I tried Tecno's modular phone concept at MWC - and it quickly got weird

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Tecno's magnetic modular telephone is simply a impervious of conception without a merchandise date. 
• It's bladed and light, and the modular artillery plan is cool.
• The magnets aren't beardown enough, and the camera modules request immoderate work.

Tecno is ever a delightful sojourn during MWC, the marque has a past of bringing absorbing concepts to bear. This year, determination are a brace of them, including a tri-fold telephone I couldn't dive into, arsenic a information instrumentality prevented maine from adjacent closing it connected the showroom floor.

This conception is antithetic from the Z-shaped foldable telephone it showed past year. Instead, it folds doubly to the center, similar the Samsung Trifold, with the extracurricular surface connected 1 of the wings. But the different conception was the 1 that caught my attention: a magnetic modular phone. 

Also: What to expect astatine MWC 2026: Best phones I'm anticipating from Xiaomi, Honor, and more

Modular phones are seemingly the imagination among telephone enthusiasts. Who wouldn't privation to physique their ain phone? This telephone starts disconnected with a small spot of an iPhone Air vibe to it. It's highly bladed and it has magnets and pogo pins connected the backmost to connect the modules. Right disconnected the bat, I privation the magnets were a spot stronger; the modules were a tad wobbly.

Adam Doud/ZDNET

Since the telephone is simply a impervious of concept, Tecno didn't stock a spec sheet, but I was capable to glean a fewer things. First, it uses a MediaTek Dimensity 8350 processor with 256GB of retention and 12 GB of RAM. Also connected committee is simply a 3,000 mAh battery, which sounds small, but don't beryllium concerned, due to the fact that present we tin speech astir the modular components.

I'm definite it'll travel arsenic nary astonishment that determination is simply a artillery module you tin connect to the back. Each artillery is besides 3,000 mAh, and the institution had 3 modules connected hand, and they are stackable, for a full of 12,000 mAh. That's beauteous chill by itself.

As for the remainder of the modules, the astir mundane is simply a wallet mod. Even arsenic a instrumentality of MagSafe wallets, I recovered it hard to get connected committee with this idea. Given however anemic the magnets are, it conscionable doesn't consciousness safe.

Also: I tried Honor's ultra-thin foldable telephone astatine MWC 2026, and it's astir excessively powerful

There are 2 camera attachments. The archetypal is an optical telephoto lens that adds 3x capableness by snapping it implicit the camera. Physics supports this, but I was amazed that the images were inverted. This is mean erstwhile utilizing a magnifying lens similar this, but I would person thought that Tecno could hole it successful the software. There's besides nary ultrawide camera module, which amazed me.

The different camera lens is simply a 100x optical telephoto camera module that requires a Wi-Fi transportation to the phone. Doing truthful transmits the images from the camera to the phone's viewfinder. When I tested it connected the amusement floor, determination was a decent magnitude of lag. That mightiness person been due to the fact that inadequate Wi-Fi signals connected the amusement level -- oregon it could beryllium a mediocre implementation. It's hard to tell.

Adam Doud/ZDNET

Finally, there's besides an enactment camera, which I didn't person a accidental to trial due to the fact that it wasn't moving decently connected the amusement floor. The remainder of the modules honestly autumn much nether the class of "accessories" though. 

There's a lavalier mic, with upwind screen, a ringing light/mirror combo you tin usage to instrumentality a selfie oregon movie yourself, and a Bluetooth talker mod. None of these really person to beryllium attached to the telephone to work, truthful it strains the explanation of "modularity."

ZDNET's buying advice

Although it's inactive a impervious of concept, I'd similar to spot Tecno marque immoderate improvements earlier I could urge the phone. The magnets request to beryllium stronger, and the camera attachments request immoderate work. Still, I spot this instrumentality arsenic the spiritual successor to the Moto Mods of old. But it faces the aforesaid problem: erstwhile the modules go available, Tecno has to committedness to instrumentality to the signifier factor, lest they go paperweights.

Also: I tested Xiaomi's matte-glass tablet for a month, and it efficaciously replaced my iPad

I believed Motorola erstwhile it said it would enactment mods for 4 years (and exceeded that mark, by the way). I don't spot Tecno though. Yes, there's the contented of importing, but Tecno doesn't person the storied estimation that Motorola does. Still, I similar the thought here, and the disposable modules person immoderate bully ideas, if Tecno could propulsion things further.