Tecno Phantom X - user opinions and reviews
- Kevine Omondi
- mFd
Dyna, 02 Sep 2023Sorry one more thing, I heard Tecno phones camera and software usually degrades with time. Is ... moreYou're 100%, Camera quality degrades with time and the software performance also goes down....hanging issues begins with time, poor battery performance. Please don't listen to tecno sympathizers.
- munawar
- UUJ
Dyna, 02 Sep 2023Sorry one more thing, I heard Tecno phones camera and software usually degrades with time. Is ... moreNo , it's not true
Camera is working good , syaytem is working good , but one thing I am observing phone is warming but any time when I use it for a long time but I afaired of that may be it's a permanently issue . Other wise all the things is working perfectly.
- Dyna
- XBx
RishiGuru, 31 Aug 2023Tecno Phantom X has the build quality, aesthetics and premiumness generally found on $1000 pho... moreSorry one more thing, I heard Tecno phones camera and software usually degrades with time. Is that true? Have you noticed that too?
- RishiGuru
- utg
Dyna, 27 Aug 2023Thanks a lot, I'm not really bothered about the 5g and the android version, plus I heard ... moreTecno Phantom X has the build quality, aesthetics and premiumness generally found on $1000 phones. You will not be dissapointed.
- Ashish
- rKV
RishiGuru, 26 Aug 2023As of today, it is not advisable to have the Tecno Phantom X as your primary device. It lacks ... moreSir techno phantom x is 5G phone?
- Dyna
- XBx
RishiGuru, 26 Aug 2023As of today, it is not advisable to have the Tecno Phantom X as your primary device. It lacks ... moreThanks a lot, I'm not really bothered about the 5g and the android version, plus I heard 12 might roll in idk. I think I'll go for it. And yes camon 20 pro is my other option but this seem more like a premium phone to me too
- RishiGuru
- utg
Dyna, 23 Aug 2023Is it advisable to buy this phone now?As of today, it is not advisable to have the Tecno Phantom X as your primary device. It lacks 5G and runs on Android 11 with updated security patches.
But as a secondary device, it becomes a great option if you can have it at discounted price of around ₹16.2K [$195] after card discounts. At this price it gives you unbeatable metal glass sandwich design, superb aesthetics, awesome built quality, curved display and camera performance. The user experience and in hand feel is top notch and feels like a true flagship device.
Add to that Mediatek Helio G95 SoC is still a decent performer with 8GB RAM, the phone feels very smooth to operate, very good battery backup, very stable 4G connection with decent call quality, 3.5mm audio jack and dedicated memory card slot. It is a great package. Frankly I rate Phantom X much higher than my Tecno Camon 20 Pro. I have them in both color variants, Starry Night Blue and Monet Summer.
- Dyna
- XBx
Is it advisable to buy this phone now?
- RishiGuru
- utg
Anonymous, 01 Aug 2023Why not make it 5000 mah battery, so i can have more life to use this beast, atleast better th... moreThe Tecno Phantom X have impressive battery life, I have no complains with its 4,700 mAh battery. Increasing the battery capacity will increase its weight and now it already weighs around 200 grams. So I am against this.
- ulvi
- pvT
didnt like tecno phanton v fold, because I am not able to connect my huawei watch to it. but watch works with my old iphone 7
- Anonymous
- xjH
Why not make it 5000 mah battery, so i can have more life to use this beast, atleast better than phantom 9 battery(total let down), but i love this one
- IgorS
- LpA
RishiGuru, 31 Jul 2023Believe me, Tecno Phantom X is an exceptional device for around $160. Forget about performance... moreI feel the same about my Infinix Zero X Pro and I would buy 2 or 3 more as extra phones. It's a fantastic phone.
- RishiGuru
- CbG
IgorS, 27 Jul 2023"The biggest gripe of all existing Tecno, Infinix users is they do not provide major Andr... moreBelieve me, Tecno Phantom X is an exceptional device for around $160. Forget about performance, forget about no 5G support on this phone. The user experience, true flagship grade built quality, awesome design and that curved display takes you to another level... generally available only on $500 and above devices.
The attention to detail in exterior design is truly exemplary. To give an example the holes made on the aluminium mid frame for bottom firing speaker, mic & secondary noise cancellation microphone all have chamfered edges. Those tiny holes are also chamfered so they shine as light falls on them. On built quality alone this phone can compete with $1000 smartphones.
I also appreciate the phone comes with a proper 3.5mm audio jack and triple card slot. So you use dual SIMs as well as have spare space to expand the memory with a microSD card.
I am so impressed with this phone, I bought both the Blue & Silver color variants for $160 each.
- IgorS
- LpA
RishiGuru, 09 Jul 2023The biggest gripe of all existing Tecno, Infinix users is they do not provide major Android so... more"The biggest gripe of all existing Tecno, Infinix users is they do not provide major Android software upgrades on their phones. But what we miss by complaining so is the manufacturer can now keep the phone prices low while providing better hardware for same price.
Software development is expensive. Making it perfect with great optimization on the OS level, camera software and in having almost zero bugs costs even more during software testing cycle."
Finally someone said the obvious that people insist to ignore!
People thinks that it's easy and costless to maintain software and OS updates for 3 or 4 years without any additional cost that eventully will be diluted in the final price of smartphones.
Samsung phones for an example, they are expensive most of the time, even those with poor or below the average specs, because the cost of keeping these and other phones updated for 4 years and 3 years of OS updates are included in the package. Even so, you still lose all the accessories (USB-C cable, charger brick, earphones and clear protection case), but still pays for the OS updates.
By the way, I feel the same with my Infinix Zero Pro. Stuck on Android 11, but all works as intended. Security patches and other updates running regularly, no lags, no bugs, no weird ads or spam.
I wish I could get a Phantom X too, but the global availability is awful. :(
- RishiGuru
- utg
Jean, 19 Jan 2023This company infinix and Tecno still having problems on side
Of android imgne they make phon... moreThe biggest gripe of all existing Tecno, Infinix users is they do not provide major Android software upgrades on their phones. But what we miss by complaining so is the manufacturer can now keep the phone prices low while providing better hardware for same price.
Software development is expensive. Making it perfect with great optimization on the OS level, camera software and in having almost zero bugs costs even more during software testing cycle.
While it is true Phantom X still runs on Android 11 from the day it was launched 2 years back, the stability and optimization of the software in truly noteworthy. Everything works as intended while providing great user experience. Great optimization between hardware and software leds to excellent battery life on this phone even with a hot headed, power hungry SoC like Helio G95. Inbuilt camera app works like charm, providing excellent cohesion between image sensors and G95's ISP.
Tecno's HiOS 8.0 Android overlay over Android 11 can be found on this phone, with huge customization options. I like most of them but some are of no use. The other thing I noted is there is hardly any 3rd party bloatware pre-installed. Hence no unwanted notifications. On other hand it comes with many 1st party softwares from Tecno itself. You can uninstall or disable most of them. The end result is you get a more cleaner user experience than any Realme device. I own the Realme X7 Max running Android 13 and it is a pain.
In the end we have to make a choice in software strategy while buying any mid range phone. First there is this group which provides good hardware for its price. For them, either we go with phones which will receive un-optimized major Android updates in future with tons of bloatware (Realme, Poco) or a very optimized and stable phone with no planned major Android updates. I prefer to go with the later as for me user experience counts above all. And there is this second group who will provide sub-par hardware with highly optimized software with promise for major Android updates. Look no further than Samsung, Vivo etc.
In terms security, Tecno is providing bi-monthly Android security patches to Phantom X, mine is running June, 2023 security patch. In the end, I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised with my purchase of Tecno Phantom X. For the price I paid, the phone exceeded all my expectations by providing unparalleled user experience which I will cherish in years to come.
- RishiGuru
- utg
AB, 08 Jul 2023I have seen your comments for realme redmi phones as well. How many phones you do use??I have quite a few phones, I consider myself a tech savvy guy who love to try new phones on spare time. For the last two weeks, I have been using the Tecno Phantom X, and considering the megre price I had to pay ₹13.3K($160) for this phone, below is my personal review:
1) Built Quality and Exterior Design: To me Phantom X is a meticulously crafted, well polished and well designed phone. The traits of a true flagship. The phone has a level of overall attention to build quality and aesthetics which are traits very hard to come by for its price bracket. The CNC machined, sand blasted, anodized aluminium metal middle frame feels very premium to hold. The phone is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on both sides and provides lot of assurance regarding its durability. I can see a lot of thought had also gone into the exterior design of the phone. Like trying to maintain symmetric design language as much as possible. The back glass panel has a fine texture to it: it’s matte, which I love, but at the same time, there are microscopic grooves running vertically from top to bottom, giving it a three-dimensional effect that you can both see and feel and has a silk smooth feel when holding in hand. Very unique. The phone comes with unique colors options like my Icelandic Blue color Phantom X. As such the built quality, shape, color & attention to overall design are just exemplary on this device. No doubt it had won the international iF Design Award in 2022.
2) Display: The curved AMOLED, 6.7-inch, FullHD+ display with tall 19.5:9 is a sight to behold and looks very premium. The display comes with very narrow bezels on all sides and moderate 90Hz refresh rate, which sadly is the maximum the underlying SoC (Helio G95) can handle. While using the display everything feels smooth to use with no lags whatsoever. The accidental touch prevention algorithm on the curved side of the display are well implemented in the software level which makes the display of Phantom X a joy to use. However, this is a budget curved display and have some prominent downsides over true flagship displays from Samsung. It is not very bright to start with, you can hardly see anything on direct bright sunlight. Indoors it is plenty bright though. The other glaring issue is no support for Widevine L1 certification on software level, so no HD contents from OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video can be enjoyed here.
