TECNO Camon 12 Review: The TECNO Camon 12 was launched in the country back in October. Tecno launched the three variants of the device – Camon 12 Air priced at Ksh 13,499 for the 3GB RAM/32GB ROM model and Ksh 15,499 for Camon 12 with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The front runner of the new series Camon 12 Pro is priced at Ksh 19,499 for the 6GB/64GB model.
We got the Camon review unit which is what we will be discussing briefly in this article. We also already did the unboxing video which you can read and check out below or here.
Remember as we said the device is already available in the market so you can grab one from Jumia or Tecno authorized dealers across the country.
Design and Display
The overall design looks good. We’re getting a 6.52-inch display with 90 per cent screen to body ratio and waterdrop notch, and curved edges.
The top is empty while the bottom houses the speakers, USB port and earphone jerk.
The right side is where we have the volume and power buttons while the left side houses the sim tray for two sim cards and microSD card
At the back we have the triple camera setup quad-LED flash and the fingerprint sensor. The phone also has a Face unlock option. I need to mention that the Camo 12 Pro features an in-screen fingerprint sensor.
As I said the overall design is good, nothing fancy. The phone feels stable and very light. The build is pretty good and the rounded corners make it fit perfectly against your palm. I never had any problems with the picture quality, its sharp given the screen size, the colour reproduction is pretty good as well although I really struggled using the phone under direct sunlight.
Specs Performance and battery life
The Tecno Camon 12 is powered by the Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22 Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 processor. It comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage which should be enough for you to store all your files and downloads. I never had any problems here. The phone can handle basic tasks like browsing, video streaming, social media and much more without struggling. No lags or anything.
For the software, we are getting Android 9 Pie and HiOS 5.5. The HiOS is good although we have been complaining about it simply because it supports ads. And as we have stated below it looks like the ads are here to stay. Getting a new launcher will however help you get better user experience.
The phone comes with a tonne of preinstalled bloatware which includes third-party and in-house apps. The good thing is you can get rid of these apps just to avoid getting those annoying notifications.
The battery life is impressive. Well, Tecno has never had issues when it comes to battery life on their smartphones. We are getting a 4000mAh battery which does a good job. The problem, however, is that it just takes too long to fully charge. There’s no support for fast charge and you might have to wait for more than 2 hours to hit 100%.
Cameras
Probably one of my favourite Tecno Camon 12 features. There’s a triple camera setup at the back – 16 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP depth sensor lenses. They take some pretty good shots. The shots are detailed and are even better in good lighting.
The selfie camera, on the other hand, is 16 MP and does a really good job.
There are a number of camera software tricks and modes such as AI enhancement, AR Stickers, and a Bokeh mode, beauty, AR Shot, among others. Check some sample shots below although we have camera review coming up where we will be sharing our best shots taken by the phone.
Conclusion
At Ksh 15,499, the Tecno Camon 12 is a good buy. The specs and basic performance are quite decent, the battery life and camera are also amazing. The overall design is also quite good so this looks like a phone I would really spend my money on.
The Camon 12 is an ideal option for those looking for exceptionally good performance in a budget-friendly phone. It comes in different colours like Dawn Blue, Dark Jade, and Sky Cyan. Have anything to add to this Tecno Camon 12 Review? Drop us a comment in the comments section below.
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