TECNO Pova 5 Pro review: Should you buy it?

The TECNO Pova 5 Professional’s design is undoubtedly one among its standout options. The earlier Pova 4 sequence featured related geometric patterns, however now the Pova 5 Professional takes it up a notch with a mixture of clear panels and LED strips on the again. It quantities to a futuristic really feel that’s actually impressed by the Nothing Cellphone however continues to be eye-catching and classy. Not like the Nothing Cellphone 1, nonetheless, you may customise the backlights between 9 totally different colours and pulsation patterns inside the settings. Which means you may have quite a lot of notification LED results that reply to incoming calls and texts, sign when the machine is charging, or point out battery life as a useful visible cue.

You’ll be able to even set the sunshine results to flash in sync with the music you’re listening to, which provides a enjoyable issue you may exhibit to your mates. Nonetheless, you might wish to hearken to music utilizing the included wired earbuds, or a greater pair of wi-fi buds, provided that the stereo audio system can begin to sound harsh at excessive volumes. Sadly, the sunshine results are restricted to the highest half of the telephone. I want that TECNO had adorned the complete bottom with LED strips to provide it a extra pronounced impact. Moreover, the plastic bottom of the telephone is extraordinarily vulnerable to fingerprints. These had been fairly noticeable on the Darkish Phantasm mannequin of the Pova 5 Professional I examined, which is a darkish, metallic navy blue.

The 6.78-inch show with a 120Hz refresh charge supplies a reasonably clean person expertise, particularly for enjoying cell video games. On the subject of the show, I discovered the brightness ranges may very well be improved. The Pova 5 Professional peaks at 580 nits, which will be difficult in direct daylight.

Underneath the hood, the MediaTek Dimensity 6080 SoC ensures most duties are dealt with with ease. It gives barely larger CPU and GPU efficiency than the MediaTek Dimensity 700 discovered within the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G. I attempted just a few of the video games from the pre-installed recreation app, AHA Video games, akin to Racing Limits and Amongst Us, with none noticeable points to the attention. The TECNO Pova 5 Professional additionally managed to run extra demanding video games like Genshin Impression adequately with out getting overly scorching, although not on the efficiency ranges of flagship units.

In addition to AHA Video games, there’s loads of bloatware put in upon startup. There have been practically a dozen apps and providers I’ll by no means use and needed to take away manually, akin to WOW FM, WPF Workplace, Visha Participant, T-SPOT, Welife, Hello translate, and Carlcare, to call just a few. A few of these could also be particular to the Latin American mannequin of the telephone I reviewed, and others could pertain to totally different areas.

I discovered HiOS to be similar to MIUI discovered on Xiaomi telephones with an iOS-like drop-down menu, however not as closely skinned total. The Pova 5 Professional can be set to obtain two years of OS updates over its lifetime, solely taking it to Android 15. It’s higher than nothing, however regardless that the group at TECNO says it should resolve any code vulnerabilities or errors detected throughout those self same two years, we’d choose not less than an extended safety replace coverage.

The TECNO Pova 5 Professional units itself aside within the price range class with its quick charging speeds. Not solely does it boast a hefty 5,000mAh battery, which I averaged about eight hours of display screen time with on a single cost, however I by no means actually anxious about hitting zero because of the 68W charging capabilities. TECNO claims you may cost the telephone to 50% battery in quarter-hour with the included wall charger, and the Pova 5 Professional lived as much as these claims in our testing, give or take a few minutes. These speeds are particularly helpful for fast top-ups on the go, although you’ll have to maintain the bespoke charger useful.

TECNO additionally claims it solely takes 45 minutes for a full cost, which is correct, however I may really feel the telephone getting heat whereas slurping up all that juice so shortly, so I’m cautious of the long-term results that may have on battery well being. Nonetheless, there’s a bypass charging function just like Samsung’s, which may skip the battery and provide energy on to the telephone. This may cut back warmth whereas utilizing the telephone when plugged in, particularly whereas gaming.

The 50MP main rear digicam and the 16MP selfie shooter seize first rate photos when given ample mild, however low-lighting circumstances can endure in high quality and look a bit grainy. The rear digicam bins all the way down to 12.5MP by default, however you may shoot within the full 50MP if you want, although there hardly is any noticeable distinction until you pixel peep. The rear digicam can zoom digitally as much as 10x, however you’ll lose element and achieve picture noise for something past 2x.

Within the default digicam app, the AI CAM function is enabled by default, which is able to mechanically regulate photos to look their finest, not less than in idea. I discovered in most outside settings, it might probably enhance the sting detection and dynamic vary, however did make some colours look a bit too saturated. For essentially the most half, I opted for a simple point-and-shoot expertise with out AI.

The front-facing selfie digicam is fairly good, with pure colours and sharpness dependable sufficient for many conditions. I discovered the wonder filters to melt and clean my pores and skin an excessive amount of, however the portrait impact does an ideal job of blurring the background whereas conserving me in full element. You’ll be able to view a gallery of pattern photos right here.

For these eager on video recording, the machine’s rear digicam maxes out at 1440p at 30fps, which is commendable for its value vary. Most price range units high out at 1080p, which solely the front-facing digicam does on the Pova 5 Professional. Movies can come out a bit shaky and never all the time the sharpest, however that’s to be anticipated.

Total, the TECNO Pova 5 Professional 5G gives a mix of favor, efficiency, and worth with out breaking the financial institution. Its distinctive design, first rate cameras, spectacular battery life, and quick charging make it an honest alternative in its value vary, if you will get previous the software program quirks. For individuals who get pleasure from mild cell gaming and a singular design with notification LEDs in a mid-tier machine, the Pova 5 Professional 5G emerges as a noteworthy alternative.

When you stay in North America, the U.Ok., or the remainder of Europe, you sadly gained’t be capable of purchase the TECNO Pova 5 Professional domestically. Nonetheless, if you’re searching for one thing related, these choices are value contemplating:

• Samsung Galaxy A14 5G ($199.99 at Samsung): Samsung’s well-liked price range telephone won’t have practically as quick charging speeds, nevertheless it does boast an equal battery life, with a extra versatile triple digicam setup and longer replace dedication.
• TCL 40 XE 5G ($169 at Verizon): The TCL 40 XE 5G doesn’t have as a lot storage or RAM, however it’s lighter in weight and in bloatware, with the identical chipset because the Galaxy A14 5G, to not point out cheaper.
• Motorola Moto G 5G (2023) ($199 at Amazon): This entry-level telephone from Motorola has the identical refresh charge and comparable battery life, and a inventory Android expertise.
• Redmi Word 12 Professional or Professional Plus ($285 at Amazon): The Redmi Word 12 Professional contains a related UI and has practically as quick 67W wired charging speeds. It additionally has a brighter OLED show in addition to an ultrawide digicam, and 4K video recording capabilities for round $20 extra. The 12 Professional Plus is about $100 extra however doubles the charging speeds and has a 200MP digicam.