Introduction
The Tecno Phantom V Fold is a foldable smartphone that was announced in February 2023 and released in April 2023. It is the first foldable device from Tecno, a Chinese smartphone brand that mainly targets the African and Asian markets. The Phantom V Fold competes with other foldable phones such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, the OPPO Find N2, and the Honor Magic Vs. In this post, I will review the main features and specifications of the Phantom V Fold, and give my opinion on its pros and cons.
Design and Display
The Phantom V Fold has a similar design to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series, with a book-like folding mechanism that opens up to reveal a large tablet-sized screen. The device has a glass front (closed) with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection, a plastic back, and an aluminum frame. It weighs 299 grams and measures 159.4 x 140.4 x 6.9 mm when unfolded, and 159.4 x 72 x 14.2-14.5 mm when folded. It comes in two colors: black and white.
The Phantom V Fold has two displays: a cover display and a main display. The cover display is a 6.42-inch LTPO AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1080 x 2550 pixels, a refresh rate of 120Hz, and a peak brightness of 1100 nits. It has a punch-hole cutout for the cover camera, which is a 32 MP selfie shooter.
The main display is a 7.85-inch foldable LTPO AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2000 x 2296 pixels, a refresh rate of 120Hz, and a peak brightness of 1100 nits. It has a thin bezel around the edges and a slight crease in the middle where the hinge is located. It also has a notch for the main camera, which is a 16 MP selfie shooter.
The Phantom V Fold supports multitasking features such as split-screen, floating window, drag and drop, and OneLeap, which allows users to connect their phone to their laptop and use it as an extended screen or a touchpad.
Performance and Battery
The Phantom V Fold is powered by the Mediatek Dimensity 9000+ chipset, which is a 4 nm octa-core processor with one Cortex-X2 core clocked at 3.20 GHz, three Cortex-A710 cores clocked at 2.85 GHz, and four Cortex-A510 cores clocked at 1.80 GHz. It also has a Mali-G710 MC10 GPU for graphics performance.
The Phantom V Fold comes with two storage options: 256 GB or 512 GB of UFS 3.1 internal memory, both paired with 12 GB of RAM. It does not have a microSD card slot for memory expansion.
The Phantom V Fold runs on Android 13 with HiOS 13 Fold as its custom user interface. HiOS 13 Fold is designed to optimize the foldable experience and offer various features such as gesture navigation, dark mode, smart panel, game mode, etc.
The Phantom V Fold has a dual parallel battery with a total capacity of 5000 mAh (rated value). It supports fast wired charging up to 45W, which can charge the device from zero to 40% in 15 minutes and from zero to 100% in 55 minutes (advertised). It does not support wireless charging or reverse wireless charging.
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Camera and Audio
The Phantom V Fold has a triple rear camera setup consisting of:
- A 50 MP primary camera with f/1.9 aperture, PDAF, and dual-LED flash
- A 50 MP telephoto camera with f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, and 2x optical zoom
- A 13 MP ultrawide camera with f/2.2 aperture, PDAF, and 120-degree field of view
The rear cameras can record videos up to 4K resolution at 30 fps, and support features such as HDR, panorama, night mode, portrait mode, etc.
The Phantom V Fold also has two front cameras: one on the cover display and one on the main display. The cover camera is a 32 MP sensor with f/2.5 aperture, while the main camera is a 16 MP sensor with f/2.5 aperture. Both cameras can record videos up to 1080p resolution at 60 fps.
The Phantom V Fold has stereo speakers but no 3.5 mm headphone jack. It supports Bluetooth 5.2 for wireless audio connectivity.
Connectivity and Sensors
The Phantom V Fold is a dual SIM (Nano-SIM) device that supports 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G networks. It also supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, FM radio, and USB Type-C. It does not support infrared or HDMI.
The Phantom V Fold has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for biometric authentication. It also has an accelerometer, a gyro, a proximity sensor, and a compass.
Price and Availability
The Phantom V Fold is available in India for INR 88,888 for the 256 GB variant and INR 98,888 for the 512 GB variant. It is also available in other markets such as Africa and Asia.
Conclusion
The Phantom V Fold is a foldable smartphone that offers a large and immersive display, a powerful performance, a decent battery life, and a versatile camera system. It is one of the few foldable devices that runs on Android 13 and has a high refresh rate screen. It is also relatively affordable compared to other foldable phones in the market.
However, the Phantom V Fold also has some drawbacks, such as the lack of wireless charging, the plastic back cover, the crease on the main screen, and the limited availability. It may also face some issues with durability and software optimization due to the novelty of the foldable technology.
Overall, the Phantom V Fold is a good option for those who want to experience the foldable form factor and enjoy a large screen for entertainment and productivity. It is not a perfect device, but it is a commendable effort from Tecno to enter the foldable market.
