Tecno Phantom V Flip review

Introduction

Tecno has already launched a very intriguing foldable smartphone - the Phantom V Fold - so it was all but a surprise to watch the maker unveil the Phantom V Flip. It's an addition to the V series with a unique take on the cover display.

The Tecno Phantom V Flip looks like your typical modern flip phone - an edge-to-edge foldable OLED on the inside, a cool design on the outside with a sleek metal hinge, and a small cover display for notifications and widgets.

The V Flip's exterior is covered with vegan leather, but what makes it unique is the round cover OLED, which is surrounded by a round black bezel that houses the cameras and the flash. This is a rare arrangement and will surely make the V Flip recognizable among its peers.

The Phantom V Flip has a 6.9-inch foldable LTPO OLED on the inside, a premium panel with a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, 360Hz touch sampling and HDR10 support. The cover screen is a 1.32-inch AMOLED with 352ppi density.

The V Flip runs on the Dimensity 8050 5G chipset, which is an upper mid-range chipset that has already shown promising gaming potential. The V Flip will be sold in one memory configuration - 8GB LPDDR4X RAM with 256GB UFS3.1 storage.

Tecno is known for its premium camera experience, and it does offer some niceties such as a 64MP primary camera with an RGBW sensor and a 13MP secondary cam for ultrawide photos that supports autofocus and can do macro shots. The selfie camera uses a 32MP Tetracell sensor and supports autofocus!

Other notable specs include stereo speakers, a 4,000mAh battery with 45W wired charging, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

Here is the complete specs sheet:

Tecno Phantom V Flip specs at a glance:

• Body: 171.7x74.1x6.9mm, 194g; Plastic front (opened), leather back, steel hinge, aluminum frame;.
• Display: 6.90" Foldable LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz, 1000 nits (peak), 1080x2640px resolution, 22:9 aspect ratio, 413ppi; Cover display: AMOLED, 1.31 inches, 360 x 360 px, 352ppi, 800 nits.
• Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 8050 (6 nm): Octa-core (1x3.0 GHz Cortex-A78 & 3x2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G77 MC9.
• Memory: 256GB 8GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• OS/Software: Android 13, HiOS 13.5.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.7, 25mm, 1/1.73", 1.6µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 13 MP, 1.12µm, f/2.2, PDAF.
• Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.45, 24mm (wide), 0.8µm, PDAF.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, HDR; Front camera: 1440p@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 4000mAh; 45W wired, 50% in 15min (advertised).
• Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.2; NFC.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); stereo speakers;

There is little missing on this new flip phone and probably the most notable omission is any sort of ingress protection. We guess this is reserved for the flagship foldables, particularly the ones coming from Korea.

Unboxing the Tecno Phantom V Flip

The Tecno Phantom V Flip ships in a rather large box that contains a lot. First, you get the phone, of course. Then, you will find a 45W power adapter and a USB-C-to-A cable.

The retail bundle also contains a super cool case with a metal ring. While this case looks a lot like the ones Samsung is selling for the Z Flip5, this one has the two separate covers connected with a piece of vegan leather. And that same ribbon holds the big metal ring you can use to hold the phone on your finger or maybe hook it on something for reasons.

Design, build quality, handling

The Tecno Phantom V Flip grabs your attention the moment you lay your eyes on it. It looks like something that came out of a jewelry store, especially if you snap the bundled case.

The Phantom V Flip has been designed by flagship standards. The two rear panels are covered in vegan leather, the frame is made of aluminum, the hinge - of steel, while the internal screen has a thin plastic film and a prominent plastic bezel around it, just like the Galaxy Z Flips.

Tecno has put some commendable attrition to the detail demonstrated very well on both versions - Mystic Dawn and Iconic Black.

We have the Mystic Dawn version, and its leather parts are painted in this cool purple hue. The bottom panel has a metal V logo embedded between the transition from light purple to dark purple. It's a subtle yet captivating accent.

The Iconic Black version is, well, black, but has faux stitches, which mimic those on haute couture suits.

The leather parts have a lychee pattern, which is often considered a fashionable touch and used on different luxury items and vehicles.

Planet Cover Screen is what Tecno calls the round screen and the cameras around him, probably because this arrangement mimics a star and a bunch of circling planets. And we do admit it's quite neat and fitting.

