Tecno Phantom V Fold review

Introduction

The democratization of foldables is now a fact. Joining a growing list of flexible-screen models now available outside of China, the Tecno Phantom V Fold presents a value-driven alternative to the similarly named Galaxy – the de facto standard for a tablet in the guise of a phone.

The Phantom has the best proportions of a foldable that the Galaxy doesn’t – the cover screen is bigger and so much more usable than the Samsung’s, and the foldable screen inside is bigger too. A large battery is then needed to power that whole 120Hz OLED screen area, and you end up with a rather hefty package – a gram under 300g.

You get a fairly capable camera system with a couple of 50MP units for the main and tele, plus an autofocus ultrawide – when do we ever get AF on a UW on a Samsung foldable?

Unlike most foldables, the Tecno has a Mediatek chipset at its heart. The Dimensity 9000+ is about on par with the Snapdragon 8(+) Gen 1, so the Phantom V Fold is anything but underpowered. And with 12GB of RAM as standard and 256GB or 512GB of storage, you won’t be in a rush for memory either.

Other small niceties include 45W fast charging, stereo speakers and FM radio – the flagship Snapdragons ditched this a while ago. It’s a most welcome sight that the V Fold is running Android 13, so its software is also up to date (also quite capable, it turns out).

Tecno Phantom V Fold specifications at a glance:

• Body: 159.4 x 140.4 x 6.9mm unfolded, 159.4 x 72 x 14.2-14.5mm folded, 299g; Victus Gorilla Glass front, plastic back, aluminum frame; Schott UTG on the foldable screen.
• Display: 7.85″ Foldable LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 1100 nits (peak), 2000x2296px resolution, 10.3:9 aspect ratio, 388ppi; Cover screen: 6.42″ LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 1100 nits ( pic), 1080 x 2550 pixels, 431 DPI.
• Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 9000+ (4nm): Octa-core (1×3.20GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.85GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.80GHz Cortex-A510); Mali-G710 MC10.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• Operating System/Software: Android 13, HiOS 13 Fold.
• Rear camera:Wide (main): 50MP, f/1.9, 1/1.3″, PDAF; Telephoto: 50 MP, PDAF, 2x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 13MP, 120˚.
• Selfie camera:Blanket:: 32MP, f/2.5. Internal: 16MP, f/2.5.
• Video capture:Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps; Front camera: 1080p@60fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; 45W wired, 40% in 15 min, 100% in 55 min (advertised).
• Various : Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); NFC; FM radio; stereo speakers.

Unboxing the Tecno Phantom V Fold

Tecno came up with a fancy box for the Phantom V Fold, as befits a foldable. As large as two ordinary telephone booths, and with two dashes of a V in the middle, the wrapper opens on both sides, revealing a “Beyond Extraordinary” cover. Only after removing this can you see the phone, itself in a separate tray.

Scope of delivery • Clip-on case

Another box below contains a snap-on back cover with kickstand functionality. We’re not quite sure you’d want to cover what is one of the prettiest back panels out there, but you do. Two other separate containers contain the neatly packaged charger and USB cable.