Tecno Camon 12
The Tecno brand has been known for a while as cheap alternatives to many pricier phones, shifting the focus to less pricy components but still deliver solid performance. Within the stable is the more camera-centric Camon series, which launched a new release in August 2019 called Tecno Camon 12. The camera, of course, is the major focus but a few goodies still lie in within. Let’s take a look.
Tecno Camon 12 specs and price in Kenya
Price | Ksh 15,000 |
Display | 6.52 inch |
Camera | 16 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP |
RAM | 4 GB |
Storage | 64 GB |
Chipset | Mediatek Helio P22 |
O.S | Android 9.0 Pie |
Battery | 4,000 mAh |
Design and display
The Tecno Camon 12 comes with a 6.52 inch IPS LCD with a teardrop notch to house the forward-facing camera, with narrow bezels but quite a conspicuous bottom chin, still attaining an 81.6% screen to body ratio. It is expectedly a plastic build, both the frame and the back. The polycarbonate material has a shimmering gradient to it, something we have seen with many other manufacturers, giving it a premium look and feel.
On the back, we have a triple camera vertical module and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. The display is well saturated, offering a pleasurable experience when consuming content. But just like many other LCD panels, it struggles in direct sunlight. It comes with a 3.5mm jack but a micro-USB connector. You may want to check out Camon 16 Pro as well.
Performance and storage
The Tecno Camon 12 carries the MTK6762 Helio P22 chip, alongside an octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex A53 CPU and a PowerVR GE8320 GPU. The SoC is entry-level so we don’t expect it to be great in graphics, but it handles every other task with ease. When it comes to gaming, it has to reduce the graphics to more manageable levels from where it delivers its punch. The storage on board is 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, in addition to a dedicated microSDXC slot that houses the expandable memory slot. The memory should suffice for the average user easily, even with multiple opened apps.
Camera
The main focus of the Camon series has always been to deliver a good camera but at a budget price and the Tecno Camon, 12 is no different. It has a triple camera set up, starting with a 16mp wide camera, then an 8mp ultrawide lens, and a 2mp depth sensor. The photos are decent, especially in optimal light, but it can really struggle in low light. The bokeh is believable though the portrait mode doesn’t have great edge detection. It can record 1080p video in 30fps. Upfront, we have a 16mp wide lens too, which delivers decent selfies. It can shoot 1080p video in 30fps.
Battery
The Tecno Camon 12 comes with a non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery which easily lasts throughout the hole, even into the following day so it should be great for media consumption, browsing and calls. Since it comes with a micro USB connector, it, unfortunately, has no fast charging so one has to contend with standard charging, which takes about 3.5 hours to fill up. This is not optimal, but it was an expected compromise.
Software
The Tecno Camon 12 comes with Android 9 Pie-based HIOS 5.5, with the possibility of an Android 10 update. The software, unfortunately, comes with massive bloatware, anything preloaded app to system ads that seem to pop up everywhere a little too often. It might feel frustrating but there are options within the system to turn them off. It is decently optimized, but it still takes some getting used to. The sensors are not fast, especially the face unlock which fails to recognize the face regularly
Final remarks
For the price it offers, the Tecno Camon 12 is still a great device, despite its software bloatware. It offers a decent camera, a capable entry-level chipset, and great battery life. That on top of the modern-looking design, it does make a case for itself that is worth considering.
Visit the official website to learn more.
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