Tecno Phantom X2 review

Alternatives

Pinpointing exact retail prices for the Tecno Phantom X2 family has proven to be challenging. The vanilla Phantom X2 will retail for around $700 in Saudi Arabia. We can only assume that the global pricing will be a bit less and base our recommendation for alternative devices on that.

Over in camp Samsung, there is the ever-popular Galaxy A53 5G. It is very reasonably priced, currently going for just under EUR 350. For that, you get an IP67-rated phone with a 6.5-inch, 120Hz Super AMOLED display, stereo speakers, a big 5,000 mAh battery and a potent quad-camera setup on the back.

If you are willing to stretch your budget a bit more, why not go for the Galaxy S21 FE 5G instead. That gets you IP68 ingress protection, an HDR10+ display, a more powerful chipset and a more potent camera setup with a telephoto. It has a slightly smaller 4,500 mAh battery, though.

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G • Xiaomi 12T • OnePlus 10T

The Xiaomi 12T is another great choice. Some of its highlight features include a 6.67-inch, 12-bit, 120Hz, HDR10+ AMOLED display, stereo speakers, a powerful Dimensity 8100 chipset, a large 5,000 mAh battery and a versatile triple camera setup with a 108MP main snapper.

As a cheaper alternative, you can also look at the Xiaomi Poco F4. It has IP53 ingress protection and stereo speakers, and you won't be giving up too much in either the chipset or the camera department. You will have to settle for a slightly smaller 4,500 mAh battery, though.

For the clean Android fans out there, the OnePlus 10T might fit the budget just right. It is a proper flagship phone with all of the trimmings like a 6.7-inch, 10-bit, HDR10+, 120Hz AMOLED display, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, stereo speakers, 150W charging for its 4,800 mAh battery and a 50MP main snapper with OIS.

If you want to save a few bucks, the OnePlus Nord 2T is also a solid choice. It has an HDR10+, 90Hz AMOLED display, stereo speakers, Dimensity 1300 chipset and a potent triple camera setup with a 50MP, OIS-enabled main snapper.

Our verdict

Tecno decided to rather boldly branch out into flagship territory with the Phantom X2 family. The Phantom X2 Pro even has a head-turning spotlight feature in its pop-out portrait telephoto camera. The vanilla model isn't far behind, though. If there is one thing Tecno deserves praise for, it has to be the minimal segmentation between the two models. The regular Phantom X2 is essentially identical to its Pro sibling, sans the spotlight portrait camera we just mentioned and a few other changes to the camera setup.

On paper, the Phantom X2 looks like a solid phone in more ways than one. It has a large, 120Hz, curved OLED display, a big battery with fast charging and a powerful Dimensity 9000 chipset. HiOS 12 has also come a long way and is more fluent and less bloated than ever on the Phantom X2 pair.

The question of whether or not the Phantom X2 lives up to expectations is a more complicated one. Once we looked past the marketing materials and dug deeper into the phone, some nasty cracks started to show. For instance, the single bottom-firing speaker setup is hard to accept on a flagship device. So is the lack of HDR video support and the improved, though still not really impressive, display max brightness. Then again, hot on the heels of the Phantom X2 Pro review, we can see that Tecno is trying hard to improve its newest devices with updates rolling in to address some of the issues as best as possible through software. We can't, however, say whether this elevated attention to software support will be carried into the future for the Phantom X2 pair. Tecno doesn't exactly have the best track record in this regard.

All things considered, in the current highly competitive and well-saturated market, we see the Tecno Phantom X2 as a bit of a gamble. In isolation, it manages to stand its ground. However, its competitors tend to offer more for the money and more well-rounded devices overall. On the right market and with aggressive pricing, the Phantom X2 can still stand a chance. We're just not sure Tecno currently has the standing to make and position a flagship product quite right for it to succeed.

Pros

• Memorable, eye-catching design and excellent build quality.
• 120Hz screen allows for high-framerate gaming.
• The Dimensity 9000 chip offers great performance and modern features.
• Solid all-around camera performance.
• Solid battery life.

Cons

• Display gets brighter than Phantom X2 Pro, but is still not great outdoors. Poor color accuracy, too.
• Top-heavy and not easy to hold.
• Single, underwhelming speaker.