After a year of fake leaked specs of the TECNO Phantom 9, TECNO Mobile has unveiled the highly anticipated successor to the Phantom 8. We have all the details just for you, and the phone costs less than $250 or ₦80,000.
TECNO Phantom 9 Quick Specs: Android 9 Pie smartphone. Announced July 2019. Features a 6.4-inch Full View display, MediaTek Helio P35 chipset, 32 MP selfie camera, 16MP+8MP+2MP AI triple camera with Quad Flash, 6 GB RAM, 128 GB internal memory, and a 3500 mAh battery.
TECNO Phantom 9 Specs and Features
Wireless Network and Software
- 2G mobile network bands: GSM, GPRS, EDGE 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz.
- 3G mobile network bands: UMTS, WCDMA, HSDPA 900 / 2100 MHz
- 4G mobile network bands: LTE 1(2100) / 3(1800) / 5(850) / 40(2300) / 41(2500)
- 5G mobile network bands: No.
- SIM Type: Nano-SIM, Dual SIM
- Software / OS: Android 9 Pie + HiOS 5.0 with AI Assistant built-in
Design, Form Factor, Appearance
- Dimensions: 158.46 x 75.3 x 7.85 mm
- Weight: 164.4g
- Display: 6.4 inches, 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, AMOLED curved glass screen, with Gorilla Glass protection
- Colours: Aurora gradient design.
- Physical Build: Polycarbonate + Glass materials.
Internal Hardware Specs
- Processor Type: 64-bit, 2.35 GHz Octa-core, Cortex-A73
- Processor Name: Mediatek Helio P35
- Graphics Processor: PowerVR GE8320
- RAM: 6 GB
- Internal Storage: 128 GB
- External Storage: microSD, up to 512 GB (dedicated slot)
Photography, Video Recording
- Rear Camera: 16MP main lens + 8MP 120° ultra-wide angle lens + 2MP depth sensor triple camera, f2.2 Aperture, Quad LED flash, 1080p@30fps video recording
- Front-facing Camera: 32 MP dual selfie camera, f2.0 Aperture, AI Face Recognition, dual LED flash, 1080p@30fps video capture.
Audio, Video Playback
- Music Support: PCM, AAC / AAC + / eAAC + / MP3 / AMR – NB / WB / APE
- Audio: 3.5 mm audio jack
- Loudspeaker: Mono speakers
- Video Support: H.264/MP4/MPEG4 player
- FM Radio:
Sensors
- Digital Compass: Yes.
- Accelerometer: Yes.
- Proximity Sensor: Yes.
- Ambient Light Sensor: Yes.
- Barometer: No.
- Pedometer: No.
- Heart Rate Monitor: No.
- Gyroscope (G-Sensor): Yes.
- Fingerprint Scanner: Yes; in-display
- Face Unlock: Yes.
- Iris Scanner: No.
- Motion Sensing / Gesture Control: Yes.
- Voice Control: No.
- Intelligent Digital Assistant: Yes.
- Infra-red Senor: No.
Connectivity Options
- Bluetooth: v5.0, A2DP
- WiFi: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, hotspot
- GPS: Yes, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
- USB: microUSB v2.0; USB-OTG
- NFC:
Miscellaneous Specs and Features
- Battery Type and Capacity: Non-Removable Lithium-Ion 3500 mAh
- Battery Charging: 10W Fast Charging
- Reverse Charging: no.
- Announced: July 10, 2019
- Market Availability: July 2019
TECNO Phantom 9 Price and Availability
- Country Availability: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and more
- Price: $220. The price in India is ₹14,999.00 and ₦77,000 in Nigeria.
- Where to buy: You can purchase TECNO Phantom 9 from retail stores, as well as from online stores like Jumia, Slot, Konga, and others.
Frequently Asked Questions about TECNO Phantom 9
Is TECNO Phantom 9 waterproof or water resistant?
No; the Phantom 9 is not water resistant. Don’t drop it in water or let it get a splash.
Is TECNO Phantom 9 out/released?
Yes; Phantom 9 is out and on sale in countries around the world.
How much is TECNO Phantom 9 in Nigeria?
It costs ₦77,000 in Nigeria.
How much is TECNO Phantom 9 in India?
Phantom 9 sells for Rs. 14,999 in India.
MobilityArena Buyer’s Guide Verdict
This is the first budget Phantom smartpone and it is a good package for the price. What’s not to like at this price point?
Our Buyer’s Guide Verdict is a recommendation that we make based on our evaluation the specs of the device. It is a general guide designed to help you understand how much value a smartphone offers for its price. It is not a stamp of quality assessment or an endorsement of the device or of the manufacturers. Be sure to ask questions and use your judgement when buying any device, as MobilityArena may not be held responsible for your buying decisions.
TECNO Phantom 9 Review Rating
We will have a review rating for the TECNO Phantom 9 once we have reviewed one. In the meantime, our detailed TECNO Phantom 9 review round-up is enlightening.
