This content was produced in partnership with TECNO.
It’s the year 2023, and according to what we’ve seen at MWC 2023, the world is about to go back to phones that flip and fold. While it may sound hard to believe, the technology has changed so much since we last properly visited this style of phone that they’re a truly different experience now. All preconceived notions need to be replaced. This has never been more true than with TECNO’s latest phone, and first foldable phone, the PHANTOM V Fold.
This was TECNO’s first appearance at MWC, and they sure chose a good debut with the grand launch event of the PHANTOM V Fold taking place at MWC2023 in Barcelona. Alongside it’s premium foldable product, TECNO has also showcased gear from their wide range of AIoT offerings, attracting lots of visitors and securing itself as a rising star in the industry. That foldable product is the PHANTOM V Fold a large and bold device, at 6.42-inches and with a stunning 120Hz display. That’s just in its folded format, which is made to look like a standard candybar style phone. Unfolded, it’s more like a tablet with a large 7.85-inch display. There’s quite a bit of power packed under the hood too. The PHANTOM V Fold has won several “best of MWC awards” including two from Digital Trends, a “Top Tech” award for MWC 2023, and a “Best Smartphones” award.
Here’s what else we learned as we took a closer look at the PHANTOM V Fold:
Welcome to the Fold
If you want to sell a folding phone in the current year, you have to make it truly enhance the user experience. There can’t be bulky openings or hinges that hinder views or unsightly creases that make the user feel like their screen is cracked from day one. If you’re going to do it, you have to do it right, and amazingly, considering this is TECNO’s debut in the foldables market, the PHANTOM V Fold gets it right.
The PHANTOM V Fold in folded format looks and plays like a typical 6.42″ phone but we love its 120Hz display. Unfolded, it converts into a tablet-like, 7.85″ display. There’s no unnatural separation between the two screens. It appears as one screen, like a tablet. Using aerospace-grade hinge material, and with a self-developed drop-shaped hinge design, the thin screen faces reduced pressure from folding and unfolding. The crease is also miniscule and virtually unnoticeable. According to TECNO’s calculations, it measures just 0.11 mm (which is already under half the thickness of your thumb nail) and is capable of 200,000 folds and unfolds. It’s a foldable phone that shows off pioneering innovation and practical application right here and right now. That, in and of itself, is impressive enough.
A Lens for Every Purpose
The next thing to look out for with the PHANTOM V Fold is the five-lens camera system, with the 50MP Super Night main cam taking the show. It utilizes a specialized sensor that is super sensitive to even the smallest amount of light to enhance your afterparty group shots or soulful pictures of the moon.
The folding design even comes in handy when taking photos. For example, in group shots, the photographer will get a chance to see a large-screen version of the image while the subjects can get a preview on the sub-screen facing them. It doesn’t have to be a mystery what a picture is going to look like, even for the people in it, anymore.
Powerful Partners
In addition to being on display at TECNO’s own MWC booth, we also saw the PHANTOM V Fold at MediaTek’s booth. There, it was the only left-right foldable device powered by the Dimensity 9000+ processor on display. That’s because TECNO has been strengthening its long-term strategic partnership with MediaTek and Google — in the process of developing the PHANTOM V Fold.
MediaTek is providing the Dimensity 9000+, a dual-5G processor capable of powering the PHANTOM V Fold’s two screens and seamlessly switching tasks between them. Meanwhile, TECNO developed the HiOS13 Fold OS, a specialized operating system based on Google’s Android 13 and made specifically for the PHANTOM V Fold. It’s intuitive, well-designed — and adapted to a larger screen — and looks great especially across the PHANTOM V’s multiple display modes. Altogether, TECNO has created a truly refreshing experience here, which is certainly hard to do in the mobile world these days.
Even during its first attendance at MWC, alongside the launch of PHANTOM V Fold and AIoT products, TECNO has clearly shown its position as an industry rising star. Its “Stop at Nothing” strategy helps to fuel its budding reputation as a committed, customer-centric company looking to pioneer innovation. We’re excited by what they’ve shown, but also we’re excited by what may come.
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