Last year, Tecno showcased a rollable phone concept known as the Phantom Ultimate. This was just a concept at the time, only seen in demo videos. However, the company now has real prototypes of the device and has brought them to the MWC. We had the opportunity to get hands-on experience with the Ultimate and a few other intriguing ideas being developed at Tecno HQ.
The Phantom Ultimate, while it may not make it to the retail market, is now a functioning device. The phone features a 6.55” display that can expand wider with the push of a button. As the screen extends, the diagonal measurement increases to 7.11” (with a different aspect ratio) in just 1.3 seconds.
The Tecno Phantom Ultimate extends and shrinks as needed
On the back of the device, there is a “second display” that is actually the main (and only) display rolled around the back. Protected by a glass window, this unique design prevents damage to the display and offers a clever use of space.
With the rise of foldable phones, Android has been improving support for screens that change size and aspect ratio rapidly. The Tecno Phantom Ultimate serves as a good example of this, showcasing how the UI and apps seamlessly adjust when the display is extended or shrunk.
The UI dynamically adjust to the new screen size
The device has a thickness of 9.93mm, which was considered slimmer than many foldable models at the time, although more recent horizontal folding models have surpassed it by going below the 10mm mark.
While Tecno continues to experiment with rollable phones, the company already has two foldable models on the market – the Phantom V Fold and the V Flip. Their engineers have been actively working on enhancing these devices and have introduced the Borderless Foldable Main Screen, a modification that reduces the bezel around the screen, leading to a better screen-to-body ratio.
Borderless Foldable Main Screen
At a previous MWC event, Tecno introduced the Chameleon Color Technology, a feature that allows the back panel of the phone to display several thousand colors. Achieved through sub-micron prisms that can be rotated using a magnetic field, this technology requires ambient light to function but consumes very little power, around the milliamp range. It can shift to a different color in just 0.03 seconds, and Tecno assures users of its long service life.
For more cutting-edge concepts from Tecno, make sure to explore the Tecno Pocket Go and Tecno Dynamic 1.
