Tecno’s Pova series is sold in South Africa, and the newest, the Pova 8 5G, is likely to make its way here eventually. For now, the Chinese brand has launched its newest handset in India. It’s a very decent early look for locals, who could see the unusual design turn up in the very near future.
Not that we really need the look. Visuals and details for the Pova 8 have been leaking for ages. The Indian launch just confirms everything we’ve been seeing since May this year. Perhaps the best thing about it is its rear panel design.
See my Pova 8
Which, as we’ve seen, is fairly unique. The Nothing range of phones does something similar, but goes a few steps further than Tecno’s Alive Matrix display. This section lives in the camera island and shows dot matrix visuals in an area that might otherwise be occupied by a camera sensor. It’s cool, sure, but is it cool enough to make the rest of the Pova 8 appealing?
Inside the phone is a Dimensity 7100 processor, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage as standard. The display is a 6.76in LCD — there’s sadly no OLED to play with — and Tecno has opted for a massive 8,000mAh battery. The phone is designed for gaming, according to the company, with a graphite sheet inside that’ll supposedly keep it cooler under heavy load.
Unfortunately, the Pova 7 range sports a more impressive processor (the Dimensity 7300 Ultimate). The Chinese company seems to offset this downgrade with the Pova 8’s visually striking design. And the battery. And the extra cooling tech.
More standard features include a main Sony-made 50MP rear camera sensor, along with a backup lens nobody thought was important enough to specify. The front sensor captures 13MP stills, and the whole thing runs Android 16 under the company’s HiOS 16 skin.
Pricing in India is known, but we’d be guessing at local costs. The Pova 7 Pro launched here at R13,000, and the standard version starts at R11,000. Indian pricing pegs the starting price for the Pova 8 5G at around R5,300 (Rs30,000), but we doubt South African buyers will get that lucky. As soon as the newest from Tecno is confirmed for this country, we’ll let you know.
