Tecno Spark 8 Review – Tecno’s smartphone is basically aimed at the target audience in the budget range, and what makes it so special compared to the rest of the competition is the great value they provide with their products. Not long ago, the company launched the Tecno Spark 8 smartphone in September in India. On the same note, the phone has an aesthetic appearance, which catches attention at first glance.
However, there is a marginal difference or no difference between the Spark 7 and Spark 8 smartphones. Both smartphones equip some decent features and specs that are essential for the entry-level segment. On the other hand, their availability on the global stage does not confirm. Now, the question remains is that is it worth buying Tecno Spark 8 in 2021 or 2022? Let’s start with a detailed review of the Tecno Spark 8 smartphone.
Table of Contents
Tecno Spark 8 Review
Highlights
- The Tecno Spark 8 smartphone comes with a 6.52 inches IPS LCD display which features adequate pixel density and a decent color screen.
- As for performance, everything works through the 12nm Helio P22 chipset.
- The end of the software brings the Android 11 Go edition which also hits the HIOS 7.6 layer at the top.
- You’re getting a pretty standard 16MP dual camera setup and an 8MP selfie camera.
- The battery drops to 1000mAh from the previous generation device and you get a 5000mAh battery capacity with a 10W charger.
Design and Display
The sleek design layout is something the Tecno brand can easily put off when it needs a new device. The back panel looks a bit like what you’ll get in a Poco M3 phone, but the color choices ensure it has a classic feel. There are shade options such as Cyan Turquoise, Atlantic Blue, and Purple Iris. Each one of them looks really nice and aesthetic. Also, you can choose whoever you want!
If you prefer bold colors and extravagant looks, without a doubt, Iris Purple is the best choice for you, while the other shades also impress. The build quality is cheap, as the company makes a plastic construction, but the glossy pattern changes the overall experience. Though you will notice blemishes from time to time. But, the Tecno Spark 8 looks a bit heavy and thick due to the huge battery life.
In addition, the rear panel offers a new camera island design with a rear-mounted fingerprint reader. The design didn’t look forced, but it improved the overall look. Moving to the front screen, the 6.52 inches IPS LCD panel handles the price range and offers 720p resolution with a normally better brightness screen. However, as usual, you will not receive the protection of gorilla corning glass.
Memory and Internal
Tecno Spark 8’s hardware section is pretty much standard, and hopefully, you won’t have any problems with multitasking. Next, you’ll find the Helio P22 chipset under the hood. This chipset allows you to play light games like candy crush and hill-climbing, but if you try to play games like BGIM or Call of Duty, the phone will not support it due to the low RAM capacity.
On the other hand, the octa-core processor offers a stealth speed of 2.0 GHz. With that, you will have no problems in your day-to-day and will surf the internet continuously. The final software is also good enough to provide the cost-effective Android 11 Go edition with the custom interface of HIOS 7.6. In this interface, you’ll notice immersive personalization features, but at the same time, bloatware and ad notification are common.
Apparently the Tecno Spark 8 arrives with decent performance features compared to other entry-level smartphones – while optimizing the software will increase battery life. However, 2GB RAM can delay multitasking, while 64GB storage limits are sufficient for storage media to some extent. The company also has at least one secondary storage unit.
Camera
The Tecno smartphone’s camera quality lags behind the trend, and the image processing software is below average. But in the middle of that, the only thing is to confirm that you’ll get decent photos in daylight, thanks to the better implementation of the AI ​​software. In addition, the company offers a dual 16 MP primary camera that lets you capture the moment of your life without any worries.
The colors and saturation are just right in terms of daylight photography, while you can shoot videos up to 1080p without a problem. Still, the same features and quality cannot be expected from low-light photography. Photos will come out grainy and oversaturated at times, and you can’t do anything about the glare of the light. The secondary camera supports portrait mode which adds depth to photos.
The rear camera is standard but not the worst as you are getting at least a dual-camera setup. On the other hand, the native camera app brings some exceptional features like professional mode, portrait mode, video mode, AI beauty mode, and more. Lastly, the selfie camera section also looks decent, but video recording with the 8MP selfie port would be a mess, and you’ll be disappointed with the result.
Battery and Others
The overall battery performance of Tecno Spark 8 is good enough to satisfy user needs as you can consume more than 5 hours of screen time under ideal conditions. As for the specs on paper, you’re getting a Li-Po 5000 mAh battery, it’s huge and will render a decent battery. At the same time, the company also produces a 10W charger inside the box.
There are no additional features worth noting, nor does the phone offer compass sensors. In terms of sound quality, the output is average – still, the 3.5 jack port is a blessing to behold. In addition, the $110 (Rs 7,999) approx is justified the phone’s value. But if you compare it to the previous Tecno Spark 8 variant, it can render the same value. In short, at this price point, the phone is good for primary calling and Internet browsing.
Tecno Spark 8 Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Tecno Spark 8 smartphone.
| Specifications | Tecno Spark 8 | |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G | |
| Announced | September 2021 | |
| SIM | Dual-SIM | |
| Dimensions | 6.49 x 3.00 x 0.36 inches | |
| Weight | 200 grams | |
| Size | 6.52 inches | |
| Display | IPS LCD 480 nits brightness 20:9 ratio ~269 PPI density | |
| Protection | No | |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels | |
| OS | Android 11 (Go edition), HIOS 7.6 | |
| Chipset | 12nm – Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22 | |
| CPU | Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 | |
| GPU | PowerVR GE8320 | |
| Card slot | microSDXC | |
| RAM | 2GB | |
| Internal | 64GB eMMC 5.1 | |
| Camera | 16 MP (wide), AF 16 MP AI Quad-LED flash Max – 1080@30fps | |
| Selfie | 8 MP (wide) Dual-LED flash Max – 1080@30fps | |
| Loudspeaker | Yes | |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes | |
| WLAN | Yes | |
| Bluetooth | Yes | |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS | |
| NFC | No | |
| Infrared port | No | |
| Radio | Yes | |
| USB | micro-USB 2.0, USB On-The-Go | |
| Sensors | Rear-mounted fingerprint, accelerometer, proximity | |
| Battery | Li-Po 5000 mAh Charging 10W | |
| Colors | Turquoise Cyan, Atlantic Blue, Iris Purple | |
| Expected Price | $110 (Rs 7,999) approx. |
Conclusion
The Tecno Spark 8 phone’s biggest downfall would be its RAM capacity, as it only renders 2GB of RAM, and most users won’t like the camera’s new bump. But on the other hand, the $99 price range is fine. Plus, you’re also getting decent battery life, ensuring your device stays running for more than two days.
Anyway, if you’re looking for a standard device from which you can get a simple experience without any performance-oriented hardware, for casual internet usage and checking social media feeds with some camera features, the Tecno Spark 8 is an adequate deal. However, if you are willing to spend a little more, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10T is a good deal at a discount. Lastly, it’s hard to recommend this phone to you due to the RAM, and going with the alternative seems like a better option but the final decision is up to you.
