In the price range of under Ksh. 14,000, we have the Tecno Spark 5 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy A10s. These are basically budget phones and they are for those individuals who are looking to get the latest features in a phone without spending a fortune.
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 Spark 5 Pro |
Samsung Galaxy A10s |
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| Display | Type | LCD touchscreen | TFT touchscreen | ||
| Size | 6.6 inches, 105.2 cm2 (~83.7% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.2 inches, 95.9 cm2 (~80.7% screen-to-body ratio) | |||
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels | 720 x 1520 pixels | |||
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Platform |
Operating System | Android 10, HIOS 6.1 | Android 9.0 (Pie), One UI 2.0 | ||
| Chipset |
MediaTek Helio A25 (12 nm) |
Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22 (12 nm) |
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| CPU | Octa-core (4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4×1.5 GHz Cortex-A53) | Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 | |||
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Memory |
RAM | 4GB | 2GB | ||
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Internal |
128GB
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32GB | ||
| 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 |
16 MP, f/1.8, PDAF |
13 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), AF 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth) |
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| Selfie Camera | 8 MP, f/2.0, (wide) | 8MP, f/2.0 | |||
| Battery | Size | Non-removable 5000 mAh battery | Non-removable 4000 mAh battery | ||
| Charging | Micro USB Port | Micro USB Port | |||
| Colors | Ice Jadeite, Spark Orange, Seabed Blue, Cloud White |
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Price |
Ksh. 13,999 | Ksh. 13,999 |
Appearance
Both phones have smooth rounded edges and have a premium look about them. They have a glass front and a plastic frame. However, the Samsung Galaxy A10s is slimmer and weighs slightly less at which makes it much easier to handle than the Spark 5 Pro.
The Spark 5 Pro comes with a 6.6 inch HD (720 x 1600) LCD display while the Samsung Galaxy A10s comes with a 6.2 inches HD (720 x 1520 pixels) TFT display. On this front you will definitely get a better view on the Spark 5 Pro due to the bigger screen size.
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 Spark 5 Pro had an edge due to the better and bigger screen and higher pixels.
Camera
The Tecno Spark 5 Pro comes with a triple camera setup at the back which features a f/1.8 16 MP primary sensor, 2 MP ultrawide sensor, 2MP depth sensor and a QVGA camera. On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy A10s rocks a f/1.8 13 MP main camera and a 2MP depth sensor. On this aspect, the Spark 5 Pro which has a triple camera setup which is AI powered camera has a clear advantage.
Both phones rock a 8 MP front camera, however, the Spark 5 Pro also incorporates AI technology to make your selfies more vivid and flawless.
Performance
The Tecno Spark 5 runs on a Mediatek Helio A25 processor and has the Android 10, HIOS 6.1 4GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage. On the other hand the Samsung Galaxy A10s comes with a Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22, Android 9.0 (Pie), One UI 2.0 and 2GB of RAM and 32GB internal storage
The Spark Pro handled multiple tasks with ease but the Samsung Galaxy A10s lagged a behind in light, moderate and heavy usage. In terms of performance, the Tecno Spark 5 Pro clearly trumps the Samsung Galaxy A10s which is understandable given the bigger RAM.
Battery
The Tecno Spark 5 Pro comes with a 5000 mAh battery while the Samsung Galaxy A10s comes with a 4000 mAh. With a full battery i was able to use the Spark 5 Pro for a day and a half on fairly heavy usage. However, the Samsung Galaxy A10s which has a smaller battery was able to take me a full day courtesy of power management options that help it to optimise battery usage. That said, on the battery front, the clear winner here is the Tecno Spark 5 Pro.
Both phones come with a micro-USB port which makes charging a tedious affair if you are used to a Type C.
Conclusion
The Tecno Spark 5 Pro clearly trumps the Samsung Galaxy A10s when it comes to matters performance, battery life and the camera. As such in this duel, i have to go with Tecno Spark 5 Pro.