Tecno phantom X2 review

We’re going to assume that a bigger number of our audience is now aware with Tecno as a brand since we recently evaluated the Phantom X2 Pro. We’ll give you the cliff notes anyway. One of the brands owned by the Chinese tech behemoth Transsion is Tecno. It is most frequently used in foreign markets, particularly in Africa. If you’ve heard of Tecno, it’s probably because of their well-known Camon brand of affordable gadgets, which has a strong emphasis on the camera experience. The Phantom line, on the other hand, has more or less grown into a distinct entity of its own. one that seeks to offer genuine top products and services.

The Phantom X2 series has just been introduced, after the release of the original Phantom X last year. It comprises of the Phantom X2 Pro, which we have already evaluated, and the plain Phantom X2 that we currently have in the office.

In certain ways, the Phantom X2 family still resembles its predecessor, but altogether, it represents Tecno’s entry into the really premium flagship market. The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 CPU, a curved AMOLED display, and a sizable battery pack are all flagship features of the Phantom X2, which, like its Pro sibling, has an attractive luxury design and impressive internals.

These features are present in both the standard and Pro variants. Most things are, in fact. When creating the Phantom X2, Tecno made the choice to preserve as much of its Pro sibling as they could. In terms of appearance and specifications, the two phones are almost identical. The Phantom X2 Pro’s retractable portrait telephoto camera is conspicuously absent from the vanilla.

Even yet, the ordinary Phantom X2 still prominently emphasises photography. It has a big 64MP main camera with OIS, as well as a massive 32MP selfie camera and a 13MP ultrawide camera with autofocus.

Unboxing of Techno phantom X2

We should examine the Phantom X2’s retail box before discussing the Phantom X2’s many cameras or any other features. The vanilla model comes in a sizable, reliable cardboard slide-out box, just like its brother.

There are several accessories in the box, which is usually a plus. Along with the phone, the box also contains, in no particular sequence, a 45W charger and a Type-A to Type-C USB cord. Since the cable doesn’t appear to have any extra pins or anything of the type, it may be readily replaced if necessary. A pair of attractive earbuds with an in-line microphone is also included in the box.

Not to mention, Tecno also provides a free hard case. It is generally a step beyond practically every other packed case we are used to seeing and has excellent looks and a great feel to it. Even better, it includes a built-in kickstand.

Overall, Tecno really bet big on the Phantom X2 retail package. With so many extra things included in the box, it’s difficult to be critical.

Design

Similar to its larger sibling, the Phantom X2 sports a distinctive camera island that contributes to its remarkable appearance. It is enormous, centred, has many accents, and is therefore very memorable. Since it’s so difficult to make a device stand out, the design has generated some controversy inside the office, but we assume it just means the designers did a good job.

The Phantom X2 strives for softened edges and smooth lines throughout. The phone has smooth edges and a pleasant, comfortable grip thanks to Tecno. This includes the cameras as well because all of the corners have been rounded down to create what Tecno refers to as 3.5D “lunar craters.” Mission accomplished if the purpose was to avoid being captured by the cameras.

Unfortunately, the Phantom X2 requires some effort to keep in your hand because it is simply too top-heavy to grip comfortably. Even while it isn’t as as awful as the Phantom X2 Pro, the ergonomics are still lacking.

The Phantom X2 actually has a relatively simple design, especially from the front, except from the highly unique camera island. The display spreads out nicely and has low bezels, making it simpler to reach most items.

Like the Pro, the Phantom X2 is available in Moonlight Silver or Stardust Gray. Both are relatively subdued hues; none is anything close to the Mars Orange of the Phantom X2 Pro in terms of boldness and glare. Another justification for calling the Phantom X2’s overall design restrained.

Build quality

Speaking of colour selections, these also apply to materials. While the recycled material rear panel on our Phantom X2 Pro in Mars Orange has a distinct texture, the backs of the other colour options for the X2 and X2 Pro are smooth and silky.

