Tenor D2 (10.or) Quick Review: A Good Enough Entry Level Smartphone

Entry-level smartphones are notorious for compromising either on the performance or features. In its quest to deliver decent and affordable all-rounder, Amazon has launched Tenor D2 that will succeed its previously launched Tenor D.

The phone finds tough contenders in other low budget smartphones that fall under the Rs. 8,000 mark, such as Xiaomi’s Redmi 5A, Samsung Galaxy J4, and Huawei’s Honor 6A. Is Tenor D an alternative you could consider over Xiaomi’s Redmi devices? Let’s discuss that and more in our Tenor D2 quick review.

10.or D2 Specifications

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What’s in the Retail Box:

• A 5 V-1 A Power Adapter
• One Tenor D2 Handset
• One SIM/SD card tray remover pin
• Instruction Pamphlet
• Tenor’s customer care support pamphlet

Tenor D2: Design and Display

The phone is mainly plastic, with an ordinary design and non-removable back cover. It is lightweight, with a matte coating on its rear, giving the overall handset a look that is expected of most low range smartphones.

The phone is very compact, has curved edges, has a micro-USB port on the bottom edge and 3.5 mm jack slot at the top edge. The volume and power buttons are present on its right edge. The buttons work quite well, giving satisfactory feedback.

As for the phone’s screen, Tenor D2 sports a 5.45 inch HD+ IPS LCD display (bigger than Tenor D) with 1440×720 pixels resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio, which can be counted as decent for the price. The display quality is typical of an entry-level phone, which may not impress video enthusiasts and gamers.

There are beefy bezels above and below the display but the navigation buttons are still on-screen. Also a centrally aligned dedicated fingerprint sensor, found on its predecessor Tenor D, is absent in Tenor D2. A significant portion of the phone’s rear surface at the bottom is dedicated to its speaker, that works just fine. The speaker comes fed with Awinic sound algorithm.

The device is available in Beyond Black and Glow Gold hue options.

Tenor D2: Performance, Memory, and Software

Software- Tenor D2 features Android 8.1 Oreo with Stock Android atop. This is an upgrade to mark, given that the previous Tenor phone, as well as many low range phones still come with Android Nougat OS. Since this phone is a product by Amazon factory, it comes loaded with some ingrained Amazon apps like the Kindle App for its readers, Amazon’s personal voice assistant Alexa, Amazon Music store, and Amazon Prime video. The interface is still close to stock Android

Performance and Hardware- Tenor D2 comes in 2 memory variants- 2GB RAM + 16GB memory and 3GB RAM + 32GB memory combo, the later being expandable upto 128GB via microSD (dedicated slot). The combination can be mostly spotted on most low range phones, therefore this configuration is completely justified in Tenor D2.

In case of chipset, the Tenor D2 encases the mediocre Snapdragon 425 processor. Although this would mean gamers in the house must stay away, we cannot really complain much, keeping in mind the cost of this phone.

Tenor D2: Battery and Camera

Battery- Speaking about Tenor D2 battery, the mobile gets charged up quickly. This can be listed as its plus point, given that not too many phones in this range offer such speedy results. Even better is its battery’s performance, which can survive one full day in single charging with normal to medium usage.

Camera- The 5MP front camera, assisted by a single wash LED flashlight. You will also find a 13MP rear camera for primary photography. While we haven’t tested the camera much at the time of writing the review, we don’t have high camera expectation. That’s true for almost every phone under 10,000 INR.

Tenor D2: Price and Availability

The 2GB RAM/16GB internal storage variant has been priced at Rs 6,999 by Tenor D2, while the 3GB RAM/32GB internal memory (expandable up to 128GB via microSD) variant has been priced at Rs. 7,999. The phone will go live for sale on August 28, exclusively via Amazon India. Prime users have a good news, as Tenor D2 will go live for its Prime customers on August 27 itself, during Prime early access sale.

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Tenor D2 Quick Review: Our Take

Tenor has performed minor upgrade exercise on its existing phone Tenor D, and launched Tenor D2. Surprisingly, Tenor has removed the fingerprint sensor, even with an increase in price. Overall, the Tenor D2 is a fairly customary handset with no specific feature that stands out. Having said that, it’s hard to complain or expect anything grander for the price. We will continue testing the handset and will return with our final verdict after we are done with our full review.