TECNO’s next flagship device is a few months away and we have received information about the device from a source familiar with the company’s plans.
Disappointedly, the company has decided on a design that blatantly draws a lot from the iPhone 7 Plus, maybe inspired by the fact that the Phantom is in its seventh iteration?
The dual camera setup at the back and even the placement of the flash are what we see on the iPhone 7 Plus. We will not crucify TECNO for this act, seeing that it is not the first time companies have copied the iPhone design; devices like OPPO R11 and even the recent OnePlus 5 use this similar design language.
My problem with this design is that it shows lack of creativity on TECNO’s part. Last year, the Phantom 6 was one of the most beautiful unique devices to hit the market, well, this year, it looks like TECNO is not interested in that kind of attention.
From the information we have, the device has a slightly curved back to enhance comfort. However, our source informed us that the material is not glass but plastic, just like we have on the Infinix Note 4, information that we hope is not true as this would be a bad move from TECNO considering the Phantom series is supposed to be “premium”.
Read More: Infinix Note 4 First Impressions: Iterative Refinements
Other specification that we know at the moment include the 6GB RAM the Phantom 7 is packing, 64GB internal memory that will be expandable via Micro SD Card and the processor is likely to be Mediatek Helio X30, a 10nm chipset that promises 100% more power efficiency over the Helio X20 that we saw on the Phantom 6.
The navigation buttons, we have been informed, are capacitive and not on-screen buttons. We have no information on the megapixel count of the dual cameras at the back of the phone aside from the fact that they will be used for refocusing just as we saw it on the Phantom 6. The selfie shooter is however rumoured to be of 20MP.
We also do not have credible information on the battery capacity or the display size and technology but our bet is on a 3500mAh battery and a 5.5″ Full HD AMOLED display.
Unlike last year’s Phantom 6, the Phantom 7 has a rear-mounted fingerprint reader. We also received word that like last year, we will have a Plus variant of the Phantom 7 that will come with a bigger display and slightly more powerful specs.
Read More: Tecno Phantom 6 Plus Review
Our source informs us that the Phantom series will not be launched in September as we have come to expect, but at a later date, due to “internal factors”.
Well, the Phantom 7 looks to be an interesting device, despite the “disappointing” design. It’s still too early to start throwing stones around and we might see things change before the release. All we have to do is be patient and wait.
UPDATE 1:
The device will actually be branded as TECNO Phantom 8, I guess they are skipping the 7 just to remain relevant and it will come with Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box – the irony of skipping number 7 only to go back to it with the OS version. Launch date is somewhere in October.
UPDATE 2:
TECNO Mobile has started teasing the release of the Phantom 8. The launch date has been set as 22 October in Dubai. Below are some of the teasers from the company:
Do you have a wild guess? #WhatIsTheNextPhantom? 📱😀 pic.twitter.com/wLjn7hE2BK
— TECNO Mobile Kenya (@TECNOMobile254) October 10, 2017
Two makes it right,you can never go wrong. Can you guess the Camera Megapixels?🤔🤔📸📸#WhatIsTheNextPhantom pic.twitter.com/29HXYSmGgv
— TECNO Mobile Kenya (@TECNOMobile254) October 11, 2017
