itel Power 80 review: A closer look at its battery, gaming performance and durability
Itel launched the Power 80 a few months ago, and we’ve been using it for a good amount of time since then. This is their latest budget device for the Kenyan market and succeeds the Power 70 from last year.
The Power 80 makes a straightforward case for itself in Kenya’s budget smartphone market: a 7,000mAh battery, a 120Hz display and reinforced construction designed to withstand everyday knocks. It also runs Android 16 with itel OS 16, bringing a range of customisation and AI-assisted features to an entry-level device powered by the Unisoc T7250 processor.
For buyers who spend long hours away from a charger, work outdoors or want a phone built to handle accidental drops, the combination has practical appeal. The compromises become apparent in the display resolution, camera performance and charging speed, which are important considerations when comparing phones around the KSh 20,000 mark.
A rugged design with practical protection
The Power 80 stands apart from conventional entry-level smartphones through its industrial-style rear panel, reinforced frame and cushioned corners. Its raised edges help keep the display from making direct contact with flat surfaces when the phone lands face down, while the corner protectors are designed to absorb some of the impact from accidental falls. At approximately 8.5mm to 8.6mm thick, it maintains a relatively slim profile for a phone carrying a 7,000mAh battery. The design prioritises everyday resilience without adopting the bulky appearance associated with some specialist rugged phones.
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itel advertises IP68 and IP69 protection, MIL-STD-810H compliance and drop resistance of up to 2 metres. The company has also described a reinforced internal frame, shock-absorbing corners and protective sealing around vulnerable areas. These features make the Power 80 appealing to users who regularly handle their phones in demanding environments, whether commuting, working outdoors or moving between job sites.
The hardware includes a side-mounted fingerprint reader integrated into the power button, face unlock and an infrared blaster for controlling compatible household appliances. Its dedicated triple-slot SIM tray accommodates two nano-SIM cards and a microSD card simultaneously, so users can expand storage without sacrificing a second SIM. A 3.5mm headphone jack is also included, alongside USB-C connectivity. These are useful practical details for buyers who prefer wired audio, expandable storage and conventional controls over accessories that add to the cost of ownership.
The 120Hz display makes everyday use smoother
The Power 80 has a 6.78-inch IPS LCD with a resolution of 720 × 1576 pixels and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. Scrolling through social feeds, navigating menus and moving between compatible applications feels smoother than on a conventional 60Hz screen. The large display also suits video playback, reading articles and messaging. Its HD+ resolution is the main compromise: text and fine details are less sharp than they would be on a Full HD+ panel of similar size.
Brightness is adequate for ordinary use, ranging from approximately 493 nits under normal conditions to around 690 nits with the higher-brightness mode enabled. That gives the phone useful headroom for outdoor use, although direct sunlight can still make viewing more difficult. Colour reproduction is acceptable for browsing, video and social media.
The phone can also adjust its refresh rate according to activity, and individual applications may operate at lower rates. For everyday use, the result is a responsive-feeling interface, even though the screen lacks the sharpness and colour performance available from more expensive AMOLED displays.
Performance is suited to everyday apps and lighter gaming
The Power 80 uses the Unisoc T7250 octa-core processor with a Mali-G57 GPU. Its common Kenyan retail configuration has 4GB of physical RAM and upto 8GB of virtual RAM expansion offered through MemFusion and 128GB of internal storage, and microSD support. This hardware is suitable for messaging, social media, web browsing, cosnuming multimedia and ordinary multitasking. Heavier workloads can expose its limits, particularly when several demanding applications are open or when a game requires sustained graphics performance.
Benchmark results put the phone firmly in the entry-level category. It records approximately 359,000 to 389,000 points in the AnTuTu tests , while Geekbench 6 results sit around 435 in single-core performance and 1,400 in multi-core performance. These figures give a useful indication of the processor’s capabilities. The phone is built to cover everyday smartphone tasks rather than compete with midrange devices designed for intensive gaming or heavy content creation.
Gaming performance is reasonable when settings are chosen with the hardware in mind. In Mobile Legends, the phone averages around 58 frames per second at the tested settings, with dips to 44 FPS during busy battles and a reported maximum temperature of 38°C during a 15-minute session. Free Fire produces a similar average of 58 FPS, with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum temperature of 38°C in the same test duration. These results make both games playable, although demanding moments can still produce frame-rate drops.
The limits are more obvious in demanding titles. PUBG Mobile is playable at moderate settings and a 30 FPS frame-rate option, while Genshin Impact struggles to maintain a comfortable experience. The virtual gyroscope is another consideration for players who rely on precise motion controls. The Power 80 is therefore a reasonable choice for casual gaming and lighter competitive titles, but buyers who prioritise demanding games should look for a more capable processor.
