The South African smartphone market is getting even more diverse with the launch of some new brands and devices that were previously unavailable in the local cellular space. One new arrival that is really making a splash is Tecno.
The Chinese brand has a handful of impressive and, admittedly, very affordable devices which have given South Africans alternative options to the big household names out there. Tecno’s latest release in South Africa sees the brand introduce its flagship device, the Camon 17P, to the market. But is this device something you should consider if you have a budget of R5,000 to spend on a new smartphone?
The ‘P’ essentially stands for ‘Pro’, making this the upscaled edition of Tecno’s Camon 17, which in itself, is an impressive device in the category. So, what does the Pro model deliver?
UNDER THE HOOD
The Camon 17P features a sizable 6.8-inch FHD dot-in display, which is clear, crisp, and has an impressive display of vibrancy in its colours. It may not be the slickest and most high-end screen on the smartphone market, but for the price category, this is an impressive display that gives you enough clarity and size for any application, whether it be work, gaming, or media-viewing.
Powered by MediaTek’s Helio G85 chipset and paired with 6GBs of RAM, and 128GBs internal storage, the 17P offers pretty robust hardware. The device is able to keep up with just about any demand from any type of user and the performance is impressive for a mid-tier smartphone.
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The 17P features its fingerprint scanner on the side of the device, rather than on the back. It’s quick and responsive to unlock the screen or approve mobile payments, for example, and the sensor’s side-on orientation works well for the longer size of the device.
You’ll also get about 2 days out of the 5,000mAh battery, which features 18W Flash Charging, enabling you to juice up your 17P pretty quickly each evening.
SMART SNAPPER
Camera-wise, the Camon 17P features a 64MP Quad Camera, comprised of the main 64MP snapper, a 2MP depth sensor, a 2MP Macro lens, and an AI lens. The camera is able to produce photos that feature good dynamic range, with accurate and slightly saturated colours coming through nicely.
The camera is great for social media shots and capturing everyday activities, but its 10x digital zoom, does lose quality quite noticeably with each increment, so it is hard to recommend it for long-range photography. It also features a Super Night Mode, which helps raise the brightness and contrast in some seriously dark situations. But, this mode does, obviously, bring some noise and graininess through the imagery when the feature is utilised.
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VERDICT
The Tecno Camon 17P is a comprehensive device for most users shopping in its price range. There are some good devices in the market at a similar price range, but the Camon 17P is a welcome addition to offer something larger, more powerful, and a little more user-friendly than some other options.
The Tecno Camon 17P retails for R4,999.
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