The rear design is all Tecno and we are glad it is different from the rest of the Flip bunch.

The self-developed steel hinge is thin and has a lifespan of above 200,000 cycles. It allows the phone to fold completely gap-free and supports semi-folded states between 30°-150°. But it does not allow the phone to open completely flat.

In its fully unfolded state, the Phantom V Flip is not completely flat, but let's say at about 178-degrees.

And that is a bummer, because it makes for one super prominent crease on the internal foldable screen. Worse, not only we can see and touch it, but we can also feel the hollow underneath. And while we are well aware we won't puncture this screen with our fingers, it still feels iffy.

Let's take a closer look at the Phantom V Flip now.

The foldable screen is great. It is covered by a thin film, and it is not recommended to peel that off. It keeps the screen safe. The panel itself has a small punch hole for the selfie camera - a 32MP sensor with autofocus.

There is more! Tecno is known for its dual-LED front flashes and there is one here. It is embedded in the top plastic bezel, barely visible, next to the earpiece.

The phone has stereo speakers - the earpiece acts as one, while the other is at the bottom near the USB port.

The Phantom V Flip can stand in semi-folded state, and we cannot see any visible gaps around the hinge, which may allow dust or sand to enter and eventually compromise the screen from below. This is definitely a good thing.

We've already mentioned the fact that the V Flip is not exactly perfectly straight when open, which increases the screen crease and makes the phone look a bit weird. It's not such a big issue as it sounds, especially for a mid-ranger of sorts, but it is still something worth mentioning.

The back is really beautiful. The top part contains the Planet-like arranged round 1.32" AMOLED screen, the 64MP primary and the 13MP ultrawide cameras. The ring-LED flash is also around.

This whole setup is jutting out a bit and is surrounded by a thin metal ring.

The bottom panel has a metal circle with the V logo.

The Tecno Phantom V Flip has a thin aluminum frame with a glossy finish and a slight curvature.

It has a lonely microphone at the top.

The bottom houses the primary microphone, the USB-C port, and one of the speakers.

The left side has the dual-SIM card tray.

The volume and power/lock keys are on the right. The power key also contains the fingerprint scanner - it's always-on, fast and incredibly accurate.

The Phantom V Flip opens and closes relatively easy, and we had no issues with that. Handling the phone feels as premium as it looks - the leather is quite nice to touch, and you can feel the sturdiness of the metal frame.

The grip is good, even if not great. The grippy leather panels do help a lot, and they are smudge-resistant, but the glossy frame is the opposite. Still, the grip was secure enough not to bother us during our week with the phone.

The case Tecno ships with the phone is superb and we do recommend using it. It is the same color as the phone and is all matte plastic, very grippy at that. And we will admit, we liked carrying this phone on our finger.

Overall, if it weren't for the weird angle when opened, we would have given this V Flip an excellent mark for design. While we still think Tecno did a solid job here, we feel it could have done a little better, even though it's a mid-range foldable phone. Or maybe we are just nit-picking. We will let you decide.

Displays

The Phantom V Flip has two displays - one small cover screen and one large foldable one on the inside.

There is little to talk about the external 1.32-inch AMOLED. It has a round panel with 466 x 466 pixels or 352ppi, 60Hz refresh rate, 120Hz touch sampling, and 800 nits of maximum brightness. It doesn't support full-fledged apps; its primary purpose is to show notifications and serve as a selfie viewfinder.

The internal display is a 6.9-inch LTPO OLED with 2,640 x 1,080 px resolution (426ppi, 22:9 aspect). It supports a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate (10Hz-120Hz), 360Hz touch sampling, HDR10, and up to 1,000 nits of peak brightness. There is also 1440Hz PWM dimming support for excellent panel performance under low brightness conditions.

We've completed our display test, and the results are in line with what we've captured on the recent Galaxy Z Flips. The maximum manual brightness we measured at the end of the slider was 505 nits, on par with the Z Flip4.

The Phantom V Flip offers High Brightness Mode - it increases the maximum brightness in both manual and Auto modes under bright light - up to 818 nits. Note that if HBM has not been turned on from within the Display Settings, the V Flip will not get a brightness boost in Auto brightness.

