It looks 2021 will be the year in which multiple Chinese smartphones landed in South Africa. One of the earlier arrivals was TECNO, but up until now, the brand remained a mystery to us. That was until the TECNO Spark 7 Pro landed on our review desk.
The Spark 7 Pro is the “flagship” offering of two models launching in South Africa this month, and like many of the other newcomers to SA, it is betting on a maximum value for money strategy.
In the case of the Spark 7 Pro, the recommended retail price is R3 499, which is comparable to the likes of the Oppo A15s, and therefore the type of device it will need to outperform in an already saturated local market.
So is the Spark 7 Pro a device you need to consider and is TECNO a brand to put on your radar. We answer both questions in the review below.
A matter of taste
So let’s begin as we always do – design. In terms of what is on offer here, there are a few style choices on the Spark 7 Pro that simply aren’t to out taste.
We’ll be the first to admit that we’re far from being the harbingers of what is stylish, but the addition of the word SPARK on the rear of the phone below the camera housing does not seem necessary. It smacks of what we saw on the POCO M3 Pro 5G, which we reviewed recently, and is simply a matter of taste.
A handful of other elements struck us as odd, such as the fingerprint sensor on the rear being a darker share of green to that of the Spruce Green that this particular review model comes in. It therefore seems a different material was used for that component of the device.
Another odd choice is a microUSB port featuring at the bottom of the phone. In the year of our lord 2021, if a phone wants to mark its modern credentials to a prospective consumer, having a USB Type-C present is a non-negotiable, especially when competitors usually feature one on their phones.
These are not deal breakers, but when the margins are so fine between the similarly specced devices in this price bracket, it is choices like that which can be the difference.
It’s not all bad news though, with relatively thin bezels found up front and a punch hole for the selfie camera, along with a generously large 6.6″ LCD (1600×720) screen.
The HIOS user interface present is also rather pleasant, but like many other devices from Chinese firms, there is plenty of duplication and bloatware. As such, a clean up session is needed to get rid of anything superfluous.
One addition we are found of, is the Phone Manager, which gives us a constant overview of how the device is performing and the general well-being of the ecosystem.
At the limit
Shifting to the performance and the Spark 7 Pro is solid enough. The octa-core MediaTek Helio G80 chipset present does show a little sluggishness while multitasking and navigating settings and menus takes that second to long.
Given the price tag, we may be overly critical of performance, but as mentioned when the margins are so fine in this segment of the market, these things add up.
In terms of benchmarking, the 7 Pro performs respectably, with a GeekBench single-core and multi-core score of 369 and 1 334 respectively.
On device though, things feel a little different. An example of this is the camera system, which yields some solid all-around pictures, but the slowness of the application can prove a little frustrating at times.
This especially when you engage the AI functionality that automatically adjusts camera settings, as well as the 48MP primary lens in order to capture as richly detailed images as possible.
Two areas the Spark 7 Pro is well appointed though, is battery life and storage. Regarding the former, a massive 5 000mAh unit is present that lasts a full day and then some.
As for the latter 128GB is available, which is plenty. That said, the 4GB RAM could have used an upgrade to 6GB in order to improve the speed of performance in our opinion.
Final verdict
At R3 499 (RRP) the TECNO Spark 7 Pro offers a lot. It has a large display, even larger battery and solid camera to tick the necessary boxes expected of a good value for money Android phone these days.
The only area we feel it may be outdone by some similarly priced competition is performance, with the snap of the chipset simply not there. How things changes over time is unclear, but as we’ve mentioned already, the margins in this space are fine.
The TECNO should not be relegated to the sidelines though, and with a number of players out of China appearing locally, it is an option that savvy phone owners should consider. When future releases are announced for SA, they should be heeded.
When it comes to the Spark 7 Pro, a handful of better options exist.
FULL DISCLOSURE: THE TECNO SPARK 7 PRO WAS SEEDED TO HYPERTEXT TO KEEP AFTER THE REVIEW.
