It primarily uses magnets to connect the various components.
Add Engadget on GoogleTecnoTecno just unveiled a rather intriguing modular smartphone concept design at MWC 2026. The standout feature here is likely the size. Most modular smartphone concepts start bulky and only get bulkier once attaching accessories. Tecnos base smartphone is just 4.9mm thin, which is significantly thinner than a pencil and the iPhone Air.
Of course, the size increases with each attached module. However, snapping on the power bank module makes the thickness comparable to a standard modern smartphone. Another key feature here is how these various modular components stick together. Tecno has developed new interconnection technology that uses both magnets and pin connectors. This should make it easy to both attach and remove components.
The company says this phone has been designed to grow with the user through hardware expansion. To that end, Tecno has developed 10 modules. There are various camera lenses and something that looks like a dedicated gaming controller.
TecnoWhile the magnets are for attaching, the pin connectors assist with power delivery. Data transmission between the phone and the modules is handled wirelessly, with the ability to switch between Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and mmWave depending on where the user is located.
There are two colorways for both the phone and the ecosystem of accessories. Theres a silver-aluminum edition and a nifty-looking grey version. This doesnt matter to actual consumers because, well, its just a concept design. It does look like the companys magnetic attachment technology could make it to some actual products down the line.
Tecno has always been a company that marched to the beat of its own drummer. It has developed a surprisingly affordable foldable phone, a model with a pop-out portrait lens and a foldable with a novel circular display on the exterior.
The industry hasnt quite embraced modular smartphones just yet, even though there have been some nifty concept designs. Googles Project Ara prototype goes back more than a decade, and the same can be said of other concept designs that never saw the light of day.
There have been some modular phones released to the real world, but they werent nearly as ambitious as Tecnos concept. LG launched a semi-modular phone called the G5 back in 2016, but it didnt move too many units. Moto has also released a couple of semi-modular smartphones, but they didnt set the world on fire.