Our Phantom X2 arrived in Moonlight White and has a back panel that is almost certainly made of plastic. Similar to how the LCD on the front curls up towards the central metal frame, it does so well. The result is what Tecno refers to as a “unibody double-curved” design, which produces a very pleasing symmetry of moderate slopes on either side. We can see how someone may come up with such a description, but in actuality, the front, back, and middle frame are the three elements that are used in this structure.

With almost no flex to speak of, the Phantom X2 feels quite solid. That’s possibly thanks to its aluminium frame. Along with the Gorilla Glass Victus-coated solid front glass.

When you press down on the phone’s plastic rear, it feels slightly “hollow.” The Mars Orange recycled back cover on the Phantom X2 Pro has no flex at all, which is nothing significant but nonetheless worth noticing.

Connectivity and Controls

The configuration and control system of the Phantom X2 are quite conventional. On the right side of the phone are the power and volume rockers. Both are comfortably positioned in height and, although having a somewhat compact profile, are not too difficult to use. A beautiful “click” with good tactile feedback is also present.

The power button has a beautiful tiny red accent on it for a little more flair, while the volume rocker matches the rest of the phone’s hue.

Except for a few antenna wires, the left side of the phone is bare. Given that the rear of the phone shouldn’t impede radio signals, we’re not entirely sure why there are so many of these strewn across the centre frame of the device.

Even the top of the phone has a sizable plastic piece that takes up the majority of the space. With the exception of one hole for the auxiliary noise-canceling microphone, it is virtually completely devoid of controls.

The Phantom X2’s bottom is more busier. The main microphone and bottom-firing speaker are located here. Here is also where the twin Nano-SIM card tray is. The phone lacks a microSD slot. Additionally on the bottom side is the USB Type-C port. The latter doesn’t have anything particularly fancy about it. It only has USB 2.0 data transfer capabilities of up to 480 Mbps installed. There is no alternative form of output for video or anything like.

The Phantom X2 has a fingerprint reader embedded in the display. It is really concise and precise. No complaints have been made about it.

The Phantom X2 offers SA/NSA sub6 5G on both SIM slots, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, and other wireless connectivity options. Along with NFC, there is an FM radio on board.

A full complement of sensors are built into the Phantom X2. This consists of a gyroscope and accelerometer combination (icm42631), a light and proximity combination (stk33562) sensor, a compass (mmc5603), and a magnetometer combination. Not a bad loadout, and we are pleased to report that the proximity sensor hardware performs as expected.

Display

Given that the Tecno Phantom X2 is only 72.7mm wide, the 6.8-inch diagonal size of the phone’s display is really astounding. Here, the Gorilla Glass Victus is used to protect the OLED panel, which is curved on both sides. Even better, the screen refreshes at 120 hertz. The pixels have a resolution of 1080 by 2400.

Given that the Tecno Phantom X2 is only 72.7mm wide, the 6.8-inch diagonal size of the phone’s display is really astounding. Here, the Gorilla Glass Victus is used to protect the OLED panel, which is curved on both sides. Even better, the screen refreshes at 120 hertz. The pixels have a resolution of 1080 by 2400.

However, as of the time of writing, the vanilla has a working max auto brightness boost feature, unlike the Pro. Using it, we were able to gauge the display’s brightness at 710 nits. This makes us think that the Phantom X2 Pro’s issue during the evaluation was probably a bug that kept it fixed at 500 nits. Hopefully, a patch will be released to address that bug. The Phantom X2 is definitely workable outside with its available brightness of just over 700 nits, albeit it is still not spectacular.

Color accuracy

It appears that the Phantom X2 family does not excel at colour accuracy. The Phantom X2 features two colour modes, vivid and unique, just like its sibling.

Both of these attempt to use the DCI-P3 colour space but fall well short. Whites and greys are still a little too blue to be deemed color-accurate in original mode, which considerably reduces the amount of blue in contrast to bright mode’s pronounced cold temperature and accentuated blues.

