The past few months have been pretty busy for techno. Back in December 2022, the company launched the Phantom X2 series in India and globally. The phone had a segment-first retractable-camera feature apart from top-of-the-line specifications. Despite being relatively easy on the pocket, the Phantom X2 series has received great reviews globally for being a power performer – one that can compete with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the OnePlus 10 Pro. Shortly after MWC 2023, the company unveiled its first foldable smartphone, dubbed Tecno Phantom V Fold 5G. Now, almost a month later, the company is gearing up to test the waters by launching the phone in India. Also Read – Tecno starts manufacturing Phantom V Fold 5G in India, starting price starts at Rs 77,777
TECNO today announced that it has started manufacturing its first foldable phone at its manufacturing facility in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The move is a part of its ‘Make in India’ strategy, under which it plans to manufacture the Phantom V Fold 5G in India to meet local market demand and eventually launch the device in some of its international markets. To speed up production for export. , Also Read – Tecno Spark 10 5G Debuts in India with MediaTek Dimensity 6020 SoC
Along with this development, we sat down with Arijit Talapatra, CEO, TECNO Mobile India to understand the vision behind the company launching its first foldable device and its plans going forward. During our conversation, a Tecno Mobile India executive told us that the company has two production lines dedicated to assembling the Phantom V Fold 5G at its manufacturing facility in Noida. This is also the place where a lot of testing of the phone has taken place. Also Read – Tecno Spark 10 Universe will be launched this month with Helio G88 SoC
“We need to continuously work on the capability of the team as with this we are moving towards premiumness…and for this we have designed and allocated two separate lines exclusively for foldable phones with complete training and There’s quality control… and here we do a lot of testing. Like hinges and creases, we tested a couple million times,” he told TechLucky.
During our conversation, the Tecno India executive also told us that the recent changes in Indian government policies along with the Digital India and Make in India initiatives have helped the company grow its roots in the country.
“It has helped a lot. See, what the government is emphasizing on is Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Digital India program and Make in India initiative. What we are doing is we are empowering people, about more than 4,000 People are working in this manufacturing facility, it is a huge employment potential, and currently we are building for India. But eventually we want to build for the world. So, that is the direction, and it is Digital India and Atmanirbhar India is in line with Make in India and Make for the world. So, we are working on that. And we are not only working on the bottom of the pyramid, we are also working on the top of the pyramid,” he told us. told.
About Phantom V Fold 5G India launch
Now, Tecno is gearing up for its first foldable display smartphone in India. The phone will launch in the country on April 11, and will be available via Amazon India at a starting price of Rs 77,777 (for limited stock), without any bank offers. The company will announce the final pricing at the time of launch, which the CEO of Techno India has assured us will be equally competitive. This pricing is extremely competitive even for a highly competitive market like India. For reference, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Oppo Find N2 Flip both with clamshell designs start at Rs 89,999 in India. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 starts at Rs 1,54,999, which is almost double the starting price of the Phantom V Fold 5G.
Needless to say, this pricing feat is no small feat and TECNO says it is making this possible by keeping tight control over its control chain and not charging significant premiums from its customers.
“We are a global company… we have very strong control over the supply chain ecosystem, and we are not a brand that would initially want to charge any kind of premium from consumers. We want to give the best technology to the consumers and earn their trust. This is our direction. And that’s why we are giving them an initial price of Rs 77,777.
“April 11th is our launch so on April 12th we will announce the actual price. The actual price will also be very surprising and what I can assure is that we have plus plus than the closest foldable device in the market. Will be at a price equal to or even better.
What will happen next?
While Tecno is ready to launch its first foldable phone with a notebook-style design in India, it has prepared its work for years. The company is planning to launch a flip-style foldable phone later this year along with several ultra-premium smartphones. “…we will also bring a flip phone in quarter three,” he said.
“As of now, it is a very small segment, but it is going to grow very fast. The industry ASP has grown from Rs 17,000 to Rs 18,000 from Rs 12,000 two years back. It is growing very fast. That’s paramount. And once they get a great experience with the fold phone, then like we said with the Camon and Phantom series, we’ll launch six to eight ultra-premium phones.”
