Tecno’s entry-level offerings are known for their low prices gaming-powered smartphones and a strong set of specs. As their name began to emerge and become popular in the Philippine market, they earned the reputation of a market challenger. Today, we have premium midrange to flagship phones to choose from, but there are still affordable options.
Let’s go back to the launch of the Tecno Camon series last year. The Tecno Camon 18 is their most recent and least expensive device in the series that features a 90hz display, Mediatek Helio G88 chipset, 5000mAh battery, and a premium-looking design. Find out if it’s a good fit for your entry-level gaming.
Pros
Cons
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The vanilla version is a thick and hefty smartphone with a glossy finish and gradient design. Most of the time, you’ll see fingerprint smudges but using a protective case prevents this. The back is fairly clean, with a Tecno Camon text in the bottom right corner and the camera module is in the top left.
Taking a closer look at its camera bump, the housing of each lens has a large circumference despite the fact that the lenses are smaller. We couldn’t argue why it’s so big, but it’s really cool to see because it has an aesthetic feel to it. On a flat surface, it doesn’t wobble much as the bumps aren’t protruding much. Holding and using the Tecno Camon 18 for an extended period of time doesn’t cause much stress in the hands, despite the fact that it has a budget build. The durability will be determined over time, but we believe the solid feel will make it last longer.
Moving on to the frame, it has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner integrated with the power button, which is located on the right side beneath the volume rocker. The simtray is sitting on the upper left side. It consists of a dual nano sim slot and expandable storage slot that can expand up to 512GB which is great considering the price. There is nothing on top of the device but at the bottom, there is a headphone jack, microphone, USB Type-C port, and speaker grille.
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When it comes to the front, what we like about the Tecno Camon 18 is the overall look of the display as well as the specs of the screen. For less than P10,000, we get a punch-hole cutout, a smaller chin bezel, and a FHD+ display on its large 6.8-inch screen. It has a 20:9 aspect ratio, which makes it appear taller, and it serves as your multimedia binge-watching device. Because of the 90Hz refresh rate, scrolling is also smooth. We know for a fact that it is one of the sub-P10k devices with 90Hz plus FHD+, so the specs are impressive.
In terms of quality, as previously stated, watching Netflix and other media streaming apps works perfectly in the Tecno Camon 18, despite the lack of an AMOLED panel. The colors are vibrant and true to life, with a compact look to the overall elements of the UI. However, we couldn’t find any temperature control or color booster within the settings that would improve the screen’s quality beyond its capabilities. But even without it, we can tell that it meets the needs for multimedia and other aspects. Not to mention that it has an auto-refresh rate, eye care mode, and dark mode, so it can still save some juice while protecting your eyes from blue light. The brightness can also reach 550nits, which is ideal for outdoor use and represents an improvement over its predecessor, the Camon 17. The display provides more than we could have hoped for the price.
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Moving to its cameras, the Tecno Camon 18 has a triple camera setup. A 48MP primary snapper, a 2MP macro, and a 2MP depth sensor. While the punch hole cutout in the front houses a 16MP selfie camera with dual-LED flash, this will help to capture decent selfies even in low light. Moreover, it can record video up to 2K resolution and 1080p, but the video bokeh feature only records in 720p.
In terms of quality, the main camera produces decent colors and vibrancy, there are no visible grains in the shadows as well and the sharpness is on point. However, it has a tendency to overexpose shots when HDR is turned off. The overexposure images didn’t introduce extreme highlights, but rather a +1 above the exposure value meter. This can be corrected by enabling HDR mode, which lowers highlights while lifting shadows to improve overall image light balance. Higher exposure isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the rule of thumb states that it’s better to have an over-exposed shot than an under-exposed image because you can’t push the shadows and blacks any further. Still, we recommend always capturing with HDR On to ensure a great overall output every time. We can say that it has an impressive quality beyond its price point.
