Tecno Spark 5 Pro review – Bright and Affordable

The Tecno Spark 5 Pro smartphone is the direct heir to the Tecno Spark 3 Pro, which at one time managed to surprise us. Today we are looking at the new model. Will it also prove to be an interesting and affordable device?

Tecno Spark 5 Pro Specs

Price and positioning

In many countries Tecno Spark 5 Pro is available in two versions: 4/64 GB version, 4/128 GB version. They cost about $137 and $144 respectively.

Yes, less than $8 for twice the storage capacity.

What’s in the box

Tecno Spark 5 Pro comes in a yellow-blue box along with a 10W power adapter, USB/microUSB cable, a simple wired headphones, a silicone case, a SIM card ejector and a all kinds of documentation, including a warranty for 12 + 1 months.

The package bundle is more than decent for an inexpensive smartphone. The protective case is especially good, considering the price. It is actually better than you get with the most phones that are a lot more expensive.

It has matte edges, port caps on the bottom and nice texture on the back with a glossy transparent strip in the center. Plus there is the Manchester City logo, because Tecno has been a partner of this football club for several years.

Design, materials and build quality

Tecno Spark 5 Pro looks trendy, that’s for sure. In front it has a selfie camera embedded in the upper left corner, which is extremely rare in such an inexpensive smartphone. The bezels are okay for this price range, only the margin at the bottom is slightly wider than we would like.

The back of the device also meets all the latest design trends. Here, in addition to the gradient and iridescent back, there is a rectangular block with four cameras in the upper left corner. The block itself barely protrudes above the body, which is definitely a good thing.

The frame and back panel of Spark 5 Pro are made of glossy plastic. Thanks to the bright colors of my sample, fingerprints and other smudges on the case are almost invisible, and the glass on the front has a good oleophobic coating. In addition, the Tecno Spark 5 Pro has excellent build quality.

In general, there are several colors: Ice Jadeite, Spark Orange, Seabed Blue and Cloud White. Ыome may not be available in different markets.

Read also: Tecno Camon 12 Air review – Budget smartphone with in-screen selfie camera

Elements configuration

On the front is the selfie camera peephole in the display, and above it there is an earpiece speaker, light and proximity sensors, and a flash. The latter can light up during charging, but, sadly, it doesn’t work with notifications.

On the right side there is a power button, which is highlighted with a thin green stripe, and the volume control key is visually divided into two separate buttons. The left side has a triple slot for two nanoSIM cards and a microSD memory card – this is also a plus, because the user does not have to choose between two numbers and storage expansion.

There is nothing on the top edge, and all the familiar elements are located below: a multimedia speaker, a microUSB port, a microphone and a 3.5 mm audio jack. Unfortunately, Tecno still does not use the current Type-C port in their devices. And it would be fine in some ultra-budget devices, but some of the Spark 5 Pro’s equals already have USB-C. Why this is so is unclear.

Behind is a block with 4 camera eyes and a quadruple flash, a round area for a fingerprint scanner, a few vertical inscriptions and the manufacturer’s logo below.

Ergonomics

Tecno Spark 5 Pro is a large (164.7 × 76.3 × 8.8 mm) smartphone with a 6.6″ screen, which means it’s simply impossible to comfortably use it with one hand. However, if dimensions are not a problem for you, everything else is fine: the keys are not too high, and there is no need to reach for the fingerprint scanner either.

Also you can activate the one-handed control mode, in which the interface is reduced to a comfortable size so that you could also use the smartphone on the go.

Tecno Spark 5 Pro display

Compared to its predecessor, Tecno Spark 3 Pro, the new model has a bigger 6.6-inch screen – the previous device had a 6.2-inch screen. An IPS LCD panel is still used here, but the resolution remained the same – HD+ (or 1600 × 720 pixels), which ultimately affected the pixel density – only 266 ppi. The aspect ratio is 20:9.

The display is fine. Color reproduction is natural, without any exaggeration. The contrast is also okay, but the brightness margin is not very large. Of course, on the street on a cloudy day information is visible, but on a sunny day you might encounter problems.

The viewing angles are quite wide, aside from the typical slight fading of dark tones at diagonal viewing angles. But the most important nuance of this screen is precisely the resolution. For this size it is not enough. I cannot say that individual pixels are visible, but the clarity of the elements is not very good.

In the settings there is a blue filter, a system-wide dark theme, a mode to prevent pocket dialing and the ability to hide the front camera notch.

1 - 4

Tecno Spark 5 Pro Performance

The smartphone received an eight-core, 12-nm MediaTek Helio P22 (also known as MT6762) with four Cortex-A53 cores with a maximum clock speed of up to 1.8 GHz and the same four Cortex-A53 with a clock speed of up to 1.5 GHz. The role of the graphics accelerator is assigned to the PowerVR Rogue GE8320.

1 - 6

There’s 4 GB of RAM, which is quite enough for a smartphone of this level. You can switch between several applications, they will not be unloaded from the memory.

There can be either 64 or 128 GB of storage (eMMC 5.1). I have a basic configuration on the test and 52.96 GB is available for the user. But remember that storage can be expanded by installing a microSD card up to 256 GB in a separate dedicated slot.