We measured 3.7 nits of minimal brightness at point white - a solid performance.

Color accuracy

There are two color modes on the V Flip - Bright Color and Original Color, both correspond to the DCI-P3 color space. You can tune the color temperature in each. The default one is Natural, and the accuracy is faithful except for the slightly bluish white and gray hues.

The Bright Color mode brings more saturation and offers popping colors; far from accurate though.

Refresh rate

The refresh rate menu gives you a total of four options - 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz, plus an Auto-switch mode. Regardless of mode, you can expect the Tecno to wind down to 10Hz across the UI, if you're not touching it.

Unlike the V Fold, the V Flip gets a lot of the dynamic refresh rate right.

The Auto Switch and the 120Hz options now behave identically most of the time. They will usually net you max refresh rate in web browsers, streaming services, and games that support high frame rates. We observed 60Hz and 30Hz in video playback and streaming, as well as in some apps that are incompatible with HRR.

The same thing can be said for the 90Hz and 60Hz options, too. They reach the selected cap and dial down to 30Hz for videos and 10Hz for static screen.

Unlike on the V Fold, we had no YouTube or Netflix streaming issues with the V Flip.

HDR and streaming

The Phantom V Flip does not claim any HDR capabilities just like the V Fold, and even though hardware detection apps list it as supporting HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG, that's more of a software decoding capability than actual HDR playback. YouTube did serve HDR streams, but they had a minor boost in brightness, contrast and colors. The Widevine L1 certification does allow FullHD playback for DRM-protected content.

Battery life

The Phantom V Flip is powered by a 4,000mAh battery - that's 300mAh more than the Z Flip 4 and Z Flip 5, but 200mAh less than the Razr 40's battery.

The Tecno Phantom V Flip scored a total endurance rating of 88 hours on our battery life test. It did great on the on-screen tests - the V Flip clocked north of 13 hours on web browsing and more than 16 hours of video playback. It can last almost a day on calls.

Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating denotes how long the battery charge will last you if you use the device for an hour of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. More details can be found here.

The Dimensity 8050 offers a rather average standby performance (about 230 hours).

Video test carried out in 60Hz refresh rate mode. Web browsing test done at the display's highest refresh rate whenever possible. Refer to the respective reviews for specifics. To adjust the endurance rating formula to match your own usage patterns check out our all-time battery test results chart where you can also find all phones we've tested.

Charging speed

The Tecno Phantom V Flip supports up to 45W fast wired charging, and such power adapter comes bundled with the phone. According to the press materials, the phone should be able to reach 50% charge in 15 minutes and 100% in 45 minutes.

In our testing, we didn't exactly match the Tecno numbers. The bundled power adapter recharged 34% of the battery in 15 minutes and 58% in 30 minutes. At the promised 45-minute mark for a full charge we got 82%. Finally, a full charge required 55 minutes.

The Phantom V Flip does not support wireless charging.

There are power saving options such as adaptive battery for apps and standby optimization, as well as some more advanced customizations on app basis like screen off and scheduled push. There is a dedicated Power Saver and Ultra Power Saving modes, too.

AI Smart Charge is available - it recharges to a certain percentage, and then completes the process in the morning before you wake up.

Speakers

The Tecno Phantom V Flip features a stereo speaker setup of a familiar hybrid kind. The earpiece acts as a speaker, while the other one has a dedicated driver at the bottom of the phone near the USB-C port.

While the earpiece isn't as loud as the other speaker, the setup still sounds balanced because of the speakers' positions.

So, the speakers of the V Flip scored an Excellent mark in our loudness test. Their quality is good - the vocals are nice, the high notes are rich, and the bass is barely there but it's there.

Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.

Android 13 with HiOS 13.5

The Phantom V Flip runs Android 13 with a layer of the in-house HiOS on top, version 13.5 on the Flip.

The general V Flip interface is an ever so slightly touched up version of the HiOS 12 we saw on the Phantom X2 and X2 Pro.

There is an always-on display available for the foldable screen and it offers plenty of styles. It can be always-on, scheduled, show on tap, or disabled.

Always-on display

The lockscreen has a couple of shortcuts on the bottom - one for the camera, the other for the flashlight.

