Tecno introduced two new foldables today – Phantom V Fold2 and Phantom V Flip2. Both phones come with the maker's own AI Suite, and they are the first devices to have the features straight out of the box.
Tecno Phantom V Flip2 & Phantom V Fold2
Tecno Phantom V Fold2
The Fold2 evolves from its predecessor while keeping some key specs, like the Dimensity 9000+ chip, the 7.85" inner screen and the 6.42" cover display.
The big change is the body, which is now under 6.1 mm thin when unfolded and under 12 mm when folded. It also lost a lot of weight - it is now 249 grams, down from nearly 300 gr, despite the increased battery size.
The Phantom V Fold2 has an Ella AI assistant, powered by Google Gemini. The full AI set of features includes Smart Q&A (basically a chatbot for real-time answers), AI Summary to use in PDFs and webpages, AI Translation with live translation during calls, and AI Writing for text summary, creative writing, proofreading and rewriting capabilities.
Some other features that will utilize the big screen are AI Artboard, which turns scribbles into drawings, and AI Wallpaper, which allows users to create their own wallpaper from a simple text prompt. Tecno also uses AI to boost its Universal Tone Technology, which accurately captures diverse skin tones in photos.
The camera island on the Phantom V Fold2 has been completely redesigned. It is a triple shooter, and all three sensors on the back are 50 MP - a main wide cam, an ultra-wide shooter, and a portrait lens. There are also two 32 MP selfie cameras behind punch holes - one on the cover screen and the other on the inner screen.
The phone is advertised with 24 GB RAM, but in reality, it has 12 GB RAM physical and 12 GB RAM extended, while storage is 512 GB. The battery inside this phone has a 5,750 mAh capacity and supports 70W wired and 15W wireless charging.
Tecno priced the Phantom V Fold2 at just $1,099, which is much lower than competitors' prices. It will go on sale on September 23 in Africa, followed by launches in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America later in September and October.
Tecno Phantom V Flip2
The new Tecno Flip phone has a big cover screen with a resolution of 1,056 x 1,056 instead of the small circle first seen in the Phantom V Flip.
Here, we have a 3.64" square panel that uses most of the cover and wraps around the cameras, similar to what Motorola did with the Razr and Xiaomi followed on the Mix Flip. The inner panel is 6.9" LTPO AMOLED with Full HD+ resolution.
Tecno explained that the cover screen will support over 2000 apps to "make life easy for users who often don't even need to open up the main screen." The cover screen can also be customized with interactive pets that can be petted, and they can also play games, music.
It doesn't have a card-style functionality but instead brings a so-called desktop application center, where users can power up multiple apps without "inefficient sliding". The display also supports a full keyboard display for dialing and typing.
Unlike the Fold, the Flip did not see any significant changes in weight or size - it is still a sub-200 gr foldable that is about 7.6 mm thin when unfolded and 16 mm thin when folded.
We mentioned the dual cameras on the back, both with 50 MP sensors. The ultra-wide-angle shooter supports 150-degree FoV, which is much wider than standard UW cams on smartphones. Tecno also placed one selfie camera on the inner screen with a 32 MP sensor and autofocus.
The Phantom V Flip2 has all the AI features present in its foldable sibling - AI Translation, AI Writing, the voice assistant Ella, and others.
The phone comes with a 4,720 mAh battery, which is one of the biggest cells among flip foldables. Tecno claims the 70W charging provides 50% charge in 15 minutes and a full battery in 43 minutes.
The Tecno Phantom V Flip2 costs $699 and has 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. Like the Fold, it will arrive in Africa on September 23 and then expand to other key regions for Tecno - Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.