it. This is what we predict.
It is just pure to attract comparisons with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, and taking a look at 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 containers. The telephone itself is cumbersome, similar to another folding telephone of this kind, and is supposed for use with two palms. It’s on the heavier aspect 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 remains to be slimmer than the competitors at 14.5mm.
The Tecno Phantom V Fold 5G has an aluminum body. The corporate has developed a proprietary hinge which it says minimizes the crease. This will nonetheless be felt for those who run your finger throughout the middle of the folding display screen, but it surely’s solely seen at excessive angles. The outer show additionally has a mild curve on one aspect which is an fascinating design alternative. The ports and buttons are the place you’d count on them to be, and the facility button additionally homes the fingerprint sensor. In my temporary time with this telephone, its construct high quality gave the impression to be first rate, though I did discover a little bit of play within the hinge when the telephone was folded.
The crease of the folding show (left) is barely seen at excessive angles
The again panel of the Tecno Phantom V Fold 5G’s black variant is produced from recycled plastic waste, whereas the white variant makes use of an “natural silicon leather-based” materials. There is a distinctive digicam module on the again which features a 50-megapixel main digicam, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide digicam, and a 50-megapixel telephoto digicam able to 2X optical zoom. The selfie digicam on the outer display screen is a 32-megapixel sensor whereas the folding display screen will get a 16-megapixel sensor in a hole-punch cutout. The digicam app has a number of further options to benefit from the folding display screen 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 optimized to benefit from the folding show and may 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 for those who attempt to depart it open at different angles. I am curious to see how this can have an effect on each 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. In line with Tecno, the Phantom V Fold 5G ought to be capable to cost utterly in beneath 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 inexpensive folding telephone of its type in India in the intervening time, and that by itself ought to pique the curiosity of many who wish to get their first foldable telephone. Some great benefits of a horizontal folding telephone versus a vertical one are simple, and value contemplating now which you can get both sort 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 patrons reply to the Phantom V Fold 5G. We’ll have our full evaluation of this telephone prepared in due time, so be sure to do not miss that.