TECNO Camon 15 Impressions: Still About the Cameras

The TECNO Camon 15 was announced sometime in February 2020 alongside its siblings, the Camon 15 Premier, and Camon 15 Air. The release model or cycle is nothing new because the Chinese manufacturer has been announcing the Camon series in threes. The move is targeted to serve all customers: those who need better cameras and a better screen (FHD+) can pick the Premier, those who are on an even tighter budget can buy the Air that is also the cheapest of the bunch, and normal people will be just fine with the ordinary Camon 15, which also happens to be today’s star.

I have had the phone for some days now, which gives me the authority to report on what I think about it before the final review and a camera assessment. Right off the bat, the device is large at 6.6-inches and has a nice weight to it at about 196 grams. The Camon 12, which it succeeds, is an equally large handheld, and we are in a stage where mammoth phones are a thing, and there is no going back to compact phone unless you really want them, and are willing to hunt around because smaller smartphones are endangered.

The large footprint is used well here: there is a huge and sealed 5000 mAh battery to give you peace of mind, sufficient storage for your media files (this is a Camon phone so you are likely buying it because you trust those four cameras at the back, and are going to use them to take images of the world around you) at 64 GB (expandable via microSD cards), 4 gigs of RAM, two slots for your SIM cards and well-positioned buttons – all on the right-hand side of the phone, and easily accessible.

As you can see clearly from the linked images, this is also a beautiful phone with an attractive paint job that shimmers just right under good lighting conditions. I’m not sure of this colour, but it looks like a shade of green and yellow to me. You still have a choice from Shoal Gold, Fascinating Purple, and Jade, which are also the official colours.

Everything else is pretty standard: there is a single speaker at the bottom, a headphone jack and a micro-USB socket for charging.

Right at the rear is a rectangular camera bump that is a trend now. It houses four lenses, with a 48 MP main sensor alongside two 2 MP shooters and a QVGA sensor – bringing the total number to 5 (by counting the 16 MP selfie shooter punched in the display). I am very happy that the notch is gone. I was never really a fan of the cutout and would take a motorized or punched in front camera.

We will talk about cameras in the next post, so hang around.

Oh, the fingerprint stays at the back. it is fast and is also complemented by face unlock for quick unlocks.

On the software side of things, we have Android 10 out of the box sprinkled with HiOS features. Previous TECNO phone owners will be right at home with the skin. It is functional and equips the interface with a ton of features. It also brings with it very many apps that you may not need. The good thing is that you can get rid of them.

As I have complained before, the ads featured in the OS are intrusive, and it is unlikely they will go anywhere because it a business decision from TECNO’s side. To be honest, no one loves them, but you can get rid of them by downloading a home replacement app such as Nova Launcher.

Overall, the way the package is put together is appealing for the price, although I will still resurrect some of my past complaints. To begin with, the screen should really be upgraded to a 1080p panel for the next release. Secondly, micro-USB ports are old tech now. The battery can also be filled faster.

We will be right back with more opinions about the handheld, so sit tight.

Recap of the spec sheet: