For a large number of consumers in emerging economies, TECNO is their de facto "first entry" into the mobile world. Hundreds of millions of consumers throughout the world are drawn to participate in the digital revolution by the fairly cost handhelds provided by TECNO over the years.
Since TECNO initially entered the African market until the moment it has thoroughly matured as a leader in smartphones, the company has released popular products year after year and received a lot of positive reviews from customers and phone geeks globally. Actually, it now has operations in over 70 countries and regions, covering smartphones, smart wearables, laptops and tablets, HiOS operating systems and smart home products. In fact, TECNO ranked for six consecutive years among the TOP 6 brands on the African continent for the TOP 100 Most Admired Brands in Africa.
This year, for the first time, TECNO joined Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It had not only built up a booth where attendees could see all of the products, but it had also made a number of launches and releases that shocked the crowd.
The new player in town
TECNO’s debut at MWC23 is not only about showcasing the brand’s existing products. Apart from the booth itself, you can spot TECNO on many occasions, such as Google and MediaTek’s programs. It seemed TECNO has naturally joined the party of the mobile industry the moment they arrived at the event. And the fruit of such collaborations from the game is the PHANTOM V Fold.
As TECNO’s first foldable phone, the PHANTOM V Fold is also its most expensive model it ever shipped. Yet in the increasingly congested foldable market, TECNO has finally pulled itself up to par with household names like Samsung, Vivo, Honor, and many more.
Releasing a foldable phone is also uncommon based on the company's prior business model. TECNO is primarily thought to avoid intense competition in developed countries in order to gain ground in frontier markets.
As the premium technology sub-brand of TECNO, the PHANTOM series, however, has one goal and one goal only: to reshape the high-end segment in frontier markets through advanced technologies with innovative features and trendsetting designs. Last year, the company released PHANTOM X2 Pro in Dubai. X2 was a premium slate phone in every way: the design, the quality, and the material it used to frame the phone are all top-notch. It also features an innovation in camera that the PHANTOM team had been developing for two years - the retractable portrait lens system.
The retractable camera technology sees the phone's body to release the camera lens physically. This enormous bulk offers the optics greater space to gather and process image data and to produce images with a more realistic separation between the foreground and background.
This time, the PHANTOM V Fold raises the bar of innovation even further. The phone is built from the ground up and is empowered by many new technologies and innovations that are first seen in a TECNO phone.
PingWest has tested the foldable phone both on and off the venue of MWC, it turned out to be a very impressive phone with solid design and software interactions. When you hold it in your hand, it feels robust, gorgeous, and lavishly made, contrary to other TECNO small phones you might have anticipated. In fact, it has many breakthroughs to tell from the team that made it happen.
Take it to the limit
After MWC23, PingWest has reached out to Yu Chen, the Product and R&D director of PHANTOM V Fold. He said this foldable took under 720 days of research and development to become one of the most competitive contenders in the foldable market.
The hinge is the most recognizable breakthrough that any customer can feel instantly. Developed and designed by TECNO, it differentiates it from other leading foldables like the Galaxy Fold by using patented mechanics and aeronautical material. When the phone is folded, you barely see the gap as if you are using a regular phone, Although the inner screen could tightly close together, the creates are still less apparent (precisely, just 0.11mm) even on a hard stare.
The PHANTOM V Fold's screen size was thoughtfully designed with ergonomics in mind, both when it was folded and when it was unfurled. In order to replicate the single-screen smartphone experience on the foldable, the team has researched the ideal area a thumb can swipe to.
“We have tested hundreds of shapes of palms from different races and genders, plus thousands of scenarios when you use an app in an extended screen. Finally, we got this ‘golden ratio’ of a foldable phone, for both single screen and tablet mode.” Chen said.
As a result, the flat micro-curved sub-screen on the PHANTOM V Fold is 6.42 inches in size and has a 21:9 aspect ratio, which has been proven to be the standard shape of the standard smartphone. When PHANTOM V Fold is opened up, an exceptional 7.85-inch screen with an 8:7 aspect ratio – is also tested to be the most comfortable tablet mode.