Battery life is the main attraction, but charging is slow
The 7,000mAh battery is the Power 80’s strongest selling point. Its capacity provides substantial room for messaging, browsing, video playback and calls throughout the day, and lighter users may be able to stretch a charge into a second day. Actual endurance depends on screen brightness, mobile signal strength, gaming and background activity. For anyone who regularly spends long hours away from a power outlet, the battery capacity is a meaningful advantage.
In battery tests, 30 minutes of 1080p video playback used around 4% of the charge, while 30 minutes of TikTok and Instagram scrolling also consumed approximately 4%. A 30-minute gaming session used around 8%. Another test recorded 17 hours and 44 minutes of offline YouTube playback at approximately 200 nits of brightness.
Charging is the more noticeable compromise. The phone is supplied with an 18W charger, and a full charge takes approximately three hours in testing. Reaching 50% can take more than an hour with the supplied adapter, so topping up the phone during a short break will not restore most of its capacity. A higher-capacity USB Power Delivery charger produced a modest improvement during my review period.
The phone also supports reverse wired charging, allowing it to provide power to compatible accessories or another device. This is useful when travelling or when another device needs an emergency top-up. Given the Power 80’s large battery, the feature adds flexibility, although using it will naturally reduce the charge available to the phone itself.
Cameras are adequate for everyday photography
The Power 80 has a 50MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera. In good lighting, the rear camera is suitable for everyday snapshots, food photography, document capture and casual portraits. The front camera handles video calls and social media selfies, with portrait mode offering an additional option for separating people from their backgrounds. The camera hardware is functional for the price category.
Low-light photography is less convincing. Fine details can look soft, exposure can be uneven, and indoor images lack the consistency expected from more expensive camera systems. The same limitations apply to video, where the phone records at up to 1080p at 30 frames per second on both the rear and front cameras. Handheld footage can appear shaky when walking, making the device better suited to casual clips than to users who regularly record moving subjects.
The rear camera module has three visible circular elements, but the 50MP sensor is the main photographic camera. For buyers who mostly take photos during the day and share them on social platforms, the camera is serviceable.
Android 16 brings a wider set of software features
The Power 80’s ships with Android 16 with itel OS 16, and this software combination includes customisation tools for icons, folders, widgets, lock-screen wallpapers and gesture navigation. Users can also adjust display refresh settings, manage app permissions and customise aspects of the phone’s interface. These features help make the handset more flexible for everyday use, rather than limiting users to a basic home screen and a handful of settings.
The software package also includes AI-labelled tools for writing, translation, subtitles, notes, document assistance and theme generation. Circle to Search provides a way to look up information from content displayed on the screen, while Gemini can be launched through the assistant shortcut on the demonstrated software build. These features can be useful for drafting text, understanding content in another language or finding information without switching repeatedly between applications. Their availability and functionality depend on the software build, supported languages and, for connected services, internet access.
Additional settings include app locking, hidden applications, protected files, power-off verification and Find My Device integration. The phone also promotes an Adaptive Outdoor Experience intended to improve usability outside through adjustments to brightness and call handling in noisy environments. Features such as rain touch control and speaker water-ejection functions are designed for situations in which the screen or speaker has been exposed to moisture. They add practical options to the package, though they do not replace the need to handle a water-resistant phone carefully.
The triple-slot tray, infrared blaster and headphone jack round out a software and hardware package that focuses on utility. Virtual RAM expansion can also allow the system to reserve some storage for memory-related tasks, but it is not equivalent to having more physical RAM.
Should you buy the itel Power 80 in Kenya?
The itel Power 80 makes the strongest case for buyers who want a large battery and a more protective body without paying for a specialist rugged phone. Its 7,000mAh battery, 120Hz display, expandable storage, infrared blaster and advertised water and dust resistance give it a useful set of features for daily use. It also handles popular lighter games reasonably well and offers a broader software feature set than a basic entry-level handset.
The trade-offs matter if the phone will be used for more demanding tasks. The HD+ screen is less sharp than Full HD+ alternatives, the Unisoc T7250 is not built for demanding gaming, low-light photography is limited, and 18W charging makes the large battery slow to refill. The common 4GB/128GB configuration is adequate for everyday apps, but buyers should compare physical RAM and storage specifications carefully rather than relying on virtual memory figures alone.
The itel Power 80 is now available across Kenya through official itel stores, Phone Place outlets, Jumia Kenya, and other authorized retailers, with a recommended retail price of KSh 19,499. The combination of battery capacity, reinforced construction and everyday performance is compelling.
At Ksh 20,499, the itel Power 80 deserves consideration for buyers who prefer a sharper 1.5K AMOLED display and a more performance-oriented Unisoc T7300 processor, although its 6,000mAh battery and IP65 rating give it a different balance of features.
The buying decision comes down to what matters most. The Power 80 is a sensible option for people who value endurance, reinforced construction and a large, smooth display more than camera versatility or gaming power. Buyers who spend more time watching high-resolution content, taking photos or playing demanding games may get better value from a phone with a sharper display and faster processor, even if its battery is smaller.
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