3) Performance: Transsion Holdings the owner of Tecno, Infinix & Itel brands has a very successful and unique partnership with Mediatek. For this exclusive nature, they do not seem to use Qualcomm SoCs and in-turn get access to Mediatek firsts. Coming back to my Phantom X, after rigorous use I have no complaints with its Mediatek Helio G95 SoC and its daily performance. G95 was the best offering from Mediatek when they started designing this phone so they used it without I believe ever thinking to source more superior Qualcomm upper midrange SoCs of that time. Everything just glides butter smooth on the Phantom X's display at 90Hz refresh rate. This is mainly possible because Techno had used the highest quality components like RAM, ROM, PCBs possible on this phone to bring out the maximum potential performance possible on G95. For example, G95 supports max 10GB @ 2133MHz LPDDR4x RAM, so Tecno ships this phone with 8GB @ 2133MHz LPDDR4x RAM. No RAM manufacturer makes 10GB RAM chips, the next size being 12GB. The fastest storage type supported by G95 is UFS 2.1, so the phone comes with 256GB UFS 2.1 storage.
4) Thermal Management: There is no hiding of the fact that Mediatek Helio G95 while being the most powerful 4G SoC ever created by Mediatek for gaming, runs hot when being pushed. Built on an old TSMC 12nm fabrication process by today's standards, G95 provides very good upper midrange performance but this comes at a price - heat. So for heat dissipation, Tecno on their first flagship seems to have gone to great lengths, providing large 1007.5mm liquid cooling system inside the phone. Hence heat transfer from G95 SoC is excellent on this phone, the aluminium middle frame also playing a big role here. Let me explain. Playing 15 mins of any GPU intensive heavy game will make the phone uncomfortably hot to hold in bare hands. This is because the inbuilt liquid cooling system is efficiently transferring the heat out of the hot headed G95 and transferring the same to the middle frame. The frame on the other hand being made of aluminium is an excellent heat conductor, and conducting the same heat with minimal thermal loss to our hands. The funda of Phantom X during intensive gaming sessions is to dissipate as much heat as possible so it can comfortably maintain stable frame rates with minimum CPU throttling and in providing maximum performance while making us uncomfortable holding it. Saying all this I only feel this heat during intensive heavy gaming only. Else the phone always remain cool. But I do not try to hide my disappointment, Tecno should have gone for a more expensive SoC from Qualcomm with 5G connectivity for their first flagship.
5) Network Reception & Connectivity: The phone comes with triple card slot, with support for dual 4G VoLTE, VoWiFi. The third slot is for memory card with support up to 512GB. I use a 256GB card, which makes the total combined memory of 512GB on this phone, enough for my needs. I have tested with Jio, Vi connectivity in India, both runs flawlessly with very good reception quality over 4G VoLTE. Call quality is much better over other midrange phones, voice remains crystal clear over calls. However the phone has no support for 4G carrier aggregation, which Tecno should have enabled with a software update as G95 supports it. You get the usual Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 which works as intended. I like Tecno included FM Radio here, this feature is becoming rare now.
6) Audio quality: Being a flagship, Phantom X has support for the GOD sent 3.5mm audio jack. This is a ultra rare feature these days among flagships. Analog audio quality through audio jack is good while not being exceptional. I prefer this over crappy TWS any day. Phone comes with a single bottom firing speaker. While speaker output is decent, you desperately feel the need of dual stereo speakers.
7) Cameras: The camera setup of Phantom X is truly impressive. This is my first encounter with any Techno phone and initially I thought they just provided a bunch of specs with no quality, but I was wrong. The first few shots taken from the main rear 50MP, Samsung ISOCELL GN1, large Quad-Bayer sensor dropped my jaw with awe. This expensive flagship grade sensor is coupled with 7 individual lenses(7P) and takes 12MP resolution photos by default. In daylight the photos are sharp, have vibrant colors with very good details. In night it captured photos with clarity comparable to Samsung flagships four times its price. In short I am unable to find a phone under $200 which can click such good quality photos. This is the outcome of high quality sensor having high quality lens and a very well optimized camera software which makes full use of G95's ISP and camera hardware. The other 13MP (telephoto) and 8MP (ultrawide) on the back are no 2MP gimmicks either, they can do their job gracefully. The phone can shoot videos upto 4K 30fps, they are of good quality but shaky due to no EIS support. The Ultra Steady video mode is capped at 1080p, but the good news is that it works great in videos. You can even use it with the ultrawide and telephoto cameras. Coming to the front we have a 48MP (Quad-Bayer sensor, 12MP default) and a 8MP (ultrawide). Selfies are also great on this phone. Frankly in my eyes it is one of the best camera phones for its price, and you will never feel disappointed with the price to camera performance it delivers. Great job Tecno for proving me wrong on this.