Once you're past the lockscreen, you arrive at a standard homescreen interface. The leftmost pane, called the Zero screen, holds cards with suggested news, weather and quotes widgets and an app usage widget. You can disable the Zero screen in the 'Desktop settings'. There's an app drawer by default.

Lockscreen • Homescreen • Zero screen • Folder view • App drawer • Task switcher

The multi-tasking is business as usual - you can use split screen and/or pop-up window for supported apps.

Entering the Phantom V Flip is no different to any other non-foldable - you get both fingerprint and face recognition. You can have the fingerprint reader unlock with just a tap or require a press as well, and face recognition can be set to bypass the lockscreen directly or require a swipe instead.

Biometrics and security

Tecno has a long-standing selection of advanced features that generally get carried forward from older models. That includes the Game mode with all the settings, statistics and parental controls. There is also the Smart panel with slide-from-the-side shortcuts that we mentioned above.

The Social Turbo toolset is rather interesting (a WhatsApp enhancer of sorts) - it can change your voice, enhance your face during video calls, record your WhatsApp calls, and allow you to read messages without marking them as Read.

MemFusion is Tecno's name for virtual RAM. The Phantom V Flip has 8GB of physical RAM chips on board and can extend that up to a total of 16GB with another 8GB of virtual memory. By default, MemFusion is set to 5GB.

Peek Proof grays out important stuff on your screen.

Special function menu • Game mode • Social Turbo • Smart Panel • MemFusion • Peek Proof

There are some pre-installed apps and utilities, but it's a pretty restrained package overall, with a lot less bloatware than the X2 and X2 Pro we had last, which in turn were a significant step in the right direction. You get an in-house gallery and video player, but no proprietary app stores and no Hi browser pre-installed. Not even the Hi Themes app is here - there are just a couple of themes pre-installed.

AI Gallery • AI Gallery • Visha Player • File Manager • Themes

There are just a few provisions in software for a semi-folded state - the Gallery, the video player and the camera app. YouTube automatically switches to its own foldable-specific half-screen split interface, too.

Semi-folded YouTube • Gallery • Video • Camera app

Finally, let's talk about the cover screen.

Let's start with the fact that you cannot have the cover screen always-on, just show on tap or on pickup.

Swipes in all four directions on the cover screen do different things. Swiping up launches the mini notification area, while swiping down brings up quick toggles - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Mobile Data, Airplane, Vibrate, DND, Hotspot and NFC.

You can also choose from five different pets to spice up your clock widget.

Swiping to the right brings up a selection of up to nine widgets - weather, schedule, camera, vitality (fitness) rings, alarm, weather alerts, voice recorder, stopwatch, and timer.

Swiping to the left reveals the music controls.

Cover screen settings

And it's a wrap on the software side of things.

Performance

The Tecno Phantom V Flip employs the Mediatek Dimensity 8050, which is a brand new 6nm chip, at least on paper. But gathering some more information, however, reveals that the Dimensity 8050 is almost identical to the Dimensity 1300, which in turn doesn't really differ from the Dimensity 1200.

The Dimensity 8050 has four fast Cortex-A78 cores and four efficient Cortex-A55 cores. The Cortex-A78 units are actually divided between 1 Super Core running at up to 3GHz, and three Performance Cores ticking at up to 2.6GHz. There is a Mali-G77 MC9 GPU inside the chip. It is paired with 8GB of physical LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of non-expandable UFS 3.1 storage.

Let's run some benchmarks now.

The CPU scores are in line with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 inside the Motorola Razr 40 and not that far away from the SD888 inside the Huawei P50 Pocket and the Dimensity 9000 inside the Oppo Find N2 Flip.

The GPU offers a solid performance, much better than the Razr 40's. The P50 Pocket and the Find F2 Flip offer more FPS, but we are not sure this difference would translate into something you can see and feel when gaming.

Finally, the AnTuTu tests shows the MT8050 superiority over the SD7G1 inside the Razr 40 and not that far behind the flagship P50 Pockat and Find N2 Flip.

Overall, the Phantom V Flip offers adequate performance for its price and class and it delivers smooth performance across various apps, games, and Android UI.

We also ran our typical stress tests. Tecno says this is the first flip phone with an ultra-thin VC liquid cooling solution enhanced with a graphite layer. And the results are impressive.

