Tecno Phantom X2 has been launched complete with a retractable zoom lens

Edwin Chabuka Avatar

Tecno has released its flagship device, the Phantom X2 and it’s got a long list of updates. First on the list is the fact that Tecno last released 2 versions of a flagship on the Phantom 6 and is only bringing that trend back now with the Phantom X2 and Phantom X2 Pro. What is a pleasure to see is that both will use the same Mediatek Dimensity 9000 5G CPU so performance should be on par on both.

Phantom X2 vs Phantom X2 Pro

There are a couple of minor differences between the Phantom X2 and X2 Pro and Tecno again is just on a mission to make life hard when it comes to which is better. Just like they did with the Camon 19 series. The Phantom X2 has a different camera setup from the one on the Phantom X2 Pro. The first is that it only has 2 major cameras. A main 64MP sensor and a 13MP ultrawide. Which makes total sense, a lot more people will find a wider field of view more useful more times than a zoom lens would be.

In addition to that, the regular X2’s main camera has one glass lens and 6 plastic lenses with that 1 glass lens helping to gather more light for the 64MP sensor. Something that the more camera-focused X2 Pro does without. Why? Well, this is because the X2 Pro is using an improved 50MP sensor from the one that was in the overachieving Phantom X from last year. This Samsung-made ISOCELL 3.0 sensor is 100MP but uses 2-to-1 pixel binning to bring it down to 50MP and uses this binning tech to get more detail (2x) per pixel. It’s such a good sensor that it works fine without the help of a glass lens. And because it is an RGBW matrix sensor, what it may lose out to the regular X2 it will make up for with the extra White sub-pixel. It got really nerdy really quick. But there is more

Tecno Phantom X2 5GTecno Phantom X2 Pro 5G
OSAndroid 12
HiOS 12
Android 12
HiOS 12
CPUMediaTek Dimensity 9000 5G
Octa Core
MediaTek Dimensity 9000 5G
Octa Core
GPUMali-G710 MC10Mali-G710 MC10
Display6.8″ 2400×1080 pixels
FHD+ OLED
90Hz
6.8″ 2400×1080 pixels
FHD+ OLED
120Hz
Main Camera64MP primary
13MP ultrawide
4k video recording
50MP primary
50MP 2.5x telephoto+retractable lens
13MP ultrawide
4k video recording
Secondary Camera32MP primary
1080p video
32MP primary
1080p video
Storage4/8GB RAM
128/256GB Internal
No MicroSD slot
4/12GB RAM
64/128/256GB Internal
No MicroSD slot
ConnectivityDual Sim
2G, 3G, 4G, 5G
Bluetooth 5.3
Dual Sim
2G, 3G, 4G, 5G
Bluetooth 5.3
SensorsAccelerometer
Ambient light
Step counter
Accelerometer
Ambient light
Step counter
Battery5160mAh
45W fast charge
5160mAh
45W fast charge
PriceUS$720
Saudi Arabia Pricing
US$930
Saudi Arabia Pricing

The X2 Pro also uses a 50MP sensor for telephoto shots. But they are not aiming for crazy 100x zoom ranges as we find on smartphones with dedicated periscope zoom lenses. They went for a more modest 2.5x telephoto and fitted it with a very bright F1.5 aperture lens. (typically telephoto lenses have an F2.4 aperture and anything below F1.6 is usually reserved for the main camera). Tecno is claiming this is the brightest lens ever fitted to a telephoto camera on a smartphone. And the lens itself extends out of the phone to achieve the aperture and zoom without increasing the side of the camera bump.

Now not only is the telephoto camera really close to the quality of the main camera but also has a bright lens fitted to it. The thinking behind this and the unimpressive 2.5x telephoto zoom is that it was not designed to break records on how far it can see. It was designed to take some of the best portrait photos of any camera. And 2.5x is the sweet spot for portrait shots plus or minus a couple of steps. And instead of AI-infused background blur, the combination of the large sensor and bright lens means some amazing natural background blur. Oh, and it also has the same 13MP ultrawide that is on the regular X2.

All I am trying to say is that the Phantom X from 2021 was very impressive in the camera department. They made some big hardware changes to the Phantom X2 which feel like they will push Tecno very high up the ranks on camera quality. Probably to the level of flagship Sony, Huawei, Samsung, and Apple smartphones.

Everything else

The rest will definitely need to be experienced in the reviews. However, we have a slight bump in display size to 6.8 inches from 6.7. It’s also gotten taller with an aspect ratio of 20:9. Definitely a 2 handed use phone. We are also saying RIP to the MicroSD slot. Tecno will stop bringing these on the Phantom X2. And they did them well because they issued out triple slot trays that gracefully accommodated 2 sims and a microSD card. This will also be the first Tecno smartphone to support NFC, a feature they are using for instant file sharing (OneLeap) with their own laptops dubbed, Megabook S1 and Megabook T1. Something similar to Huawei’s OneHop tech.

They also look to come with a very flagship asking price. Saudi Arabia pricing sits at US$720 for the regular Phantom X2 5G and US$930 for the Phantom X2 Pro 5G. That is a dangerous place to play in because that’s where some smart compromises they may have made on their devices start hurting them against the might that is the established players. Now we wait for the actual phones to make their way to my hands for an in-depth review.

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7 comments

  1. Registered Voter

    Pakadai will remain with the Camon range

  2. Anonymous

    What is the average retail price?

    1. Phantom Pain

      Last years Phantom X was about US$450. New price shouldn’t be too far from that.

      1. Phantom Pain

        Lol, got 450 from old TZ article but the answer was in this one! US$720 – US$930 Saudi prices, depending on model

        1. Phantom Pain

          And now Lew has them in hand. Marketing department is not playing around this time!
          https://youtu.be/pMvjObEhN8I

  3. Fungai tembo

    Phanton is very good l like this phone

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