8) Battery: Phone comes with a 4,700mAh battery and support for 33 watts charging. I will say decent enough for one day heavy usage or one and a half days of casual usage. I am not a big fan of fast charging and instead use a 10 watts charger for battery longevity.
- AB
- CbG
RishiGuru, 29 Jun 2023After owning the Phantom X for a week, I am pleasantly surprised with the user experience it i... moreI have seen your comments for realme redmi phones as well. How many phones you do use??
- RishiGuru
- utg
Anonymous, 23 Jun 2022Tecno called this their flagship but it cant even compete with Xiaomi mid range phones in term... moreI can feel the disappointment here regarding use of Mediatek Helio G95 (an upper midrange SoC) in Tecno Phantom X. But we need to understand having something like Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 (5G ready) SoC under the hood would make no sense and instead make this phone prohibitively expensive.
This was Tecno's first attempt towards an uncharted flagship territory. Understandably they did not want to take any risk with the pricing. Instead they went one step at a time with price hike. Phantom X in India arrived at $320 and now we have Phantom X2 with a price tag of $520. So X2 is their 2nd step and now we have a monster Mediatek Dimensity 9000 (5G ready) SoC lurking inside the new phone.
Secondly, Transsion Holdings the owner of Tecno, Infinix & Itel brands for some reason only use Mediatek SoCs. I made a mistake in my last post stating Dimensity 1050 was their first 5G ready SoC, but it was actually Dimensity 1000 released on Jan, 2020 which take the honours.
With a rough development cycle of around 2 years for Tecno's first flagship, back in first quarter of 2019 they had no option for a 5G ready SoC from Mediatek. So I guess they went with Helio G90T, which was the best offering from Mediatek for the Phantom X prototypes.
When this project was already 9 months old, Dimensity 1000 arrived into the scene and it was too late. Also using Dimensity 1000 on Phantom X will be like throwing all the work they have done so far into water as there is nothing common between G90T and D1000. And then the cost of D1000 was very high.
As the Phantom X project got matured, in the last quarter on 2020, Tecno may have got access to the newer Mediatek Helio G95. The most powerful, hot headed, 4G SoC for gaming by Mediatek. Both G90T & G95 are identical architecture wise, and also pin compatible. I guess Tecno just swapped G90T with G95 with no headache. Subsequently, Phantom X got launched on July, 2021.
Having used Phantom X rigorously for the past week, I have no complaints with Helio G95's daily performance, everything just glides butter smooth on display at 90Hz refresh rate. This is mainly possible because Techno have used the highest quality components like RAM, ROM, PCBs possible on this phone to suck the maximum potential performance for G95. I am not a hard core gamer though, I just play some casual games and they run fine. Considering I had to pay ₹13.3K($160) for this phone during Tecno's clearance sale, I have no regrets and rather enjoying the user experience the Phantom X provides to me.
- RishiGuru
- utg
Anonymous, 22 Dec 2022I just wish they put a dimensity 900 chip instead of the g95Generally speaking smartphone manufacturers start working on their flagship phones at least 2 years prior to launch. As global launch for Techno's first flagship, the Phantom X happened on 6th July, 2021, it is understandable they started working on it from early 2019.
As previously said, Transsion Holdings the owner of Tecno, Infinix & Itel smartphone brands are solely dependent on Mediatek for SoCs. And back then on 30th July, 2019 Mediatek announced their top-of-the-line Helio G90T SoC. Considerably when Tecno started working on this phone, their prototypes of Phantom X during development were all based on G90T.
As the Phantom X project neared completion by the end of 2020, Mediatek then launched their Helio G95. It was the successor of G90T having a slightly pumped up specs. So Tecno just swapped the G90T with newer G95 as both were pin compatible and are based on 99% same architecture. Ideally Tecno used Medaitek's top-of-the-line SoC back then, the G95 on this phone.
Mediatek's first 5G chipset was launched much later as on 23rd May, 2022 with their introduction of Dimensity 1050 SoC. Hence 5G was not an option on Phantom X. We may say the timing of this phone was unfortunate, as it was the transition time between 4G to 5G.
Owning the Phantom X for a week now, I am pleasantly surprised by this phone's performance. Tecno was able to extract the maximum from G95 and able to deliver the maximum performance to the user. The only gripe I had is Tecno did not provide 4G carrier aggregation(CA) which G95 supports.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that this phone only carries Widevine L3 certification, meaning we won’t be able to play DRM-licensed content from Netflix & Amazon Prime in full HD. This is one of those things that may be indicative of this phone’s lower price point, despite its impressive specs. However for the price I paid ($160) for this phone ... I have no complaints.
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