Rating
Transition Holdings is a mobile phone manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China. It was the largest smartphone maker by sales in Africa in 2017, and it also sells mobile phones in South Asia.
Its brands include phone brands Tecno, Itel and Infinix, Carlcare after sales service and Oraimo accessories. Transsion's success in the African market is due to adapting the characteristics of its phones to the needs of the African market.
Transsion phones offer a feature that calibrates camera exposure for dark skin tones, develop phones with dual SIM functionality, long battery life and support for multiple African languages. Success on the African continent has taken its business to India, where it is one of the fastest growing smartphone brands in the country.
The manufacturer is looking forward to increasing its market share and introduced many modern smartphones last semester.
We are holding one of these smartphones in our hands — Tecno Spark 7 Pro.
This brand new Spark 7 Pro has good specifications for an entry-level mobile phone. There's a primary 48MP AI camera, a 90Hz display, a 5000mAh battery and a Helio G80 chipset.
The most surprising thing is the price, because it starts with 140 USD.
We've been using this phone for two weeks, and below you can read our impressions of using this device as our primary all-purpose smartphone.
Specifications
- Dimensions: 9 x 76,2 x 8,8 mm.
- Material: Glass at the front, plastic frame, plastic at the back.
- Display: IPS LCD, 90 Hz, 6 inches, 105,2 cm 2 (~ 83,7% screen-to-body ratio), 720 x 1600 pixels, 20:9 ratio (density ~ 266 ppi).
- Processor: Mediatek Helio G80 (12 nm), octa-core (2 × 2,0 GHz Cortex-A75 and 6 × 1,8 GHz. Cortex-A55).
- Graphics processor: Mali-G52 MC2.
- RAM + ROM: 64 GB 4 GB RAM, 64 GB 6 GB RAM, 128 GB 4 GB RAM eMMC 5.1, microSDXC slot.
- Battery: Li-Po 5000 mAh.
- Connection: Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n, hotspot, HSPA 42,2 / 5,76 Mbps, LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps
- GSM 850/900/1800/1900 – SIM 1 and SIM 2
- HSDPA 850/900/2100
- LTE
- Biometric data: fingerprints (back).
- Main camera: triple camera, flash with four LEDs
- 48 MP, PDAF
- Secondary camera unknown
- The third camera is unknown
- Selfie camera: 8 MP, dual LED flash.
- VIDEO: 1080p@30fps.
- Selfie video: 1080p@30fps.
- Bluetooth: 5.0.
- GPS: dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS.
- Ports: USB Type-C, 3,5 mm connector.
- Sound: audio 24-bit / 192 kHz.
- SENSORS: FM radio, accelerometer, proximity.
- Colors: Alps Blue, Spruce Green, Neon Dream, Black Magnet.
- Software: Android 11, HIOS 7.5.
Unpacking
The smartphone comes in a nicely finished yellow box with hidden 'T' letters and large glossy blue SPARK 7 PRO font. There are stickers around the box with information about the included device. The Spark 7 Pro in our hands is the 8/128GB version in Spruce Green.
Tecno tells us that the smartphone comes with a 13-month warranty as a 12 + 1 offer. All in all, it's a good retail offer.
Inside the box, we can see the usual kit for most smartphones in this price range:
- Spark 7 Pro Smartphone
- USB-C to USB-A data transfer / charging cable
- Simple charger 5V / 2A
- Device for removing the SIM tray
- Headphones
- Soft silicone cover
Based on the above, I'm very glad that headphones are included - even a charger is considered a luxury these days. On the other hand, the first surprise for me is the lack of user manuals and warranty letters. There is help in the smartphone settings.
A plastic screen protector is pre-installed on the phone. This can be easily scratched and I advise adding tempered glass as soon as possible after removing this film.
The soft silicone case is very nice, but ... yes, soft, so if you drop your smartphone more times than you want, add a harder protective case.
Design
Tecno has developed a very good phone that does not lack anything among smartphones in this category, even the best sellers from Redmi or Realme. The 6,6-inch display is equipped with medium-sized frames, a slightly larger "chin".
There is a selfie camera hole on the top left side. What is surprising here is the fact that the camera itself is smaller than the hole in the display.
