Tecno Pova 6 Pro review

Competition

Tecno isn't one of the industry's established brands, but it becomes increasingly competitive in the low to mid-range market segments. The Pova 6 Pro is an excellent example of that. The Pova 5 Pro was more than decent for its price last year, but the Pova 6 Pro builds on that reputation and offers even better hardware.

Since the Pova 6 Pro still isn't priced in India, which is one of the key markets for the brand and the phone itself, we will go with the global price of $229 for the base 8GB/256GB configuration. This is pretty much in the same ballpark as last year's Pova 5 Pro.

One of the first competitors that comes to mind is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G. Despite Xiaomi's popular midranger, the Pova 6 Pro gives the Redmi a run for its money. In fact, the Pova 6 Pro will likely undercut the Redmi Note 13 by a significant margin while offering roughly the same hardware but with some key advantages. For Instance, Tecno's contender has longer battery life, more interesting design, it can record excellent QHD videos, charges faster and offers twice the storage. Display quality is comparable. Perhaps the only reason to opt for the Xiaomi is the software preference and the slightly better camera stills at night.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 • Motorola Moto G54 Power • Realme 12 • Samsung Galaxy A15 5G

The Moto G54 Power is another worthwhile consideration and it asks as much as the Pova 6 Pro. However, it fails to impress in the camera and display departments, charging is considerably slower and battery life isn't necessarily better. The Pova 6 Pro beats the Moto G54 Power in its own game.

The Realme 12 also hovers around the same price point and even though we haven't reviewed the device yet, it's hard to imagine that it can keep up with the Pova 6 Pro's charging speed and bettery life. It's also the one with less storage (128GB vs. 256GB) and it has an inferior IPS LCD panel. The Pova 6 Pro's bright OLED panel is a steal for the price.

Maybe the only device that gets close to the Pova 6 Pro spec-wise is the Galaxy A15 5G. It's a bit more expensive than the Pova 6 Pro, but it has similar battery life, better camera experience overall and likely better software support. On the other hand, Tecno's solution has a brighter display, twice the storage, faster charging and is IP53-certified.

Verdict

The Tecno Pova 6 Pro leaves little to complain about. Maybe better low-light processing and another usable camera on the back would have tied the whole thing together, but aside from that, the Pova 6 Pro is a solid all-rounder. It has a decent chipset, great display, extra long battery life (one of the best), fast charging, unorthodox design, high-quality video recording, plenty of storage and exceptional thermal management.

Admittedly, there are some minor details that need to be ironed out, but it wouldn't be fair to complain, given the Pova 6 Pro's price point. Tecno might not be notorious yet, but phones like the Pova 6 Pro give the big guys a run for their money.

Pros

• Unorthodox design with LED strip on the back, IP53-rated.
• Bright 120Hz OLED panel.
• Outstanding battery life.
• One of the fastest charging around.
• Good price/performance ratio, excellent sustained performance.
• Solid camera performance during the day, nice selfies.
• Feature-rich HiOS on top of Android 14.
• 3.5mm jack, dedicated microSD slot, 256GB base storage.
• Generous retail package.

Cons

• Nighttime camera processing needs a bit of work.
• Just one usable camera on the back.