The system on this hardware works relatively well, there were no serious delays, and even long lists scroll normally. But still, we are dealing with a budget phone, so it’s only reasonable to expect some hiccups. You can’t play heavy games on Tecno Spark 5 Pro either, but some simple time killers will run fine. But if you are still interested in the results in demanding titles, then here are the results I managed to get using Gamebench:

• Call of Duty Mobile – low, depth of field is enabled, Battlefront mode, about 50 FPS; Battle Royale about 33 FPS
• PUBG Mobile – medium graphics settings (balance) with shadows, about 22 FPS
• Shadowgun Legends – average graphics, about 25 FPS

Read also: Tecno Phantom 9 review – A breakthrough into the middle range

Tecno Spark 5 Pro Cameras

The main block of cameras nominally has four modules, although only half of them actually does something. I am talking about the main 16 megapixel camera with f/1.8 aperture and PDAF focusing, as well as a 2 megapixel macro camera (f/2.4). The rest of the cameras are here for show, because they are a 2MP depth sensor and another QVGA camera, the purpose of which is to determine the shooting scene.

The main camera takes normal pictures in excellent lighting conditions. Except that the white balance may differ from photo to photo. But as usual, the main problems become more pronounced as the shooting conditions deteriorate. With a lack of light, noise appears and detail suffers. Usual stuff for an inexpensive device.

1 - 15

EXAMPLES OF PHOTOS IN FULL RESOLUTION FROM THE MAIN CAMERA

The macro camera works only in ideal conditions. This module does not have autofocus, so you need to shoot at a distance of 4 cm between the eye and the subject so that the latter is in the field of focus.

1 - 5

PHOTO IN FULL RESOLUTION IN MACRO MODE

Video can be recorded in Full HD at 30 frames per second, but the results are not outstanding. Colors are a bit pale and the autofocus is slow. There is also no stabilization. But if you are not going to shoot blockbusters, then for ordinary tasks, such as short Stories, it will do.

The 8 megapixel front camera with f/2.0 aperture shoots just fine, with acceptable quality for its level. It can also blur the background, there are various beautifiers and effects. In case the standard capture angle is not enough, there is a wide selfie function (panorama).

The camera app has several modes: video, photo, beauty, blur, AR shooting and panorama. There is no separate night mode, as well as manual control of shooting parameters.

1 - 2

Unlocking methods

The fingerprint scanner works okay, but it isn’t the fastest. And sometimes it happens that it fails and does not always work the first time. But do not forget that Tecno Spark 5 Pro is not a flagship.

The smartphone can be unlocked with the face. In terms of response speed, it is just a little slower than the scanner. However, if there is light, then for sure it will recognize the owner immediately. In the dark, the brightness does not automatically increase, so this authentication method will probably not work.

In the settings, you can assign the launch of a specific application to the fingerprint. The scanner can also take pictures, turn off the alarm, receive calls and even record them with a long hold.

Battery life

The battery in Tecno Spark 5 Pro has a capacity of 5000 mAh. Since the display is large, but has a low resolution, and the hardware is not the greatest, we end up with a very tenacious smartphone. This is how the new product significantly surpasses its predecessor.

The device will definitely last for a day of very active use, and for less active users it will last for two days. You can get 8 hours in mixed mode of use. The PCMark 2.0 battery test at maximum screen brightness ran for 10 hours and 27 minutes on the device – very good.

True, charging also takes time – more than 3 hours from the bundled adapter and cable.

• 00:00 — 13%
• 00:30 — 31%
• 01:00 — 50%
• 01:30 — 69%
• 02:00 — 84%
• 02:30 — 92%
• 03:00 — 95%

Sound and communication

All I can say about the speakers is they work. The earpiece speaker is clear enough, the multimedia one, in turn, is suitable for calls and notifications, but the music sounds rather average. In the headphones we have a normal,decent sound.

Tecno Spark 5 Pro is equipped with a Wi-Fi 5 module and works successfully both in 2.4 GHz networks and with a 5 GHz connection. The Bluetooth 5.0 module also works great, but there are nuances in determining the location, because only A-GPS is on board, so the accuracy is not great. There is no NFC module in the smartphone either.

Firmware and software

Tecno Spark 5 Pro runs on Android 10 OS with HiOS version 6.1, which is the manufacturer’s shell. The shell has many features, two navigation methods to choose from, a theme store, a side smart panel with quick access to selected apps or actions. Active WhatsApp users may like the Social Turbo add-on with the ability to record calls in the application, decorate the face during a video call, and more.

1 - 3

Among the gestures there are both a few familiar ones and a couple of odd ones. For example, from the lock screen, you can quickly open not only the main camera, but also the selfie camera by swiping down diagonally near the peephole. But this way the front camera will open in face beautification mode.

There is also a game mode, where you can configure the automatic deactivation of auto brightness during the game, block system navigation to avoid accidental exits from the game, and view game statistics.

Verdict

The list of advantages of Tecno Spark 5 Pro includes trendy design, large display, relatively fast system operation, and excellent battery life. Based on this, we can conclude that the Spark 5 Pro is a decent smartphone in its price segment.

But, of course, there are issues. There seem to be an awful lot of cameras, but only two actually do something. In addition, the fingerprint scanner is not the best.

Subscribe to our accounts:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube