In the price range of under Ksh. 30,000, we have the Tecno Camon 16 Premier and the Samsung Galaxy A51. These are mid-range phones for those individuals who want good specs on a phone without paying a pretty penny. We put the two phones head to head in a bid to determine which phone gives the most value for money.
Here are the Phone Specifications;
| Tecno Camon 16 |
Samsung Galaxy A51 |
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| Display | Type | LCD touchscreen | AMOLED touchscreen | ||
| Size | 6.9 inches, 116.9 cm2 (~88.7% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.5 inches, 102.0 cm2 (~87.4% screen-to-body ratio) | |||
| Resolution | 1080 x 2460 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels | |||
| HDR10+ 90Hz refresh rate |
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Platform |
Operating System | Android 10, HIOS 6.0 | Android 10, One UI 2.1 | ||
| Chipset |
Mediatek MT6785 Helio G90T (12 nm) |
Exynos 9611 (10nm) |
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| CPU | Octa-core (2×2.05 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
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Octa-core (4×2.3 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.7 GHz Cortex-A53)
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Memory |
RAM | 8GB | 4GB | ||
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Internal |
128GB
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128GB | ||
| External |
MicroSD
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MicroSD | |||
| Network | Technology | 4G LTE |
4G LTE
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SIM | Dual SIM | Dual SIM | ||
| Camera | Main Camera |
64 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1/1.73″, 0.8µm, PDAF |
48 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚ (ultrawide) 5 MP, f/2.4, (macro) 5 MP, f/2.2, (depth) |
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| Selfie Camera | 48 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/2.0″, 0.8µm 8 MP, f/2.2, 105˚ (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm |
32 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8″, 0.8µm | |||
| Battery | Size | Li-Po 4500 mAh, non-removable | Li-Po 4000 mAh, non-removable | ||
| Charging | Fast charging 33W, 70% in 30 min | Fast charging 15W | |||
| Colors |
Glacial Silver |
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Price |
Ksh. 28,400 | Ksh. 29,370 |
Appearance
Both phones have smooth rounded edges and have a premium look about them. They have a glass front and a plastic frame which can make them a magnet for fingerprint smudges. However, the Samsung Galaxy is slimmer and weighs slightly less which essentially makes it much easier to handle than the Camon 16.
The Camon 16 comes with a 6.6 inch FHD+ (1080 x 2460 pixels) LCD display while the Samsung Galaxy A51 comes with a 6.5 inches HD (1080 x 2400 pixels) LED display. On this front you will get a better view on the Camon 16 due to the bigger screen size and higher pixels.
Both screens delivered when it came to consumption of multimedia content such as movies, Youtube and social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook. However, the Camon 16 had an edge due to the bigger screen size and higher pixels.
Camera
The Tecno Camon 16 Premier comes with a quad camera setup at the back which features 64 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide) main camera, 8 MP, f/2.3, 119˚ (ultrawide), 2 MP, f/2.4, (dedicated video camera) and a 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth). On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy A51 also features a quad camera setup which features 48 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚ (ultrawide), 5 MP, f/2.4, (macro), 5 MP, f/2.2, (depth). When it comes to the camera, the Camon 16 which has a higher megapixels main camera has a clear advantage.
The Camon 16 rocks a dual camera setup at the front consisting of 48 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 8 MP, f/2.2, 105˚ (ultrawide). On the other hand, the Galaxy A51 has a 32 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide). As such, the Camon 16 Premier clearly has an upper hand in this aspect.
Performance
The Camon 16 runs on the Mediatek MT6785 Helio G90T (12 nm) and Android 10 (Pie) OS with 8GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage. While the Samsung Galaxy runs on Exynos 9611 (10nm) and also comes with Android 10 OS with 4GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage. The phones held their own when it came to performance but the Galaxy A51 lagged a bit behind in light, moderate and heavy usage. In terms of performance, the Camon 16 clearly trumps the Samsung Galaxy A51. This can be attributed to the bigger RAM but the processor on the phone also has a higher rating on the GeekBench at 6692 (v4.4), 1672 (v5.1) whereas the Galaxy A51 processor has a rating of 5401 (v4.4), 1294 (v5.1).
Battery
The Tecno Camon 16 comes with a 4500 mAh battery while the Samsung Galaxy A51 comes with a 4000 mAh. With a full battery i was able to use the Pouvoir 4 for 2 days on fairly heavy usage. However, the Galaxy A51 which has a slightly smaller battery was able to take me one and a half days . That said, on the battery front, the clear winner here is the Tecno Camon 16 Premier.
Conclusion
Both phones give good value for money, but in this instance given performance and pricing, I have to go with the Tecno Camon 16 Premier.