Tecno Phantom V Fold for review

Today Tecno announced the Phantom V Fold – the company’s first foldable smartphone, and it’s a big one. Here’s a video on key features to get us started.

The Tecno Phantom V Fold arrives in generous packaging. You get a cool aramid fiber case for the back panel with a built-in kickstand – an integral part of any foldable phone case. You also get a 45W charger, which is more than you’d get with a Samsung foldable phone these days.

Tecno has opted for a book-style design for its first foldable phone. But the rear panel stands out among foldables thanks to a unique recycled plastic design, not much different from the Phantom X2 Pro.

It’s grippy in the hand and the rough texture is a breath of fresh air next to the myriad of different glass panels we’re used to. A drawback of the back panel is that it does not contain wireless charging.

Continuing the thread of usability, the Tecno Phantom V Fold feels solid in the hand. It’s well built and when closed it looks like a medium bar phone with the edges tapering slightly to a comfortable and relatively thin frame.

The frame itself tapers at the very edge to allow a thin slit for your fingers when you want to open the Phantom V Fold.

The cover screen of the Tecno Phantom V Fold is a 6.42-inch 1080x2550px AMOLED, capable of up to 120Hz variable refresh rate. The panel is more usable than the Galaxy Z Fold4’s narrower cover screen.

Another area where the Tecno foldable is superior is the built-in battery, which is a generous 5,000mAh unit.

Handling is double

The interior screen is also larger than that of the Galaxy Z Fold4 at 7.85 inches. It is also a 120Hz AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2000x2296px.

It’s just a bigger panel than the Galaxy Z Fold4 and you can fit more inside. But by default, the Phantom V Fold is set to a slightly larger scale factor, which means the UI is a bit larger than the Galaxy.

The crease of the Tecno Phantom V Fold is not as noticeable as that of the Galaxy Z Fold4. This is partly due to the different hinge designs.

The Tecno Phantom V Fold next to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4

The Phantom V Fold can close flat, while the Galaxy Z Fold4 has a small gap that lets dust and particles through when in a pocket.

On the design side, the Tecno Phantom V Fold is superior to the Galaxy Z Fold4. But there are nuances to this. The hinge used by Tecno cannot stay in any position like that of Samsung’s foldable box.

Then there’s the Galaxy’s water resistance and the fact that at 263g, the Galaxy Z Fold4 weighs 36 grams less than the 299g Tecno Phantom V Fold.

There is no denying that the Tecno Phantom V Fold is a heavy device. But you get more, literally – more battery capacity and more display area at both ends.

Stick around for even more Tecno Phantom V Fold coming soon!