TECNO Camon X Pro Detailed Review-What You Didn’t Know Before Now

The TECNO Camon X Pro is a sequel to the Camon CX which was released last year. The Camon series has been great in mobile photography and the Camon X pro seem to take this great feat even further. 

The Camon X comes in two variants, the base version and the Pro version. During its launch in Lagos,  the device was really hyped and a lot of mouth-watering specs were said to be available on the device.

We all know the Camon series thrive in the camera world but is that all the new Camon device has to offer? Of course not! The device is packed with so many new innovative features like the Face ID and the A1 beautification Mode.

In this review, we will confirm if all that was said about the new Camon X Pro was actually true. I got the device as soon as it was launched and have since then subjected it to various task demanding tests.

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Join me as I review the TECNO Camon X Pro.

TECNO CAMON X Pro Review- The Design

We’ve usually been impressed with the build quality and design of TECNO Camon-series smartphones, but the company is taking a new approach with the Camon X Pro. Instead of the usual metallic back, TECNO Opted for an all-plastic body.

You can check out the unboxing pictures of the Camon X Pro we did here.

On one hand, the phone is very light at just 152g, but on the other, it doesn’t feel as sturdy as the previous version with metallic design. Despite being a plastic material it doesn’t feel and look like one especially with the glossy coat that was used at the back.

Just like many phone design these days, the back is still a fingerprint magnet but that is never a deal breaker because you get a back cover to protect it from constant dirt from your fingerprint

The design is quite sleek and lightweight. The edges are perfectly sculpted to make a smooth curve. Though some say the Camon X Pro looks a lot like the Samsung S8, I would say it comes with its own uniqueness.

The device comes with a non-removable plastic back meaning it can’t be opened. Also, there some changes to the way the device buttons and add-ons are arranged.

The single tray that holds the dual sims (Nano) and the SD Card together are on the right-hand side of the device alongside the volume rocker and power key.

Also, the speaker, the noise cancellation Microphone and the 3.5mm earphone jack have been moved to the bottom of the device (For the first time on a TECNO device) leaving the top and left-hand side of the device blank.

Since the mono speaker is placed at the bottom, it gets blocked by your palm easily when you’re playing a game or watching a video in landscape mode.

At the back, there is a 16MP rear camera with Quad-LED flash along with a fingerprint sensor which is placed just below the camera.

TECNO CAMON X Pro Review-Display

On the front of the Camon X Pro, you get a 6.0-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 2160 * 1080 pixels, and Gorilla Glass 4. Sunlight readability is good as the device achieve up to 500nit brightness level from the test I did.  It has an 18:9 aspect ratio display and judging from the size and when you compare with other 6.0-inch devices, the Camon X Pro is significantly smaller and lighter.

I have since fallen in love with how light this device is and found myself picking it up from my table more often.

I am impressed with how the company has used space well here, wrapping the huge 6.0-inch screen into the small body with minimal bezels, plus the 3750mAh, it is quite impressive.

Also, there is a screen guard preinstalled saving you the hassle of having to put it yourself.

TECNO CAMON X Pro Review-The Camera

Since the device is from the Camon-series, there’s a lot of focus on the front camera of the phone. TECNO has been able to pack a whopping 24-megapixel selfie shooter with an f/2.0 aperture on the device. You also get an AI Beauty and HDR capabilities on this device. AI Beauty only works with the front camera and lets the algorithms do the work of judging how much beautification is needed.

Image quality is very good in daytime shots, and the camera manages to retain good detail and colour even indoors. The screen flash is effective, and even in low light, It produces bright and clear selfies, with little to no noise on the subjects’ faces.

The Front camera comes with a portrait mode, which does a decent job with edge detection, but at times it just blurs out a part of the subject.

The rear camera has a 16-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture just like the front camera and is able to take good-looking photos in both good lighting and low light conditions. Focusing is a lot faster than other TECNO previous devices we have used.

Selfie pictures shot with the 24MP front camera, the first picture is taken with the portrait mode on.

Below are some sample pictures taken with the 16MP back camera

Video recording is great also but sadly, the phone doesn’t support 4K video recording and there is no OIS, but we do observe that video recording is a bit more stable than the Phantom 8 and other TECNO devices I have used.

When recording on this device, it is advisable not to shake your hand so as to get a stable and nicely focused shoot. The maximum video recording you can get from this device is 1080p just like I said, there is no 4K recording on the camera.

Some features of the Camera

AI Beautification: This is a new camera technology adopted by TECNO Mobile to enhance facial beauty before a picture is captured. In this mode, the beauty mode allows you to fine-tune the smoothness of your face before you take a picture. There is also colour temperature adjuster that allows you change the colour of your picture, all before the picture is taken.

Portrait mode: The portrait mode is usually for the back camera but TECNO decided to put this function on the selfie camera. We got some impressive results but it’s not perfect all the times.

Superpixel Mode: This feature was first used on the Phantom series and it’s now on the Camon series for the first time. It amplifies the quality of pictures taken on the device by combining several frames of shots together to form one clear shot.

Low light: The new Camon X smartphones have been optimized for low light photography compared to the previous version. I tested this device in low light conditions and I was surprised at how well you can adjust the amount of light that enters into the lens on the camera and how it affects the quality of the images. This device did well in low light condition.

Front flashlight reduction: Some people are still sceptical about the idea of a front flash. This device comes with two. But not only is the front flash soft and harmless to the eyes, it can also be reduced. So if you feel it’s too bright, there is a function to reduce the intensity of the brightness which I think is very handy.

TECNO CAMON X Pro Review-Hardware and Software

TECNO Camon X Pro uses the MediaTek Helio P23 octa-core SoC. The processor is based on 64-bit architecture combining eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores.  It’s manufactured using a 16nm FinFET fabrication process and has an integrated Mali-G71 MP3 graphics processor operating at 770MHz.

