If you have not heard of TECNO, then you definitely’re lacking out. The firm nails affordability in nearly each smartphone class, with a big give attention to rising markets. The new TECNO Phantom V Flip 2 actually hits the mark on some key factors, bringing a foldable to markets the place customers might not be capable to spend over $1000 on the likes of a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.
The Phantom V Flip 2 is a well designed telephone that sits comfortably within the midrange foldable class, providing well-rounded specs, a design that makes the telephone look far more premium than it’s, surprisingly good cameras, and a price ticket that you simply will not need to assume twice about. TECNO achieves this whereas seemingly pulling some inspiration from some higher-end flip telephones, including a splash of AI into the combo for good measure.
TECNO Phantom V Flip 2: Price & availability
The TECNO Phantom V Flip 2 was introduced on September 13 and can go on sale on September 23 in numerous areas, together with Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and extra. The telephone might be out there in a single configuration and retail for round $699 USD, though the worth will differ by nation. It also needs to be famous that telephones is not going to be launched within the United States.
The telephone is out there in two colorways: Travertine Green and Moondust Grey.
| Category | TECNO Phantom V Flip 2 |
|---|---|
| OS | Android 14 (Hi OS) |
| Display (inner) | 6.9-inch, AMOLED, FHD+ (2640 x 1080), 120Hz LTPO |
| Row 2 – Cell 0 | 1000 nit peak, 2160 PWM dimming |
| Display (exterior) | 3.6-inch, OLED |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 8020 |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage | 256GB |
| Cameras | 50MP extensive, 50MP ultrawide, 32MP selfie |
| Audio | Stereo audio system, Dolby Atmos |
| Connectivity | Fifth Generation, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC |
| Security | Fingerprint sensor, Face unlock |
| Protection | Gorilla Class |
| Battery | 4720mAh, 70W wired charging |
| Dimensions (open) | 73.4 x 178.8 x 7.6mm |
| Dimensions (closed) | 73.4 x 87.8 x 16mm |
| Weight | 196g |
| Colors | Travertine Green, Moondust Grey |
TECNO Phantom V Flip 2: What I like
Immediately when first getting my palms on this telephone, I used to be greatly surprised by the design. The telephone is probably not a premium or flagship gadget, nevertheless it’s actually designed to appear to be one. The entrance cowl panel is all black, which is accented with a gold body and gold rims across the digital camera sensors. It’s a bit shiny, which I’m not a fan of because it picks up fingerprint sensors extra, nevertheless it seems to be very good.
Furthermore, the again panel of my Travertine Green colorway seems to be virtually like Jade and offers the telephone a really stylish look, particularly with the “Designed by PHANTOM” engraving. Overall, I’m fairly impressed with the design of the telephone, which options curves on each panels and makes the telephone fairly comfy to carry. Interestingly, the telephone is a bit heavier than another flip telephones in and even above its worth level, such because the Motorola Razr 2024, nevertheless it’s not the heaviest, and I’m inclined to provide it a move, given its massive battery (extra on that later).
If you open the telephone up, you are met with a 6.9-inch OLED show. With a 120Hz refresh price and full HD+ decision, I’ve no complaints about it. Color replica is sweet and even the crease is pretty minimal, though it does not really feel notably easy when working your finger throughout it. Despite that, the hinge feels sturdy and holds the telephone fairly properly it is open at numerous angles.
One factor I used to be pleasantly shocked by is the digital camera high quality. The telephone has two 50MP cameras for extensive and ultrawide pictures, and each churn our surprisingly first rate photographs. Colors are sometimes well-balanced and never too uninteresting or saturated, though typically it could punch issues up a bit greater than I’d like, relying on the scene. Low-light is managed pretty properly.
That stated, I might describe photographs from this telephone like a portray by Claude Monet; as they’re on the telephone, they appear nice. However, issues form of begin to unravel a bit of if you zoom in on a picture, as you may see that issues begin to get a bit muddy and noisy, however the impact is not horrible, and it actually is not the case with each picture. That stated, total, I’m fairly happy with the pictures from the Phantom V Flip 2.
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The telephone additionally handles darker pores and skin tones properly, which I recognize as a melanin-rich particular person. Bokeh feels fairly pure when in portrait mode, and the telephone comes with numerous imaging options like DV mode, which emulates a camcorder and even has numerous video filters and results to make your video look extra stylized. And whereas you need to use the rear cameras for selfies with the quilt display, the telephone additionally comes with an inner flash unit for anybody wanting to make use of the entrance 32MP digital camera.
Video caps out at 4K 30fps, which is completely superb. Videos look crisp and there is first rate stabilization, however you can too kick issues up a notch with the video enhancement function, which brightens darker areas and punches up the colours.
TECNO Phantom V Flip 2: Cover display
The cowl display expertise is way totally different from that of the unique Phantom V Flip. Instead of a round show that was principally good for notifications, time, and a few restricted interactions, the sq. 3.6-inch OLED takes after the Motorola Razr 2024 and the Razr Plus 2023 earlier than it, however with a distinct tackle the app expertise.
