Tecno Phantom V Flip Review: Foldable Smartphone Excellence At An Affordable Price

Highlights

• Dual-display design featuring a 6.9-inch AMOLED screen and a 1.32-inch outer display
• Equipped with a 64MP primary camera and a versatile 32MP front camera
• Powered by Mediatek Dimensity 8050 with 8GB RAM, expandable to 16GB
• 4000mAh battery with 45W fast charging, offering substantial battery life

Foldable phones, recently popularized by major brands, have piqued interest with their innovative flips and folds.

Yet, many remain hesitant to adopt this form factor, largely due to high prices and concerns about the durability of such ‘moving parts’ in a device as crucial as a smartphone.

Tecno aims to address these hesitations with its competitively priced Phantom V Flip at Rs. 54,999.

However, the affordability raises questions about its build quality, performance, and camera capabilities, and whether it involves compromising on essential features.

My comprehensive review below seeks to explore whether the Phantom V Flip is merely a budget-friendly option or indeed the best value-for-money offering in its category.

Pros and Cons

Key Specs

• Display: 6.9-inch AMOLED, 120Hz; 1.32-inch outer display
• Cameras: 64MP primary, 13MP ultra-wide, 32MP front
• Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 8050
• RAM/Storage: 8GB (expandable to 16GB)/256GB UFS 3.1
• Battery: 4000mAh with 45W fast charging
• OS: HiOS 13.5 based on Android 13

Design

The Tecno Phantom V Flip impresses with its sleek design, reminiscent of a refreshing watermelon ice lolly.

It boasts a slim profile enhanced by a vegan leather back and a distinct drop-shaped hinge, exuding a sense of premium quality.

The phone’s front features a unique circular display/camera module when folded, blending functionality with style.

In terms of construction, the Phantom V Flip incorporates a hole-punch foldable display within an aluminum frame and a durable steel hinge.

User-friendly design elements include volume rockers and a power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor on the right side, as well as dual microphones located at the top and bottom.

The device also features a high-quality stereo speaker setup. Notably, when I folded the device, the phone maintains a seamless appearance with no visible gap between the displays.

Tecno has employed an innovative ‘Hoverlock’ hinge design that allows adjustable angles between 30 and 150 degrees, though opening the phone single-handedly can be challenging.

Display

With its 6.9-inch flexible AMOLED inner display, the Tecno Phantom V Flip is definitely a head-turner.
This display is a visual feast, boasting full-HD+ clarity paired with a buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate.

Stepping into the realm of innovation, the Phantom V Flip boasts a quirky yet charming 1.32-inch circular outer display, akin to a miniature smartwatch face on your phone.

This nifty feature transforms into a personal command center, offering up to ten customizable widgets.

From getting quick weather updates to checking your health stats, setting alarms, or even using it as a camera viewfinder, this little circle of wonder packs a punch far above its size.

Additional perks like weather alerts, timers, stopwatches, and sound recorders are just a swipe away, making it a powerhouse of functionality.

While it dazzles indoors with its vibrant display, the phone’s brightness, peaking at 800 nits, doesn’t quite hold up under the harsh scrutiny of direct sunlight.

This shortfall is notable, especially when other phones in the same league or even lower offer more luminous screens.

However, the Phantom V Flip compensates with its versatile inner display, enriched by HDR10 and HDR10+ codecs.

This translates to a great viewing experience in various apps, whether you’re capturing moments with the camera, binge-watching on YouTube, or multitasking in split-screen mode.

Cameras

The Tecno Phantom V Flip comes equipped with a robust camera array, featuring a 64MP primary sensor and a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera.

Selfie enthusiasts are treated to a 32MP front-facing camera, smartly integrated into a center-aligned hole-punch cutout.

Tecno enhances the primary camera with an RGBW pixel format, allowing for 60 percent more light intake, leading to reduced noise and improved color accuracy.

The device’s Dual-camera Fusion technology synergizes the 64MP and 13MP lenses for enhanced, detailed ultra-wide shots.

Despite its prowess in standard lighting, the Phantom V Flip struggles in low-light conditions, producing images that lack detail and exhibit washed-out colors, even with AI assistance.

However, the game changes with its Super Night mode, where the primary camera excels in capturing detailed images in dim settings.

The 32MP front camera, boasting the industry’s first Micro-slit Dual-flash for flip phones and equipped with a Super Flashlight algorithm, exhibited excellent selfie outputs in our tests.

The dual-display design adds a creative layer to photography, allowing users to take selfies with the rear 64MP camera using the cover display as a viewfinder.