The V Flip scored 63% of CPU stability, which is better than what most modern Flips can offer.

The V Flip also scored the impressive 94% GPU stability, which is an absolute record for such a foldable. But...

While the V Flip remained warm during the CPU test, its frame became scorching hot during the GPU stress test. After 20 mins running at peak GPU performance, we grabbed the Flip to make a screenshot and dropped it with a scream. The aluminum frame around the top part was incredibly hot and we almost got burned.

CPU test • GPU test

For the sake of this review, we ran a game for about an hour and it never made the frame this hot. But you should be aware of this as Tecno allows the GPU to run at peak performance without taking precautions to keep your hands safe.

At the end of the day, we'd rate the Phantom V Flip performance as very good, plenty adequate for this device and it can handle gaming on the go hassle-free. But if it gets hot, you better stop and let it rest and cool down.

A total of three cameras

The Tecno Phantom V Flip has two cameras at the back and one on the inside a punch hole on the foldable screen for selfie/video call purposes.

The rear camera setup comprises of a 64MP primary and a 13MP ultrawide, both featuring PDAF. The inner camera is a 32MP shooter, also with PDAF capabilities.

The V Flip's primary camera is based on the 64MP Samsung ISOCELL GWB (S5KGWB) sensor. It's got a 1/1.73" optical format and 0.8µm pixels, and a Tetrapixel color filter array (Quad Bayer, in Sony speak), but with an RGBW twist. The lens has an aperture of f/1.7 and an equivalent focal length in the 24-25mm ballpark (according to the hardware scanning apps).

The ultrawide camera uses Samsung's 13MP (S5K)3L6 sensor - 1/3" optical format, 1.12µm pixels and a conventional RGB filter array. This ultrawide camera has f/2.2 aperture lens and most importantly - it comes with autofocusing capability.

For selfies, you get the 32MP (S5K)GD2 sensor - 1/2.8", 0.8µm, Tetrapixel) filter - with a 24mm-equivalent f/2.5 lens. And, surprise, surprise, it also supports autofocus!

The V Flip has four-LED flash in a ring-like arrangement at the back and a dual-LED front flash embedded within the screen bezel.

The Tecno doesn't miss the opportunity to offer cover screen UI for operating the rear cameras with the device in whichever state - folded or unfolded. In either case you can use the rear camera to take selfie photos and video. You can also use the rear screen as a preview if you are taking someone's portraits.

When operating through the cover screen you get a small shutter key and you can switch between Video, Photo, Portrait modes with swipes. You cannot switch to ultrawide this way, though.

When using the camera app on the inner display, you will find a cover screen preview switch and once active, you can go to the ultrawide camera and take a selfie picture.

Outside of these foldable-related bits, the camera app is straightforward - well, maybe aside from the full-auto photo mode being called AI Cam. There are Portrait, Super Night, Super Macro, Pro, and Sky Shop (change the sky) modes. The Pro works on both rear cameras.

Camera app

Photo quality

The main camera saves 16MP photos by default and those are mostly great. The resolved detail is plenty and the images are not over-sharpened, the foliage looks natural, the noise is kept low, the dynamic range is enough even if not that wide, and the contrast is good.

The white balance and the color rendition need tuning - the photos are a bit warmer than they should be and sometimes the colors can be a bit too saturated. But overall - the photos are quite likable.

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Main camera, 16MP

There is a 2x zoom toggle, but it provides a simple digital zoom over the main camera and the zoomed photos are soft and lacking in detail.

2x zoom main camera, 16MP

On the other hand, the 64MP photos turned out surprisingly detailed with very greatly rendered high-frequency detail like foliage and the detailing on the building facades. The noise is notably low, and everythingelse is a match to the default output. You can use these 64MP photos for more detailed 2x-like crops.

Main camera, 64MP

The portrait mode offers 1x and 2x options. The 1x photos are excellent - the subject is detailed, always well exposed, the dynamic range is mostly wide, the colors are lively even if a bit over-saturated, and there is no noise.

The algorithm offers proficient subject separation and the simulated blur is convincing.