Unlike Motorola’s telephones, the cameras are stacked vertically on the show, altering how the software program is offered. Most of the time, you may work together with every part to the left of the cameras, such because the time, shortcuts, notifications, and extra. With most issues, the part above the cameras might be reserved for the time and different standing bar icons.
The result’s an expertise that is a bit of extra harking back to the OPPO Find N3 Flip, which includes a vertical show on one aspect of the quilt panel. However, the added display actual property makes it a bit extra helpful.
Surprisingly, TECNO makes cowl display apps simply accessible when establishing the exterior show. This is not too widespread with flip telephones, and Motorola might be the one one that permits you to entry practically any app from the quilt display out of the field. That’s sadly not the case with the TECNO Phantom V Flip 2, however you continue to get a good number of appropriate apps, comparable to Google Messages, YouTube/YouTube Music, Instagram, and extra.
Because your most important space of interplay is restricted to the realm of the show left of the cameras, apps seem roughly as they usually would with the vertical presentation however smaller and barely wider. The draw back is that since not all apps are supported on the quilt display, you may be prompted to open the telephone if you happen to faucet a notification from an unsupported app on the quilt display.
There’s additionally some continuity with the supported apps when switching from the quilt display to the principle display, as it is going to open straight to the place you have been within the app. It does not work as easily when going from the principle show to the quilt display; for instance, I’ll have a video open on Instagram and shut the telephone. I’ll then need to navigate to Instagram and manually open it to return to the place I used to be. This differs from the Razr, which is able to robotically open the app or ask to your permission.
Customization is pretty restricted, however you do get the choice to create AI wallpapers for the quilt display, and you may set shortcuts to your favourite apps on the principle web page.
Unfortunately, issues get a bit of complicated relating to navigation. Oddly, swiping proper on the quilt display will not do something however swap between cowl display wallpapers that you have arrange, which is a bizarre technique to implement this perform. Swiping left will current you with the AI Wallpaper Generator and NFC Tag reader, whereas swiping down will carry up notifications from the short settings menu, relying on the aspect of the show you swipe from.
To entry your apps, you swipe up from the quilt display after which swipe left or proper to entry extra. However, from right here, there does not appear to be a technique to get again to the principle cowl display residence web page except you lock and unlock the telephone once more, which appears unintuitive.
Finally, when you have notifications, I discovered them to be considerably unreliable from the quilt display, which is able to typically present them briefly till they disappear and I find yourself having to open the telephone to see my notifications.
Overall, I’m fairly combined on the quilt display expertise, which to me, is crucial a part of a flip telephone, however a lot of this may very well be addressed with software program tweaks if TECNO was inclined to rejig its UI.
TECNO Phantom V Flip 2: What may use some work
The TECNO Phantom V Flip 2 is an attractive telephone with a premium-looking design, however that does not essentially translate to the way it feels. It’s comfy to carry in hand, however the again panel feels fairly low cost, like arduous plastic. For a telephone at this worth level, this isn’t too stunning, nevertheless it’s value mentioning so you are not fooled by its attractiveness.
While the show is a lot seen indoors, additionally it is not exceptionally vibrant, so you’ll have some bother outside, particularly in direct daylight.
The TECNO Phantom V Flip 2 has one of many largest batteries in a flip telephone, however I would not realize it from my expertise with the telephone. Mileage might differ, however the telephone does not appear to final all day as claimed, and I’ll get about six hours of screen-on time at most.
Fortunately, the charging velocity helps, as it is also among the many quickest within the class. The 70W charger can prime up the telephone pretty shortly, getting you to 50% in simply quarter-hour or 100% in lower than an hour. In truth, it is stunning how shortly the telephone will cost up, with it reaching 20% in simply 5 minutes. It form of makes up for the battery life, however I nonetheless want that have been higher. There’s additionally no wi-fi charging, which is form of a bummer however not a dealbreaker.
Overall efficiency is ok, due to the MediaTek Dimensity 8020 chip, which is pretty middle-of-the-road. It will not win any efficiency awards, although, and I do discover that the telephone will get fairly scorching within the prime half, even when I have not actually been utilizing it. It appears there could also be some thermal administration points, and I ponder if my battery life woes are associated.
Gaming is not notably sturdy, with the telephone defaulting to medium settings on video games like Honkai: Star Rail. It performs superb at these settings, however the telephone might get fairly heat if you happen to play for lengthy durations of time. Games will nonetheless carry out okay if you happen to bump issues as much as the very best settings, however there might be some choppiness.
