It is an exciting year for foldables, isn’t it? And now we have the Tecno Phantom V Fold 2 here, it is the second generation in this lineup, and you will be surprised by how great-looking this phone is, and the powerful performance it has. Let’s check them out together in this review.
Design
So first of all, we have to talk about the brilliant design of this phone. Tecno works with LOEWE this time, and LOEWE is really good at designing and making luxurious stuff, and this Rippling Blue colorway I have in my hand is another masterpiece. Unlike some other foldables that are too sophisticated, this design is very refreshing, and when you look closely at the vegan leather texture, it really feels like watching the water flowing.
Unlike the more rounded off frames and outer screen, the camera module however, has this squared island, and the edges are smoothened.One thing to mention here though, every part on the surface is symmetrical, like the antennas, the speakers and Mics, the wordings. Isn’t it satisfying? So overall, this phone looks nice and unique, if you are tired of the average-looking smartphone, and you want to try something vibrant, this is the one you should get.
Build Quality
Right now, people always talk about the thickness and the hinges of the foldables, so how about those on this phone? At a glance, this phone is not particularly thin, but still be able to keep a relatively slim body, when folded, the phone remains completely shut, and there is no gap in between. If you look from the side, the mellow curve is more appealing, and it also creates a more secure hold. When unfolded, it still shows a very thin profile, and again, since the corners are more gentle, it provides a comfortable feel on both hands.
The hinge is still very smooth, you can easily open the phone and then make it stand at almost any angle, but not at the last bit. But still, you can do those typical foldable phone stuff, with a good hovering angle. When it’s unfolded, the hinge remains flat, and so is the inner screen, the crease is barely noticeable.
Screen
Like its predecessor, there is also a 3D half-curved outer screen there, and it’s at the side where the buttons are, so if you tend to use the phone with your right hand, the gesture control will favor you more. It is a 6.42” AMOLED screen, 21:9 ratio, it supports 120Hz refresh rate, the maximum brightness is 1600 nits, and it has 2160Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, so it is already a flagship level screen by all means. Now the inner screen is a 7.85” large one, with almost the same specs as the outer screen.
Of course you can have that typical foldable phone screen experience here, like browsing the internet and your favorite social media, watching a movie with a larger screen. If you are looking for your first foldable, this could be your choice.
User Experience
When we talk about the user experience, I really want to get into this pen first. You see, this pen comes in a dark color and a rubber case for it, convenient.
Once it’s connected to the phone by Bluetooth, there will be a menu button floating at either side of the screen, and when the pen is close to it, it will hover to let you pick a specific feature. Whether you want to take a quick note, or you want to take a screenshot then put some words on it. And you can circle on any word on the screen, then have a translation right away, this can be very useful when you try to read some articles. Lastly, you can also circle and cut a desired picture on the screen. One of the buttons can be used as the remote for taking pictures, and if you want to do things quicker, they can also be used to do all the things we mentioned, with a long press to activate them. The other button is dedicated for AI features.
The pen really does not have any latency when writing and drawing, and it is pressure-sensitive, so you can really do fine drawing in the notepad app. The gesture control is also very smooth on the pen. So I must say this pen really boosts creativity.
As usual, some other productivity features are also available here, such as the split screen, it claims that the top 1000 apps are supported for the split screen mode and multi-windows mode, and changing the ratio is very easy, 16:9 or 4:3. There are still the dock bar at the bottom and the quick window at the side, so things you want to do are just within your reach.
In terms of AI features, Tecno has some interesting approaches. There are the AI eraser, AI photo editing. And AI can help you translate a phone call in real time, summarize a call, etc. Also the only feature Tecno has, the Universal Tone, it can accurately capture different skin tones with AI, so in diverse cultural areas, this is very precious.
Cameras
Like the Fold 1, the camera system consists of a main camera, an ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 2x telephoto. The good news is that the pixel density of the ultra-wide-angle camera has been upgraded to 50MP. The photos it takes are great most of the time. The color style tends to be highly saturated, and the HDR strength is very strong. All three cameras can capture all the details of the object in sufficient light. There is no excessive sharpening algorithm, which is the type I appreciate.
The night scene performance is also excellent, especially in the Super Night Mode, which provides you with an option different from the Auto mode. Night scene photos taken in Auto mode will have a stronger HDR effect. The dark part of the photos taken in Super Night Mode will be darker, and the advantage is that this can better reflect the atmosphere of the night. If I have to pick a few problems, the first one must be that the 2x telephoto does not have OIS. It does increase the probability of blurring your photos in low light, but I generally don’t use telephoto to shoot in a very dark environment, so it’s not a big problem for me.
Performance
So the V fold 2 has the Dimensity 9000+ 5G chip, 12GB+512GB. It is a good chip, and for daily multi-tasking, it is more than capable of running everything buttery smooth, when we tested it in Genshin Impact, I would say it can handle the game pretty well, and you have a larger field view, the phone still gets a little bit warm, but it is already among the best in this market.
Other than the chip, it comes with a 5750mAh battery, 70W fast charger, and 15W wireless charge, it takes about 40mins to fully charge this battery.
Verdict
Alright, this is the review of the Phantom V Fold 2, it is a really good choice for people who are looking for their first foldable. Not only because it has this LOEWE co-branded design, but also for what you would get as the whole package. Everything is designed for productivity and convenience, with the help of the pen, all the tasks become easy and smooth. Currently we still don’t know about the price, but based on the previous gen, I think it still can be very friendly. So if you are interested in this one, head to the link down below for more info. This is Will from Gizmochina, see you next time!
