Today I am so glad to introduce the TECNO‘s latest phone, the Pova 5 Pro 5G. The Pova series has always been known for its cool looks and focus on gaming performance. Actually, to some extent, it’s one of our most anticipated phones in 2023. 

So how will such a popular phone series made for youth and gamers perform? Well probably you will find out here!

Unboxing

For packaging, it’s still the same impressive triangular box as what we had with the Pova 5. Blue and white as the main colors, with a coil shape pattern highlighting the texture on the front, packed with a very techy feel. I was attracted by the gold Hi-res Audio certification logo at first glance, which did make me look forward to the sound quality of the Pova 5 Pro.

     Opening the package, the compact box contains the phone, a protective case, a Type-c cable, a charger that supports up to 68watt, the wired earphones, as well as the user manual and warranty card. It is worth noting that the earphones come with a mic, which is something we haven’t seen for years. But I have to say that it is really gamer friendly.

Design

As for the phone’s look, I got both the Silver Fantasy and the Dark Illusion color variants. I personally would go for the Dark illusion, and it’s worth noting that the color is actually closer to the dark blue shown on the box. The back design is pretty cool, which is also something that makes the phone different from other competitors at its price.

There are four LED strips on the back. Three of them are connected together and form a triangular pattern. This special design makes the phone look futuristic and full of some sort of geometric beauty. In addition, there is also a coil-style decoration that brings a mechanical texture.

With all these thoughtful details, including the LED straps, the coil, some metal-style patterns, it looks like a mecha from the future. The only regret is that the back of the Dark Illusion variant collects fingerprints easily. All in all, I’m really surprised by the exterior design of the Pova 5 Pro, and of course, I like it so much. At the same price, I couldn’t find any other brands so serious about the phone’s design. And even if you put it along with some premium gaming phones, the appearance of the Pova 5 Pro can still stand out.

The Pova 5 pro is not a particularly thin model, but I enjoy using it since the weight of 214g is still acceptable. It is very reasonable for a gaming machine with a 6.78-inch big screen. And the frame is very smooth without interfering with the edge swipe. The phone feels quite solid in my hand thanks to the comfortable grip.

     The Pova 5 Pro supports dual sim cards and SD storage expansion, which means you can expand the local storage while loading 2 sim cards. The 3.5mm headphone jack is definitely a bonus to gamers, as wired headphones are always better options with lower latency than Bluetooth headsets in gaming. the Pova 5 pro adopts the dual speaker design, and if you want to know the performance of the speakers, there is a speaker test at the end of the video.

Battery & Charging

     As for battery and charging, I’d say the Pova 5 Pro has one of the best solutions. The combination of a 5000mAh battery and 68-watt fast charging is quite an attractive feature on a budget phone. The charging speed of the Pova 5 pro is very impressive, it can reach 50% in just 20 minutes, and can be fully charged in 45 minutes. TECNO has also put Battery Lab 3.0 management on the Pova 5 Pro, which utilizes different strategies for gaming and daily entertainment separately. It is perfect for going out with the phone and staying online for over 8-hour entertainment. There is another feature in the battery system called Bypass Charge. So when activating the bypass charging mode, it can bypass the phone’s battery and supply power directly to the phone. This feature not only eliminates the heat generated during battery charging but is also good for keeping a good battery state. If you play games a lot, you will definitely love it. 

Gaming Performance

      In terms of performance and gaming, the Pova 5 pro offers Dimensity 6080 5G soc and 120Hz display, which is a very good hardware combo in a budget phone. In Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, the Pova 5 pro even supports the ultra mode at 120fps. In 20 minutes of super mode gameplay, it reached an average of 75 fps, the gaming experience was very smooth and the frame rate didn’t drop in the intense chaotic battles, which already excess my expectation about such a budget phone. In another game, Free Fire, it also performed very well, the game kept running at 60fps throughout the game. The 6080 chipset is made by TSMC at 6nm and has excellent thermal performance in the game. Even in this hot summer, after 20-minute gameplay, the hottest part of the phone was only 40°C. This is amazing.

Software

     Pova 5 Pro also did a lot of work in the software, You can quickly access features in the game space while gaming, and easily switch between different performance modes. You can also click on the Bypass Charge here, which is very convenient. In Game Space it can also enable the Message Barrage notification, Showing any Whatsapp and Messenger messages in the form of barrages. Even in intense gaming, you will not miss any important messages. For the LED light on the back panel of the phone, they have also been designed for multiple uses, it can be used as a message reminder, as an ambient light while playing music and can even be linked with PUBG mobile so that when I am killing an enemy, blacklight starts working to celebrate, giving a lot of fun in such RGB gaming experience on a mobile phone.

Camera

Back to the camera system, the 50MP sensor is also a bonus to such a gaming phone. It produces quite decent photos with good colors in good lighting. I was more than happy with the Beauty cam.

It’s Tecno’s specialty now, and we are happy to see the algorithms were kept on the Pova 5 Pro, no over-the-top beauty effects, it is just the right amount. For video recording, the lack of 4K video recording is a bit disappointing. But overall, at this price the Pova 5 pro cameras are enough for daily recording and sharing.

Verdict

The Pova 5 Pro is a very distinctive mid-range phone. The design, gaming performance, and battery system are all impressive. If you like gaming and distinctive looks, this phone is worth checking out. And most importantly, to enjoy some of the gaming features, we don’t have to pay that high price for premium gaming models. Now we have another option called Pova 5 Pro.

So what are your thoughts about the Pova 5 Pro? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below.