Portraits with main camera

You bet the selfies with the main camera are of high quality - they are incredibly detailed, with over-the-top colors and wide dynamic range. The face is somewhat over-sharpened, but still - some impressive shots we have here.

Selfies with the main camera

The ultrawide camera is supposed to combine the output from the main camera in order to achieve a sharper and better developed center part.

And hands down, the photos we took with this camera indeed have the sharpest central part we've seen in a while with outstanding quality, sharpness, dynamic range, and popping colors.

Judging by the rather average sides and corners, it looks like the processing has indeed taken the 16MP image from the main camera and crammed it into the center of the ultrawide photo. The transition from sharp to soft is gradual and overall, we liked what Tecno had done here.

Ultrawide camera, 13MP

The ultrawide camera supports autofocus and hence it can snap photos from as close as 2-3cm away. And those are nice - detailed enough, with good dynamic range and lively color rendering.

Macro with ultrawide, 13MP

The 32MP inner camera saves 32MP photos, which means they are upscaled from the default 8MP output. Had those been 8MP they would have been perfect - with exceptional detail, wide dynamic range, accurate colors, no noise.

But in their 32MP upscaled variant they keep all those good things but sharpness and detail - the upscaled photos are quite soft.

Still, when you upload those to the social networks, they would look magnificent, so we are happy with their overall rendition.

Selfies with the inner camera

The Phantom V Flip offers this super cool mode called Sky Shop, which literally means Sky Photoshop. You choose a sky effect from the presets and the camera app will photoshop it on your (preferably daylight) photos. Like this:

Sky Shop samples

Moving on to some low-light photos. There is no Auto Night Mode, though the camera app and its "AI" will periodically show Night scenes. This means that the app has recognized the scene and will tune the camera settings accordingly.

The main camera should benefit greatly from the RGBW sensor and according to Tecno it should save some excellent nighttime photos. And it does!

The default photos are detailed and sharp, with good dynamic range (wider than we expected it to be), excellent colors and high contrast. The noise is quite low.

Even without Night Mode, these shots are simply great, especially when you consider there is no OIS on this camera.

Main camera, Auto

And speaking about Night Mode, it takes about a second to shoot and another one to save the photo. It widens the dynamic range, slightly brightens the image, and cleans up noise. But it lowers the detail and the sharpness, and its harsh noise reduction is responsible for the oil-painting look.

Main camera, Night Mode

The main camera supports Tripod Night Mode - it uses up to 30s exposure to capture an ideal photo.

Tripod Night Mode

The ultrawide camera does the same thing at night as in broad daylight - it adds the output from the main camera in its center. And the photos are great - very detailed and sharp, with low-noise, good dynamic range, and accurate colors.

Of course, outside the large center portion, you will observe a noticeable drop in the detail, smeared objects and what looks like compression artefacts at times.

Ultrawide camera, Auto

You don't need to use Night Mode for the ultrawide camera as it usually worsens the shot as it doesn't benefit from the combined output from two cameras. The photos are far less detailed even if they have a bit wider dynamic range and restored highlights.

Ultrawide camera, Night Mode

And here's how the main camera stacks up against the competition in our extensive Photo compare database.

Tecno Phantom V Flip against the Galaxy Z Flip4 and the Motorola Razr 40 in our Photo compare tool

Video recording

The Phantom V Flip records video up to 4K30 with its main and ultrawide cameras, while the dedicated selfie one is capped at 1440p30. There is a 1080p60 option for the primary and selfie cameras.

There's no option for using the h.265 codec - the older, less efficient, but more widely compatible h.264 is the only way to encode videos.

There is an optional stabilization mode called Ultra Steady, available for all cameras at 1080p30 mode. If disabled, you can shoot in whatever resolution you want, 1080p30 included, but there won't be any stabilization. Bummer!

The 4K videos are captured with 50Mbps bitrate, while the 1080p30 ones - with about 20Mbp.s. Audio is always stereo, the bitrate is 250Kbps, and the sound is good.

The 4K daylight footage from the main camera is solid - the resolved detail is enough, the sharpness is good, the dynamic range is wide. The white balance is once again a bit off, but still likable.

The 4K low-light clip from the main camera is very good - it is bright and detailed, with tolerable noise, excellent color saturation, and adequate dynamic range.

