GadgetsLab: TECNO POVA 2

REVIEWED BY TRINITY SALVIO

The Tecno Pova 2 is a proud powerhouse built to give the ultimate gaming experience. Great value, and an undeniably smooth design, will attract anyone looking for a good gaming mobile device. You can’t go wrong with its long-lasting battery life and flash charging feature for endless hours of smooth browsing and gameplay. By far, it is perfection personified with this modern smartphone.

DESIGN 4 / 5

The review unit we had came in polar silver with greyish blue undertones in a matte finish.

At the back, a vertical strip divides the otherwise smooth look that appears symmetrical with the brand name printed beneath it.

Personally, I think the strip marred the minimalist design but it helps differentiate the Pova 2 from other Tecno models.

The plastic frame and build do not detract from its looks as its minimalist and modern design exudes elegance.

The glass front boasts a 6.9” FHD+ Dot-in display with a 1080x2460p resolution. The 48MP quadruple camera is located at the upper back of the device.

The volume and power buttons are located on the right side. The power button doubles as a fingerprint sensor — a nice feature.

Lastly, the speaker is located at the top center with the USB Type-C 2.0 charging port and 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom right of the unit.

HARDWARE 4 / 5

With a powerful MediaTek Helio G85 octa-core processor and a 7000mAh lithium-polymer battery, the Pova 2 consistently delivers efficient and lasting performance at a great value. The 18W Dual IC flash charger is able to fully charge the Pova 2 within 2-3 hours and in just 40 minutes if the battery is at half percent.

USER EXPERIENCE 4 /5

The Tecno Mobile series continues to deliver top-quality products at affordable prices and the new Pova 2 is arguably the perfect phone for smooth gameplay, efficient online browsing, and even taking quality camera shots.

After reading up on what’s in store for this unit, my high expectations were blown off the water as I spent my first few hours with it.

As a mobile gamer, I set my sights on playing Genshin Impact and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang on the Pova 2 as soon as I got it.

I was genuinely surprised and absolutely fell in love with the smooth performance even after spending more than 2 hours of heavy, fast-paced gaming. The 7000mAh battery provided almost endless playtime even though the device occasionally heated up after moving up the graphics settings.

The conspicuous placement of the punch-hole selfie camera at the topcenter of the screen detracts from the immersive experience. The speakers themselves weren’t dazzling but they did the job of providing crisp audio. All in all, the Pova 2 lives up to its name as an affordable gaming phone.

In terms of the operating system, the HiOS 7.6 is an interesting feature kit that provides a plethora of handy applications and widgets such as a freezer (to keep apps under ‘cooldown’), QR scanner, Hi Translate, Hi Theme, Carlcare (professional after-sales), and many more.

These are standard features that almost any good smartphone have but I would’ve appreciated them more if some apps were removable since I wouldn’t be able to use all of them anyway.

Moving on to the camera features, the added vibrancy and hue offers a bit of color inaccuracy that peeved me a bit even though the shots came out quite well. The 48MP quad-camera provides crisp yet slightly grainy shots, a bit of a letdown. Doing photography with this unit will require a bit of tinkering to utilize the right settings to capture a variety of subjects.

As for videography, I was able to shoot from a 720p to 2k resolution at 30fps and the ultra-steady feature greatly helps in creating smooth videos.

As someone with shaky hands, this is a huge plus for me and although this unit may not completely replace a DSLR, the features alone can carry out what is needed—no more, no less. During my downtime, I often read webcomics and do online social media browsing. The refresh rate is fast enough though not as responsive as some other smartphones I have reviewed.

I was able to read numerous stories without much interruption save for the occasional advertisements that the phone served up.

This became an increasingly troublesome issue whenever I played mobile games, popping up and spamming the home feed from time to time.

The most irksome thing is some of the bloatware on the device can’t be uninstalled such that storage space is taken up by applications that I won’t even use. In essence, I enjoyed using the device in spite of its shortcomings. The Tecno Pova 2 is a wonderful surprise that exceeds expectations for a budget gaming smartphone.

It delivers on every aspect by providing the best and smoothest experience in playing mobiles games whilst incorporating a unique take in utilizing the hefty Helio G85 octa-core processor. As for everyday usage, the setup alone is easy enough to get around with.

VALUE 4.5 / 5

With a selling price of PHP7,990, the Tecno Pova 2 is an affordable device that provides quality performance paired with efficient applications to give the ultimate smooth gameplay experience. It’s safe to say that I would love to have this unit as my go-to gaming phone for the year.

WHAT'S HOT

• Long-lasting battery life

• Smooth gaming experience

• Decent camera features

WHAT'S NOT

• Massive bloatware and advertisements

• Loudspeaker lacks bass

BOTTOMLINE

The elegant Techno Pova 2 takes pride in delivering top performance as a budget gaming smartphone.