In my opinion, this is a means to prove that the Spark 7 Pro is a modern smartphone and not an old notch smartphone. The display itself is flat and large.
Above the display is a very wide hidden horizontal speaker line, perfectly designed to hear your caller without having to center the smaller speaker on the ear.
The phone doesn't have a second speaker or a notification light — there's nothing else on the front.
What's inside
The side frame is connected to the back panel and is one large curved piece of plastic. There is a line that separates them as a design detail, but there is only one panel here. On the left side, we see a tray that holds 2 SIM cards and a microSD card
On the right we see two volume buttons, and below them the lock / power button. Their position is normal, I can easily reach them with my thumb.
The three buttons are well made without rattling. There are no visible stripes as the sides and back of the smartphone are plastic. There is nothing interesting in the upper part, and in the lower part there is a 3,5 mm audio jack, a noise-cancelling microphone, a microUSB port and a speaker grille.
In my opinion, the disadvantage is the use of the microUSB port. I know it's cheaper and people have a lot of chargers, but it's 2021 and companies should stop providing smartphones and chargers based on this protocol.
Build quality
The back panel is amazing! The smartphone is divided into parts - there is a vertical part with an almost glossy design (green in color) that takes up a little space on the left side. The rest is matte (also in green) and looks like a sandblasted texture. In the center and almost at the top we see the fingerprint reader. On the left we have the huge but elegantly designed camera area. The large vertical installation is divided into the upper part, where we can see the 3 camera sensors, and the lower part, where we see the SPARK logo, the AI logo and the 48 MP triple camera. An almost matte part separates the camera island.
The main part here is matte, the thinner right side provides an almost mirror-like reflection. On the thin right side, inside the camera we can see the LED. On top of the panel, we can see the TECNO brand logo on a not-so-matte finish.
The separation between the matte and sandblasted texture and the very beautiful camera area makes the device very elegant. TECNO focuses on the artistic presentation of this device and has certainly succeeded.
You won't find any protection against water or dust – as you can tell from the SIM tray, it doesn't have a rubber seal.
So, be careful with water or any use in torrential rain.
Hardware
The display is a 6,6-inch IPS screen with a refresh rate of 90 Hz. It has a screen-to-body ratio of 83,7% and a resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. The aspect ratio is 20:9, and the density is 266 ppi. The panel is not very bright, you will have to shade it in the sun. Colors and viewing angles are good.
Overall, this is a good budget panel for any use.
The driving force behind this smartphone is the Mediatek Helio G80 SoC. It is an 8-core chipset that was announced on February 3, 2020, manufactured using the 12-nanometer process technology. The chipset contains 2 Cortex-A75 cores at 2000 MHz and 6 Cortex-A55 cores at 1800 MHz.
Obviously, it's nothing fancy, just a decent SoC that provides good processing power, but you won't be able to play high-res 3D games or multitask. We can also find Mali-G52 MC2 for graphics and eMMC 5.1 for storage. The smartphone comes in 4 / 64GB, 6 / 64GB and 4 / 128GB versions. No problems with software lag or overheating.
The Spark 7 Pro has a single speaker and music sounds fine at all volume levels. The sound during calls and video calls is normal, but nothing to brag about. Communication is also good. Full signal in call conditions.
Bluetooth is fine too - I use my smartphone with wireless headphones non-stop every day, and by the way, its GPS is spot on.
Unlocking the device
There are two ways to unlock the 7 Pro. Face unlocking is very fast. There is no IR light to unlock at night, so in complete darkness this method does not work. A minimum light source is required for this function.
The company claims that the Face Unlock feature allows close your eyes and fill the screen with light. Remember that this is not the most secure way to unlock your phone, so it is not recommended to use it outside your usual premises.
Another way is the fingerprint reader on the back. Be careful here, you should have a good setup or the scanner probably won't work like it did in my case. I deleted all the data and submitted my fingerprints again and the result was very accurate and an extremely fast process.
This sensor will meet your needs all day long, because most of us wear masks, and it is very reliable. In my opinion, you should only use it and turn off face unlock for the reasons I explained.
