Chinese smartphone vendor Tecno teased the Phantom Ultimate G Fold last week, just ahead of Samsung’s big Unpacked press event of the summer. Tecno’s marketing move was timed to beat Samsung’s own promotional strategy.
Rumors said the Korean giant would tease the Samsung Galaxy G Fold trifold at the end of the media event. The phone is expected to launch later this year, with Korea and China as its only markets.
While Samsung didn’t tease its G Fold, we’ve already seen images of Tecno’s G Fold. Tecno used a similar strategy last year when it revealed the Phantom Ultimate 2 trifold before Huawei launched the Mate XT. Only Huawei’s device ended up as a commercial product.
A week after Samsung’s Unpacked, Tecno has announced its second trifold foldable and the world’s first G Fold model. While the Phantom Ultimate G Fold is official, it won’t be hitting stores. Like the Ultimate 2, it’s a concept device designed to highlight Tecno’s progress in phone design.
What’s a G Fold phone?
The Phantom Ultimate G Fold is a “dual-screen, inward-folding trifold” phone, Tecno explained in a press release.
The G Fold name refers to how the 9.94-inch foldable display folds. Unlike the Mate XT, which folds in a Z-pattern and leaves a third of the display exposed, the G Fold trifold folds inward twice, keeping the entire screen protected.
Unlike the Mate XT, the Phantom Ultimate G Fold includes its own external screen.
The phone measures 11.49 mm when folded and 3.49 mm when fully unfolded. That’s thinner than both the Honor Magic V5 and Galaxy Z Fold 7, though the measurement is taken at the thinnest point. The image below shows the thickness variations across the three segments divided by two hinges.
How do the hinges work?
G Fold trifolds also feature two hinges, just like the Mate XT. But they’re not identical. One hinge is smaller and the other is larger, allowing both side panels to fold inward. Tecno explained the mechanism in its announcement:
At the core of this innovation is a custom-engineered dual-hinge system, comprising a small waterdrop hinge and a larger primary hinge. When folded, the small hinge allows the right portion of the display to fold gaplessly inward, mimicking a traditional book-style foldable. The larger hinge then folds theremaining section over the top. A self-locking mechanism ensures the device is both perfectly gapless and secure when closed.
The larger hinge also enables a multi-angle hovering mode, letting the phone be used while partially folded. Last year’s Phantom Ultimate 2 had a similar feature.
To improve durability, Tecno used “2,000 Mpa ultra-high-strength steel for the hinge and ultra-strong Titan Fiber for the back cover.” The Titan Fiber layer is just 0.3 mm thick.
What about the specs?
Tecno hasn’t shared full specs for the G Fold. Since the Phantom Ultimate is a concept device, that’s no surprise. Still, the company claims the phone delivers a full flagship experience.
The G Fold trifold includes a 5,000 mAh battery inside that ultra-thin body, a “high-performance” chip, and a “versatile triple-camera system.”
In other words, a phone like the G Fold wouldn’t come cheap. Samsung’s G Fold is rumored to cost around $3,000, which is roughly what the Mate XT goes for right now.
Tecno isn’t planning to sell the Phantom Ultimate G Fold at this time. It will be shown at MWC 2026 in Barcelona, so trade shows might be the only opportunity to see it in person. By then, Samsung may already be selling its own G Fold in select markets.