When shooting at night, the Tecno Camon 18 produces grains in extremely low light conditions, however, using the super night mode feature improves overall picture quality. When there is enough light, the main camera will capture a contrasty image to compensate for the deeper blacks and make the image look decent. However, activating the Super Night Mode feature improves the color, contrast, and exposure balance, which is impressive.
As for Macro photography, there are no visible grains on each photo, and we are impressed by its quality despite the fact that it is only a 2MP lens. It’s a fixed focus macro, but once you’ve got the focus right, it produces a clear image with details and colors. It’s not the best quality, but for the price, it’s one of many macro lenses that produce decent results.
When it comes to selfies, the skin tone is accurate when captured in the main AI cam mode. When you switch to beauty mode, your skin tone will be inconsistent because it detects minor changes in white balance. But my face has been beautified, and my pimples have been removed, despite the fact that it appears soft. It needs more sharpening to the face to look more natural. Nonetheless, the images are quite good for the price.
There are a lot of helpful and useful features in its native camera app, but the ability to capture in Pro Mode is a little lacking. As a photographer, I’m always looking for a smartphone with DSLR-like control in its camera in case I can’t bring my arsenals with me, but the Tecno Camon 18, like the Tecno Phantom X, lacked Pro Mode and pro controls to capture different photography styles. However, for users who only shoot with a point-and-shoot camera, the device includes features that automate everything, such as film mode, super night mode, beauty, AI, bokeh video, and so on. It’s also worth noting that it lacks a stabilization feature. However, we can say that for the price, it is already feature-packed.
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Under the hood, the Tecno Camon 18 is powered by a newer chipset, MediaTek Helio G88 with 12nm architecture. When we look back on Mediatek’s affordable gaming-powered chipsets in 2020, the Helio G88 is much improved and can run games at FHD+ with higher stability. We tried playing games, and the results can be found here. Furthermore, it can run esports title games and some Honkai Impact, but don’t expect stable frames when playing Genshin Impact because it is a heavier graphic game. With higher quality settings, PUBG Mobile, COD Mobile, Wildrift, and Mobile Legends all work fine and are stable.
Moreover, the configuration we have includes 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. 6GB is more than enough for multitasking and playing graphically demanding games while other apps run in the background. The 128GB plus 512GB expandable storage provides a lot of space, and we can already tell that it’s a good deal for the price of less than P10,000.
Now for its software, it runs on Android 11 with the latest HIOS 8.0 with some graphical interface improvements for easier navigation. The Tecno Camon 18 has peek proof, theft alert, one hand, game mode, AI assistant, Ella Voice Assistant, kids mode, and power boost as internal features. The software has useful and helpful features for daily needs, and it is still improving. Though the app drawer is still not that seamless, we didn’t get much stutter when there are heavy tasks and the 90Hz adds fluidity to the overall experience.
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In terms of battery life, we put the Tecno Camon 18’s 5000mAh battery through its paces for two hours of nonstop gaming. The battery dropped from 100% to 78%, which is already an impressive result. However, if it falls below 40%, the battery will begin to feel drained quickly. Heavy usage lasts only 7 hours and 10 minutes, which is significantly shorter than other competitors in the price range. Though it is still dependent on usage, we believe it is acceptable due to its FHD+ IPS screen with 90Hz, and we frequently use the phone’s full capacity by playing games at higher quality settings.
As for charging, the Tecno Camon 18 has an 18W fast charging capability and charging the 5000mAh battery took us 2 hours and 35 minutes, which is quite slow but understandable given the device’s low price.
Overall, the Tecno Camon 18 costs P9,499 (6GB+128GB) and is available in the Philippines through the Tecno flagship store on Lazada, Shopee, and other physical stores.
It shows impressive capabilities and provides more than its price. It is a value-for-money device that meets gaming needs while also delivering great productivity due to its higher configuration. Though the battery is a drawback, as is the relatively heavy build, the display provides a unique experience for an entry-level smartphone. It is worthy enough and has excellent value for money.
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TECNO Camon 18 specs:
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Ihtisham ul Hassan says:
price kia ha or kia ya dabapac ha.