Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: An Affordable Gaming Smartphone

Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review Summary:

Editor’s rating: 3.7/5

Tecno has launched two new smartphones in India as a part of the Pova Series – Pova 5 5G and Tecno Pova Pro 5G. We got a chance to experience the Tecno Pova 5 Pro model for review purposes that comes with a glass finish design for a price of under 15k. To make Pova 5 Pro 5G stylish, the brand has tried to give it a Nothing like LED design for the rear panel, that too at a very less price. However, there is lots of difference between the two, but the glass back LED design does make the Tecno Pova 5 Pro look premium.

The Pova 5 Pro 5G also comes with MediaTek 6080 chipset, 120Hz display, 50MP primary camera, and more. With all these features, the question arises if the smartphone is really an all-rounder or if is it limited to specs on paper only. Let us find the answer to this question by diving into the Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review.

Jump To..

• Unboxing
• Price and availability
• Design
• Display
• Performance
• Camera
• Battery
• Should you buy Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G?

Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G: Price & Availability In India

The Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G comes in the following storage configurations-

• 8GB RAM+128GB storage- Rs. 14,999
• 8GB RAM+256GB storage- Rs. 15,999

It is available in Dark Illusion and Silver Fantasy shades. The sale will begin tomorrow (22^nd August) online as well as offline.

Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Specs

Specs	Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G
Software	Android 13 with HiOS 13.1
Display	7.68-inch FHD+ IPS LCD panel with 120Hz refresh rate
SoC	MediaTek Dimensity 6080
RAM	8GB
Storage	up to 256GB
Rear cameras	50MP+AI Camera
Front Camera	16MP
Battery	5000mAh
Charging	68W
Thickness	9mm
Weight	214 grams
Connectivity	5G SA/NSA. Bluetooth 5.2, dual-band WiFi 6, GPS, Type-C port, dual SIM slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, side fingerprint sensor, and more.

Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Unboxing

Tecno Pova 5 Pro comes in a white colored cardboard box that has blue lines on it to promote the lighting back of the device. The box has a Hi-res audio certification sticker on the side and on opening it you will see a polythene with the name and key specs written on it. Inside this polythene is the device. The white cardboard box contains-

• Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G handset
• Protective case
• 68W charger
• Type-C cable
• User manual
• Warranty card
• SIM ejector

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Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Design

The Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G has a new and unique design. The smartphone has a flat design and looks premium when looked at from the rear panel side. The rear panel has 4 LED lighting strips, out of which 3 form a triangle while the 4th one is a straight line in the middle. These lights work while calling, listening to music, and indicating notifications. At that time, these look attractive and make the smartphone look stylish. The glass back rear panel is a smudge magnet and the worst part is that these smudges are too clearly visible.

Along with being stylish, Pova 5 Pro is strong as well. The build quality is solid and the device never slips from the hand. At the front is a large display with thin bezels and a punch-hole camera cutout for a selfie lens. At the sides is a metal frame with the left edge housing a sim slot. The right edge has a power button and volume rockers while the bottom edge houses a speaker grille, Type-C port, audio jack, and microphone. At the top edge is the secondary speaker.

Although the build is decent with a metal frame and flat design, but the device feels bulky with a weight of 214 grams. Most of the smartphones these days weigh under 200 grams so this one feels heavy. Although when you hold it in hand, it doesn’t feel that bulky, but weight could have been reduced a little.

Arc Interface

The lighting strips at the back have been named the Arc Interface by Tecno. These lights blink in different colors while charging, calling, etc. The colors can be changed by going to settings and then backlight effects. We tested these indoors wherein they looked bright but outdoors they seem faded. 4

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Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Display

Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G sports a 6.78-inch FHD+ LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate. We had a good experience with this display. The colors in every frame are sharp and bright. Even without HDR support, videos on Netflix and Prime Video look good. Although the colors look too bright even after the color temperature is set to warm, the dynamic range is just about average as well. However, for a price of under 15k, the display is decent.

One good thing about the display is its brightness. Even under bright sunlight, the screen is clearly visible. 120Hz refresh rate ensures a smooth display experience.

Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Camera

Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G comes with a dual camera setup at the back. It includes a 50MP primary sensor and a secondary AI camera with dual flash LED light present on the camera module. In daylight, the images clicked with the primary camera have accurate colors and ample detailing. The low-light clicks are decent as well.

The drawback is that the secondary lens is an AI camera but without ultrawide or depth sensors. You can use this camera to record 30fps videos at 2K and 60fps videos at Full HD resolution, which is ok considering the price of the smartphone.

There is a 16MP selfie camera at the front. The selfie sensor keeps the skin tone as natural as possible in default mode, which I loved. There is a separate mode to beautify your selfies for those who need social media-worthy shots. The photos clicked indoors also have good detailing. The colors are nice although the sharpness is less.

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Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Performance

Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 6080 5G SoC produced by TSMC.  The chipset ensures all-day usage seamlessly. On a regular office day, I used the device for calling, mailing, messaging, WhatsApp media sharing, listening to music on Spotify, running benchmark tests, and more. During this time, I experienced no problems with it.

Talking about gaming, any heavy game (like COD or Freefire) can be played on Tecno Pova 5 Pro with medium settings. One more advantage of this new SoC is that even after long gaming sessions, the temperature of the device doesn’t rise much. We experienced a slight warmth after a 30-minute gaming session which is pretty normal.

It comes in 2 storage options- 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB.

Here are the results of some benchmark tests run on the device.

Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G runs HiOS 13.1 based on Android 13. The interface of the device is slightly different from other smartphones. For example, swiping from left to right brings up a feed that has main apps, a step counter, sharpness, and more. Scrolling from top to bottom on the left side displays notifications while scrolling from top to bottom on the right side shows settings. The interface is easy and you will get used to it within 2-3 days.

The Pova 5 Pro 5G comes with Game Space Feature as well. It allows you to switch between different modes easily while gaming. If you need to charge your device while gaming, there is a Bypass Charging feature as well. To celebrate your victory in the game, you can use the backlight effect by synchronizing it with the game.

The best part is that even for a price of under 15000, the Pova 5 Pro doesn’t have much bloatware. The ones which are there can be ignored for a device at this price point.

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Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Battery

Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G packs a 5000mAh battery under the hood. During our usage, we didn’t have to charge it during the day. We used social media, gaming, calling, content streaming, and more throughout the day. It lasted easily the entire day.

If you are a heavy user, then you can use the 68W adapter bundled inside the box to recharge the device. With this adapter, the smartphone charges to 50% in 20 minutes and from 0 to 100% in around 50 minutes.

Tecno battery lab 3.0 has tried to increase the battery life slightly. You can charge while gaming using the bypass charging feature. According to the company, this feature bypasses the phone battery to charge it directly. Also, neither the battery nor the device heats up while charging.

Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review Verdict: Should you buy it?

Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G is a stylish smartphone with a budget of Rs. 15,000. The brand has tried to give a reliable chipset, powerful battery, and a stylish design to its consumers at this price point. There is 5G support as well. Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G comes with Dimensity 6080 chipset, 120Hz display, and good battery life. Although you feel the inadequacy of an AMOLED display and a camera setup with an ultrawide/macro lens. The primary sensor gives decent results so if you overlook slight niggles, then Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G can be your choice if you are looking for an affordable gaming smartphone.