Tecno Phantom V Fold2 arrives with an improved design, stylus support, bigger battery, and more

Last year, Tecno announced the Phantom V Fold, as its first foldable smartphone. More than a year later, it has followed it up with the Phantom V Fold 2 which brings a new design and several upgrades, but keeps one major feature unchanged.

Tecno has made some big improvements to the Phantom V Fold 2. The device is slimmer, measuring 5.52mm in its unfolded state and 11.78mm when folded. For context, its predecessor measures 6.9mm and 14.2mm when unfolded and folded respectively. While it isn't as slim as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (curr. $1,799 on Amazon), it weighs less at 249g than the 257g Pixel. This reduction in weight is commendable considering last year's Phantom V Fold weighs 299 grams.

The Phantom V Fold 2 retains the screen size of its predecessor - a 6.42-inch FHD+ cover display and a 7.85-inch 2K+ AMOLED main display. Both screens are 120Hz LTPO panels but the foldable screen has picked up a new trick - stylus support.

With the optional Tecno Phantom V Pen stylus, owners will be able to annotate, sketch, and take down notes. The stylus has two buttons - an AI key to call up the device's AI features and a function key that can serve as a shutter key, page turn key, or playback control key. The stylus has a built-in battery and will last up to 2 weeks with 2 hours of daily usage.

As part of the change to the design, the Phantom V Fold 2 drops the round camera island of its predecessor for a rectangular one that almost stretches from one end to the other. It still protrudes and is home to three sensors. The main camera is a 50MP 1/1.3 sensor with OIS and it is paired with a 50MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom and 20x digital zoom and a 50MP ultrawide angle camera. The cover screen and foldable screen both have a 32MP sensor.

The Tecno Phantom V Fold 2 also has an improved hinge that allows users to unfold the screen between 30-120°, this allows owners to place the phone on a surface and take pictures at various angles. Considering the original Phantom V Fold wasn't capable of this, it is definitely an improvement.

While the Phantom V Fold 2 boasts an upgraded design, improved hinge, and updated cameras, what hasn't changed is the processor. Tecno is sticking to the Dimensity 9200 that powered the previous generation. However, there sees to be only one configuration and it has 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage with no support for storage expansion.

The Phantom V Fold 2 packs a 5,750mAh battery which is not only larger than the 5,000mAh battery of its predecessor, but also charges faster at 70W (a full charge takes 50 minutes). It also comes with support for 15W wireless charging.

The Phantom V Fold 2 is available in Karst Green which has fiberglass with a marble-like pattern; and Rippling Blue which has a leather finish. The phone will be sold in multiple regions including Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America. It will be released on September 23 with a price tag of $1,099. Availability and pricing will vary with respect to regions.