The Tecno Spark 5 Pro which was launched earlier this month, is the latest entrant into the Spark series of phones. It is essentially an upgraded version of the Tecno Spark 5 which was released earlier this year.
The Spark series of phones has proven to be quite popular with the masses as it brings some of the high-end features to a mid-range phone. I took the Spark 5 Pro out for a test drive and here are my thoughts;
Appearance
The Tecno Spark 5 Pro just like its other siblings in the Tecno family comes with smoothed out edges that make it easy to handle. The Seabed blue color on the unit I have has given it a cool and premium look.
The Spark 5 comes with a 6.6 inch HD touchscreen with 16 M colors. Courtesy of the big screen, I found that my consumption of media on say, Youtube, Instagram, TikTok to be more enjoyable as compared to phones with a smaller screen. The screen has 720×1600 pixels, which though not full HD produces some colours.
Just like the Spark 5, the Pro comes with a hole punch on the left for the selfie camera.
Camera
The phones comes with a 8 MP front camera, which takes some pretty decent selfies. Other than the 8 MP camera, the phone also incorporates AI technology to make your selfie more vivid and flawless.
The phone has a Quad camera set up at the back and it features a 16-megapixel primary sensor of an f/1.8 aperture, an 2MP ultra-wide lens of 120-degree field of view, a 2MP depth sensor and a QVGA camera. It takes some decent pictures, check them out below;
Performance
The phone comes with a 4GB RAM, 128GB internal storage and is powered by an MediaTek Helio A25 Processor. This is a significant upgrade from the Spark 5 which had 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage and a MediaTek Helio A22. Processor It also comes with Android 10 Pie OS and HIOS 6.1. The bigger RAM and better processor means that the phone handles multitasking with ease.
For the gamers, the phone comes with a game mode that ensures that one has an immersive gaming experience. One can be able to play light games like Asphalt 9 with ease but here was some lag when it came to heavier games like Call of Duty or PUBG.
One thing that I don’t like about the Tecno phones is the annoying ads and bloatware which come with HiOS, however, I was able to get around this by using a Microsoft launcher which got rid of them.
Fingerprint Sensor
Fingerprint sensors have made unlocking phones that much easier, the Spark 5 Pro sensor is located at the back of the phone. It can save up to five fingerprints and it is fast and accurate.
Facial Recognition
Artificial Intelligence technology allows users to unlock their phones using facial recognition. The phone does this by scanning the 296 unique recognition points of their faces improving accuracy. It’s pretty fast and nifty.
Sound
The sound on the Spark 5 Pro is not that bad and it is something that one can work with. The speaker s conveniently located at the bottom so you can listen to your music whichever way you place the phone. The earphones which come with the phone though not the best I have ever experienced actually produce some decent sound.
Storage
The phone comes with 128 GB internal storage with the option of expanding it using a Micro SD. The 128 GB should be adequate to store your photos and documents but the option to expand the memory is always welcome.
Battery
The Tecno Spark 5 Pro comes with a 5000 mAh battery which was able to last me one and a half days with heavy usage which included gaming, TikTok and a heavy call rotation. I was able to extend this to two days by using the battery saver option when the battery level got to 20%.
On moderate usage, I was able to get 72 hours on this phone without having to recharge. This was with the use of voice calls and Social Media apps such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp.
If you are like me who values battery life, you will definitely enjoy this phone. The only drawback is that it does not have a fast charge option as such you have to wait for it to charge for over two and a half hours.
Conclusion
For what can be considered a budget phone, the Spark 5 Pro handles quite well. I would definitely recommend it if one is in need of a good smartphone on a budget. Also, the price point of Ksh. 14,000 makes it affordable to many.