Phone manufacturer Tecno has just released its latest book-style foldable — the Phantom V Fold 2 — to the world. The foldable smartphone industry has recently heated up with strong competition, which makes it increasingly difficult to stand out in the saturating market.

Has Tecno crafted a foldable two-in-one that can rival the likes of Honor, OnePlus, and other OEMs? Will the software be a step-up from the company’s first-generation Phantom V Fold? I swapped in my SIM card to get all the answers.

Price, availability, and specs

The Tecno Phantom V Fold 2 shares basic dimensions with other recently-released book-style foldable phones. When unfolded, the device measures at 5.53 x 6.23 x 0.22-inches (140.35 x 159 x 5.52mm), and folded dimensions land at 2.84 x 6.23 x 0.46-inches (2.16 x 159 x 11.78mm). When paired together with the device’s 8.78oz (249g) weight, the device is thin and light, but far from class-leading in this regard.

The inner 7.85-inch 2000 x 2296 pixel resolution display uses AMOLED technology, as does the outer 6.42-inch 1080 x 2550 pixel panel. Both displays ship at 120Hz LTPO for zippy refresh rate capabilities.

The camera array includes dual 32-megapixel selfie shooters, one situated on the cover display and the other on the inner screen. There’s also a triple rear lens setup here, with a 50-megapixel wide, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 60-megapixel telephoto shooter on board.

MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000+ processor is running the show. This flagship chip aims to compete with Qualcomm’s best Snapdragon offerings. The power pack has a comfortable 5,750mAh capacity and supports 70w wired and 15w wireless charging.

The Phantom V Fold 2 launches at $1,100, and comes in rippling blue and karst green colorways. For the price, you’re getting 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. A separate Phantom V Pen will also be available for purchase, with a currently un-announced price tag. Both the phone and the pen can be purchased from various online storefronts, including Amazon. Tecno does have its own retail presence, but currently not within any major western market.

What I liked about the Tecno Phantom V Fold 2

The overall phone experience was pleasant, especially on the hardware front

Going from initial setup to then using the device while out and about, the V Fold 2 offers a solid experience throughout. Tecno’s decision when it comes to its book-style phone’s form factor plays a key role here. The company elected to follow in the footsteps of OnePlus, Honor, and Google, with the device feeling like a normal phone when shut, and an expansive square-like tablet when unfolded.

Being able to comfortably use the cover display without the quirk of being narrow is a huge plus, and I believe this to have previously been a barrier preventing the more mainstream appeal of foldable phones in this category.

I found the performance to be top-notch, with no stutters or laggy interface elements to speak of. The MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ is a high-end chip, and it handles processor-intensive tasks like a champ. When tested, I got a Geekbench 6 score of 1,224 in single-core, and 3,728 in multi-core.

I appreciated that the 70w charging brick is included in the box, a consumer-friendly gesture not seen often these days. The tech is proprietary, but it’s hard to complain when it doesn’t require a separate purchase.

What does require a separate purchase is the new Phantom V Pen, which is an active stylus that works on both the front cover and the main inner display of the V Fold 2. Inking and note-taking is a big benefit when it comes to folding phones, and I’m really glad to see native support for the feature here, even if the stylus isn’t included in the box.

The camera system also performed well, but it’s probably the weakest link here — for daily use, it’s serviceable, but nowhere near as well-tuned as your average Pixel or Galaxy. Color accuracy left me wanting more, and switching from one lens to the next was a bit of a choppy affair.

What I didn’t like about the Tecno Phantom V Fold 2

The software experience is in need of some improvement

My first real disappointment with the Phantom V Fold 2 has to do with the unit’s capacitive fingerprint sensor. It’s mounted on the sleep/wake button, which is convenient, but I found it to be far less accurate and speedy than other recent devices I’ve tested. The phone does offer a face unlock option as well, but it’s significantly less secure than the solution offered by Google in its Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

The hardware of the device is premium, and I didn’t mind the plastic material on the back of the unit. I do feel that there’s a less satisfying sensation when folding and unfolding the device when compared to some other book-style foldables out there. It doesn’t feel cheap, per se, but it does feel hollow compared to something like the Honor Magic V3.

My biggest gripe with the Phantom V Fold2 comes down to the software experience — like with the aforementioned Honor phone, I found Tecno’s HiOS on top of Android 14 to be a little too iOS-esque for my liking. Thankfully, it was easy enough to dig into settings and tweak the gestures to better match my preferences.

I also wish that Tecno would commit to more than two years of Android OS updates. On the security update front, at least, the company offers three years of support as well as a dedicated website with up-to-date patch information.

Should you buy the Tecno Phantom V Fold 2?

The device inches on being a solid recommendation, but doesn’t quite reach the threshold.

The Phantom V Fold 2 is a solid second-generation offering from Tecno. The company has crafted a phone that, physically speaking, feels quite refined. The displays are easy on the eye, performance is top-notch, and the camera system is more than serviceable for daily usage.

While the software package is full-featured and fluid during use, I found that it lags behind the foldable competition. The single biggest drawback here is Tecno’s weak commitment to updates, with the phone only slated to receive 2 years of feature support.

The V Fold 2 is a solid handset overall, but for $1,100, I struggle to recommend it in a book-style foldable market teeming with other excellent choices. Admittedly, with a couple more years worth of generational upgrades at the helm, I believe Tecno might have a phone capable of sitting alongside the big market players.

This device was provided to Pocket-lint by Tecno.