Tecno to launch a flip phone, six-to-eight ultra premium phones in 2023: Tecno India CEO Arijeet Talapatra
Past couple of months have been excitingly busy for Tecno. Back in December 2022, the company launched the Phantom X2 series in India and globally. The phone apart from having top-of-the-line specification had a segment-first retractable-camera feature. The Phantom X2 series got rave reviews globally for being a power performer — one that could compete with the likes of Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the OnePlus 10 Pro — despite being relatively easy on the pocket. Shortly after at MWC 2023, the company introduced its first ever foldable smartphone, dubbed as the Tecno Phantom V Fold 5G. Now, almost a month later, the company is gearing to test the waters by launching the phone in India.
Tecno today announced that it has started manufacturing its first-ever 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 the demand of the local market before ramping up the production to export the device to some of its international markets eventually.
On the sidelines of this development, we sat down for a conversation with Tecno Mobile India CEO Arijeet Talapatra to understand the company’s vision behind launching its first ever foldable device and its plans going ahead. During our conversation, the Tecno Mobile India executive told us that the company has two production lines dedicated for assembling the Phantom V Fold 5G at its manufacturing facility in Noida. It’s also the place where a lot of testing for the phone happened.
“We continuously need to work on the competence of the team because with this we are moving towards the premiumness…And for this we have specifically designed and allocated two separate lines for the foldable phone wherein the entire training and quality control happens…And here we do a lot of testing. Like the hinges and the crease, we tested two lakh times,” he told Techlusive.
During our conversation, the Tecno India executive also told us that the Indian government’s recent change in policies along with Digital India and Make in India initiatives had significantly helped the company in expanding its roots in the country.
“It has helped immensely. See, what the government is pushing is Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the digital India program and Make in India initiative. What we are doing is, we are empowering the people, almost 4,000 plus people working in this manufacturing facility, it’s a huge employment capability, and currently we are making for India. But eventually we want to make for the world. So, it is the direction, and it is in line with the Digital India and the Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Make in India and Make for the World. So, we are working on that. And we are not only working at the bottom of the pyramid, we are also working on the top of the pyramid,” he told us.
About the Phantom V Fold 5G India launch
Now, Tecno is gearing up for its first ever foldable display smartphone in India. The phone will launch in the country on April 11, and it will be available at an early bird price of Rs 77,777 (for limited stocks) via Amazon India sans any bank offer. The company will announce the final price at the time of launch, which the Tecno India CEO assures us will be equally competitive. This pricing is extremely competitive even for a market as fiercely competitive as India. For reference, both the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and the Oppo Find N2 Flip with a clamshell like design 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 roughly twice the early bird price of the Phantom V Fold 5G.
Needless to say, that this pricing is no small feat and Tecno says that is making it possible by having a tight control over its control chain and not charging a significant premium from its customers.
“We are a global company…We have a very strong control over the supply chain ecosystem, and we are not a brand that would initially want to take any kind of premium from the consumers. We want to give consumers the best-of-class technology and get their confidence. That is what our direction is. And that is why we are giving them the introductory price of Rs 77,777,” he said.
“April 11 is our launch so on April 12 we will be announcing the actual price. The actual price will also be extremely surprising and what I can assure is that with the features that are plus plus from the nearest foldable device that we have in the market. We will be at par or even better priced than a flip phone,” he added.
What’s next?
While Tecno is gearing to launch its first foldable phone with a notebook-style design in India, it has its work carved out for the year. The company plans to launch a flip-style foldable phone along with several ultra-premium smartphones later this year. “…we will also bring a flip phone in quarter three,” he said.
“Till now, it’s a very small segment but it is going to grow very fast. The industry ASP of Rs 12,000 from two years back has moved to Rs 17,000 – Rs 18,000. This is moving up very fast. Ultimately, experience of the consumer is of prime importance. And once they get a wonderful experience with a fold phone, after that, like we said from the Camon and Phantom series we will launch six to eight ultra-premium phones,” he added.
The post Tecno to launch a flip phone, six-to-eight ultra premium phones in 2023: Tecno India CEO Arijeet Talapatra appeared first on Techlusive.
