Tecno Pova Curve 5G Review: Stylish Looks With Just Enough Bite

Tecno and its sibling model Infinix, beneath the banner of Transsion Holdings, are amongst solely a handful of OEMs making an attempt to keep up a mass-market enchantment whereas additionally providing telephones that break the mould and stand out within the overcrowded sea of generic-looking choices. Aiding its trigger is the Tecno Pova Curve 5G, which was just lately launched in India, and this one is not any exception. Featuring a starship-inspired design and promising on-paper specs, the handset seeks to impress at first look. However, do these additions actually justify its price ticket?

The value of Tecno Pova Curve 5G in India begins at Rs. 15,999 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage configuration. It can also be accessible in an 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant, which is priced at Rs. 16,999. Read on to seek out out whether or not the handset is price its asking value in our Tecno Pova Curve 5G assessment.

Tecno Pova Curve 5G Design: Uniquely Refreshing

• Dimensions – 164.3 x 74.6 x 7.44mm
• Weight – 188.5g
• Durability – IP64

Make no mistake, the Tecno Pova Curve 5G has a particular look. It brings a curved, tall, and slender construct with a sleeker in-hand really feel and offers off a premium vibe. While the rear cowl and the body are each made from polycarbonate, the telephone nonetheless supplies a wonderful grip. At 7.44mm, the Tecno Pova Curve 5G is likely one of the slimmest telephones I’ve had the pleasure of utilizing at its value level. It additionally options good weight distribution, weighing in at 188.5g.

Moving on, the Tecno Pova Curve 5G’s futuristic again panel borrows inspiration from a starship. It is obtainable in a complete of three color choices — Geek Black, Magic Silver, and Neon Cyan. While the Geek Black is just too delicate and the Neon Cyan turns heads, I discovered the Magic Silver shade, that includes orange-accented components, to be probably the most interesting of the bunch. It sports activities a frosted end that highlights the assorted components, leading to a “techy” aesthetic with out being overly flamboyant. It is definitely nicer to the touch than most different handsets on this section with shiny plastics. This end not solely makes the Tecno Pova Curve 5G stand out but additionally helps with fingerprint resistance. The again panel additionally encompasses a vertically positioned twin digital camera setup, which we’ll focus on within the digital camera part later.

The prime of the telephone encompasses a speaker grille, a microphone, and an infrared (IR) blaster, which is a pleasant contact, permitting you to manage IR-compatible gadgets akin to TVs and air conditioners. Meanwhile, the speaker grille, SIM tray, microphone, and USB Type-C port are positioned on the backside. The proper aspect of the Tecno Pova Curve 5G options the ability button and quantity rockers, whereas the left aspect stays clear and uncluttered.

You get a speaker grille on every finish of the Tecno Pova Curve 5G

Lastly, its IP64-rated construct protects the handset from mud and water sprays, although you will should watch out about by accident dropping it within the pool.

Tecno Pova Curve 5G Display: Packs a Punch

• Display dimension – 6.78-inch, 1,080 x 2,436 pixels
• Display sort – AMOLED, 144Hz
• Display safety – Gorilla Glass 5

The show is likely one of the strongest fits of Tecno Pova Curve 5G. It sports activities a 6.78-inch full HD+ (1,080 x 2,436 pixels) curved AMOLED display screen with a 144Hz refresh fee, 1,300 nits peak brightness, and a 93.8 p.c screen-to-body ratio. I’ve at all times most popular curved panels to flat shows, which, although much less sensible and extra fragile, lend a extra premium really feel.

The Tecno Pova Curve 5G’s curved display screen doesn’t include a pre-applied protector

The color copy on the Tecno Pova Curve 5G is great, though it could possibly seem barely oversaturated to these transitioning from telephones in a decrease section, even when set to the “Original” setting. Courtesy of the AMOLED panel, you additionally get deeper blacks. When scrolling by apps or social media, the expertise is butter clean, primarily because of the 144Hz refresh fee, which is a uncommon however welcome addition at this value level. The display screen is about to 120Hz by default, however it may be manually adjusted to achieve as much as 144Hz in sure apps, akin to WhatsApp.

However, outside visibility is an space the place the Tecno Pova Curve 5G struggles. While completely tremendous to make use of indoors, the cruel daytime daylight, particularly in Delhi’s peak summer season situations, calls for a bit extra punch, which the telephone can’t ship. Further, there isn’t any official HDR help for streaming apps like Netflix, although the telephone typically fools YouTube into considering it has so, by software program.

The in-display fingerprint sensor is snappy and precisely registers fast inputs. Its display screen has a Gorilla Glass 5 coating however should be liable to scratches on account of its curved design. There’s no pre-applied display screen protector both, which I really feel is a notable omission because of the shortage of third-party protectors available in the market for handsets with curved screens.

Tecno Pova Curve 5G Performance: Par for the Course

• Processor – MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Ultimate RAM – 8GB (LPDDR5)
• Storage – 128GB (UFS 2.2)
• Software – HiOS 15

The Tecno Pova Curve 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Ultimate chipset. You get a alternative of both 6GB or 8GB LPDDR5 RAM together with 128GB of UFS 2.2 onboard storage capability. The RAM can additional be nearly expanded as much as 16GB utilizing further, unused storage. The firm claims to supply as much as two years of OS updates on the Tecno Pova Curve 5G.

The Tecno Pova Curve 5G runs on HiOS 15 based mostly on Android 15

The SoC delivers a efficiency par for the course. In day-to-day situations, the telephone was clean and responsive to make use of, and I didn’t discover any noticeable lag in on a regular basis duties, akin to calls, messaging, or searching by social media, even with a number of apps open in reminiscence. It also can deal with most video games, delivering between 80-85 frames per second (fps) after an hour and a half of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) gameplay when set on the “Smooth + Extreme+” graphics setting. However, the telephone did heat up a bit after prolonged play.

Storage is the place I felt Tecno may positively have completed extra on the Tecno Pova Curve 5G. You solely get 128GB of onboard storage, irrespective of which configuration you select. There’s no help for storage growth through a microSD card, both, which signifies that when you hold quite a lot of knowledge or take a lot of photos, this might turn into a bottleneck, and you will have to delete or switch them to release the area.

HiOS 15, based mostly on Android 15, powers the telephone. It is Tecno’s staple pores and skin, which we have already seen in different telephones from the Transsion Holdings subsidiary, with pretty snappy operation however with a good quantity of bloatware, too. While the UI, together with its deep customisation choices, takes a while to get used to, the remainder of the expertise is respectable and par for the course. What is not good is the software program help. Tecno has promised just one main OS replace for the Pova Curve 5G, together with two years of safety updates.

Some benchmark scores of the telephone to your reference

With synthetic intelligence (AI) turning into the buzzword in recent times, Tecno has jumped on the bandwagon, too, providing a stunning quantity of AI-backed options for the digital camera and productiveness on the Tecno Pova Curve 5G.

There’s AI Call Noise Cancellation, AI Auto Answer and AI Call Assistant for telephone calls, whereas the AI Gallery app will get AI Eraser 2.0 (for eradicating undesirable objects), Image Extender (to widen picture frames), and AI Sharpness Plus (for enhancing picture readability). Most of the options, particularly the AI Call Noise Cancellation, labored fairly nicely, although they’re cloud-based and require community connectivity always.

The major spotlight of the AI suite on the Tecno Pova Curve 5G is Ella, an AI voice assistant which provides help for Indian languages. It is a substitute for Google Assistant and can be utilized to do a variety of duties, akin to taking part in music, setting alarms and timers, or just asking queries. Currently, Ella solely helps conversations in Hindi and choose world languages, though Tecno claims it’s going to carry help for Bengali, Gujarati, and different regional languages by the top of 2025.

While it’s not a direct alternative for Google Assistant by any means, Tecno’s Ella works okay so long as your requests are easy.

Also price mentioning is the Intelligent Signal Hub System. It is claimed to allow seamless connectivity even in low or no-signal areas, but it surely solely works between Tecno Pova telephones, which limits its sensible usefulness. The audio on the Tecno Pova Curve 5G, backed by Dolby Atmos, is above common with ample quantity. So, there aren’t any actual complaints on this entrance.

