Newsletter
What differentiates a gaming phone from a regular phone? Is it the performance, the fancy RGB lights, or the overall gamer-forward mentality behind it? The answer is: YES! Tecno, a rising star in the tech industry, is here to prove that price shouldn’t be a differentiating factor, and let us review the Pova 5 Pro 5G.
This is a gaming phone that promises all of the power and flair of a gaming phone but without the inflated price tag. Indeed, the Pova 5 Pro 5G is meant to bring the gaming phone to more gamers. Rather than spending over $1,000 for a top-of-the-line gaming phone, you can spend much less for a phone that also brings some serious gaming chops. Well, is this the phone to do it, or are you better off with a ROG phone? Let’s find out with this review.
Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Design
The design is a major part of the Pova 5 Pro 5G. Being a gaming phone, it has a very over-the-top “Look at me!” design, and I’m all for it. The phone brings a certain angular design aesthetic that reminds me of the Tecno Camon series. Speaking of the Camon series, I also reviewed the Tecno Camon 20 Pro, and you can read the review for that phone as well.
Most of the phone is pretty run-of-the-mill for most phones nowadays. The volume rocker and power button/fingerprint scanner are both on the right side. The USB-C port, headphone jack, and bottom-firing speaker are on the bottom with the other speaker at the top. On the front of the device, we see the screen with a punch-hole in the middle. So, from a design standpoint, most of the phone looks pretty average.
Then, we get to the back… and OMG is this phone pretty! If you didn’t think this was a gaming phone before, seeing the back will make you a believer. For starters, there’s a glass back with a bit of a gap between it and the internals. This look would remind you of what Nothing is doing with its phones. However, it’s not meant to give off a transparent look. Instead, the back glass is a window to the lights on the back.
We see this fun and intricate pattern on the back that’s clad in glossy plastic. The plastic reflects the ambient light beautifully. We see several different patterns in the back plastic that all flow with the overall design of the phone.
Lights
The lights are the main attraction here. There are a few sets of RGB lights on the back of this phone that switch on during different activities. When I first got this phone, I was excited to see what kind of cool and interesting lighting effects Tecno put into this phone.
Sadly, I was a little disappointed. First off, however, the lights look nice. They’re all in a unique triangular shape with a thin strip in the middle of the back. When the lights are on, they look amazing. Being RGB lights, they can cycle through different colors and create different effects.
However, I was a bit underwhelmed. The lights only come on during certain times like when the phone is charging, when you get a notification, and when you’re playing certain games. This means that the lights are off for most of the time. In fact, it’s really hard to catch the phone when the lights are actually on. It kind of defeats the purpose of having the lights if no one can see them.
Also, when the lights are on, there’s nothing really special about them. They flash and pulsate at different rates, but there’s not much else. There’s nothing else about the lights that really caught my attention.
I wouldn’t make as much of a deal about this if it weren’t for the fact that Tecno is pushing this as a gaming phone. The RGB lights are a pretty big part of the gamer phone experience.
Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Build quality
The build quality is similar to that of the Tecno Camon 20 Premier. It feels nice, but you can tell that the company had to cut some corners to keep the price down. When I first picked up the phone, I was impressed by how sturdy it felt. The phone is rather thick, and it feels really significant in the hand. It has some notable heft to it, which is something that many affordable phones lack.
On the back of the phone, the back glass feels nice and sturdy. Also, the camera package is housed in a thick metal block that will help protect the cameras during a fall. It’s a little addition that adds to the overall feel of the phone.
So, the Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G doesn’t feel quite like a toy. However, there’s one thing that does take away from the premium feeling, and that’s the frame. This phone has a plastic frame. This is the same thing for the aforementioned Tecno phones. Sometimes, the frame can be the make-or-break factor in how a phone feels.
So, when picking it up, it feels like I’m picking up a very well-built mid-range phone. I don’t think that it feels bad in any way. Just know that when you pick up the phone, you’ll definitely feel where the company had to compromise to keep the cost down.
Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Display
When it comes to the display, it was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. I freshly came from reviewing the Tecno Camon 20 phones, and those phones have some absolutely breathtaking displays. I can’t say enough about how gorgeous they are. They’re bright, perfectly calibrated, colorful, and just well-balanced.
I expected to be greeted with a similarly wonderful OLED display when I powered this device on… but then I saw the grayish tone of an LCD’s back-lit display. I was definitely a bit disappointed. However, once I started using the phone and getting familiar with the screen, most of my disappointments went away.
Color
We’re at the point where LCD displays are no longer miles behind OLED panels in terms of saturation. Yes, there is a noticeable difference, don’t get me wrong However, there are LCD panels out there that offer just a ton of juicy and punchy colors, and the display on the Pova 5 Pro 5G is one of them.
After whining about the LCD display, I started actually using the device, and I found that the colors were rather nice. Not only are the colors nice and juicy, but I think they’re good enough to rival those you’d see on an OLED panel. They weren’t 1-to-1, and if you place this phone right next to an OLED, you’ll definitely see a difference. However, in general, this screen has some beautiful colors.
Contrast
In terms of contrast, I didn’t have any complaints about the display. You still get the dark gray tones when the screen is trying to produce complete black, and that’s unavoidable. However, the contrast in general is very good. In tandem with the brilliant colors, I enjoyed watching all kinds of content.
Brightness
So, when I said that most of my disappointments went away, I was pointing to the brightness. Now, the brightness isn’t bad in general; it’s just a few steps behind what I was used to. I used rather bright displays on the Camon 20 Pro, Camon 20 Premier, and Infinix Note 30 Pro- both companies are owned by Transsion, and they used similar, if not the same displays).
The displays on those phones are bright enough that outdoor viewing isn’t an issue. However, it seems that the brightness of the Pova 5 Pro 5G is just okay. It’s average compared to most phones on the market, and that means that the second I took it outside, I could see an immediate degradation in the visuals.
It’s still decently bright, and it’s not impossible to see in daylight. However, knowing what the company is capable of compared to what this phone does is a bit disappointing.
Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Speakers
The story of this phone’s speakers is a bit of a weird one. The speakers are similar to what we got with the Camon 20 phones. Out of the box, they’re nothing to write home about. The sound has a lot of high-end to it and not much low-end. This means that there’s just no depth to the sound, so listening to music isn’t the best with them.
Be that as it may, one thing that I found out was that they’re actually great for ASMR content out of the box. This isn’t me trying to be funny or sarcastic. Of all the phones that I tested, I noticed this with all of the Tecno and Infinix phones that I reviewed.
Those higher tones aren’t only more present, but they’re actually accentuated rather nicely. They sound crisp and pleasant. This means that clicks and pops that you hear throughout the interface, games, and videos have a satisfying crispness. So, if ASMR videos and podcasts are your guilty pleasure, then you should go right ahead, you’ll enjoy it.
Sound profile
If you’re not happy with how the speakers sound, then there are some ways that you can bring some change to it. In the sound settings, you’ll see the DTS sound settings. These will let you adjust the sound coming out through your speakers, and there are a fair number of settings that you can change.
Starting off, there are several preset sound profiles that are tailored to different types of media. You have a setting for music, video games, and movies, and there’s a smart mode that sets it automatically based on what you’re listening to. When you choose your profile, you’ll be able to change additional settings by tapping a button under those settings.
Stereo settings
This page will let you choose the stereo profile of the sound. The traditional will give you a neutral mono sound, while the wide option will give you the widest stereo sound. Forward will widen the sound and give it a very frontward feeling. You can choose the setting that suits your tastes.
Boosts
On that same page, you’ll be able to choose the aspect of the sound you want to boost. You can tap on the Bass to boost the low-end audio, Treble to boost the high-end, and vocal to boost the voices. What’s neat is that you can boost any combination of the three that you want.
EQ
The adjustments don’t stop there. Under the sound profile settings, there’s the option to enable the built-in EQ. This is a five-band EQ that lets you adjust each band between +5db and -5db.
