Tecno has been steadily expanding its footprint in India, catering to both budget-conscious buyers and tech enthusiasts. In this interview, Tecno CEO Arijeet Talapatra talks about the brand’s strategy, its focus markets and its innovative showcase at MWC. He also sheds light on Tecno’s value-driven approach to foldables.
Tell us about Tecno’s journey in India and how the past few months have been. What is your strategy from a brand and product perspective going forward?
Tecno has been in the country since 2017, and we have a very focused consumer-centric approach, especially the Gen-Z. We have a two-fold approach: one, 40 percent consumption is in tier 3 and below, and Tecno is very strong in those markets. We understand that there is a lot of aspiration in that segment, but there is a limitation in terms of means and the price segment. So we want to be super aggressive with our Pop, Spark and Pova series in the Tier 3 and below markets.
In the Pova series, we will also be very aggressive, and we will offer wow products to our consumers in the e-commerce segment. Pova is primarily a performance phone that has a lot to do with gamers. It offers good battery, good RAM, ROM, and wonderful ID like the arch design. And there ar a lot of AI features on offer too.
Then we have our Camon and Phantom series, which will be primarily focusing on the metro, tier-1, and tier-2 regions. For tier-3 and tier-4, it will primarily be our Spark series, and we will be focusing very deeply in terms of distribution with Spark. With Pova, it will be offline and online.
Now, coming to the launches that we have at MWC 2025, there are quite a few industry firsts that we are hearing about. There’s the slimmest phone, the lightest laptop, and others. What is your strategy with these products?
Whenever we come to MWC, we’re very excited because consumers are always surprised and they see something in Tecno that they never expected. Like last year, it was the robotic dog. Then it was Go Pocket, the AR devices that we had. This time, you have seen the Triple Fold concept.
The Spark Slim is the slimmest phone. Then the Camon 40. Then you have the lightest laptop, and we are also doing a lot around our AI phones. Also, we have smart glasses this time. It’s the first time we have showcased our smart classes. So, there are a lot of things around technology, around AIoT and also very premium phones that will really surprise the consumers.
So though we say that our focus will be tier-3 and below, Tecno also wants to showcase that in terms of technology, how aggressive we are and what is the capability of the brand. That’s because apart from India we are present in more than 110 countries, and we have a huge consumer base that expects a lot from us.
There is an ecosystem play too. This includes a phone, earbuds, and AI smart glass. So, going forward, maybe a smartwatch too. So we will be playing around what the consumers use, and also the ecosystem, i.e., the lightest laptop and then the ecosystem around that.
Next question is regarding the foldable segment and the way it has come up over the past few years. Tecno has come up as a surprise brand in the way it has entered and taken a value-driven approach. How are things looking in the coming months and the future?
The entire foldable ecosystem is slowly picking up, and we are happy that, as you know, we were the number 2 brand in India to bring a foldable device, and we were the first brand to bring it below the 100k price point. And even the Phantom V Fold 2 did amazingly well for us. It was very light, sleek and is doing very well. Now, at MWC, you saw the Triple Fold phone. Last year, though it was a concept phone, and we also showed you the rollable phone.
So, in terms of the technology ecosystem, we have the capability to bring and launch the best of the devices. Now, when we do it, that needs to be seen.
