Now that’s more like it. After Tecno SA strayed from tradition today when it debuted the considerably more mid-range Pova 7 Series at a launch event in Johannesburg, the company quickly followed it up with a return to normalcy with the definitively budget Spark 40 Series. Arriving today, the Spark 40 Series consists of four devices — the Spark 40C, Spark 40, Spark 40S, and, finally, the Spark 40 Pro.
If you were at all stressed that Tecno was done with the budget side of things, don’t be. The company’s new devices are as budget-friendly as they come, with the Spark 40C arriving with a RRP of R1,700, while the highest-end Spark 40 Pro debuts at R7,000. The devices in between — the Spark 40 and Spark 40 S — will demand R2,500 and R4,00 of your budget bucks, respectively. Tecno’s got something for everybody this year.
Tecno Sparks are flying
Kicking things off comes the Tecno Spark 40C, repping a 6.67in HD+ IPS display that doesn’t exactly spark joy, not that buyers will be particularly fussed at this price. It goes above the budget trend with a 120Hz refresh rate, but we struggle to see much use coming in with the sub-par Helio G81 chipset and 4GB RAM it sports, too.
Not to worry. The 6,000mAh battery more than makes up for the lacking internals, though how it’ll fare in conjunction with the weaker Helio SoC remains to be seen. It won’t take the prettiest pictures with a pretty basic 13MP shooter located on the rear, and selfies leave much to be desired at 8MP. Still, you’ll struggle to find a device that’s this competent at the R1,700 asking price, even if you have to contend with 128GB storage.
Raise that budget to R2,500, and you’ll get hold of the Spark 40 — which doesn’t do much to separate itself from the Spark 40C. The Helio G81 returns, as does the 6.67in HD+ 120Hz TFT LCD, though with up to 6GB of RAM and only 128GB of storage to play around with.
You’re also missing out on the Spark 40C’s impressive battery, with the regular Spark 40 only offering up a 5,200mAh figure that does at least do 45W wired charging. It’s clear Tecno spent most of the budget upping that 13MP shooter to a more respectable 50MP one, though it still retains the 8MP selfie camera.
The brightest Sparks
If you’ve got the cash to spare, it’s Tecno’s Spark 40 Pro that you want, coming in at R7,000 when it hits stores in the coming weeks. The Spark 40S, as far as we can tell, is identical to the regular Spark 40, though with increased storage (up to 256GB) and more RAM (up to 8GB RAM). Is it worth the R1,500+ increase? Only time will tell. For now, it’s the Spark 40 Pro that interests us most.
The top-of-the-range Spark 40 Pro is easily the most powerful of the lot, even if we wouldn’t technically call the MediaTek Helio G100 Ultimate a powerful processor. It’ll get the job done faster than all the rest, not least because of the 8GB of RAM and 128/256GB storage flavours on offer here.
It’s working with a 6.78in, 144Hz AMOLED (1,224 x 2,720) display, 5,200mAh battery (with 45W wired charging) and the same 50MP and 13MP cameras we’ve seen on the rest of the Spark 40 family. All you’re really paying for with the Pro is an upgraded chipset, more RAM and storage. Whether it can pull it off for a few thousand more than its closest counterpart…
The entire Spark 40 Series will be available from “select retail partners… in the coming weeks,” according to Tecno, although it hasn’t mentioned any specifics at the time of writing.
