Tecno Spark 30 Pro Transformers Edition hands-on review

Yordan, 06 October 2024

Tecno officially launched the Spark 30 lineup with two phones, vanilla and Pro, joining the Spark 30C from early September. The Spark 30 has a black and yellow Bumblebee variant, while we now present you the Spark 30 Pro in Optimus Prime colors – Red, Blue, and Silver.

The phone comes with an adapter, charging cable, and wired earphones, which is a decent retail package, but here go our impressions of its performance once taken out of the box.

Tecno Spark 30 Pro Transformers Edition hands-on review

The Spark 30 series is for budget-conscious users who still want some excitement, nay, spark, from their phones. The Pro version packs a 6.78" AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution and up to 120 Hz refresh rate. We love that it comes with an under-display fingerprint scanner, which works quickly and reliably.

The Transformers Theme brings custom wallpaper and icon designs to the Spark 30 Pro, and they are definitely something. They might not be to everyone's taste, but if you are buying a phone with its back looking like Optimus Prime, surely you will appreciate if the front also looks like a Transformer.

Tecno did put a 13 MP selfie camera inside the punch hole, but the circle also serves as a hub for notifications. It is called Dynamic Port and is enabled in the Special Function menu through Settings. Just like Dynamic Island on iOS, it epxands to show you notifications for incoming calls and notifications, charging status, media player, and even some tips.

The company came a long way in polishing its customized interface, and despite its many extra features, it no longer feels disorganized. There are Floating Windows, which allows for some multi-window experience; Smart Panel brings shortcuts to the desktop with a single swipe from the side, and there is also Game Mode and Kids Mode for different use-case scenarios.

UI Features

Tecno is so proud of its AI development that it announced it twice in 2024 – once in Barcelona during MWC and again in Berlin during IFA. The Spark 30 Pro is one of the first phones with HiOS having the Tecno AI out of the box, including a Gemini-powered voice assistant called Ella.

AI Eraser: Before and after

We tested the AI assistant, and its performance is alright – nothing extraordinary. It can answer questions and keep a conversation. It is very important not to expect any magic from the Spark 30 Pro, especially offline, because the Helio G100 chipset is somewhat limited in terms of processing power to handle the seven billion adjustable parameters that are inside Gemini.

GeekBench 6

Multi-core
Single-core

Tecno Spark 30 Pro

2013

Helio G100 256GB, 8GB RAM

Poco M6 Pro

1979

Helio G99 Ultra 512GB, 12GB RAM

Infinix Hot 40 Pro

1975

Helio G99 128GB, 8GB RAM

Tecno Spark 20 Pro+

1953

Helio G99 Ultimate 256GB, 8GB RAM

Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G

1942

Helio G99 Ultra 256GB, 8GB RAM

Galaxy A15

1936

Helio G99 128GB, 4GB RAM

AnTuTu

Infinix Hot 40 Pro

386705

Helio G99 128GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2460 px

Poco M6 Pro

386301

Helio G99 Ultra 512GB, 12GB RAM 1080 x 2400 px

Tecno Spark 20 Pro+

386262

Helio G99 Ultimate 256GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2436 px

Tecno Spark 30 Pro

384042

Helio G100 256GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2436 px

Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G

382881

Helio G99 Ultra 256GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2400 px

Galaxy A15

316967

Helio G99 128GB, 4GB RAM 1080 x 2340 px

Tecno Spark 30 Pro has a camera island on the back with no less than four separate circles, but only one is for the 108 MP camera, which is the only usable shooter.

Tecno Spark 30 Pro camera samples

There is a quad-LED flash on the back, and we have to appreciate Tecno implementing a dual-LED flash at the front, embedded in the top bezel. Tecno Spark 30 Pro has an IR blaster positioned on the camera island.

Tecno Spark 30 Pro portrait: 1x • 3x

Tecno Spark 30 Pro selfie: With LED flash • Without LED flash

We did say there are wired earphones in the box, so there's obviously a 3.5 mm audio jack. The Spark 30 Pro also has FM radio, NFC, dual nano-SIM + microSD card tray, and a USB-C port for up to 33W wired charging.

All these features in the same phone make the Spark 30 Pro an extremely attractive device, and that's before considering that it has a 5,000 mAh battery inside a 7.4 mm body.

The Spark 30 Pro is designed for markets where 5G connectivity is not so widespread; the phone has 4.5G, which is LTE Advanced. It does have pre-installed AI features, which is a big selling point for Tecno and why some might pick this phone over the Poco M6 Pro or the Galaxy A15, despite these phones having more cameras or better raw performance.

We have to remember Tecno is a strong player in Africa and Southeast Asia, and this is where we expect to see the Spark 30 Pro perform well. This month it should reach markets like Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya, where the phone is expected to cost around $200 for the 8/128 GB version, and about $220 for the 8/256 GB option.