Disclaimer: While we take the pains to ensure accuracy, we can not guarantee that the specs and information on this page about the TECNO Phantom 9 are 100% correct. If you think that any information for the current phone is wrong or missing, please contact us.
Mister Mobility Was Wrong – Partly!
Mister Mobility published an earlier piece on why the end of TECNO Phantom had come and there would be no Phantom 9. He was wrong on that, but he was right about the TECNO brand being positioned as the mid-tier brand within the Transsion Holdings ladder. The price of the Phantom 9 clearly reflects that (compare it to the price of Infinix Zero 6). His article makes for interesting read. Below is the full unedited article.
The last Phantom smartphone from TECNO Mobile was launched in late 2017. There was a lot of excitement and anticipation for a TECNO Phantom 9 last year. In fact, several tech sites had released “leaked” specs and videos of the phone. But it never happened. And so 2018 rolled away without any announcement or details about this from TECNO Mobile.
2019 is well under way and there is still no word about the TECNO Phantom 9 despite all the supposed leaked specs. Of course, TECNO fans and followers are starting to ask questions about the company’s plans for the Phantom smartphone range. What mobile manufacturer abandons its flagship model abruptly like that?
I have a theory about what may be happening, and I will let you in on it.
itel, TECNO, and Infinix
Transsion’s 3 musketeers have a ranking that you may be unaware of. That ranking is based on cost and class, as follows:
- itel Mobile: low-cost, entry-level smartphones
- TECNO Mobile: mid-range smartphones
- Infinix Mobility: premium smartphones
Don’t yell. Don’t frown. It has been an open secret for years that Infinix, not TECNO, was designed to be the premium smartphone brand for Transsion Holdings. The place and position of itel has been clear for years, but for some reason, Transsion allowed TECNO to compete head-on with Infinix at the high-end. It looks like that has come to an end.
I suspect that the silence about the Phantom is an experiment to see what would happen if they let TECNO take its place at the mid-range. This means that TECNO has to drop Phantom phones and focus more on Camon smartphones. As such, there will be no TECNO Phantom 9 phone.
The Rise Of TECNO Camon Smartphones in 2018
Did you take note of how many TECNO Camon smartphones were released last year alone? Let me help you with the list:
- TECNO Camon CM
- TECNO Camon CX
- TECNO Camon CX Air
- TECNO Camon X
- TECNO Camon X Pro
- TECNO Camon 11
- TECNO Camon 11 Pro
Seven of them in the space of a year. And the most expensive of those phones cost just a little under N80,000.
Do you see where this is headed? TECNO made no Phantom smartphone but pushed out Camon smartphones like the world was going to end tomorrow. It means only one thing: TECNO has taken its rightful place on the Transsion Holdings scale – in the middle.
There is a small chance though that we will see a comeback – if people do not embrace Infinix’s flagship smartphones as an alternative to the Phantom series. It is business: if the experiment does not work out, Transsion will backtrack and re-introduce TECNO’s Phantom smartphones to the market. Which is why there has been no formal announcement of a discontinuation.
As such, it is not likely that we will see a TECNO Phantom 9 this year.
As a tribute to the Phantom range, I present all the models that have been released till date and featured/reviewed here on MobilityArena till date.
The Evolution of TECNO Phantom Smartphones
- 2013 – TECNO Phatom A – specs | review
- 2013 – TECNO Phantom A3 – specs | review
- 2013 – TECNO Phantom A Plus – specs | review
- 2014 – TECNO Phantom Z: specifications | review
- 2014 – TECNO Phantom Z Mini: specs | review
- 2015 – TECNO Phantom 5 – specs | review
- 2016 – TECNO Phantom 6 – specifications | review
- 2016 – TECNO Phantom 6 Plus – specifications | review
- 2017 – TECNO Phantom 8 – specs | review
TECNO Phantom 9?
Transsion is betting on Infinix Mobility to lead the charge in the high-end market, which explains why the upcoming Infinix Zero 6 and Zero 6 Pro are again more expensive this year.
And if Infinix’s flagships perform well, we shall see the Transsion scale adjust further so that there is little duplication across the three brands. Which is why I am not hopeful that there will be an announcement of a TECNO Phantom 9 smartphone this year.
This enforcement of specialisation under the Transsion brand makes sense. Why push multiple brands without a clear strategy as to what each of them is to achieve?
Specialisation results in unique competence.
Already, itel Mobile has mastered the art of crafting beautiful, value-packed smartphones into a low budget. We reviewed a number of their smartphones last year and found them really solid for their prices.
With this new enforcement, TECNO Mobile is delivering devices to meet the needs of users who want value for their money without breaking the bank. The present crop of Camon smartphones are testament to that.
And if you want a device with flagship grade specs from Transsion, Infinix’s Zero phones are what you turn to.
There is a chance that I am wrong about this, but I have followed and worked with itel, TECNO, and Infinix closely enough over the years to bet that this is the case. We have come to the end of the Phantom smartphone age and there will be no TECNO Phantom 9.
End of Mister Mobility’s article. So, now that the first mid-range TECNO Phantom 9 has been launched and the official specs and price are out, what do you think?
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