The ultrawide camera records good 4K clips during the day with enough detail at the center and wide dynamic range. The footage is a bit noisy, but not enough to ruin the quality. The videos could benefit from a contrast and saturation boost, though.

The 4K ultrawide video we took at nighttime is overrun by noise and barely usable.

The 1440p video from the selfie camera is alright - the detail is decent and so is the dynamic range. The colors are accurate here. If only it were stable, though.

The Ultra Stable mode does an outstanding job across all three cameras.

Here's how the Tecno Phantom V Flip compares to other devices in our vast video compare database.

Tecno Phantom V Flip against the Galaxy Z Flip4 and the Motorola Razr 40 in our Video compare tool

Alternative offers

The Tecno Phantom V Flip launches for INR50,000 (the equivalent of $600) in India and for €700 in Europe, which is one super competitive price considering the smartphone class and premium design. Foldables are still an exclusive club that's not for everyone, and the Flips are even harder to make properly because of the limited space and cammed components.

So, considering that Tecno has managed to offer a unique design, good displays, very good performance and all-around camera experience with solid photo and video quality, we cannot but think of the Phantom V Flip as a winner in spite of a few setbacks.

Let's consider a couple of alternatives now.

The first one that comes to mind is the Motorola Razr 40. It costs about €800, which makes it more expensive than the V Flip, but the premium will net you a properly flat opened state, a more polished software with 3 years of updates, and even basic ingress protection.

The Galaxy Z Flip4 from last year has dropped to a similar price - about €700. It offers complete water protection, a better inner OLED, a more powerful chipset, a better selfie camera, far better video stabilization, and wireless charging.

The Oppo Find N2 Flip is more expensive than the V Flip, but quite a similar foldable when it comes to the inner display, performance, camera experience. It does have a larger cover screen, but it looks inferior to the Tecno in many other aspects.

The Google-less Huawei P50 Pocket is also more expensive on many markets, but it is worth considering for its fashion-centric design, unique cover screens, and premium camera experience with superb photo and video quality.

Motorola Razr 40 • Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 • Oppo Find N2 Flip • Huawei P50 Pocket

Our verdict

The Tecno Phantom V Flip is an affordable foldable smartphone with a ton of premium features across the board. We can praise its leather design, we found both screens to be of high quality, the performance and stability of the Dimensity 8050 chipset were enough for good gaming, and the camera quality was very good across all three cameras.

The V Flip comes bundled with a stylish protective case and a fast charger, and its two color options are incredibly attractive.

Finally, the HiOS 13.5 turned out to be pretty good with little bloatware and plenty of useful features, gestures, and customization options.

We have encountered a few issues on the Phantom V Flip. First - its inability to open completely flat. This requirement must be one of the things that nobody should get wrong, yet Tecno did it. Sure, it doesn't get in the way of the V Flip's operation, but it's there, and you can not only feel it, but see it, too.

Then there is the extremely hot frame during heavy graphics use. There is no sugarcoating it - the upper part of the frame becomes a scorching hot after just 15 min under peak GPU loads.

And lastly, video capturing needs proper stabilization, not merely an optional mode that offers a heavily cropped 1080p footage.

The Tecno Phantom V Flip isn't the ideal foldable smartphone, that is for sure. But its $650/€650 price is affordable as far as these devices go and we would consider its specs sheet well-balanced. We found that the Phantom V delivered on most of its promises, and we have had positive handling, working, gaming, and imaging experience with the phone during our time we spent using it.

The Phantom V Flip may not be a perfect phone, but it does come at a perfect price. One that makes you think of it as a tempting ticket to the foldable class, one that will show you what's all that fuss about and maybe get you hooked, too. And if not, you would still have one incredibly compact phone, that's light both on your pocket and on your wallet.

Pros

• Attractive design, nice case.
• Bright and mostly color-accurate foldable OLED.
• Interesting cover OLED, ideal for viewfinder, too.
• Decent battery life.
• Loud stereo speakers.
• Adequate performance and stability, gaming included.
• Very good photo and video quality across the board.
• Minimal bloatware.

Cons

• No ingress protection.
• The phone does not open flat.
• No official HDR10 support.
• No EIS for 4K videos.
• The frame gets scorching hot during heavy GPU loads.

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