Tecno Pova 5 Pro review

Competition

Although the competition in this price segment in India is pretty packed, the Tecno Pova 5 Pro stands out not only with design but with decent performance, fast charging, good camera experience and highly customizable and feature-rich HiOS. It's not the most popular Android overlay out there, but we are surprised by its responsiveness and functionality.

The first two competitors that come to mind are the popular Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G and 5G. The former is slightly more affordable than the Pova 5 Pro, while the latter starts at INR 17,000 - about INR 2,000 above the target price. Both devices offer superior display quality as they rock OLED panels at 120Hz instead of LCDs and have longer battery endurance. The Pova 5 Pro surprises with an arguably better camera, faster charging and a marginally faster chipset. Depends on the scenario, though.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G • Xiaomi Redmi Note 12

Alternatively, Samsung has a couple of phones in the same price bracket - the Galaxy A14 5G and the Galaxy M14. Both are very similar phones with little to no difference. The A14 5G usually comes with Dimensity 700 for most markets but can also be found with an Exynos 1330, just like the M14. The latter also has faster wired charging.

Samsung Galaxy A14 5G • Samsung Galaxy M14 • Realme 11x

However, neither Galaxy offers better value than the Tecno. The Dimensity 6080 is noticeably faster, the charging speed on the Pova 5 Pro is far superior, and the base storage is 128GB instead of 64GB. The only real advantage of the Samsung duo is their battery endurance.

Lastly, we have the recently released Realme 11x, which comes with a similar chipset (Dimensity 6100+) and almost identical display. It's too early to comment on the camera performance, but the Pova 5 Pro has the more recent camera sensor, as the 64MP variety is pretty dated. And interestingly enough, Tecno's offering is faster at charging, too, and that used to be Realme's territory up until recently.

Verdict

All in all, the Tecno Pova 5 Pro is a solid midranger, with the only glaring drawback being battery life. Pretty much all competitors out there have better endurance, but no one can beat the Pova 5 Pro when it comes to charging. We hope that will be enough to persuade you because the Pova 5 Pro is an easy recommendation. There are only a couple of rivals running better displays, too.

Moreover, the Pova 5 Pro has exceptional sustained performance, dependable performance, great camera experience all-around (even supports 2K video recording, which is a rare find in this class), unorthodox design and feature-rich software. We understand how big-brand names sound more enticing, but the Pova 5 Pro seems like a great proposition for anyone in India looking for a smartphone in the sub-INR 15,000 segment (regardless of whether gaming is a priority or not).

Pros

• Unorthodox design with RGB LED strip on the back.
• Unrivaled fast charging.
• Good price/performance ratio, excellent sustained performance.
• Great camera experience day and night.
• Feature-rich HiOS on top of Android 13.
• 3.5mm jack, dedicated microSD slot, 128GB base storage.
• Generous retail package.

Cons

• Battery life could be better.
• You can find phones with OLEDs for the same price.
• No 120Hz gaming, even in optimized games.