Chinese manufacturer Tecno has revealed a triple-foldable smartphone concept just days after competitor Huawei confirmed that a tri-fold device is on the way.
As GSMArena reports, the Phantom Ultimate 2 concept sports a 6.48-inch outer screen with a 10-inch inner screen, an LTPO OLED panel with a resolution of 1620 x 2880, and an aspect ratio of 4:3.
Elsewhere, BGR reports that the Phantom Ultimate 2 is just 11mm thick when folded, which is 1.1mm thinner than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, though the video shows an increase in thickness around the camera bump, and it’s not clear how this measurement was taken.
The new phone also features OLED Touch and Display Driver Integration (TDDI), placing the display driver and touch sensor on the same chip.
Tecno unveiled the device concept with a short video demonstrating the two-hinged device in a number of scenarios, such as using one segment of the screen as a keyboard in a laptop-style configuration, or propping the displays up in ‘tent mode’ for real-time AI translation.
However, as a concept phone it’s not yet clear whether the Phantom Ultimate 2 will make it to production – the same has proved true for its predecessor, the Phantom Ultimate, which was revealed with a rolling screen in August 2023.
We should also note that since this is a concept phone we can’t get our hands on to test, we have no way of verifying if any of the purported features are complete or functional.
The race to third place
In fact, the timing of this new reveal says almost as much as the video itself. Tecno’s announcement comes as the race to release the world’s first tri-fold device begins to heat up.
On August 19, Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO Yu Chengdong (also known as Richard Yu) confirmed that a tri-fold Huawei device is coming out in September.
If Huawei sticks to this timeframe, the company has a good chance of being the first in the world to put a tri-fold device in consumers’ hands following months of rumors and prototypes being teased by multiple manufacturers.
In May, Creative Bloq reported that Chinese semiconductor manufacturer TCL CSOT had displayed its unnamed tri-fold prototype at the Society for Information Display’s Display Week event. And in July, Honor laid out a patent for a tri-fold design, though no development has been confirmed.
As for Samsung, rumors of a tri-fold Galaxy Z Fold have circulated all year despite a lack of details online.
While the Phantom Ultimate 2 remains a concept, it’s a clear indication that triple folding phones are on the minds of forward-looking designers. They’re on our minds too, so make sure to keep up with our smartphone news for the latest tri-fold updates.