I mean …it’s a compelling device

Tecno has consistently been trying to up it’s game in the smartphone market, making waves over the past year or so even in Western countries despite mostly being focused on developing nations. This increase in ambition seems to be at its highest point with their newest device, The Phantom V Fold, a foldable that’s a lot cheaper than the competition yet offering the same basic experience.

The device takes the folding tablet approach similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold or Xiaomi’s MI Mix Fold phones. With a 6.5 inch outer display and 7.85 folding display on the inside, similar in size to its contemporaries, with the inner display having a “virtually invisible” crease that at least on first showing actually does seem better than Samsung’s (something which to be fair, all Chinese foldables have started beating). The device also offers 120hz refresh rate on both displays, has a triple camera array with a 50MP main sensor, 50MP telephoto and 13MP Ultra-wide, side mounted fingerprint sensor , a 5000 mAH, a high-end Mediatek Dimensity 9000 processor and pretty much every other feature (spec sheet below) to prove that this is every bit as much of a foldable as all its contemporaries from Samsung and crew.

So that brings up the following question : is this the foldable for Africa? After all Tecno has said that it will be focusing on developing markets like Africa for this phone so it wouldn’t be surprising seeing this phone in a local Tecno dealer. And while I’m still very conservative about foldables, one thing is for sure; a lot of you want them. I’ve seen quite a number of Galaxy Fold 3’s and 4’s in the wild and even a Huawei Mate Fold. So even while I clearly think Foldables are not ready for everybody, a lot of you are definitely ready for them. And considering this foldable costs $1000, mind you about $500-$700 less than every other tablet style foldable on the market at the moment, this might be the foldable that’s actually worth getting, especially since it won’t cost you the price of a second hand car to buy. So is this the foldable we should all be buying? Maybe.

And why is my reason not a resounding yes? Well because of the same reason that I genuinely don’t recommend foldables to the average Zimbabwean person: after-sale support. To this day, Samsung sells you a Z Fold with a 1 year guarantee to get another screen. A screen replacement that they essentially advise you to get near the end of said year. Simply put, Samsung of all people still think their foldable tech isn’t perfected that they opt to replace their own display after a year. Honor and Huawei offer similar packages apparently. And this arrangement is probably fine for most people who buy these phones , takes an afternoon for their phone to basically get serviced like a car then use it for probably another year or so and upgrade, fix or swap it when that second screen starts acting wonky again. For the people who can probably afford a $1500+ phone this isn’t an issue because they are likely upgrading phones within a year or two anyway. But here’s the thing: that after-sale support isn’t in Zimbabwe. I believe if you buy a Z Fold in SA you can get the same service there but as far as buying one in Zim I haven’t seen any resellers offer this, after all we don’t have an official Samsung shop. And considering Tecno’s device is showing the same durability specs as Samsung, they would need to offer the exact same or similar support in order for these phones to be worthwhile in Africa, especially here in Zim. And that’s the real differentiator for me on whether a foldable is worthwhile, especially since they all tend to come with a caveat at the moment.

But I am hopeful for Tecno, after all even deciding to focus on Africa is a pretty bold move for what’s essentially a niche, entry level market. But its moves like this that bring foldables to the mass market, and Tecno is definitely willing to make a bet on that. And we can never say no to that kind of courage.

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