Past couple of months have been excitingly busy for Tecno. Back in December 2022, the company launched the Phantom X2 series in India and globally. The phone apart from having top-of-the-line specification had a segment-first retractable-camera feature. The Phantom X2 series got rave reviews globally for being a power performer — one that could compete with the likes of Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the OnePlus 10 Pro — despite being relatively easy on the pocket. Shortly after at MWC 2023, the company introduced its first ever foldable smartphone, dubbed as the Tecno Phantom V Fold 5G. Now, almost a month later, the company is gearing to test the waters by launching the phone in India.
Tecno today announced that it has started manufacturing its first-ever 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 the demand of the local market before ramping up the production to export the device to some of its international markets eventually.
On the sidelines of this development, we sat down for a conversation with Tecno Mobile India CEO Arijeet Talapatra to understand the company’s vision behind launching its first ever foldable device and its plans going ahead. During our conversation, the Tecno Mobile India executive told us that the company has two production lines dedicated for assembling the Phantom V Fold 5G at its manufacturing facility in Noida. It’s also the place where a lot of testing for the phone happened.
“We continuously need to work on the competence of the team because with this we are moving towards the premiumness…And for this we have specifically designed and allocated two separate lines for the foldable phone wherein the entire training and quality control happens…And here we do a lot of testing. Like the hinges and the crease, we tested two lakh times,” he told Techlusive.
During our conversation, the Tecno India executive also told us that the Indian government’s recent change in policies along with Digital India and Make in India initiatives had significantly helped the company in expanding its roots in the country.
“It has helped immensely. See, what the government is pushing is Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the digital India program and Make in India initiative. What we are doing is, we are empowering the people, almost 4,000 plus people working in this manufacturing facility, it’s a huge employment capability, and currently we are making for India. But eventually we want to make for the world. So, it is the direction, and it is in line with the Digital India and the Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Make in India and Make for the World. So, we are working on that. And we are not only working at the bottom of the pyramid, we are also working on the top of the pyramid,” he told us.
About the Phantom V Fold 5G India launch
Now, Tecno is gearing up for its first ever foldable display smartphone in India. The phone will launch in the country on April 11, and it will be available at an early bird price of Rs 77,777 (for limited stocks) via Amazon India sans any bank offer. The company will announce the final price at the time of launch, which the Tecno India CEO assures us will be equally competitive. This pricing is extremely competitive even for a market as fiercely competitive as India. For reference, both the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and the Oppo Find N2 Flip with a clamshell like design 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 roughly twice the early bird price of the Phantom V Fold 5G.
Needless to say, that this pricing is no small feat and Tecno says that is making it possible by having a tight control over its control chain and not charging a significant premium from its customers.
“We are a global company…We have a very strong control over the supply chain ecosystem, and we are not a brand that would initially want to take any kind of premium from the consumers. We want to give consumers the best-of-class technology and get their confidence. That is what our direction is. And that is why we are giving them the introductory price of Rs 77,777,” he said.
“April 11 is our launch so on April 12 we will be announcing the actual price. The actual price will also be extremely surprising and what I can assure is that with the features that are plus plus from the nearest foldable device that we have in the market. We will be at par or even better priced than a flip phone,” he added.
What’s next?
While Tecno is gearing to launch its first foldable phone with a notebook-style design in India, it has its work carved out for the year. The company plans to launch a flip-style foldable phone along with several ultra-premium smartphones later this year. “…we will also bring a flip phone in quarter three,” he said.
“Till now, it’s a very small segment but it is going to grow very fast. The industry ASP of Rs 12,000 from two years back has moved to Rs 17,000 – Rs 18,000. This is moving up very fast. Ultimately, experience of the consumer is of prime importance. And once they get a wonderful experience with a fold phone, after that, like we said from the Camon and Phantom series we will launch six to eight ultra-premium phones,” he added.
The post Tecno to launch a flip phone, six-to-eight ultra premium phones in 2023: Tecno India CEO Arijeet Talapatra appeared first on Techlusive.
