TECNO Phantom V Flip 5G: First Impressions

TECNO’s flagship Phantom family just got bigger with the launch of the new Phantom V Flip 5G.

As the name implies, it is a flip phone, and it is also the brand’s first-ever flip phone.

With that, you can now choose between two foldable phones from TECNO’s lineup – the new Phantom V Flip and the Phantom V Fold.

I had big expectations from the TECNO Phantom V Flip considering how capable the Phantom V Fold was.

Not surprisingly, it indeed meet my expectations based on my initial interaction with the smartphone.

In terms of design, the TECNO Phantom V Flip looks very unique compared to other flip phones on the market today.

Rather than the usual rectangular screen, TECNO decided to fit a circular screen on the front cover.

The 1.32-inch AMOLED screen is integrated into the camera housing, giving it a clean look overall.

There are several widgets available on the cover screen, and you also adjust some settings such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and airplane mode.

But what I really liked was the custom avatars available. You could have a dog, a cat, and even a bird moving around on the cover screen.

According to the presentation, they’re interactive too. For example, if you receive a message, the dog could pop up as a notification with a letter in its mouth.

The phone itself feels great to the touch.

It’s relatively slim, measuring 88.77mm x 74.05mm x 14.95mm when folded and 171.72mm x 74.05mm x 6.95mm when unfolded.

This makes it relatively slim and easy to fit in your pockets. Because of the long screen when folded, you do have to get used to the length, especially if this is your first time with a flip phone.

The power button and volume rocker are found on the right side of the phone, while the sim-card slot is found on the right side.

At the bottom, you’ll see the USB-C port together with a loudspeaker and a mic.

While the frame of the phone is made of metal, the back panel of the Phantom V Flip appears to be made out of a leather-rubber hybrid. This makes it feel nice to the touch and easier to grip.

What really impressed me about the TECNO Phantom V Flip is the camera.

The dual-rear camera setup is highlighted by a 64MP main shooter and a 13MP ultrawide, which are some of the best I’ve tried on a flip phone.

While we were only able to shoot indoors, the camera was quite sharp. Even under low-light, the images taken still retain some details.

Even when using 2x or 3x zoom, the images turned out quite sharp too.

From initial impressions, the colors did seem accurate.

Since this is a flip phone, you can even shoot using multiple angles. At the same time, it makes it easy to take selfies using the main camera sensor with the device folded at angles.

Although I’ll reserve my final judgment of the TECNO Phantom V Flip’s camera in the full review.

While we didn’t get to spend too much time with the phone, the inner display is nice to use.

It’s a large 6.9-inch with slim borders and a 120Hz refresh rate. Going through the menu felt nice, but I’m curious how it fairs when playing games or watching movies.

What did impress me about the display is the crease, or lack thereof in the TECNO Phantom V Flip.

Unlike other flip phones I’ve tried, the crease isn’t too visible.

From some angles, it’s almost invisible. If you’re someone who’s annoyed by the crease found on flip phones, then you probably won’t feel the same way with the Phantom V Flip.

Powering the TECNO Phantom V Flip is a MediaTek Dimensity 8050 5G chipset with 8GB RAM.

RAM can be further virtually expanded by an additional 8GB for a total of 16GB. No games were installed on the phones so we couldn’t try out how it is. But given how capable the chip is, I have high expectations for this phone. It also runs on Android 13 skinned with HiOS 13.5.

The unit we tried came with 256GB of internal storage, and there was no mention of a microSD card slot.

So if you will be taking a lot of photos or videos, you might find the storage lacking.

In terms of battery size, the TECNO Phantom V Flip only has a 4,000 mAh battery pack.

It’s a bit small, but it’s average when compared to other flip phones on the market. Thankfully, there is 45W fast charging. And according to TECNO, 15 minutes of charging is enough to reach 50 percent.

There are a bunch of cute accessories available too. It makes accessorizing the phone a lot easier if you want to look unique.

So far, we have high hopes for the TECNO Phantom V Flip based on our initial impressions.

It’s a great looking phone with a nice camera and capable chipset.

There’s no price for the Philippine market just yet, and we don’t know when it will arrive. But to give you an idea, in India the TECNO Phantom V Flip will have an early bird price of INR 49,999PHP 34,609USD 590EUR 562CNY 4,294 or roughly PHP 34,000USD 579INR 49,116EUR 552CNY 4,219.

If TECNO does sell the Phantom V Flip in the Philippines at that price, it could be one of the most affordable flip phones in the market. If that’s the case, would you consider purchasing one?

Share your thoughts below.