HDR support

Unfortunately, the Phantom X2’s display does not support HDR. We very certainly would have wanted to see that from a flagship. However, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG can still be decoded quite well by the phone and its hardware. We are pleased to announce that the Phantom X2 has the highest Widevine L1 certification in terms of DRM. This makes HD and higher-quality streaming services like Netflix possible.

We had to get the Netflix APK from the Palm store, which is also pre-loaded on the phone, since we were unable to obtain it via the Google Play Store. Since the phone already appears to be whitelisted for FullHD streaming within the app itself, we feel this is a blacklisting issue on Netflix’s end that will hopefully be resolved.

Refresh rate

There are two refresh rate settings available on the Phantom X2: 60Hz and 120Hz. The monitor and its controller do not allow any other intermediate modes, such 90Hz. The phone features three software operating modes: 60Hz, 120Hz, and “Auto-switch Refresh Rate.”

Mode 60 performs as predicted. The refresh rate is simply fixed at 60Hz. It’s strange that both the Auto and 120Hz modes operate in the same way. In our testing, we discovered that 120Hz mode regularly triggered the 120Hz refresh rate as opposed to Auto, but that’s about it.

As long as you are interacting with the screen or there is motion on the screen, the Phantom X2 Pro maintains 120Hz mode when in auto mode. Overall, that is sound reasoning.

For some programmes, like YouTube, the Phantom X2 Pro is also shrewd enough to switch to 60Hz mode and stay in it, saving battery life.

Unfortunately, the default local video player does not follow the same rationale. It is wasteful for that player to remain at 120Hz all the time. The 120Hz mode is also activated by many other video players inside of apps, such as Facebook or TikTok, which is not ideal.

Naturally, we tested a few games that we are aware can render at a rate higher than 60 frames per second, and we can attest that each of them successfully activated the 120Hz mode and made use of the additional headroom to draw at a rate higher than 60fps. As a result, the Phantom X2 is ideal for high refresh rate gaming, barring a few behaviour problems. To make sure that games will run in high refresh rate mode, continue with the 120Hz mode in display settings.

When everything is taken into account, the Phantom X2 manages its high refresh rate fairly effectively. But there is still a lot of space for development. Confusion and some overlap among the offered modes exist. Additionally, it would be a huge improvement to give users the option of 90Hz and incorporate that into the auto-switching behaviour.

Battery life

The Phantom X2 and the X2 Pro both have a sizable 5,160 mAh battery. We naturally anticipated extremely similar battery results from the two phones given that they have the same display and identical chipsets, and that is exactly what we received.

Consistency is always a plus, and in our tests, the Phantom X2 managed an excellent 110 hours of overall endurance.

Charging Speed

The Phantom X2 has the same 45W charging power and battery size as its larger Pro sister.

In the great scheme of things, we wouldn’t describe its charging rate as extremely quick, but it is sufficient. In our tests, we were able to increase the phone’s battery life from 0% to 36% in 15 minutes and from 0% to 62% in 30 minutes. It took just over an hour to fully recharge.

Speaker

There is only one bottom-firing speaker available for use with the Phantom X2. On a flagship mobile, the absence of a hybrid stereo system is somewhat disappointing.

Since the Phantom X2 managed to be noticeably louder than its X2 Pro sister during testing, even though the two appear to share the majority of their hardware, it appears that Tecno managed to tune the speaker better with an update. Another argument is that the lack of the pop-out portrait telephoto camera has left the vanilla with more inside space, which allows for a larger speaker’s echo chamber.

Software

Like its Pro sibling, the Phantom X2 runs Android 12 and Tecno’s proprietary HiOS 12 on top of that. Since quite some time, Tecno has been developing and perfecting its own skin, which we have previously found to be generally fairly nice with a few on-and-off caveats here and there. These mainly consist of pre-installed bloat and advertisements. But credit where credit is due, things seem to have improved significantly on both fronts. The Phantom X2 didn’t irritate us as much with bothersome notifications and intrusive offers as some of its predecessors did. Actually, the experience is quite pristine.

