Tecno Phantom V Fold in for review

28 February 2023

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

The Tecno Phantom V Fold arrives in a generous package. You get a cool Aramid Fibre case for the rear panel with a built-in kickstand - an integral part of any folding phone case. You also get a 45W charger, which is more than you'd get with a Samsung folding phone these days.

Tecno went with a book-style design for its first folding phone. But the rear panel stands out among the foldables thanks to a unique recycled-plastic design, not dissimilar to the one on the Phantom X2 Pro.

It feels 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. One downside of the back panel is that it doesn't house 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 feels similar to an average bar phone with edges that taper slightly towards a comfortable and relatively thin frame.

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

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

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

The inner display is also bigger than the Galaxy Z Fold4's at 7.85-inch. It's also a 120Hz AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2000x2296px.

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

The crease on the Tecno Phantom V Fold isn't as noticeable as the Galaxy Z Fold4's. That's in part due to the different hinge designs.

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

Design-wise, the Tecno Phantom V Fold is superior to the Galaxy Z Fold4. But there are nuances to this. The hinge Tecno uses can't stay in any position like the one on Samsung's foldable can.

Then there's the Galaxy's water resistance and the fact that at 263g, the Galaxy Z Fold4 is a full 36 grams lighter than the 299g Tecno Phantom V Fold.

There's no getting around the fact that the Tecno Phantom V Fold is a heavy device. But you do get more, quite literally - more battery capacity, and more display area on both ends.

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