Tecno Pova Curve 5G Cameras: Decent

• Primary digital camera – 64-megapixel, f/1.7
• Portrait digital camera – 2-megapixel, f/2.4
• Selfie digital camera – 13-megapixel

Moving on to the digital camera division, Tecno has geared up the Pova Curve 5G with a twin rear digital camera system, comprising a 64-megapixel main digital camera with a Sony IMX682 sensor and an f/1.7 aperture, and a 2-megapixel portrait lens with an f/2.4 aperture. And whereas the on-paper specs matter, it’s the real-world efficiency that does the speaking.

The Tecno Pova Curve 5G has respectable cameras for its value

The main sensor, a Sony IMX682 unit, captures glorious photographs in daylight, providing loads of element, sharpness, and vibrancy. When HDR is enabled, the photographs have a great dynamic vary. While the colors come out a bit an excessive amount of for somebody like me who leans in the direction of extra pure tones, they are often thought-about Instagram-worthy with out requiring an excessive amount of modifying work. The nighttime photographs additionally preserve element pretty nicely, though some noise can creep in throughout extraordinarily low-lit conditions when the Super Night mode will not be used.

Top to backside: Rear digital camera samples at 1x (main), 2x (in-sensor crop) zoom (faucet to develop)

If you are somebody who likes taking portrait images, then there is perhaps higher choices for you on the market than the Tecno Pova Curve 5G.

Left to proper: 24.0mm vs 35.0mm vs 50.0mm portrait digital camera pattern

While portrait photographs are detailed and infrequently seem mushy, the sting detection is hit-or-miss and lacks consistency, even with the devoted portrait mode enabled.

The 13-megapixel front-facing digital camera captures respectable selfies with some quantity of element, though there’s noticeable smoothening too.

Top to backside: daylight, indoor lighting, low-light selfie digital camera pattern (faucet to develop)

That mentioned, an enormous win for the Tecno Pova Curve 5G is the video recording help. It means that you can shoot in as much as 4K decision at as much as 30 fps, which is a uncommon providing on this section. The telephone additionally will get digital picture stabilisation (EIS), although the absence of OIS is felt right here.

Tecno Pova Curve 5G Battery: Great!

• Battery capability – 5,500mAh, lithium-ion
• Wired charging – 45W
• Wireless charging – No
• Charger within the field – Yes

The battery life on the Tecno Pova Curve 5G is great. It is provided with a 5,500mAh battery that helps quick charging at 45W. With average utilization involving calls, messages, social media, and streaming a number of movies, the telephone simply powers by a day and barely extra on a single cost. This is the case even with the always-on show (AoD) enabled. Heavy utilization shortens that window to barely shy of a day.

The telephone doesn’t help wi-fi charging

The firm claims that the handset can stand up to 50 p.c charged by plugging in for simply quarter-hour, whereas a 45-minute cost can prime it as much as 100%. In our exams, the Tecno Pova Curve 5G charged as much as 60 p.c in half-hour with the accompanying 45W charger. It took about 50 minutes to cost the telephone, which isn’t groundbreaking absolutely, but it surely will get the job completed.

Tecno Pova Curve 5G Verdict

The Tecno Pova Curve 5G presents a compelling case as a value-for-money providing within the crowded mid-range section. It is aided by a horny “starship-inspired” design and a slender construct, which provides it a visible edge in its section. The 144Hz refresh fee, together with the curved AMOLED display screen, ends in snappy operation and an immersive viewing expertise. Performance is par for the course. A complete set of AI options enhances the general enchantment, and the principle digital camera performs nicely in best lighting.

Storage limits, the requirement for a community to entry AI options, outside visibility challenges, and the shortage of HDR help dampen the expertise considerably, however none of those are main deal breakers. So, at its price ticket of Rs. 15,999, the Tecno Pova Curve 5G emerges as an honest alternative for individuals who want type, nifty AI options, dependable cameras, and a permanent battery life.