In modern society, smartphones have gained special importance. After all, now it is not just a means of communication, but, literally, a reliable friend and assistant in everyday life. Therefore, users have increased requirements for these devices: response speed, quality cameras, a wide range of additional features and, of course, a pleasant, stylish design. I always want the smartphone to be quite productive and, at the same time, affordable. That’s exactly what the new Spark 7 from TECNO Mobile is. The device is positioned as a practical device for young, active people who value a balance between price and quality. Let’s take a closer look.
| Processor | MediaTek Helio P22 (12 nm), 4×1.8 GHz + 4×1.5 GHz, PowerVR Rogue GE8320 graphics |
| Operating system | Android 11 with HIOS 7.5.0 shell |
| Memory | 4/128 GB, separate microSD slot |
| Screen | 6.5′′, IPS, HD+, 1600×720 pixel resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, Asahi glass |
| Battery | 5000 mAh |
| Main camera | 16 MP, AF, f/1.8, 1.12um + 0.08 MP |
| Front camera | 8 MP, f/2.0 |
| SIM card | 2nd Nano-SIM |
| Network and data transmission | GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Sensors | zoom, light, accelerometer, face recognition, fingerprint scanner, VoLTE support, VoWiFi |
| More | NFC |
| Set | headset, charging unit, USB – microUSB cable, documentation |
| Materials | Plastic |
| Dimensions (height, width, thickness) | 164.82×76.05×9.52 mm |
It should be noted that the prices of Spark 7 smartphones are quite democratic. 4/64 GB costs about $145, and the version 4/128 GB costs about $160. Not bad at all.
The first thing that meets customers when the device is in their hands is, of course, a box. It is compact and narrow, in bright orange color. On the front side there is a blue holographic Spark 7 logo, and on the back there is a brief list of technical characteristics. Overall, quite pleasant.
Inside the box lies the smartphone itself, but we’ll move on to it a little later. Under the thin cardboard lid there is a plastic bumper for your smartphone. The material is partially glossy and partly matte, durable, at the bottom you can see the Manchester City FC logo (TECNO has been the official global partner of this football club since 2016).
In addition, you can find a power adapter and a USB cable for charging the device in the box. There is also a SIM eject tool. Our box also includes a headset. The accessories are all in white. There is a user manual, security information and a warranty card. As you can see, there’s nothing extra in the set – just the most necessary things.
The Spark 7 has a certain “character” to it. It looks stylish, restrained, and not without a twist. For review, we were provided with a model in Spruce Green color and, in our subjective opinion, this is the most interesting color in the lineup. The soft color of the green spruce fits perfectly with the sophisticated design of the device, giving it an accentuated elegance. At the first glance at the smartphone, it seems that when choosing a color scheme, the developer skillfully used the Panton palette.
The back is matte plastic. It creates a pleasant tactile feeling and prevents slipping in your hand. The TECNO Spark logo is placed in the lower left corner. In the upper left corner there is a block with cameras, and next to it there is a fingerprint scanner.
The unlock/power and volume buttons are located at the right end of the device. On the left side we see a slot for two nanoSIM cards and microSD. The bottom edge of the smartphone is occupied by a microphone, microUSB connector and 3.5 mm audio connector.
The display occupies the entire surface in front. At its top in the center there is a small drop with a front camera, on both sides of it there is a flash. There’s a speaker slot above the camera. The smartphone is pleasantly thin, with a streamlined shape with rounded corners, and an overall great build quality, with no creaks and squeaks.
The Spark 7 features an IPS display with a 6.52-inch diagonal, protected by Asahi glass. The screen resolution is 1600×720 pixels, namely HD+ with good detail. The aspect ratio is 20:9, which makes it elongated, like most modern smartphone models. Density is 269 ppi and refresh rate is 60 Hz. The display supports 5 simultaneous touches.