Despite MediaTek’s low-performance rating, the Helio series have performed much better. For instance, the Helio P23 is more powerful than Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430. I got a score of 83,628 in AnTuTu 7, 817 and 3385 single and multi-core respectively on Geekbench 4 and 428 overall score on 3D Mark. They are pretty decent scores from a midrange device at the $250 price point.

The Camon X Pro is powered by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which are major upgrades compared to the Camon CX released last year. It is worthy to note that this is the first time a regular TECNO mid-range device would be featuring up to 4GB of RAM as opposed to the 2GB we are used to.

I didn’t experience any Multitasking issues or app force closing during the time I have had with the device.

The gaming strength of this device is impressive as well, thanks to the plenty of RAM. It handled all the heavy games I threw at it without any form of lagging. And graphics is even better than what 1 got on the Phantom 8.

Tested games on the device include Asphalt 8, PES 2018, Need for Speed, Commando, etc. The device is also able to minimize the game and come back to continue where you left off without it restarting.

Other specifications include dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, USB-OTG, FM radio, and 4G VoLTE. The Camon X Pro also features an ambient light sensor, compass, accelerometer, proximity sensor, and a gyroscope.

The Camon X Pro comes with dual-Nano SIMs and a space for microSD. The two sims support 4G band 3, 7, 20, 28 and 40 connectivity, hence, it works on all the major 4G internet service providers [ GLO, MTN, NTEL, AIRTEL, SMILE, SPECTRANET ] in Nigeria.

Check how to check 4G band on phone here

The dialer app is quite different from what you have on other TECNO devices since the device is running the latest Android 8.1 Oreo and HiOS 3.3.

There are no issues with call quality, it delivers a solid transmission quality both conversation partners can hear each other clearly.

TECNO Camon X Pro Review-Software Experience

The Camon X Pro ships with Android Oreo 8.1 out of the box layered with the new HiOS V3.3. The new HiOS comes with a bunch of customization right from the much improved Hi Launcher to the feature-rich phone master that let you control the functionality of the phone.

The Hi Launcher is a lot cleaner than what it used to be, icons are well arranged on the screen as well as on folders. Long-pressing on the screen will give you an option to switch between the standard launcher and single launcher. You can change wallpaper and add widgets as well. The Hi theme ecosystem comes with hundreds of themes and wallpapers to customize the look and feel of your phone, however, I found the pre-installed theme more much better than all the one I downloaded.

TECNO own custom interphase, the HiOS still doesn’t offer the kind of smooth experience you get from a stock Android, because of the many bloatwares that are pre-installed. Some can be uninstalled while you can only uninstall the rest unless you root the device.

The new HiOS V3.3 places you in control of your device and with the phone Master, you can remove any cache slowing down the phone with a single click of your finger as well as optimizing the battery performance and lower power consumption.

With the PhoneMaster, You can control which app sends notification and what I found very handy is that you can easily uninstall en-masse all unwanted apps that were pre-installed. Other features of the PhoneMaster are phone cooling effect, app lock and ability to move apps and files to SDcard.

The fingerprint sensor works well and is quick at authentication. It can also be used for unlocking apps, taking photos and accepting a call. Asides, this you also have the Face ID.

Face ID

This is also one of the selling points of the Camon X smartphones. Both the regular and the pro version come with this feature. It is a technology that allows you unlock your device by scanning your eyes. Though this is not the first time, TECNO will be implementing something like this, the Face ID is a lot faster compared to the Iris scanner they used on the Phantom 6 and 6 Plus.

Even though there is a disclaimer at the beginning of the setup of the facial recognition that it is not so secured and persons looking like the owner of the device can actually unlock the device, I still find it very cool. It also works in the night and in low light conditions.

Under a low-light scenario, there is an option to activate the front flashlight to illuminate your face, which works pretty well. Also, I wasn’t able to fool it with a 2D picture.

TECNO Camon X Pro Review-The Multi-Media Experience

The mono speaker and the headphone jack are placed at the bottom. The speaker doesn’t get too loud when playing media files, but alerts were quite audible. The headset looks quite good and audio quality is great too. I tested the audio quality from the earphone against that of the Phantom 8, sound quality from the Camon X Pro is a bit ahead of the Phantom.

The Camon X Pro comes with two music player, BoomPlay Music and Google Play Music. The Boom Play Music has an audio enhancement feature that helps lift the mids and low-end frequencies when using the bundled headset.

You can also create a custom EQ presets. When it comes to videos, the phone handles most popular video and audio codecs as well as 4K video smoothly.

TECNO Camon X Pro Review-Battery Life

The battery is one of the things that impressed me the most. This is the first time TECNO Mobile is crossing the 3500mAh line on any Camon device. I am sure this is a response to the call by numerous customers for better a battery life. This device comes with a 3750mAh Li-on Battery. Furthermore, the battery is well optimized so it doesn’t drain fast. It also comes with the fast charging technology which enables you to charge really fast.

The device took about 2hrs to charge to 100% and with constant use-browsing, gaming and light YouTube video and calls, it served me throughout the day.

PRO-What I Like

• Super clear display with a 500nit brightness level
• Decent battery life
• Great cameras
• Very light in the hands
• Stable and fast performance

CONS- What I hate

• NO 4K Video recording
• The Camera Lack OIS and professional mode

Final Verdict

The Camon X Pro is the best Camon smartphone from TECNO till date, with its massive front-facing camera as well as great rear camera, fluid performance and decent battery life, you won’t be disappointed picking up one for your self.

The device is expected to go on sale  by May 2018 at a price range of N70,000-N75,000 in Nigeria.