TECNO unveiled the Camon 19 series in late June this year and we have used both of them extensively since then. The new phones include a Camon 19, Camon 19 Pro and Camon 19 Pro 5G.
The Camon 19 Pro is TECNO’s premium offering while the regular Camon 19 nails it with the basics and some more.
In both, you’ll find nothing but upgrades. Many of these may be iterative or minor upgrades, but they are upgrades nonetheless, and that makes the Camon 19 series the undisputed best Camon smartphones you can buy in the country. They’re distinctive but share some DNA including high-resolution screens, powerful processors, sleek designs and capable cameras.
DESIGN
The two Camon 19 phones ship with lovely build quality and elegant design. They’ve already scooped several awards including the iF Design Award 2022 in the product and telecommunication categories for its product design and the MUSE Design Award for Product Design Silver award for its exceptional craftsmanship. The Pro 5G comes in Eco Black, Polar Blue, Mondrian and Cedar Green.
The back is smooth with this matte-like finish that doesn’t attract fingerprint smudges.
The highlight is the star diamond dual ring triple camera island design. Camon 19 Pro is narrow and tall and the compact size is easier to manage.
Camon 19 Pro make use of the earpiece together with a downward-firing speaker to create a stereo effect which is fine for casual listening.
The fingerprint reader is much easier to access and was consistently quick and accurate during my time.
Face unlock is included too as another form of biometric.
We also get a type-C charging port, headphone jack, and dual microphones at the top and bottom while volume rockers are on the right side and dual nano sim card slots are on the left.
Camon 19 Pro has a 6.8-inch 1080p High Gamut brilliant and sharp LCD display. The cherry on top is the 120Hz refresh rate.
Images and videos are crystal clear and you’ll not only enjoy consuming multimedia content but also gaming – more below.
PERFORMANCE
TECNO Camon 19 Pro comes with Helio G96 chipset. Camon 19 Pro has 256GB of onboard storage with 8GB of RAM and support for up to 5GB of virtual RAM.
Android 12 and HiOS 8.6 come baked on the phone.
HiOS 8.6 is a continuation of TECNO’s ethereal, fluid and smart brand aesthetic with enhanced UI and a new set of features.
The interface comes revamped with new designs including a new notification shade/ quick settings toggles. Swiping down from the right side of the screen pulls the quick settings panel while swiping down from the left side brings the notifications shade.
The change in accessing the quick toggles can be so annoying but it’s efficient for glances.
The revamp spills over to the colours, shapes, light and motion of HiOS elements. HiOS 8.6 brings richly designed icons, vivid interactions and lively wallpapers. HiOS 8.6 also has new security and privacy protocols from Za-Hooc Security Solution 2.0 such as Peek Proof, Anti-theft Alert, Pop-up blocker, App Twins with Fingerprint, and Privacy Auth.
AI gallery now has features like Pic Film, Video Editor, and Visha Player among others.
The bloatware is unnecessary and you can easily uninstall or disable most of the apps.
You get all the sweet Android 12 features such as an updated privacy dashboard, revamped new widgets, direct share, scrolling screenshots, enhanced privacy indicators, smarter auto-rotate, redesigned power menu, and redesigned lock screen, share Wi-Fi passwords with Nearby Share, and more.
HiOS 8.6 misses out on one key Android 12 feature – Material You Theming which picks colours from your wallpaper and customizes elements of the operating system with that colour.
TECNO has promised to upgrade the Camon 19 Pro to Android 13 later this year or early next year when the new OS becomes available.
Overall, the Camon 19 Pro offers unrivalled performance.
Gaming is handled way better with the Camon 19 Pro which delivers solid frame rates even when you’re playing high-demanding games like Asphalt 9, PUBG or Call of Duty mobile. The included 120Hz refresh rate added to the brisk gaming performance.
Everyday performance was smooth and speedy. The Camon 19 Pro didn’t run into any hiccups when it came to multitasking and intense gaming with consistent frame rates. You’ll be served well when you pick the Pro.
BATTERY LIFE
TECNO Camon 19 Pro packs a larger 5000mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging. The Camon 18 Premier had a rather smaller 4750mAh battery so the increased capacity is welcome.
The Camon 19 Pro takes 44 minutes to go from empty to 75% and 74 minutes to go empty to 100%.
With the Camon 19 Pro, I was getting 7 and half hours screen-on-time with 23% by my bedtime hours.
These numbers will be adequate for most people from web browsing, video watching and scrolling social media and a little bit of gaming.
Gaming takes a toll as you can get between 6 hours and seven hours – sop both phones will be fantastic entertainment companions when you go on long trips.
The Camon 19 Pro takes the crown with a one-two punch of super-fast charging and exceptional battery life.
CAMERAS
Both Camon 19 and the Camon 19 Pro version ship with 64MP main rear cameras in the dual ring setup. The pro has a 50MP portrait camera with 2X optical zoom and 2MP bokeh lens with The non-pro version has a 2MP depth sensor and a 2MP AI camera.
The Pro version’s main camera has OIS support and uses an industry-first RGBW+G+P lens for ‘Bright Night Portrait’. TECNO says that the switch from plastic to glass lens increases the light intake by more than 208%.
Apart from the usual modes such as beauty, Portrait and super night – you also get a new fun Sky Shop mode that lets you change the sky in the background of a photo and you can choose between sunny, rainbow, azure sky, starry, galaxy and more
For selfies, we get a 32MP front-facing camera.
NOW READ: TECNO Camon 19 Pro Camera Review: Midrange Champion
VERDICT
The new Camon 19 smartphones make for compelling packages and are a respectable continuation of what TECNO does best. They’re out-and-out premium smartphones with upgrades and sideway updates that offer it all – polished design, gorgeous displays, capable primary cameras, dependable battery lives, and solid performance in a stylish chassis.
The TECNO Camon 19 balances cost and capabilities while the TECNO Camon 19 Pro packs top specs so you get the most out of it.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
The TECNO Camon 19 series smartphones are available at any of TECNO’s official retail stores countrywide, Safaricom’s official retail shop and online at Masoko, Jumia and Kilimall.
- TECNO Camon 19 Pro 5G: Ksh 41,599
- TECNO Camon 19 Pro: Ksh 33,799
- TECNO Camon 19: Ksh 23,499
Here’s a full list of TECNO’s official retail stores in the country.