Maximum brightness level makes it easy to view content on a bright sunny day. When the default mode is enabled, the colors look juicy and contrasting with the prevalence of cold shades. In eyesight protection mode, the screen becomes warm and saturated colors become more muted. There is also an adaptive adjustment option that changes brightness depending on the level of ambient lighting.
In general, the screen settings are basic. Among the most useful: you can adjust the brightness, change the theme, turn on accidental protection, adjust the screen shutdown time.
This smartphone is equipped with a basic dual AI camera with a resolution of 16 megapixels, a focal length of 4.05 mm and four flashes. A new AI lens has been added to this model, which improves the quality of photography in low light. There’s also an 8x zoom. Among the features of the main camera, we can note the “bokeh in video” function, which provides spectacular blurring of the background, and a smile detector.
The app has several major modes: slow motion, video, AI CAM, beauty, portrait, AR shooting, panorama, documents and slow motion. In AI CAM mode, which is enabled by default, the camera automatically recognizes scenarios and selects the best settings for them. For added convenience, Google Lens is available. Manual adjustment of the camera, such as white balance, exposure, is not available in this device.
The front-facing camera has an 8 MP resolution with a focal length of 2.68 mm and is complemented by two flashes. In intelligent shooting mode, you can take good selfies without bothering with additional settings.
But nothing illustrates the quality of cameras better than photos taken in real conditions. We tested the Spark 7 camera:
ALL PHOTOS IN THE ORIGINAL RESOLUTION
The processor in the Spark 7 is the 12-nm 8-core MediaTek Helio P22 (MT6762) (4×1.8 GHz and 4×1.5 GHz). That is, 4 cores operate at a maximum clock speed of up to 1.8 GHz, the remaining 4 are up to 1.5 GHz.
The graphics are the responsibility of the Imagination Technologies PowerVR GE8320 chip.
The amount of RAM provided by the manufacturer, depending on the modification, is 4, 3 or 2 GB. The model provided to us has 4 GB. With this volume, the smartphone easily copes with the main tasks and its responsiveness does not raise any questions.
Storage also varies depending on the model and can be either 128 GB, 64 GB or 32 GB.
It is worth noting that smartphones with 32 GB of ROM are equipped with 2 GB of RAM, which is not enough at the moment for optimal performance of the mobile device. Storage can be extended with microSD.
As for smartphones in this segment, the current hardware can be considered sufficient but, of course, don’t expect miracles here. In general, the smartphone works fast, everything is fine with responsiveness, lags and freezes were not noticed during use.
Let’s look at the results in Geekbench 5 and 3DMark testing:
The Spark 7 smartphone is based on Android 11 with the manufacturer’s proprietary HiOS version 7.5.0 shell. It allows you to easily control the UI, namely: customize the desktop for yourself, add or remove widgets, select and install your favorite wallpapers and work on other details such as text color, icon size, gesture control, etc.
The Li-ion battery capacity in Spark 7 is 5000 mAh. The manufacturer claims that the device can survive for a month in standby mode. I had no chance to test this claim, but with active use (social networks, watching videos and listening to music, using the camera) the battery is enough for 12-16 hours. To save energy, you can enable optimization mode, which uses a dark theme, reduces screen brightness, and adjusts signal, volume settings, etc. The device charges through a microUSB cable.
The smartphone has only one speaker located at the top edge. The sound is loud, clear, with high tones prevailing. In the settings you can control the volume of media, ringtone, alarm clock and notifications. There is a BesLoudness option that allows you to increase the volume of the speaker.
It is safe to say that the TECNO Spark 7 will satisfy users without inflated requirements. It has all the necessary basic parameters, namely:
But what is lacking is the main and the front cameras, as can be seen in some photos in difficult lighting conditions. I wish I could use manual settings, but there’s none in the smartphone. Of course, the photos can be improved in the editor, but it’s hardly enough.
Also, the one and only speaker is clearly not enough for a better sound.
Otherwise, the Spark 7 will be a practical device for those who need a decent budget smartphone without unnecessary features.
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