Added to that is the speed at which the sensor unlocks the phone — it's blazingly fast, with the company touting a speed of 0,12 seconds.
Software
The smartphone comes with Android 11 which is an amazing deal for this price segment. I used HIOS 7.5 for the first time. Here are all the features and capabilities that are available these days. I have to mention that there are some viruses and ads, as we see in other smartphones at similar prices.
But there were no major bugs or limitations, and I think with a little polish, HIOS can stand alongside other skins, but it needs a lot of work to reach the levels of MIUI or OxygenOS.
The setting is rich with many features, a theme store and a dark mode. We can find an application to increase memory:
- Phone Master is a general care app, a private app store called Palm Store,
- browser,
- Instant Apps is a very nice shortcut to various games and apps that you can use without installing,
- Community app for Tecno,
- Various tools and various other applications such as music stores, data sharing applications, etc. Especially in notifications, we are constantly bombarded with information and advertising ...
Good thing we can find Google Services and you can instantly start uninstalling any app you don't use/need. After 20-30 minutes, the software becomes easier and more user-friendly.
I have a feeling that the people behind HIOS will continue to do their good work as this one a very rich shell covers all the needs a user wants and does it with good speed and minimal power consumption.
HIOS 7.5 has also been updated via OTA, which is a great sign. I hope Tecno will continue to provide updates for this phone.
Camera
The Tecno Spark 7 Pro comes with a 48-megapixel triple rear camera with AI. I tried to find more information about the two smaller lenses and after a while I discovered that one of them is a 2-megapixel depth sensor and an "AI" lens.
The camera setup is coupled with a quad-core LED flash. I have no idea what the last sensor can do, but the company advertises the system as capable of artificial intelligence. Indeed, inside the camera app - a beautiful app rich in details - we can find many tricks related to the beauty and AR photo functions. A lot of work has been done on the selfie camera.
On the front panel there is an 8-megapixel selfie camera with an aperture of f / 2.0 and a double adjustable flashlight.
The phone has autofocus with eye tracking (a first for me) and it's strange to look at, as it reminds me of a science fiction movie. The user can take pictures only smiling!
The camera application has Super Night, Portrait, Google Lens, Beauty, Video, AI cam and Short Video. The latter is intended for use in social networks and has many additional visual effects. The company added a lot of features when using the camera, and I spent a lot of time playing with it.
Camera Features
Given the camera setup, I was surprised at how good the pictures were in daylight. The 48 MP sensor works perfectly. I can't tell if depth of field lenses / AI help. At another time, this phone could be sold with a single camera, but seeing how multi-camera phones stimulate sales, all companies provide additional lenses.
Night photos are good with lighting and improve in night mode. I don't think anyone will complain about the camera.
Video is a separate story. Video resolution includes shooting at 30 frames per second for 720p, 1080p and 2K. Although the smartphone provides the same quality with photography day and night, the stabilization is ZERO.
The result is good only when the phone is somehow stably fixed. If you move the ego a little, it becomes a problem. Sound is recorded poorly and I would have preferred less lenses and improved EIS / sound.
Battery
Huge Li-Po 5000 battery and the software added by TECNO is an excellent combination that provides two days of usage or one day of media (non-gaming) usage. SOT is approx 8-9 hours, which is the maximum indicator.
I can't say the same about the charging speed. An old-style network charger with a micro-USB 5 V / 2 A connector has a power of 10 W, which means a long charging procedure. You will need about 3 hours for a full replacement, and there is no fast charging.
Conclusion
Tecno Spark 7 Pro is a budget device with a lot of advantages and only a few disadvantages. The display is excellent, frame rate 90 Hz, but the brightness is mediocre. SoC energy efficient, stable and cool, but 3D games or multitasking cause inconvenience.
The camera has good characteristics, but the lack of electronic stabilization of the image and sound of the video recording worsens the overall performance in this area.
The software is rich but needs some work to remove some of the malware. There is a battery with a capacity of 5000 mAh with maximum standby / usage time, but charging is a tiring task, suitable for a night's sleep.
The design is excellent, plus the presence of a case / headphones in the box. The price is good, OTA update and it looks great in the hands. I offer this device as a good purchase, but only for those who are not engaged in video recording.
