TECNO’s Phantom V Flip Is A Premium Foldable Clamshell With An Insanely Attractive Price Point

Despite our reservations about foldable smartphones, it’s clear this category is here for good. The technology behind the flexible panels and mechanical hinges has certainly advanced over the years, but one aspect remains constant – the premium price tag. To our surprise, TECNO just unveiled what may be the most affordable one yet. This is the Phantom V Flip.

TECNO may not be a familiar name to some given this Android OEM typically caters to the entry-level and mid-range segment. Nevertheless, it gradually built a solid reputation over time and might possibly become a future contender for the top rankings in the already crowded smartphone market. As for its latest clamshell foldable, it will reportedly retail for around $650.

As you can see, it’s a staggering difference compared to the likes of Samsung’s Z Flip5 and Motorola’s RAZR 40 Ultra, which are listed for approximately $999 each. Many of you might expect TECNO to cut some corners to match the cost, but the build quality, features, and included accessories are noticeably top-shelf for what you shell out.

The Phantom V Flip flaunts a faux leather exterior available in Mystic Dawn (purple) and Iconic Black. TECNO goes for a tonal design as the metal hardware matches the hue of the main colorway. The material is a great option to keep fingerprints and smudges at bay. As for the mechanical hinge, it’s fabricated out of aerospace-grade still and can hold various angles with ease.

According to factory tests, it is rated for more than 200,000 actuations. Then there’s the round external display which is framed by the main camera module with a 64-megapixel main and 13-megpixel ultra-wide-angle sensors. While other similar smartphones do away with the front-facing sensor, the Phantom V Flip integrates a 32-megapixel selfie shooter and even throws in an additional flash module.

Next is the 6.9” flexible AMOLED display with a buttery-smooth 120 Hz refresh rate and 360 Hz touch sampling rate. TECNO even manages to engineer this unit to show almost no crease. At the heart of the Phantom V Flip is a MediaTek Dimensity 8050 chipset bundled with 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256 GB of UFS 3.1 flash storage. Finally, the battery capacity is 4,000 mAh and it also supports 45W SuperCharge technology.

Images courtesy of TECNO