Tecno Phantom V Flip2 in for review

Tecno announced the Phantom V Flip2 and V Fold2 last week, delivering two of the most aggressively priced foldables yet. The Flip2 costs just $699, but its appeal goes beyond being able to undercut its rivals. It has a new cover display and several new software features, but here's what caught our eye during our first interactions.

Tecno moved away from the small circular screen on the first Flip and chose an (almost) square 3.64" display that wraps around the cameras and the LED flash. The inner panel remains the same as the predecessor, but the trimmed bezels made the phone slightly narrower and shorter.

The Flip2 got thicker, but the change is so minuscule that you can't really feel it.

The design of the camera island is one major change, but in the upcoming era of AI, Tecno introduced a Gemini-powered voice assistant that comes pre-installed on the V Flip2. It is a chatbot that will bring real-time search results, and some features to improve general usability.

The new big cover screen does offers widgets, but it can also run full apps, including keyboard support, which can be a game changer in the world of flip foldables. We'll have to dive deeper into the feature to determine its real-world practicality.

Another major improvement Tecno made is the battery - its capacity is nearly 20% more at 4,720 mAh. The charging rate also improved to 70W, and the company claims it can fill the whole battery in 43 minutes (or 50% in 15 minutes).

The capacity comes just short of the 4,800 mAh battery on the Honor Magic V Flip, but the Tecno device is available in different markets, so comparing the phones would be irrelevant when they are not directly competing.

We should also mention the new dual 50 MP camera setup and the 32 MP selfie shooter with PDAF on the inner screen. This is another major improvement we'll explore during our review process. Stay tuned for that!