In recent years, mobile phone brands including OPPO, TECNO (www.TECNO-Mobile.com), Samsung, Huawei, Vivo, Realme, and Xiaomi debuted new devices with improved features and designs, providing young people more options. We’ve loved TECNO’s smartphones for years since they’re affordable and deliver what customers want. Take TECNO Spark 9 Pro, their latest selfie-focused smartphone. According to our review, it does well.
TECNO’s success in the worldwide emerging market is due to its commitment to providing the latest technology for “young at heart” consumers. This new Spark 9 Pro model has a 32MP ultra-clear selfie camera to increase young people’s confidence in self-expression. Super Night Mode 3.0 and AI Portrait Restoration improve photosensitivity and pixel count.
We used this phone for two weeks as the main smartphone for fun and business.
UNBOXING TECNO SPARK 9 PRO
Our review phone comes in white/orange packaging with “9 Pro” and a bold white SPARK lettering. Around the enclosure are device stickers. We have the 4/128 GB Quantum Black Spark 9 Pro. Tecno says the phone has a 13-month warranty (12+1). The package is great. Inside the box is the usual amount for cellphones in this price range:
- USB-C to USB-A charging/data cable
- 18W wall charger
- SIM eject pin
- Headphones
- Plastic case
Given the aforementioned, I’m glad earphones are included – these days, a charger is a luxury. The lack of user manuals, quick setup directions, and guarantee leaflets is a first for me. In Settings, there’s an e-manual, which is beneficial for the environment.
The phone has a screen protector. After removing the film, I recommend adding tempered glass as soon as possible. If you drop your phone often, get a tougher case.
The Design
Tecno’s phone has nothing to envy from Redmi or Realme’s best sellers. The 6.6-inch display has medium-sized bezels and a “chin.” The top middle has a water drop hole for the selfie camera.
Spark 9 Pro isn’t an outdated notched phone. Big, flat display. Over the display is a large horizontal line for the earphone, so you may listen to your caller without adjusting a smaller earpiece. The top right of the screen has a white notification light.
One flat piece of plastic connects the side frame to the back panel. A design line separates them, although there’s only one panel. The left side holds 2 SIM cards and a microSD card. The right side has volume controls and a lock/power button. I can reach them with my thumb.
Three buttons don’t rattle. Plastic sides and back eliminate visible bands. On the bottom is a 3.5mm audio connection, a noise-canceling microphone, and a speaker grille. A Type-C connection provides quicker data transfer speeds and a more modern design. Thanks, TECNO.
Impressive back panel feels. On the top of the smartphone is a glossy black horizontal section. The rest is matte black and sand-blasted. Left is a large, attractive camera area. The large vertical configuration has 3 camera sensors on the top and the TECNO SPARK logo on the right.
The camera is mirror-like, with the right side reflecting virtually clearly. Right inside the camera area is an LED. The lower right is a glossy logo that says “STOP AT NOTHING,” emphasizing the company’s devotion to quality devices. The matte and sand-blast textures and beautiful camera make for an appealing smartphone. TECNO has succeeded in making this device artistic.
TECNO says the SIM tray is water- and dust-resistant. There’s a red rubber ring to prevent water and dust infiltration, which is nice, but I’d still avoid water.
Tecno Spark 9 Pro Hardware Review
6.6-inch IPS LCD display. The improved screen design improves visuals, scrolling, and touch feedback for mobile games and films.
It has a 90.2% screen-to-body ratio and a 1080×2408 resolution. This gives us 403 PPI, a high-quality screen. In midsummer, you’ll need to shade the panel’s light. Good colors and perspectives. This is an all-purpose budget panel.
Mediatek Helio G85 SoC powers this smartphone. It’s a 12-nanometer, 8-core chipset announced in late 2020. Two fast ARM Cortex-A75 cores with up to 2 GHz and six tiny ARM Cortex-A55 cores with up to 1.8 GHz power the chipset. This SoC delivers considerable processing power, but you can’t play 3D games or multitask. Mali-G52 MC2 and eMMC 5.1 are also available. The phone is 4/128GB. No lagging or overheating software.