In terms of camera, PHANTOM V Fold also features the best set they can offer for a compact flagship, including a main camera that features a super light-sensitive custom 1/1.3-inch sensor, large f/1.85 aperture, and 7P composition, a 50MP telephoto lens with 2x optical and 20x digital zoom, and a 13MP ultra wide-angle lens.
In addition to the rear lenses, a further two front lenses – one on the sub-screen and one on the main inner screen - both in the middle to get in line with other PHANTOM models. They are designed to offer the best angle for video calling, but this placement of the front cameras, in Chen’s eye, is really a challenge because it’s not simply put the camera in the middle, but a lot more modifications to the motherboard layout.
In the fast lane
Long gone are the days of TECNO launching their product on their own. This time, MediaTek, the company that makes quality chipsets, have given the PHANTOM V Fold its complete backing and endorsement.
PHANTOM V Fold is the world’s first left-right foldable smartphone powered by Dimensity 9000+ processor, MediaTek’s top-of-the-line chipset. In order to deploy and optimize the chipset with the full PHANTOM V Fold experience, MediaTek, according to Chen, has dispatched a team of hundreds of engineers. When utilizing social, productivity, and most apps, the entire activities go well thanks to the cooperation.
For exclusive highlights, the widgets and dashboard offer a rich and customizable experience. With a simple swipe to the right, users can access a wealth of information, including weather forecasts, to-do lists, and app shortcuts tailored to their daily needs. The drag-and-pull experience has been leveraged vastly. For users who are in business need, they can drag files and split the screen as they want to maximize efficiency.
Chen said they have optimized almost all top apps, based on global download frequency, to work with HiOS13 Fold. They are confident that all the daily apps can work flawlessly across the outer and inner displays, as well as with multi-window modes.
To further serve its local clients, the TECNO team has also enhanced the real-time caption feature to handle more than 110 languages, including Swahili, Hausa, Urdu, and many others.
The long run
The PHANTOM lineup is the result of the company pouring a chunk of its profits into R&D over the years, as they tried to implement innovations onto more enticing markets and help the local users to enjoy the advancement of new technology.
Today, the corporation collects approximately 1000 individuals to concentrate on R&D for the PHANTOM lineup alone. In the course of creating its flagship phone, TECNO has developed a sizable number of professionals who have developed their knowledge of materials, IC design, industrial design, etc.
“In the beginning for the inner screen,” Mr. Chen said, “we have 11 layers in a single screen and more than 1000 solutions.” The final solution features a durability of 200,000 folds, which also tops the industry.
“Thankfully we had unified labs to test all the possibilities, and finally we made more than 130 patents on it.” Chen added.
“Innovation is at the heart of TECNO, and we always strive to be extraordinary. For us, Going beyond the extraordinary means being a pioneer, with a determination to push the limits of what’s possible, to bring meaningful innovations for consumers,” said Jack Guo, the general manager of TECNO at the PHANTOM V Fold launch event at MWC 2023.
TECNO has pioneered a number of innovations for local markets, including dual-sim technology, longer battery life, improved camera performance, and foldable dual-screen designs. These innovations have helped the TECNO gain the top spot in many other regions.
While TECNO is still pouring plenty of resources and attention into maintaining its lead in Africa, in recent years the brand has ventured to other frontier markets such as Latin America, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East.
Apparently, TECNO is counting on the PHANTOM series and its diversifying product portfolio to win over consumers and markets. This time, they put their bets in India, where PHANTOM V Fold will be first launched. It seems that PHANTOM V Fold has find a sweet spot to compete with the competitors. Oppo and Xiaomi have dual screen foldables in their home court but no plan for overseas markets. Many others like Motorola are keen on making flip foldables which is another niche market and have no overlapping conflict. PHANTOM V Fold offers a premium user experience, top tech, and a good price range for anyone who wanted to jump on the foldable wagon but hesitated before.
For the foreseeable future, while its affordable phones continue to help build a more solid foundation for its next generation of users in frontier markets, TECNO is going to hit more markets with flagships and make more contribution to the mobile industry.