While the camera setup delivers sharp details, it tends to render slightly dull colours, especially noticeable in portrait mode.

The portrait mode’s performance is optimal at 1x zoom but diminishes at 2x, highlighting the absence of a dedicated depth sensor.

Overall, the camera system on the Phantom V Flip is a blend of innovative features and areas where enhancements could be beneficial.

Performance and Software

The Tecno Phantom V Flip is powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 8050 chipset, paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

This configuration positions it well within the mid-range smartphone market. However, considering its price point, the choice of chipset might seem underwhelming to some.

In performance benchmarks, the V Flip scored 683,773 in AnTuTu and achieved single-core and multi-core scores of 1,097 and 3,393, respectively, on Geekbench 6.

Notably, the CPU Throttle test revealed that the phone operates at 66 percent of its peak capacity, which can be considered a bit poor.

However, the gaming performance on the Phantom V Flip is more than decent. It handles graphically demanding games like CoD and BGMI with ease.

The phone’s RAM capacity, expandable up to 16GB using UFS 2.1 technology, further bolsters its performance capabilities.

This expansion allows for fluid multitasking and quick responsiveness in apps like Lightroom and VN Editor.

The Phantom V Flip also has commendable audio output and connectivity features. The stereo speakers deliver satisfactory audio quality, enriching the multimedia experience.

Additionally, in my tests the side-mounted fingerprint scanner proved reliable, providing quick and secure access to the device.

Connectivity-wise, the phone maintains stable 5G connectivity on Airtel’s Delhi network, ensuring seamless communication and data transfer.

The Tecno Phantom V Flip arrives with HiOS 13.5, Tecno’s custom skin overlaying Android 13, offering a user-friendly experience with an array of features.

While it comes with pre-installed apps like WPS Office, Phone Master, Facebook, Mobile Cloner, Visha Player, Spotify, Carlcare, Instagram, and its own ‘Sharp News’ aggregator, users have the option to uninstall most of these, except for a few Tecno-specific applications.

Tecno has committed to two years of OS updates and three years of security updates for the device.

The interface, packed with gesture controls and multitasking capabilities, ensures a smooth and intuitive user experience.

Notably, HiOS 13.5 integrates a unique feature, Ella, a chatbot connected to ChatGPT, accessible via the power button, enhancing the overall functionality of the phone.

Battery

The Tecno Phantom V Flip’s battery performance is not that great as it features only a 4000mAh capacity with 45-watt fast charging support.

It charges from 0 to 100% in about 45 minutes, and the phone maintains battery life throughout a day of moderate use.

However, when throwing in gaming, video streaming, messaging, and other heavy tasks, the device runs out before the end of the day.

Even so, in my video loop test, the battery lasted for over 12 hours, ensuring users can rely on the phone’s endurance for their daily activities.

Final Verdict

The Tecno Phantom V Flip offers a unique blend of innovative design and functional features, making it a compelling choice in the mid-range smartphone market.

Its dual-display design, camera capabilities, and performance are notable, though it falls short in aspects like low-light photography and battery endurance under heavy use.

Tecno Phantom V Flip 5G Key Specs

GENERAL

DESIGN

DISPLAY

CONNECTIVITY

EXTRA

CAMERA

TECHNICAL

MULTIMEDIA

BATTERY

FAQs

What makes the Tecno Phantom V Flip’s display unique?

The Tecno Phantom V Flip boasts a dual-display setup with a primary 6.9-inch AMOLED screen offering a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth visuals. Additionally, it features a novel 1.32-inch outer display, similar to a smartwatch screen, for quick access to apps and notifications.

How does the camera performance of the Tecno Phantom V Flip stand out?

The smartphone is equipped with a 64MP primary camera and a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera, offering sharp and detailed photos. Its 32MP front-facing camera delivers high-quality selfies and is complemented by unique features like Micro-slit Dual-flash and Super Night mode for low-light photography.

What are the key performance features of the Tecno Phantom V Flip?

The device is powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 8050 chipset and comes with 8GB of RAM, which can be expanded to 16GB. It handles demanding applications and games smoothly, and the HiOS 13.5 interface based on Android 13 enhances the user experience with additional features and customization options.

Also Read: Tecno Phantom V Flip 5G Launched with Clamshell Design, Dimensity 8050: Price, Specs, Features, and More

Also Read: TECNO’s Upcoming Phantom V Flip Spotted on Alibaba, Launch Could Be Imminent