Insights At a Glance:
- TECNO has unveiled the world’s thinnest tri-fold phone, the PHANTOM Ultimate G Fold, with a 9.94-inch display and slick “G-style” inward folding.
- The phone is currently a concept device, not for sale, and unlikely to ever launch in Kenya due to high costs.
- Still, the concept shows TECNO’s ambition and ability to play in the big leagues of foldables.
In a year where foldables are getting slimmer and flashier, TECNO has done the absolute most. The company just unveiled the PHANTOM Ultimate G Fold, a concept device that folds not once, but twice, giving us the world’s thinnest tri-fold phone yet. Measuring just 11.49mm when folded and a shockingly sleek 3.49mm when fully opened, it’s slimmer than a chapati at Mama Oliech’s on a good day.
But before you start saving up your rent money, let’s set expectations: this isn’t a phone you’ll be walking into a Nairobi shop to buy anytime soon.
What’s the Hype About?
The G Fold, as TECNO calls it, is a “G-style” trifold concept phone, meaning it folds inward twice using a clever dual-hinge mechanism. The result? A whopping 9.94-inch flexible display that closes up neatly to protect itself from scratches and dust. You also get a smaller external display to handle regular tasks when you’re not flexing the big screen.
The tech behind it is wild. TECNO used a custom-engineered hinge system, one small waterdrop hinge for the first fold and a larger primary hinge for the second. Together, they create a gapless fold and allow multi-angle hovering, meaning the phone can stand on its own like a mini laptop. Foldables just got flexible and practical.
Power Meets Portability
Despite all this folding wizardry, TECNO says the PHANTOM Ultimate G Fold packs flagship-level power: a triple-camera setup, a high-performance chipset, and a battery north of 5,000mAh — all packed inside that ultra-slim body. The hinge uses 2,000 MPa ultra-high-strength steel, and the back cover is reinforced with 0.3mm Titan Fiber to keep things light and durable.
This isn’t TECNO’s first concept rodeo either. Last year, they teased the PHANTOM Ultimate 2, which also showed the company’s wild imagination with form factors. But this year, TECNO seems to have timed the G Fold reveal perfectly, just before Samsung’s expected launch of their own Galaxy Z TriFold.
So… Will It Come to Kenya?
Now, here’s the buzzkill. As exciting as this is, the G Fold is just a concept for now. TECNO plans to show it off at MWC 2026 in Barcelona, but there’s zero confirmation it’ll hit stores. And even if it did, chances of it reaching Kenyan shelves are slim to none.
Why? Simple economics.
Even TECNO’s current foldable, the Phantom V Fold 2, already costs a pretty penny and that’s considered affordable when compared to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 (which, by the way, never even launched in Kenya this year). Foldables, despite their wow factor, are just too expensive for most Kenyans and brands know it. They’ve watched previous launches fizzle out due to low uptake.
So unless TECNO decides to drop a few G Folds locally just to flex being the first-ever trifold in the country and Africa at large, don’t expect to see one at your nearest phone shop in town.
Still, we have to give TECNO credit. They’re not just making noise. They’re pushing boundaries. And while most of us might never hold a PHANTOM Ultimate G Fold in our hands, the fact that a brand so popular in Kenya and across Africa is playing in the same experimental league as Samsung and Huawei? That’s something to celebrate.
For now, the PHANTOM Ultimate G Fold is a bold statement, not a sales pitch. It says TECNO is ready to imagine what’s next, even if it’s not ready to sell it to you just yet.
So go ahead, tell your techie friends: TECNO’s got the world’s thinnest trifold phone. Just don’t ask your local fundi to fix it if it ever breaks.
