Tecno shows Phantom Ultimate 2 tri-fold concept phone thinner than Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 6

Since Samsung’s introduction of the foldable phone as the ultimate premium handheld in the Galaxy lineup, we have seen quite a few attempts at improving upon the original two-sided design that opens up to reveal a larger screen. Be it more like the Galaxy Z Fold or the Z Flip that imbued the older clamshell design with foldable tech, the dual-side design remains dominant. Still, smartphone makers do not shy away from experimenting with different designs to expand functionality. Tecno, one of the relatively newer Chinese makers has its own Phantom V Fold series that is based on the classic design, but the company is also testing out other designs like the Phantom Ultimate revealed last year with a rollable screen or the tri-fold Phantom Ultimate 2 prototype that was just unveiled.

Ultimate 2 certainly is not the first tri-fold design we have seen, but it seems to be the slimmest since its 3 sides stack up in a 1.1 cm profile, which is 0.1 cm thinner than Samsung’s current Galaxy Z Fold 6 design with only two sides. In folded state, the front-facing screen of the Phantom ultimate 2 measures 6.48 inches, but it is unclear what resolution it has. When opening up all three sides, the device transforms into a 10-inch LTPO OLED tablet with 4:3 aspect ratio, variable refresh rate (1 Hz - 120 Hz) and 1620 x 2880 resolution.

Tecno claims that the tri-fold OLED display would be the first to feature Touch and Display Driver Integration (TDDI). Some of the use cases include a laptop mode with one side acting as the keyboard and the other two sides propped up as a screen, or a tent mode with one side facing another user for shared content.

The latest Tecno prototype integrates an improved dual-hinge design that better reduces the display creasing between the three sides and also supports 2100 Mpa strength. These hinges should last for at least 300,000 folds.

Another industry-first feature would be the thinnest battery cover made of “Titan Advanced Fiber” with a 0.25 mm profile, which is 0.2 mm thinner than current solutions. There is also a tri-camera setup on the back side, but Tecno does not provide specs for it.

Seeing that there still is no word on a commercial implementation for last year’s Phantom Ultimate prototype, the new Ultimate 2 may just end up as a cool  proof of concept that never makes it to market. If it does turn out as a commercial product, it would most likely cost more than any premium solution available right now.