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 5G | Tecno Phantom X2 Pro 5G | |
| OS | Android 12 HiOS 12 | Android 12 HiOS 12 |
| CPU | MediaTek Dimensity 9000 5G Octa Core | MediaTek Dimensity 9000 5G Octa Core |
| GPU | Mali-G710 MC10 | Mali-G710 MC10 |
| Display | 6.8″ 2400×1080 pixels FHD+ OLED 90Hz | 6.8″ 2400×1080 pixels FHD+ OLED 120Hz |
| Main Camera | 64MP primary 13MP ultrawide 4k video recording | 50MP primary 50MP 2.5x telephoto+retractable lens 13MP ultrawide 4k video recording |
| Secondary Camera | 32MP primary 1080p video | 32MP primary 1080p video |
| Storage | 4/8GB RAM 128/256GB Internal No MicroSD slot | 4/12GB RAM 64/128/256GB Internal No MicroSD slot |
| Connectivity | Dual Sim 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G Bluetooth 5.3 | Dual Sim 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Sensors | Accelerometer Ambient light Step counter | Accelerometer Ambient light Step counter |
| Battery | 5160mAh 45W fast charge | 5160mAh 45W fast charge |
| Price | US$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.
Share
Home
What’s your take?