Tecno Unveils its Flip and Foldable Phones in Uganda

Tecno's Flip and Fold smartphones.

Nathan Ernest Olupot September 28, 2023

1 2 minutes read

Tecno Phantom V Flip. PHOTO: PC Tech Magazine

Tecno Mobile on Wednesday launched two new smartphones in its premium Phantom brand; the Phantom V Fold and Phantom V Flip in Uganda. The unveiling event was held at the Golf Course Club in partnership with Airtel Uganda.

The Tecno Phantom V Fold and Tecno Phantom V Flip were first launched at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 in Barcelona and Singapore (on Sep. 22nd) respectively before making them available to other markets including Uganda. According to Tecno, the Phantom V Flip reflects its “commitment to exploring new form factors and redefining the style and functionality of flip phones for passionate, fashionable, and forward-looking audiences.”

While we have seen already flip and foldable smartphones in Uganda, Tecno Mobile becomes the first smartphone manufacturer to officially make these intriguing handsets in the country. Available countrywide in Tecno shops, Airtel Uganda service centers, and from authorized mobile phone dealers, the phones come priced at UGX2.4M and UGX4M for the Phantom V Flip and Phantom V Fold respectively.

Tecno has partnered with TakeNow to allow customers to buy the phones in installments. Customers can pay 30% of the initial price (which is UGX720,000) and clear the rest of the remaining balance in three (3) months with an interest of 50%.

Tecno Phantom V Flip specs;

Tecno’s first clamshell foldable smartphone, the Phantom V Flip is a 5G handset that comes with a circular external OLED screen with two cameras and an LED flash in the ring around it, while on the inside is a 6.9-inch foldable LTPO OLED display. The cover screen is a 1.32-inch AMOLED with 352ppi density.

By dimensions, it is 171.7 x 74.1 x 7 mm when unfolded and 88.8 x 74.1 x 15 mm when folded weighing about 195g.

Under the hood, the phone has a MediaTek Dimensity 8050 chipset with an octa-core CPU that goes as high as 3.0 GHz. It will be sold in one memory, 256GB storage with 8GB RAM which is expandable with up to 8GB more (totals to 16GB) through the Extended Memory software feature.

The phone runs on Android 13 coupled with HIOS 13.5 and is powered by a Li-Po 4000 mAh battery that supports 45W wired charging (NO fast charging). Tecno has claimed only 15 minutes would be enough to fill the battery halfway.

Comes with a dual camera; a 64MP main camera and a 13MP ultra-wide-angle shooter that is able to shoot videos in 4K@30fps and 1080p@30/60fps. The front camera which sits in a punch-hole is a 32MP (wide) shooter and can capture videos in 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps. Both cameras are coupled with an LED flash for low-light settings.

Tecno Phantom V Fold specs;

Right off the bat, this is a big folding phone. At 299g, it’s nearly the biggest. It can justify that heft with at least three good reasons — display, even bigger display, and battery.

When closed, you’ll use the Tecno Phantom V Fold’s cover display, which is a regularly wide 6.42-inch LTPO AMOLED display. Opening the Phantom V Fold up, you get a bigger 7.85-inch LTPO folding screen.

A few things differs it from the Phantom V Flip including the display as we mentioned prior. Under the hood, the Fold comes with a Mediatek Dimensity 9000+ chipset with an octa-core CPU. It comes in two storage variants; 256GB/12GB RAM, and 512GB/12GB RAM — but apparently it will only be available in the 512GB/12GB RAM in Uganda.

The phone also runs on Android 13 coupled with HiOS 13 Fold and is powered by a 5,000mAh battery with 45W of wired charging. Tecno claims that the phone can recharge 40% in just 15 minutes, and go on to a full charge in 55 minutes.

The Phantom V Fold has three cameras on the back a 50MP main camera (wide) 50MP 2x zoom (telephoto) camera, and a 13MP (ultrawide) camera and they are able to shoot videos in 4K@30fps, and 1080p@30/60fps. The front camera has a 32MP on the cover screen and a 16MP on the inner screen and they shoot videos in 1080p@30/60fps.