Phones used to be fun. In the late 1990s and early 2000s you had phones shaped like circles, shaped like books, flip phones, slide phones, and even phones compact enough to fit in a pen case. Phone technology was innovative and exciting. Somewhere along the way the industry lost its spark and nowadays every new phone is the same rectangular slab. If you’re a tech enthusiast, a 1990s baby who misses the tech of that time, or just a person who enjoys fun and efficient technology, then let me introduce you to the Tecno PhantomV flip 5G Phone
What’s in the box
When you buy your Tecno PhantomV flip 5G phone in the box you’ll fin
- The phone
- A 45 watt charger and cord
- A plastic phone case
- 2 sticker packs
Specs and feel
The PHANTOM V Flip 5G features a dimensity 8050 Chip with a 6nm Processor which makes it an excellent gaming phone. The battery life also contributes to this gaming quality as the phone comes with a 4000 mAh Li-ion non-removable battery. If you work from your phone or rely heavily on it, then consider this phone because the processing power and battery life make working a great experience. It has a fingerprint scanner at the side which is also the on/off button. The phone has no headphone Jack and only one SIM slot which is a common feature for smartphones these days. This feels like a downgrade for Tecno; I’ve come to expect more from Tecno when it comes to innovation and I’m sure many users would love more than one SIM slot. However, the 45W charger takes your phone from zero to nearly full (80%) in 30 minutes.
The Phantom V Flip has a 256GB ROM and 8 GB RAM which is more than enough storage for all your pictures and videos. It has an edge-to-edge foldable OLED screen and measures 171.7 x 74.1 x 7 mm when unfolded and 88.8 x 74.1 x 15 mm when folded. It has a 64 MP main rear camera and a 13 MP selfie camera.
The phone has a smooth and appealing leather skin. I was concerned about the durability of a leather-bodied phone so I scratched it to test the quality out and was pleasantly surprised when my fingernails couldn’t leave a mark.
Modern-nostalgia
As the title of this piece implies, tecno has somehow packed modern technology into a nostalgic flip phone. I love the thinness of this device. When folded, it is compact and fits into my palm and bags very comfortably. When opened, the flatness of the device combined with how lightweight it is, makes it comfortable to use in one hand. The back of the phone has a round OLED screen that displays time and an animated wallpaper. The screen works like a smartwatch. If you swipe down on this you get access to quick features like wifi, bluetooth, and hotspot. Swipe from the bottom up and you get a quick glance at your notifications. Swipe left and you can get quick widgets like the camera and even take selfies with your phone closed. Swipe right and you get your music controls to play, stop, or shuffle what’s playing on your phone. Looking at the back screen light up when I folded the device took me back in time. Animated wallpapers were all the rage at some point and I love the idea of bringing simple enjoyable features back. I also enjoyed being able to tell time at a glance without getting distracted by other phone features.
The screen at the back also houses the three lenses for the back camera. When it comes to the camera quality of this phone, I’m not impressed with the selfie camera but for a phone costing about N390, the back camera is great. You can shoot images and videos in 4k giving you ultra clear videos and pictures. This camera also comes with an anti-shake feature which is perfect for content creators and anyone else who wants a stable video.
Unlike other foldable devices currently on the market, the Tecno Phantom V Flip is creaseless. Tecno has advanced its technology to the point where they have made a foldable screen without the annoying visible demarcation/crease where it folds. Due to the folding technology, there’s a tiny ridge on the screen. It’s not a big deal, because your fingers still glide easily on the screen but in the future, I hope the makers innovate to a place where they can create a foldable phone without the fold ridge.
The 6.9’’ AMOLED display (84.6% screen-to-body ratio) paired with the 1080 x 2640 pixels display and 1000 nits peak brightness gives a clear and vibrant display. Watching videos on this phone is a pleasant experience.
This device runs on the HiOS software built with an AI called Ella. Unlike other phone assistants, Ella is connected to ChatGPT and can easily pull it up for you. It made my working experience easier because I prompted it to type out emails and reply to texts.
As 5G becomes more common, I expect nothing less than it from any new phone launches. The Tecno Phantom V Flip offers enhanced browsing speeds with its 5G network ability. If you don’t need 5G, it allows you to also switch to 2G and 3G.
Final verdict: I love the premium look and feel of this phone.
