GadgetsLab: TECNO SPARK 7 PRO

REVIEWED BY GABRIEL PE

Tecno Mobile is gaining a reputation as a midrange contender with its Camon and POVA smartphones. Now the Spark-series isn’t quite in the same price range but does offer good value for users. Case in point, the Tecno Spark 7 Pro.

DESIGN 4/5

I want to commend Tecno’s recent design choices. The Spark 7 Pro, like the Camon 17 Pro, looks and feels like a premium device. Its unique camera bump is just bang-on, its best design feature. Our review unit came in the Magnet Black color scheme and looks pretty good, especially the slight dual tone on the back.

The Spark 7 Pro is made of plastic, but the textured finish at the back makes it a joy to grip. Let me also mention that it’s just 8.8mm thin, beating a lot of competitors at that price.

The Spark 7 Pro sports a 6.6-inch IPS display with a 90Hz refresh rate. On the top-left of the screen is the punch hole for the 8-megapixel front camera that is pretty big. The back is the fingerprint reader and the 48-megapixel triple camera setup. On the left is the sim-tray and dedicated microSD slot; on the right is the volume and power buttons. Beneath is the headphone jack, the microUSB port, a mic-hole, and the downwardfiring speaker.

HARDWARE 4/5

Making the Spark 7 Pro tick is the MediaTek Helio G80 octa-core processor. It’s paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage expandable via MicroSD. Powering the whole device is a 5000mAh battery.

The Helio G80 is an older processor but still works quite well. Antutu Benchmark (v9.1) has it at 219414 with Geekbench rating it at 366 for single core and 1332 for multi-core. Pretty good for a phone at a sub-7K price.

For its cameras, it has a 48-megapixel camera setup at the back. The primary shooter, of course, is a 48-megapixel camera. Paired with that camera are 2 sensors which aid in the depth of field effects. At the front is an 8-megapixel selfie camera.

USER EXPERIENCE

For gaming the Helio G80 is a decent midrange chip that can run most esports titles on high settings. I tried League of Legends: Wild Rift and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang on the Spark 7 Pro and it performed well, as expected. On Wild Rift, it was able to reach Ultra at 60fps settings, while Mobile Legends had it only on High.

As for tougher titles, Asphalt was alright at performance setting but frame drops were typical on High graphics. Surprisingly it was able to run Genshin Impact, currently one of the toughest mobile titles to run. Unfortunately that was it. You can run Genshin on the lowest settings but won’t have a good time.

Despite its lack of additional power, Tecno did do a great job on its cooling. Even though I put it through some tough benchmarks and games, it didn’t get hot.

For the camera, the main shooter did well, especially if you consider its price. It’s amazing how Tecno is able to fit a 48-megapixel camera in this price range. As for image quality, it’s good when conditions are alright. The Spark 7 Pro’s AI was also impressive and was able to separate the fur on my cat’s back from the background. Selfies were quite alright too, coming from a 8-megapixel shooter.

One of the downsides of the Tecno Spark 7 Pro is its microUSB port instead of a Type-C. I think this is one of the areas where Tecno cut corners to keep costs down. Another area where they might have stinted on is the speaker quality. It’s fairly loud, but sounds mushy and occasionally hollow at loud volumes.

Another thing that might concern power users is the 4GB of RAM. While simply cleaning your background apps will help, in the long run, 4GB may not be enough especially for gamers.

VALUE 4.5/5

Coming in at PHP6,590 the Tecno Spark 7 Pro is definitely a contender as a lower midrange smartphone. At its sub-7K price you have a pretty good camera, 90Hz refresh rate screen, and a decent octa-core processor. For that price what more can you want?

WHAT'S HOT

• Good for esports gaming

• Great internal cooling

• Good camera

WHAT'S NOT

• 4GB of RAM feels inadequate for 2021

• Bloatware and ads

• Speaker isn’t the best especially in max volume

BOTTOMLINE

The Spark 7 Pro is a great smartphone for the budget conscious.