It’s been a minute since I wrote a gadgets review and oh boy do I feel a little rusty. I can’t even remember how I used to start these articles. Tech guys, I need your help for real. I recently bought the Tecno Camon 18 device and I have been dying to give my two cents on this budget phone. Should you buy it or should you choose your next phone from other brands such as Xiaomi, Vivo, Infinix etc? Well, I am here to help you make that decision.
Tecno released the Camon 18 series in October 2021 in three variants the 18 Premier, the regular Camon 18, Camon 18P, and Camon 18i. With me I have the regualar Tecno Camon 18 in the color dusky grey. There are other two color options to pick from Iris Purple and Ceramic White.
Display
At first sight, the phone looks a bit chunky but quite classy. I would have however preferred a matte finish over the glossy finish that the phone has. Good thing the phone comes with a plastic cover as it easily picks up fingerprint smudges. It has a 6.80-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080×2460 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20.5:9. The phone has a 90hz LCD screen which I love. It is actually one of the most affordable phones with a 90hz refresh rate.
The phone size is quite good as most users tend to use their phones to work, play and scroll through social media. The AMOLED display is bright at 550 nits and quite vibrant making it enjoyable to watch your favorite series and YouTube videos.
When it comes to sound the phone is quite loud thanks to the bottom-facing speaker and earpiece at the top bezel. It is good to note that in a busy and loud environment you can hear your phone ring and actually communicate with someone on phone.
The phone packs a 48MP triple camera setup that also has a 2MP depth and 2MP macro sensor that is vertically arranged. The USB C, speaker grille, and 3.5mm headphone jack is placed on the bottom. A fingerprint sensor is integrated with the power button on the side, above which is a tactile volume rocker key. The top edge is completely empty with the top left side housing the triple slot tray for your two sim cards and SD card.
Straight out of the box the TECNO Camon 18 is powered by an octa-core Helio G88 processor, Mali G52 GPU paired with 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of onboard storage. Powering the Camon 18 is Android 11 and HiOS 8.
Performance
When it comes to performance the phone is quite good, switching through apps is seemingly smooth. Just a little lagging is experienced when switching through heavy apps. These specs configuration handles everything pretty well.
HiOS 8 brings in some redesigned features that are quite nifty. The quick setting toggle is bigger and the notifications features look nice. And there is a little skill you must learn to get access to the settings and notifications it’s not just a swipe down. You have to swipe down from the right side of the display to get the quick settings while swiping from the left side brings the notification shade.
Tecno phones are known to come with a lot of bloatware and preinstalled apps and the Camon 18 is no different. HiOS 8 pre-installed apps still send unwarranted notifications so I recommend uninstalling or disabling apps like Scooper News. And any other app that you will not be using.
Camera
In terms of photography, the Camon 18 does an amazing job of capturing good details in low lighting. And with good lighting conditions, the Camon 18 produces very detailed pictures with a very good amount of dynamic range. At night the 48Mp camera doesn’t disappoint as it still produces a decent amount of details and is still very clear. The selfie camera packs a 16MP lens which also does a good job in producing decent photos.
The Camon 18 has various photo and video modes to play with such as Super Night Mode, video bokeh mode, wide selfie, portrait, short video among others. You can shoot video at 2K resolution – also works for Timelapse. Strangely, video bokeh mode is capped at 720p just as video beauty mode so you will have to stick with the main video shooting mode.
Also, the Camon 18 is in line to be updated to Android 12 and HiOS 8.5 when that update rolls out to the series. TECNO has already scheduled for the Camon 17 Pro and the Phantom X to be the first TECNO devices to get the new update.
Battery Life
When it comes to battery life the Tecno Camon 18 is more than decent. If you lightly use the device can last for about two days before it gets to 15%. When the device is heavily used the phone lasts about 8-9 hours. The TECNO Camon 18 rocks a 5000mAh battery with an 18W fast Type-C charging. When it comes to charging it takes 1 hour and 48 minutes to take you from empty to 96%.
Having used the device for a month now, I have been thoroughly enjoying using the device. So should you buy it or not? My verdict is that the Tecno Camon 18 is a good device to own, its great battery life, camera, and smooth performance are some of the reasons you should highly consider buying this device.
This device is available in most official TECNO branded retail stores countrywide and online stores such as Jumia. The phone is retailing at Ksh27,000.
Also Read: Best Phones to buy in 2022
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