That is not to suggest that there aren’t many apps and utilities already installed. In order to cover the essential functionalities, Tecno is continuing to develop and distribute its own collection of apps. You receive an internal movie player, gallery, and app store—or two, depending on how you count them. These are still somewhat irksome, but we can see where Tecno is coming from.

You can block those notifications from within the bothersome app or from the Notification settings if any third-party apps are annoying you with numerous notifications.

Both fingerprint and face recognition are available for entry into the Phantom X2. You can set up facial recognition so that it requires a press in addition to a tap for the fingerprint reader to open.

One shortcut to the camera is located in the bottom right corner of the lockscreen. After that, you encounter a typical homescreen UI. The leftmost pane, referred to as the Zero screen, contains cards with suggested widgets for news, weather, quotations, and app usage. In the “Desktop settings,” the Zero screen can be turned off. By default, there is an app drawer that you can open by swiping upward from the bottom or using the retro orange A-Z symbol at the bottom.

HiOS includes the ability to use themes, and there is a special Theme store for this reason.

Long-standing advanced features from Tecno models are typically carried over to newer versions. That comprises the entire set of options, metrics, and parental controls in the game mode. A Smart panel with slide-from-the-side shortcuts is also available.

The Social Turbo toolset is rather intriguing—it functions as a kind of WhatsApp enhancer—and lets you alter your voice, improve your face during video chats, record WhatsApp conversations, and read messages without marking them as read.

The virtual RAM used by Tecno is known as MemFusion. The Phantom X2 contains 8GB of on-board LPDDR5 RAM chips that may be increased to 13GB by adding an additional 5GB of virtual memory. MemFusion is set to 3GB by default.

You can also access the CarIcare after-sales service tool onboard at any time if you experience issues with your phone.

The software part of the Camon 16 Premier review has further information on the HiOS if you’re interested. There are still all the other features listed there, and they are all applicable.

Performance

The flagship Dimensity 9000 4nm chipset powers the Phantom X2. That is one of the ways Tecno is attempting to break new ground with the X2 range and go into flagship territory. Although this CPU from MediaTek has a lot of customizability, Tecno is only using it at factory speeds. One ARM Cortex-X2 core operating at up to 3.05 GHz, three Cortex-A710 ones operating at up to 2.85 GHz, and four Cortex-A510 ones operating at up to 1.8 GHz are all included in the CPU arrangement.

These are coupled with an 850 MHz, 10-core Mali-G710 MC10 GPU. Additionally, the Tecno Phantom X2 has 8GB of physically fast LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of quick UFS 3.1 storage. The Phantom X2’s inclusion of LPDDR5 RAM makes us very delighted. It doesn’t happen often.

Let’s begin by running GeekBench and some CPU tests. As regards performance, the Phantom X2 compares favourably to the Phantom X2 Pro. Additionally, the Dimensity 9000 is competitive enough to take on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.

Another intriguing finding relates to gadgets like the original Phantom X and the Tecno Camon 19. We can see that the Phantom X2 pair performs differently from those devices with far more raw CPU power.

Among other things, AnTuTu’s comprehensive suite of tests includes several GPU runs. It also has a great deal to say about the Phantom X2. As expected, a few Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 phones are around it and somewhat outpace it.

In general, the Dimensity 9000 with its Mali-G710 MC10 GPU can compete with Qualcomm’s top-tier processors when it comes to GPU rendering jobs. The results of the GFXBench tests amply demonstrate this. Although not significantly, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1’s Adreno 730 performs better than it.

A very comparable image of graphic performance is painted by 3DMark. The Phantom X2 was able to outperform both previous Slingshot and Slingshot Extreme test runs, as was to be predicted. The Dimensity 9000 is unquestionably a flagship chipset.

In more concrete words, we encountered no problems with HiOS on the Phantom X2 in terms of responsiveness or fluidity. Despite the fact that it has a lot of customization options and capabilities, the ROM functions without any noticeable hitches or slowdowns. The phone also handled every task we put at it, from the simple to intensive mobile gaming, with ease.

