Did you know that with your budget below PHP 10,000, you can buy a phone this cool? This is TECNO POVA 5, the new entry-level gaming phone by TECNO Mobile that was just released recently. By the way, this is also a Free Fire edition, so if you’re a fan or you play Free Fire, this phone is perfect for you.
It is now available at TECNO Mobile’s official store on Shopee, Lazada, as well as their TikTok Shop. Its suggested retail price is PHP 8,499 for the 8GB/128GB variant, while PHP 8,999 for the 8GB/256GB variant. Let’s see if it is worth its price.
Unboxing and Design
Since this is a collaboration with Garena’s Free Fire battle royale game, the design of its packaging is inspired by the game. Its box is triangular and I’m not sure if TECNO has had a phone before that has a box like this, but it’s the first time I’ve seen something like this.
The contents of the box are the unit itself, SIM ejector pin, redeemable skin code, stickers, warranty card, user manual, jelly case, 45W adapter, USB-C cable, and also earphones. Good job TECNO Mobile for including earphones!
It features a mecha design that makes the phone look cool. The design of its camera island is also fine, although it is quite large. At the lower part of the back, there is the TECNO POVA branding.
There are three available colorways and the one we have here is the Amber Gold. You can choose the Hurricane Blue and Mecha Black colorways as well. But for me, this Amber Gold is more stylish since it is a light color and can be noticed immediately.
The back of this phone is flat plastic. It would be better if its texture was the same as its design. Even though it’s a light Amber Gold color, the fingerprint, and smudges are still quite obvious, so it’s better if you use his case.
Moreover, this phone is a bit thick, but it’s still nice to hold because its sides are flat. Its sides look premium because even though it is just plastic, it looks like metal.
Speaking of sides, we can see its dedicated SIM tray on the left side, and the volume rockers and power button/fingerprint scanner are on the right side. So far, the fingerprint scanner is responsive. Then at the top, there is its secondary speaker, while at the bottom, there is the 3.5mm audio jack, microphone, USB-C port, and primary speaker.
Display and Multimedia
When it comes to its display, if you remember, the TECNO POVA 4 has only 720p or HD+ resolution, it now has a 6.78-inch IPS LCD screen with FHD+ resolution. It also supports a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling in your Shopee and it also supports 240Hz, so it is very responsive, especially in games.
At first, its high refresh rate was a bit buggy because it stuttered and wasn’t really stable, but after a few days it received 2 updates and then the high refresh rate became stable. Even if it’s just on the home screen or when you scroll through Facebook, it’s a bit laggy. Therefore, if you have POVA 5 or any other phone, I recommend that you just update to fix some bugs like that.
The colors on its display, by the way, are crisp and gorgeous; you will undoubtedly like the viewing experience. Actually, it’s great to watch movies and play games on this phone because it includes two speakers for a more immersive audio experience.
If you don’t want built-in speakers, it also has a 3.5mm headphone jack. I’m glad there’s included earphones so you don’t have to buy one. When you are outdoors, its display is still clear since its max brightness is up to 580nits.
Camera
As for the camera, the setup is almost the same as its predecessor. It has a 50MP main camera along with a 0.08MP depth sensor, while 8MP for the selfie shooter. Many people say that its camera quality is bad. But for me, it’s decent and the quality of its images is not trash. Let’s just remember that the focus of this TECNO POVA series is not the camera, but performance. If you want good camera quality, maybe you can consider the TECNO Camon 20 Pro 5G. I heard that the camera is good, isn’t it?
Moving on, its video resolution is up to 2K or 1440p, both front and rear cameras. It can also shoot 1080p@60fps and has Ultra Steady mode or stabilization but only at 1080p@30fps.
Here are some of the photos taken in TECNO POVA 5:
Performance
In terms of performance, the upgrade of this POVA 5 is not that big since the 6nm MediaTek Helio G99 is still used here. It’s still good, but of course, it’s old, and you can also buy many phones with Helio G99 that are cheaper than this phone. The only advantage of this is that it will receive many more updates because it is a newly released phone. It runs HiOS 13 based on Android 13 by the way.
As for memory, it has 8GB RAM and up to 256GB internal storage. There are two available variants, 128GB and 256GB storage. It also supported the Extended RAM of up to 8GB Virtual RAM. In casual tasks like browsing social media, watching videos or movies, etc., there is no problem since its performance is also smooth.
This TECNO POVA 5 got a 432,239 AnTuTu benchmark score and it is also high for its price. This device also got a 10,313 performance score in PCMark’s Work 3.0. We tried to play games on this phone, and the first game we tried was of course Free Fire since this phone is Free Fire Edition. It is very smooth in Free Fire since that game is not that heavy.
Benchmark scores:
We also tried playing Call of Duty: Mobile and Mobile Legends here and the performance was also smooth. This phone really struggled with Genshin Impact since that game was really heavy. But we suggest setting it to the lowest graphics available to lessen lags and frame drops.
Apart from Genshin Impact, its performance is very stable compared to others we have played. Just make sure that the Extended RAM feature is turned on so that it can handle the game with additional smoothness.
Battery
One of the good features of this phone is its large battery capacity. It has a 6,000mAh battery capacity and I feel its long battery life because even though I have played a lot of games there is still 20-30% left in it. You will get tired of using it till it is drained. If you only use it for casual tasks, its battery life will reach 2 days.
Once its battery life is low, it charges pretty fast because it has a 45W fast charging adapter. From 20-100%, his charging time reaches 1 hour and 7 minutes. It does not charge very fast since even though its charger is fast, its battery capacity is large.
Our battery benchmark in PCMark’s Work 3.0, has 14 hours and 40 minutes battery life. It’s a bit low compared to the result obtained by other tech reviewers, which is 15 hours more, maybe because I set the refresh rate to 120Hz so the result I got is lower. But the 14-15 hours are good. Its battery is enough for gaming and casual usage.
Conclusion
This new TECNO POVA 5 is a good entry-level phone if you use it for gaming and the usual tasks like social media, communications, and entertainment. The chipset featured here is still decent so for me its performance is good for its price. It’s just that, its upgrade is not that big compared to its predecessor. But its upgrade is also useful like its resolution is FHD+ and now it’s 120Hz from 90Hz in its predecessor. Today, fast charging is also a big benefit, so it’s good to have 45W from 18W, especially since it has a large battery capacity. So, if you plan to buy a phone now and your budget is below PHP 10K, this is one TECNO POVA 5 that I can recommend to you to add to your choices.
TECNO POVA 5 Specifications
- Display: 6.78-inch LCD (IPS), FHD+ 2460 x 1080 resolution
- CPU: 2.2GHz 6nm MediaTek Helio G99 octa-core processor
- GPU: Mali-G52 MC2
- RAM: 8GB + Up to 8GB Virtual RAM
- ROM: 128GB/256GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 256GB (dedicated)
- Rear Camera: 50MP + 0.08MP Depth sensor + Dual LED flash
- Front Camera: 8MP + LED flash
- Battery: 6,000mAh, 45W charging
- OS: HiOS 13, Android 13
- Connectivity: 2.4GHz & 5GHz WiFi, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, dual SIM (nano)
- Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
- Colors: Amber Gold, Mecha Black, Hurricane Blue
- Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, face unlock, USB-C
Price and availability
- 8GB/128GB – PHP 8,499 | Lazada link
- 8GB/256GB – PHP 8,999 | Shopee link
This new TECNO POVA 5 is now available nationwide as well in official stores of TECNO Mobile in Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.
