Tecno tri-folding smartphone is straight from the future

The foldable market has really come a long way since Samsung launched the first Galaxy Fold in 2019. However, the designs of foldables across brands have largely been either the two-fold large phablet or the clamshell flip phone. Now, it seems we are starting to reach the point where foldables smartphones can go beyond one crease.

The new Tecno Phantom Ultimate 2 is one such phone. It comes with two hinges, and a tri-fold inner display panel, which unlocks a lot of new use-cases for the device, as Tecno showcased in a video. Here’s everything we know about the phone so far.

Tecno Phantom Ultimate 2: What’s new with the Tri-fold phone?

The Tecno Phantom Ultimate 2 has two hinges, which allows the phone to be used in multiple orientations. You can fold it all up, and use the phone like a regular brick-form Android phone. You can open it up completely and turn it into a large tablet. You can also open one of its edges half-way to use the device like a laptop, using one of its three panels as a keyboard.

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Tecno’s video (embedded below) showcases the versatile nature of such a design with two hinges, including what looks like a multi-player mode with two screen panels facing opposite sides for two players. Imagine pulling out a full-fledged game of Chess or Battleship in seconds, wherever you are.

Of course, the new design would also make the device great at multitasking, allowing you to open three 9:16 apps side-by-side. Throw in stylus support and this would effectively be a tablet-killing device that doubles-down (or rather, triples-down) on the portability aspect.

That said, the form factor is also sure to come with its own set of engineering challenges – one of the reasons the Tecno Phantom Ultimate 2 and any other unconventional foldable form-factors are still concept phones and not mass-produced.

How many apps will support the new aspect ratios required here is just the beginning. Foldable hinges today are not yet perfect, and most of today’s foldables still pack an IPX7 or IPX8 rating, meaning they are still vulnerable to dust ingress. Only the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 manages to bag an IP48 certification, and even that isn’t close to the IP68 level you find on regular phones like the iPhone 15.

With a tri-fold design, these vulnerabilities will get worse. So, anyone thinking of saving up for their next foldable, may just want to buckle up for a long waiting game. Until then, however, concept devices like the Tecno Phantom Ultimate 2 will be a good indication of what to expect from this segment in the years to come.