All things considered, the performance testing of the Phantom X2 was essentially perfect. The integration and optimization of the Dimensity 9000 chipset by Tecno were excellent. The chip itself is highly powerful and can exert a lot of force. Additionally, it comes with a contemporary feature set and connection.

Camera

The Phantom X2 Pro and standard Phantom X2 differ primarily in their camera configurations. The 50MP retractable portrait telephoto camera, which is sort of the X2 Pro’s showpiece, is absent from the base model. Really, it’s a shame. On the other hand, none of the cameras on the Pro model have OIS, while the Phantom X2’s main camera has a greater resolution of 64MP.

Let’s review the cameras and their corresponding sensors before moving on. We start with the 64MP primary camera. A Samsung S5KGWB – 1/1.7″, 0.8m ISOCELL sensor is employed. It has RGBW pixels in a Quad-Bayer configuration, which improves low-light performance. If our investigation is accurate, this camera can also be found in the Tecno Camon 19 Pro.

The 13MP ultrawide camera is the next option. Its foundation is the 1/3-inch Samsung S5K3L6 sensor “size and 1.12 m pixels per. Since it can also be used as a macro camera, it’s wonderful to see that it features PDAF like it was incorporated in the Phantom X2.

On the back, there is also a 2MP additional camera. The GalaxyCore GC02M1 sensor serves as its foundation. Selfie camera with 32MP on the front. It makes use of a 1/2.8-inch Samsung S5KGD2 sensor “Tetrapixel RGB Bayer sensor, 0.8 m ISOCELL. As far as we can determine, the Tecno Camon 19 Pro is also the source of this selfie camera. There are no further glitzy embellishments to remark on the sensor, only a fixed focus.

The camera app is simple; other than the full-auto photo mode being named AI Cam, everything else is what you would expect. The top row of icons may be brought closer by swiping downward on the viewfinder, which Techno refers to as one-handed mode.

On the Phantom X2, the selfie camera and both primary cameras have access to Super Night mode.

It’s interesting that there isn’t a Pro camera mode, or at least we couldn’t locate one. There are various presets available in Film mode for quick videos. If you prefer the look of bokeh, video mode has it.

Daylight photos

The Quad-Bayer pixel arrangement used by the 64MP primary camera results in 16MP still images being captured by default. These appear to be extremely well-kept, with lots of details and natural-looking, if slightly desaturated, colours. However, the lighting and climate can be to blame for that.

Additionally, the contrast and dynamic range are strong, if not flawless. Overall, there isn’t much we would desire from these pictures.

Additionally, you may make the camera shoot in 64MP mode. If you don’t mind dealing with the larger files, we would actually think about shooting in higher resolution for these shots because they have substantially more detail than the standard ones.

The 64MP stills, on the other hand, can be captured in a matter of seconds, which is totally realistic.

The primary camera produces excellent portrait images. Excellent subject separation and detection, and a pleasant background blur.

Additionally, non-human subjects perform quite well.

The Phantom X2 does not have a specialised telephoto camera, but it still has digital zoom from the primary 64MP camera, with a 2x toggle prominently displayed on the camera UI. It’s definitely a good thing that 2x zoom images resemble their 1x counterparts in terms of appearance.

On the primary camera, you can zoom further—up to 10x. Expectedly, the shoots become softer over time, yet they are never truly too soft to be useless.

The Phantom X2’s zooming powers deserve praise.

Although the specialised portrait telephoto may not have made the transition, the Phantom X2’s 13MP Ultra-wide camera is a direct transfer from the Phantom X2 Pro. It takes photos that are remarkably clear and detailed. Additionally, colours are pleasing, true to life, and consistent with the other two cameras.

There is a small amount of corner softness, but nothing unusual.

The ultrawide can function as a macro camera because of its autofocus. It also performs admirably, producing pleasing outcomes.