You can employ a combination of these methods to help give your sound a nice change from what you heard with the out-of-the-box settings.
My recommended settings
The settings that I use are the Music profile with the Traditional stereo setting with the Bass and Treble boosted. As for the EQ, I have the first band (the lowest band) set to +5, the second lowest set to +4, the middle set to +0, the fourth set to -1, and the highest one set to +2.
This gives the sound a nice boost to the low-end with some pop in the higher end to give the vocals a nice boost.
Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Camera
So, when I started using the cameras on this phone, I didn’t really know what to expect. I’ve had a bit of a history with Tecno’s cameras. The cameras on the Tecno Camon 20 Pro were terrible, to be honest, while the cameras on the Camon 20 Premier and the Tecno Phantom Flip are much better.
The results that with the Pova’s, I got, thankfully, were nowhere near what I got with the Camon 20 Pro. However, I did feel that phone’s influence on the Pova 5 Pro 5G’s camera in one area.
Exposure
In terms of exposure, I didn’t feel that the phone exposed the scene especially bright or especially dim. I think that the camera did a good job of balancing out the scene.
Colors
In the color department, I’d say that the camera did a decent job getting some nice colors from the scene. However, I feel that it could have gone just a little further. In scenes where the colors were loud and vibrant, this camera produced images that felt just, not dull, but a tad subdued. In the bright sun, the greens of the bushes should be bright and punchy, but I felt that they were just a bit held back.
It’s like someone put the pictures in a photo editor and cranked the saturation down about 10%. This does come in handy with the reds and other warm colors. This is an area where most cameras produce images that will cook your eyes. The reduced saturation was able to keep the reds in the image of the flower in check.
Contrast
This is where I saw the influence of the Camon 20 Pro. Now, it’s not nearly as bad as what I got with the Camon 20 Pro’s camera, but it’s noticeable. The contrast that I got with the images from this phone was pretty lacking. I didn’t feel that it was bad, but I could have gone with just a bit more contrast to make the images more dynamic.
The lower contrast deadened what would have been some really juicy pictures. Images of plants in the sun could have had more punch with just a bit more contrast. You could throw this into a photo editor and punch up the contrast a little, but that defeats the purpose of having a good camera.
Low light
When it comes to low light, I think that this camera does a respectable job of brightening the scene. Images that I take in the heavily diminished light come surprisingly bright and colorful. This is even without enabling the Super Night mode which takes a longer exposure.
The neat thing about the low light performance is the reliable focus. I found the camera was able to focus on objects in extremely dim light. I’m able to pick out finer details like text and intricate designs in the low light.
When using the Super Night mode, I feel like this is a “pick your poison” situation. The Super Night mode uses its longer exposure to bring more light from the scene and create an exponentially brighter scene. However, the clarity definitely takes a hit. Cameras in more expensive phones definitely do a better job of preserving detail when taking long-exposure shots. In the case of the Pova 5 Pro 5G, I see some intense artifacts in the image.
So, if you choose not to use the Super Night mode, your image will be darker, but you’ll have a more detailed image.
Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Performance
Now, onto that all-important subject; the performance. Tecno is great when it comes to optimizing its software for more modest MediaTek chips. The Pova 5 Pro 5G is powered by the Dimensity 6080, and it’s a few steps behind the latest and greatest from the company.
While that’s the case, HIOS runs as smooth as silk. Running apps, navigating the interface, and just generally using the phone, I have no major issues. I may get the occasional dropped frame or hiccup every now and then, but these instances are few and far apart.
I’ve used phones where stutters and dropped frames happen so often that they characterize the experience as a whole. That’s not the case with this phone at all. As hard as I tried to slow it down, it took quite a bit of effort to get this phone to chug.
I literally had two apps open in pop-out windows with YouTube playing in the background and I didn’t get the phone to slow down. I’d say that the performance is amazing for the price that you’re paying.
Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Gaming
I’ll let you in on a secret; this is kind of a gaming phone. At least that’s what’s all over the packaging. So, it’d make sense that this game performs well when it comes to games, right? The answer to that is complicated.
2D games
Starting off with 2D games, I didn’t have any issues with any of the titles that I downloaded. This phone is more than able to take care of any 2D game that I downloaded. Games like Dragonball Z Dokkan Battle, Super Meat Boy, Fishing Paradiso, etc. all ran like a dream.
Mid-range 3D games
The story is much the same with lower and mid-tier 3D games. I loaded games like DragonBall Legends, Sky: Children of The Light, and Asphalt 9 Legends. All of these games are very good-looking in their own right, and they can slow down weaker hardware.
The Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G runs these games without even a hint of stutter or slowdown. I expect nothing more from a gaming phone.
High-end games
This is where things get complicated. Again, the Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G is a gaming phone. With a title like that, you’d expect this phone to tackle just about every game that crosses its path. Well, that’s the case; it tackles most of the games it comes across. The aforementioned games are no sweat, but once you reach the top of the gaming market, the term “gaming phone” starts to lose some of its legitimacy.
Playing Genshin Impact, I experience some heavy stutters while playing on the highest graphical settings. The stutter was pretty consistent while I played. Rotating the screen turned the game into a slideshow. Turning down the settings gave me a smoother experience, as you can imagine.
This brings the title into question
While I understand that Genshin Impact is a heavy game and it takes a lot of power to process, it brings into question what truly makes this a gaming phone. The gaming performance I’m getting from this phone is not much different from other mid-range phones. I admit that an affordable gaming phone is a bit of a steep ask, but Tecno’s decision to go with the MediaTek Dimensity 6080 was a bit confusing.
The Tecno Camon 20 Premier uses the Dimensity 8090, and that phone flew through Genshin Impact at its highest settings with no issue. I only raise this issue because the RGB lights on the back are the only other factor making this a gaming phone, and they’ve been pretty lackluster. With this middle-of-the-road gaming performance, it feels that Tecno missed the mark here.
You can get decent performance with graphically intense games, but this phone just doesn’t deliver the kind of performance that you get from the phones that it’s undercutting.
Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G Review: Battery
When it comes to battery performance, the Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G is a phone that will last you. I can typically get just over a day and a half with moderate usage. This includes some gaming, social media scrolling, and video-watching. I never had an issue getting to the end of the day with a charge even on heavier days of testing with picture-taking involved.
I got this performance without needing to really keep an eye on my battery. Instead of taking care not to use more battery than I needed to, I just used it how I would regularly use it. That’s the important thing. I think that the battery on this phone is exceptional.
Charging
Charging the Tecno Pova 5 Pro 5G doesn’t take long at all. The powerful 68W charger that comes in the box can charge it from 0% to 100% in just over an hour. If you need a quick charge, just popping it on the charger for 20 minutes will charge the battery about halfway.
Final thoughts
Tecno has come out with some incredible devices with affordable price tags, and the Pova 5 Pro 5G is no exception. It’s meant to make the gaming phone more accessible. The only thing is that it’s not really delivering on those gaming phone features that it’s sporting. The RGB lights are very basic, and the gaming performance isn’t all that great. Those are the main gaming features that the company is touting, and they don’t really stick out.
Do I think that it’s a bad phone in general? Absolutely not! I think that this is a phone to get if you’re looking for a great regular smartphone experience. The screen is gorgeous, the performance is great, the design is unique, the software is well-optimized, and the overall experience is great. I think that if the company went the Nothing route and touted this as a regular phone with lights that add to the experience, it would have been more effective.
Applying the “gaming phone” moniker brings with it high expectations for the gaming performance and RGB lights. This didn’t stick out to me as a gaming phone. The price is low, but I think it’d be worth it to charge a bit more for a more powerful processor and some more RGB light tricks.
If you’re looking for a great all-around phone that specializes in being a smartphone, then I recommend that you pick this handset up. If you’re looking for a true-to-form gaming phone, then I suggest that you look elsewhere.