Tecno’s Modular Magnetic Concept Tries Resurrecting a Dead Idea

When it comes to Tecno’s Modular Magnetic Interconnection Technology, the company describes it as a “phone that grows on demand”. A magnetic-based system that allows users to stack components — including various cameras — onto the back of the phone makes it highly adaptable. At least in theory.

This harkens back to Motorola’s doomed Moto Mods system, first introduced for the Moto Z smartphone way back in 2016 and discontinued in 2020. Among the various attachments, it had introduced a Hasselblad camera attachment with 10x optical zoom and its own image sensor. Not to mention wacky parts like a pico projector, Polaroid printer, and gaming controller.

This suite from Tecno is still in the concept phase, so there are no guarantees it ever sees the light of day for consumption, but it makes a case for how such a system could work. I got to check it out up close at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to see just how stacked this thing truly is.

Stacking components on a phone naturally makes the device thicker and heavier, which is why Tecno opted to make the base phone a mere 4.9mm thin. Hence, the internal battery is only 3,000mAh, and there’s just one solitary camera inside. The idea is you can add to those based on what you attach to the back.

Tecno even went so far as to make two prototype variants of the whole suite. The Atom Edition is donned in silver and red, while the Moda Edition is made in dark gray and gold. There are no functional differences between them, though the dark gray one had more working cameras.

The system uses pogo pins to establish the connectivity necessary to get everything working, which explains why additional battery packs don’t use wireless charging at all. For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, the Moda version has two sets of pin connectors compared to the one on the Atom. Whether this is purely aesthetic experimentation or serving a distinct functional purpose is unclear.

Despite that, some wireless connections are necessary to make the cameras work, for instance. The suite includes the Telephoto Lens and Action Camera, both of which use Wi-Fi Direct and mmWave to send a live preview to the phone’s screen. It’s similar in logic to a Xiaomi Magnetic Concept Lens introduced at MWC last year. It’s just that Tecno is keeping such details under wraps, so I can’t be certain if this is ultimately a working combination of the pins and wireless to push the live feed.

The suite includes a variety of components, including the aforementioned cameras, the battery pack, a periscope teleconverter for the phone’s main lens, a microphone (with attachable dead cat), a wireless transmitter, a Wi-Fi router extension (for hotspotting), storage expansion, and a game controller.

While the Atom and Moda variants seem to share a majority of the suite’s attachments, a few were only in the Moda group, like the teleconverter and game controller. The phone itself also lacks a USB-C port, so it needs to charge with a magnetic module instead.

The Action Camera can work independently, and when attached to the included clip, users can clip it onto clothing for a first-person perspective. Footage is saved to the phone, which can stay out of harm’s way in a pocket or bag.

The Battery Pack is even thinner at 4.5mm, with 3,000mAh, and reps tell me there is no limit to how many one can stack on the phone. Put two on, and there’s 9,000mAh combined without making the phone look or feel much thicker than a standard phone in a case. Adding two more to reach 15,000 mAh is probably ridiculous, but it’s entirely possible here. Plus, other modules would still work when stacked on top of those.

The Telephoto Lens is one of the intriguing pieces as a 230mm equivalent with solid glass and a built-in sensor. I took a look but couldn’t find an answer to which exact sensor is inside. The lens itself actually twists off, exposing said sensor underneath, and perhaps indicating that Tecno is at least thinking about this as an interchangeable lens system.

It functions as a standalone system anyway, using the phone’s display as a low-latency preview. As its own camera, it needs a special mode in the phone’s camera app to work, but otherwise appears to have some functionality with the other features within the interface. Image quality is hard to assess given the chaotic conditions on the MWC show floor, and Tecno didn’t have a model or testing ground in its booth.

The built-in grip includes a shutter, an exposure dial, a zoom lever, and a video recording button. Feeling it in hand, it has a sturdy and secure fit with the phone, though it helps that the latter is so lightweight. What’s interesting is that Tecno decided to make the grips look different on each variant, with the Atom sporting a slimmer profile than the Moda.

While the phone lacks a USB-C port, the Telephoto Lens has its own for charging. It’s just missing a standard screw thread underneath, so there’s no visible way to mount it on a tripod. The stackable system lets you place a battery on the phone’s back and then put the Telephoto Lens on top. The combination certainly increases the overall thickness, but not by much compared to using a standard phone with a photography kit consisting of a case and grip. Plus, this feels a little more secure than MagSafe grips, based on my cursory experience here.

Tecno typically plays in the affordable and mid-range smartphone space, so something like the Modular Magnetic system feels like a possible step into a more premium space. I got the same impression with Realme’s Ultra Phone Concept with Leica lenses last year, but haven’t seen that come to fruition, either, so who knows.

The difference with this idea is that it’s not wholly focused on mobile photography and video. Tecno sees this as a way to make a phone adaptable to users with diverse needs. One who prioritizes telephoto photography over the action camera or even gaming could take that route, whereas someone else who wants as much battery life as possible can pursue that. Assuming other unique attachments are in the works, options could also abound further.

For now, it’s all theory until or unless Tecno sees this through and takes it to market.