Selfie camera

The 32MP selfie camera also makes a good impression. It provides excellent sharpness, lots of detail, and attractive skin tones.

In our opinion, 32MP is a bit overkill in terms of quality and file size, therefore you can get just as good 8MP stills by taking self-portraits without any filters.

Low-light photos

The Phantom X2’s main camera has a passable but generally unimpressive low-light performance. Although there is visible sharpening done throughout the frame, the degree of detail is good.

Both dynamic range and the colours, which are often true to life, are good. Light sources are frequently blown out and have artefacts like shimmering along the borders, which the Phantom X2 particularly problems with.

Night mode would normally activate at this point to fix the problems. A night mode that automatically activates on the Phantom X2 is available. In addition, the Super Night setting significantly lengthens capture durations, increasing them to a leisurely three to four seconds. Surprisingly, despite the significantly longer capture time, these photographs don’t appear any different from those taken in ordinary Ai mode.

If we look closely at the pixels, we can see that the sharpening is slightly less extreme, there are fewer artefacts in the image, and the light sources are softer but still highly blown out. However, the differences are so negligible that we don’t think the extra delayed capture time is worthwhile.

It’s nice to notice that main camera 2x zoom images resemble 1x ones almost exactly, just like in natural light.

Although the effects of artificial sharpening are slightly more obvious, overall, this is a strong performance.

As expected, the ultrawide camera has some difficulty in low light. It generates photographs that are quite noisy and soft. Even if the light sources are blown out, the detail is still present, and they don’t look too horrible.

Night mode has almost no impact on the ultrawide, just like it does on the primary camera. If we really pixel-peep, we might be able to see less sharpening used in these Super Night mode images because it is able to clear up the noise a little bit better.

Nevertheless, the differences are negligible and are not worth the extra hassle of waiting about for Super Night to take a picture.

Video recording

The main 64MP camera of the Phantom X2 can record videos at speeds of up to [email protected]. Both the ultrawide and selfie cameras have a 1080p resolution limit, though the selfie can handle [email protected] if that’s more your style. These videos are saved in an MP4 container together with a stereo 48kHz AAC audio track and a typical AVC video stream at 50 Mbps in 4K and a fairly consistent frame rate. The Phantom X2 does not support h.256 (HEVC) video capture.

Solid 4K video is captured by the main camera. But it’s nothing to call home about. Although it can be a little difficult to see because of the strong contrast, there is good detail. Although we think the contrast is a little too strong, some people could find it appealing.

Our Verdict

Tecno made the rather audacious decision to enter the flagship market with the Phantom X2 range. Even the Phantom X2 Pro’s pop-out portrait telephoto camera includes a head-turning lighting feature. But the standard model isn’t far behind. The minimum segmentation between the two versions is something Tecno should be commended for. With the exception of the spotlight portrait camera we just discussed and a few other adjustments to the camera arrangement, the standard Phantom X2 is largely similar to its Pro sister.

It is more difficult to determine whether the Phantom X2 lives up to expectations. When we went past the promotional materials and examined the phone more closely, various unsightly cracks became apparent. For instance, it can be difficult to accept a flagship gadget with a single bottom-firing speaker configuration.

The absence of HDR video support and the enhanced, albeit still unimpressive, display maximum brightness are both problems. In contrast, we can see that Tecno is working hard to enhance its newest products as updates are coming in to fix some of the faults as best as possible through software, after the Phantom X2 Pro review. However, we are unable to predict whether this increased focus on software support will be carried over for the Phantom X2 pair in the future. In this aspect, Tecno’s track record isn’t exactly stellar.

All things considered, we view the Tecno Phantom X2 as a bit of a gamble in the current, very competitive and oversaturated market. It is able to hold its own when left alone. However, its rivals frequently provide better value and more comprehensive devices in general. The Phantom X2 can still succeed in the right market and with aggressive pricing. We simply doubt that Tecno now possesses the standing to create and promote a flagship product in a way that will ensure its success.

PRO’S& CON’S