Tecno Pova 6 Pro 5G smartphone review – Endurance artist with a light show

If you take a look at the Tecno Pova 6 Pro and are immediately reminded of the phones from the manufacturer Nothing, then you would be correct: The half transparent design, which at least pretends to show technical components and switches, along with the lighting effects on the back, are actually the trademarks of the Nothing Phone (1) and the Phone (2).

Tecno has also shown it can implement the idea well with its two different color variants on offer: Green and gray. In both cases, the mini LEDs for the light show are only installed into the large camera module, i.e. not across the entire back like on the Nothing phones.

The phone has a high-quality appearance but is susceptible to fingerprints due to its smooth back, and it creaks noticeably when pressed or twisted. The phone fits well in your hand and looks very modern on the front thanks to the narrow bezels around the screen. In terms of weight, it is in line with other phones in its price range, so it is neither too heavy nor too light. The case is protected against splashes of water and dust in accordance with IP53.

With 256 GB of mass storage and 12 GB RAM, the phone also offers a generous amount of memory, which is rarely found for this price: With the Galaxy A15 5G, for example, you have to make do with less mass storage and only 4 GB RAM.

In addition to NFC for mobile payment services, an infrared port is also available which lets you use the phone as a remote control for TVs or audio systems, for example. There is also a dedicated 3.5 mm audio port which prevents the USB-C port from being blocked by wired headphones.

You'll find two SIM slots if you open the drawer on the side of the smartphone. It doesn't support eSIMs. The microSD slot for storage expansion is a dedicated one, so you don't have to sacrifice a SIM slot if you want to insert a microSD card. The card reader worked comparatively quickly and achieved good read and write values in our tests using our Angelbird V60 reference card.

WiFi 5 is the fastest Wi-Fi standard mastered by the smartphone. Its data rates in our test using the Asus ROG Rapture AXE11000 as a reference router were quite stable and in the usual range for this class, namely between around 280 and 350 MBit/s. This means that a home gigabit Internet connection cannot be fully taken advantage of, but a fast and stable connection is possible via WLAN nonetheless.

When it comes to the phone's cellular network, you can also make use of the latest 5G standard—this is even possible using both SIM cards at the same time. There are enough frequencies available for reliable network connections in Central Europe, which is where this test was carried out. If you are traveling further afield, you should check in advance: The Tecno Pova 6 Pro is not a world phone that can be used anywhere.

The manufacturer has pre-installed Android 14 onto the device, with the in-house HiOS interface placed on top. Visually, this is somewhat reminiscent of Xiaomi's operating system but at the same time, it hasn't changed stock Android all too much. A kind of dynamic island also opens around the front camera lens if required, displaying information about the device's charging status or notifications, for example.

At the time of testing, the latest security patches date from January 2024 and are therefore just within the acceptable 3-month period. Unfortunately, the manufacturer hasn't specified how long security updates are planned or how many operating system versions will be available for this phone.

A fingerprint sensor is installed behind the screen and it is positioned relatively low down, making it easy to reach even with small hands. It unlocks the system quickly and reliably once a fingerprint has been saved. The phone can often be unlocked even with wet fingers, even if it takes several attempts to do so from time to time. If you prefer to use facial recognition, this also works reliably in good lighting conditions or when using the screen as lighting. 

Tecno has installed a 108-megapixel camera into the phone, thus making use of the maximum possibilities of the SoC's image processing chip. Normally, the camera uses pixel binning to bundle 9 pixels into one large pixel, resulting in a higher light yield but, of course, this only produces images with a resolution of 12 megapixels. This is completely sufficient for the vast majority of applications. The sensor's full resolution can also be used when selecting a special mode within the camera software.

Despite its efforts to capture more light, the phone only managed to achieve a mediocre level of brightness in our test images which we took on not entirely sunny days. The photo of our surroundings is also lacking in detailed sharpness, leaving some room for improvement. If the photos are not enlarged too much, you can take decent snapshots. In very low light with high contrasts, the dynamic range is very low in dark areas and even the bright candle was not adequately depicted.

The photo taken in our laboratory setup which mimics ideal lighting conditions is actually quite good, albeit somewhat over-illuminated in some areas. However, the image sharpness is quite good in this scenario. In very low light, the camera no longer recognizes any details.

You can record video in up to 1440p and at 30 fps, and 60 frames per second are also possible at 1080p. In this case, its picture quality is actually pretty decent—the autofocus reacts reasonably quickly and the brightness adjustment also works quite reliably after a minimal waiting time.

The second camera on the back is only a support lens for blur effects and cannot take its own photos.

Selfies can be taken on the front-facing camera which has a 32-megapixel resolution. It takes nice pictures in good light, which can also be enlarged without losing too much detail.

Measurement series with fixed zoom level and different brightness settings

The phone uses the fairly new MediaTek Dimensity 6080 as an SoC, but it is not that new—it is actually a fairly exact copy of the Dimensity 810. Nevertheless, the Pova 6 Pro showed good performance values for its price range, with the comparison devices falling slightly behind in most benchmarks.

This usually ensures smooth system operation, but users who often use very complex apps will experience stutters and longer waiting times. Websites load reasonably quickly, but you have to wait for images from time to time. We really like the powerful UFS 2.2 data storage, which is supported by a fast controller. This means that loading times can be shortened and data transfers are faster.

The maximum amount that the case temperatures rise remains within limits under prolonged load: We measured a maximum of 40.5 °C. This is noticeable, but not problematic. Its performance doesn't suffer after prolonged load either; the 3DMark stress tests delivered stable results even after 20 runs.

The earpiece is used for sound output alongside a dedicated speaker on the bottom edge of the device. This gives the Tecno smartphone a balanced sound. Although its range is not sufficient for low mids and bass, the sound is pleasant and not too treble-heavy.

External speakers or headphones can be connected via the jack connection and Bluetooth. Various Bluetooth audio codecs are available for wireless transmission, including standards such as AAC and aptX, hi-res audio codecs such as LDAC and LHDC V3/V4 and less well-known alternatives such as Opus. So, the variety here is huge.

Tecno advertises the battery's high energy density and the smartphone is indeed relatively light considering its size and battery capacity consisting of 6,000 mAh. Its runtimes were impressive during the WLAN test: you can surf the web for 1,108 minutes or 18:28 hours at lower screen brightness levels. This clearly beat the comparison devices, resulting in the phone needing to be charged much less frequently.

If you do need to access a power outlet, it won't be for too long, as the Tecno Pova 6 Pro can be charged at a maximum of 70 watts. The system lets you choose between fast or gentle charging, and at maximum speed, the battery is fully charged again in less than an hour. External devices can be supplied with up to 10 watts via wired reverse charging thanks to the phone's large battery.

At the time of writing, the Tecno Pova 6 Pro is not yet available to buy in the United States. 

You can find its predecessor, the Tecno Pova 5 Pro, on Amazon for US$109.99.