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REVIEW: Tecno Spark 10 5G, a growing presence in SA

The Tecno Spark 10 5G operates for the most part in the entry-level to mid-range space, but don’t let that fool you.

The Spark 10 features a modern design that catches the eye on the back panel. Photo: Tecno

Tecno is among many smartphone brands that have slowly but surely been growing their presence in South Africa.

It operates for the most part in the entry-level to mid-range space. But don’t let that fool you, it doesn’t take shortcuts regarding its design ethos.

The Spark 10 features a modern design that catches the eye on the back panel; think of recent Huawei and Honor design styles. The back features two large camera modules that house one lens and two flashes.

Features

My review explains that the mobile phone has all the bits you’d expect from a smartphone. A USB-C charger, single loudspeaker, and headphone jack all line the bottom. The power button-fingerprint sensor combo lives on the right, along with the volume buttons. The left houses the SIM and microSD card trays.

The 6.6-inch IPS LCD with a 90Hz refresh rate surprised me a bit. It’s fairly bright, and displays HD content beautifully, which is impressive for this price range.

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Powering this 5G phone is the decent octa-core Mediatek Dimensity 6020 chipset which is no slow poke and keeps things running fairly smoothly.

Money was saved on RAM though, with only 4 GB doing duty on the Spark 10 5G. This shows when using more intensive apps, with the shutter sound for example on the camera just lagging a split-second between touch and capture.

The smartphone houses a monster 5,000mAh battery which is one of my favourite features. If you’re packing a phone this size, it should have the chops to last more than a day. And the Spark 10 did this with ease.

There’s even 18W ‘fast-charging’ that’ll go a long way

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Price

As for snapping pics, I wouldn’t recommend the Spark 10 5G be your first choice. Don’t get me wrong, it’s got all the makings of a half-decent camera – with a 50MP main sensor on the rear that’ll put a shift in when you need it to, coupled with the front-facing 8MP sensor

At R5 499 the Tecno Spark 10 5G is well priced for this segment of the mobile market.

The addition of 5G also gives it an advantage over devices from other brands, with Samsung and OPPO being the only ones who seem to support the broadband standard in this price range.

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