TECNO launched its Spark 9 series early this year together with their camera-centric Camon 19 series. This is their entry-level device and we got to check out the Spark 9 Pro – it was a huge improvement over the Spark 8 series from last year in terms of cameras and overall performance. You can read our full review here and dedicated camera review here as well.
To add to the list, we got the TECNO Spark 9 Pro Sports Edition that launched early last month. The new Sports Edition is a feast for the eyes with the design refresh.
Before we begin, here’s what you get in the box: the device, an 18W power brick and Type-C charging cable, a set of earphones, warranty card, a Sim ejector tool, a plastic case, a screen protector, and a case.
DESIGN
First of all, this is a really gorgeous phone coming in Kyanite Blue. We’ll talk about the design in a few but let’s start with the device.
TECNO Spark 9 Pro Sports Edition comes with a 6.6″ full HD display at 1080p resolution and though lacking a high refresh rate, is still a delightful screen to use for consuming multimedia content – watching movies, scrolling social media and browsing the web.
On the left, there’s dual nano-sim card and a dedicated slot for an external microSD card. On the right, there’s the side-mounted fingerprint reader and volume rockers.
At the bottom are the headphone jack, speaker grille, microphone and type-C charging port.
Designworks, a BMW group company reimagined the colour, material and finish design of the TECNO Spark 9 Pro Sport Edition. TECNO Spark 9 Pro Sports Edition features blue and white colours in an icy crystal design. The white design has a matte texture that gives the phone a premium touch while the blue diamond crystal design sits on the top right and bottom left of the back. The twin camera islands also get the blue, purple and red colours synonymous with the BMW design for its M Series. The phone is light and compact easy for one-handed use.
Overall it’s an attractive design that will catch the eyes of onlookers and the TECNO Spark 9 Pro Sports Edition is probably the most beautiful phone in the 21K range.
PERFORMANCE
TECNO Spark 9 Pro Sports Edition comes with a Helio G85 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of board storage. You also get up to 3GB of virtual RAM thanks to HiOS Memory fusion feature.
Android 12 and HiOS 8.6 come baked in. This combination makes this phone capable of whatever you throw at it – from light tasks such as checking Twitter or Instagram to playing games. I haven’t experienced any stutter so far.
BATTERY LIFE
TECNO ships the Spark 9 Pro Sport Edition is powered by a 5000mAh battery. They also upgraded the charging speed from 10W to 18W so you can charge up from almost empty to 83% in an hour and 22 minutes.
Battery life performance is adequate as on heavy user, I was ending up with 25% by the time I was going to bed. Light to moderate use will push it a day and a half. This is a battery champ.
CAMERAS
For cameras, we get a 50MP triple array that includes a 2MP depth sensor and VGA camera. The main star of the show is the 32MP front-facing camera.
TECNO’s photography focus on the Camon series rubbed off on the Spark series and the Sports Edition took amazing photos both main and front and even in low light scenarios.
This is pretty much a selfie camera smartphone and it delivers on that angle – pun intended.
The photos are pretty good in terms of the sharpness, detail, colour and dynamic range of the shots.
Video capture is capped at 2K for both front and rear cameras. The TECNO Spark 9 Pro Sports Edition shows decent performance too when it comes to lowlight and I kept being amazed at the quality of the photos taken on challenging scenarios thanks to the dedicated night mode.
VERDICT
The TECNO Spark 9 Pro Sport Edition with the bold design gives it an upper edge over its siblings and rivals in the same price category. Aside from the refresh, it boasts dependable performance when it comes to its cameras and how it handles daily tasks plus the additional all-day battery life.
PRICING
The TECNO Spark 9 Pro Sport Edition goes for Ksh 21,500 and is available at TECNO’s official retail stores countrywide and online on e-commerce sites like Jumia and Kilimall.
