Foldables are still waiting for their iPhone moment, and TECNO knows it. With the PHANTOM Ultimate G Fold Concept, the company isn’t just experimenting anymore — it’s trying to jump the queue.
This is TECNO’s most ambitious design yet. A triple-folding fever dream that’s thinner than anything Samsung, Huawei or HONOR have managed to put into stores — even if it’s not going to be in one any time soon. On paper, it’s remarkable. Folded, it’s 11.49mm thick, on par with current dual-folds. Unfolded, it drops to just 3.49mm — barely thicker than a clipboard. You get a 9.94-inch uninterrupted display, minimal crease, no visible gap, and a clever G-style hinge that fully shields the screen when closed.
It’s also, predictably, a concept.
The PHANTOM Ultimate G Fold Concept isn’t designed to sell. It’s designed to signal. And the message is clear: TECNO wants to be taken seriously. While most brands are still iterating on black rectangles, TECNO is at least trying to make hardware interesting again. Multi-angle hovering, dual hinges, a secondary cover screen, flagship internals — this is what mobile design ambition used to look like.
Of course, ambition is easy when you don’t have to ship. TECNO has done this before. In 2023, it showed off the original Phantom Ultimate, a rollable phone prototype. That was followed by the Phantom Ultimate 2 in 2024 — also rollable, also unshipped. The G Fold is different. It doesn’t just roll out. It folds in. And it folds in at exactly the right time.
Samsung is expected to launch its first-ever tri-fold before the end of 2025. It’s been rumoured under multiple names — Galaxy Z Flex, Galaxy G Fold, Galaxy Z TriFold — but nothing has shipped. Huawei, on the other hand, is already two steps ahead. It released the Mate XT, the world’s first commercially available tri-fold smartphone, which is already available in South Africa. Now it’s prepping the Mate XT 2, expected in October, with improved hinge design and upgraded specs.
In that context, TECNO’s G Fold isn’t just a technical flex. It’s a well-timed strategic move. The company knows it’s not going to out-shout Samsung’s marketing machine, or out-ship Huawei. But if it can get its concept into the spotlight before both heavyweights launch, it earns a seat at the table. Even temporarily.
It also helps that the G Fold isn’t pure vapourware. The hardware feels close. TECNO is set to showcase it at MWC 2026, and the level of finish suggests this is more than a portfolio piece. It may never reach Johannesburg or Nairobi store shelves, but that’s not the point. This is a marker. A brand saying: we are not afraid of this space.
And the space could use some disruption. Samsung’s foldables are refined but familiar. Oppo and HONOR are dabbling without taking real risks. Apple, as always, is watching from a distance. But TECNO, often unfairly dismissed as a budget-first brand, is putting out ideas that the rest of the industry used to chase. It’s not polished. It’s not perfect. But it’s bolder than almost anything coming out of Korea or Cupertino right now.
So what happens next? Maybe TECNO pushes this into limited release. Maybe it gets licensed, repackaged or down-specced. Or maybe it stays a slick render with a clever hinge and a MWC 2026 booth. Either way, it’s proof that the foldable fight is no longer a three-player game.
And maybe that’s the real point.
For more on how the unexpected contenders are shifting the mobile landscape, read how Samsung’s Galaxy A Series is quietly becoming its most important phone line.