The total software program expertise is… first rate, and TECNO has some attention-grabbing options that really feel helpful however usually are not totally fleshed out. The Dynamic Port, for instance, is a replica of Apple’s Dynamic Island however a lot much less useful. There’s additionally a Share Hub that permits you to drag photographs and different content material into a brief space for storing and drop them into different apps. It’s cool, and it jogs my memory of Motorola’s Share Hub, however I wish to see this expanded to incorporate sharing content material throughout units like a PC.
To my dismay, there is no choice for Google Discover on the house display, and also you’re as a substitute left with TECNO’s Zero Screen, which may show your steps, RAM, app utilization, and few different issues. That stated, I do not discover it notably helpful.
Overall, the software program, whereas superb, generally is a little complicated, and it might be troublesome to seek out the options you wish to use if you happen to’re not accustomed to TECNO’s taste of Android.
TECNO’s AI choices on the Phantom V Flip 2 are a little bit of a combined bag. Some options work pretty properly, such because the AI translations for texts and the AI artboard for producing photographs, and even the AI wallpapers are fairly cool. There’s additionally an Image Clipper-like function that cuts topics out of photographs and allows you to drag them into the Smart Hub to drop them elsewhere.
There’s additionally Ella, TECNO’s home-grown good assistant that permits you to management features on the telephone and carry out different AI-related actions. It can do issues like present options on holidays, provide help to draft responses, and carry out different features. However, I discover Ella’s voice a bit too robotic, which generally is a bit off-putting when it is offering lengthy solutions to questions. I additionally do not discover Ella to be fairly as helpful as I would really like, however now that it is built-in with Gemini, I can see that there is loads of alternative to develop.
Other AI features like AI writing work okay however really feel equally restricted. The Magic AI Eraser does not appear to do an excellent job with eradicating object, typically leaving loads of artifacts of their place.
Fortunately, if you happen to’re not a fan of TECNO’s in-house AI, you continue to have the choice to make use of Google’s options as a substitute, such because the Gemini app, Magic Eraser, Magic Editor, and extra. That’s the wonderful thing about choices: Android offers you a lot.
Finally, it is value noting that whereas this telephone is not made for the U.S. market, it is going to nonetheless work on the networks, however you could discover that compatibility could also be considerably restricted. I used the TECNO Phantom V Flip 2 on T-Mobile, however the telephone solely supported a number of the community’s bands. That stated, I used to be nonetheless in a position to get Fifth Generation protection more often than not, with the telephone often displaying Fourth Generation+ in sure areas. It did not trouble me, and speeds did not appear to undergo a lot, however it’s value nothing if you happen to plan to by some means choose this telephone up within the U.S.
TECNO Phantom V Flip 2: Competition
When it involves reasonably priced flip telephones, there are a couple of within the international market that you may take into account, together with these from Motorola and Nubia.
The Razr 2024, identified globally because the Razr 50, might be among the best flip telephones you should buy. It has an equally massive cowl display and is designed with vegan leather-based, which feels comfy in hand. It additionally has nice efficiency, battery life, and wi-fi charging. At $699 USD, it prices roughly the identical because the Phantom V Flip 2, relying in the marketplace. That stated, the cameras aren’t too nice, and Motorola has but to launch a lot of its teased AI options.
The Nubia Flip Fifth Generation is without doubt one of the most cost-effective flip telephones you should buy, which is already fairly attractive. Even at its low worth level, you continue to get first rate efficiency and a well-designed telephone with a very good 50MP digital camera and minimal show crease. Unfortunately, you’ll have to take care of loads of bloatware and outdated software program, plus a a lot smaller cowl display that is actually solely good for notifications and selfies.
TECNO Phantom V Flip 2: Should you purchase it?
You should purchase this if…
- You’re on the lookout for an reasonably priced flip telephone.
- You desire a telephone with a very good digital camera.
- You need to have the ability to use apps on the quilt display.
You should not purchase this if…
- You desire a telephone with good battery life.
- Wireless charging is a should for you.
- You stay within the United States.
TECNO is a stunning model, as a result of it manages to launch comparatively good telephones at a fraction of the price of comparable units. While corporations like Samsung and Honor are targeted on the high-end, premium market, TECNO makes telephones for the remainder of the world that will not be capable to get there palms on such units.
The TECNO Phantom V Flip 2 is such a tool, and I’m happy with what the corporate has developed. Sure, it isn’t excellent, and a number of the software program/AI may use some fine-tuning, however the truth that TECNO is making such a well-made foldable at an reasonably priced worth level is commendable. Whatever shortcomings the telephone has can and needs to be ignored when the main focus right here is extra on accessibility in often-overlooked markets than attaining excessive revenue margins.
It’s clear that this is not meant to be the perfect flip telephone in the marketplace, however it might be the perfect reasonably priced flip telephone within the markets that matter.
A hidden gem
The TECNO Phantom V Flip 2 is a surprisingly good flip telephone at an reasonably priced worth, with a fantastic design, an expansive cowl display, and a good set of cameras. You can even make the most of Google and TECNO AI to boost your productiveness and creativity.