Spark 9 Pro’s solitary speaker sounds fine at all volumes. The call and video call sound are average. Excellent connectivity. Full call signal. Bluetooth is fine; I’ve used the phone with wireless headphones daily for reviews without interruptions. Its GPS is instantaneous.
Tecno Spark 9 Pro Camera Review
Tecno Spark 9 Pro’s AI Selfie camera is the primary selling point. It has many kid-friendly characteristics, including:
- Beauty customization
- AI-powered
- Smooth skin
- Toning
- 3D nose/sculpting
- Eyes
TECNO’s selfie camera is amazing. I liked AR Shot’s Animoji/stickers, facial recognition software that can morph our face in an instant, portrait restoration approach, and amazing bokeh effect.
Eye-tracking focusing is a first for me and reminds me of a sci-fi flick. Smile to take photos! Super Night, Portrait, Google Lens, Beauty, Video, AI cam, and Short Video are camera modes. The latter offers visual effects for social media.
THE CAMERA FEATURES
TECNO SPARK 9 Pro also has AI Scene Light Detection, Multi-frame Fusion Optimization Algorithm, and Touch-up Restoration Technology. This makes a dark image clear and natural. Ring Screen Fill-in Light delivers uniform, three-dimensional face lighting in low light.
I spent a lot of time toying with the camera throughout our review.
The back camera has 3 lenses:
- 50MP, f/1.6 (PDAF)
- 2MP, f/2.4 (Bokeh)
- f/2.0, 8 W (AI cam)
They can all shoot 120/240fps Slow Motion, 2K lapse films, and large Panorama shots. AI retouches bodily areas in Beauty Mode. You may now slim down with a button.
I was astonished by how good daylight pictures are considering the camera installation. Perfect 50 MP sensor. I’m unsure if depth/AI lenses assist. This phone may be offered with a single camera in the past, but multi-camera phones boost sales. Light improves night shots in Night mode. Camera complaints are unlikely.
30fps 720p, 1080p, and 2K are video resolutions. It delivers similar quality day or night but has NO stability. The phone must be stable for optimum results. Moving it causes chaos. I’d like fewer lenses and EIS/sound enhancements.
Tecno Spark 9 Pro Software Review
Android 12 is a great feature for this pricing. I’m new to HIOS 8.6. It has all the modern ROM features. As with other similarly priced devices, there’s bloatware and advertising. No major bugs or limitations and I think HIOS can compete with other skins with some polish.
Customization includes a theme shop and dark mode. We can find a memory boost app, Phone Master – a general care app, a private app shop called Palm Store, a browser, Instant Apps – a nice shortcut app to various games and apps you can use without installing, a Community app for Tecno, various tools, and other applications like music stores, data share apps, etc. We’re bombarded with information and ads in Notifications… Good thing we can identify Google Services and remove any unnecessary apps. The software becomes light and user-friendly in 20-30 minutes.
I think the people behind HIOS will do well in the future because this rich skin meets all user needs quickly and with little energy. I Hope Tecno upgrades this phone.
Unlocking 7 Pro is two-fold. Fast face-unlock. In utter darkness, this method may not work because there’s no IR light. This requires minimal light. Face Unlock provides closed-eye protection and screen fill-in illumination, says the business. This isn’t the safest way to unlock your phone, so don’t do it outside.
The side-panel fingerprint reader is another option. Be careful, or the scanner won’t work, as happened to me. After deleting all data and resubmitting my fingerprints, the process was accurate and fast. The in-display camera sensor is secure and may be used all day, even with masks. For the reasons I outlined, I recommend solely using Face ID. The in-display camera unlocks the phone in 0.12 seconds, according to the manufacturer.
BATTERY
The enormous Li-Po 5000 battery with TECNO’s software enables two days of light or one day of medium usage (no gaming). The top SOT is 8-9 hours.
Charging speed impressed me. The new Type-C 18W wall charger is appreciated. It takes 2.5 hours to charge fully, and there’s no quick charge.
CONCLUSION: TECNO SPARK 9 PRO
This is THE selfie phone for individuals on a budget who want to impress social media followers. TECNO Spark 9 Pro can handle social media pictures and more. The main camera arrangement performs well, however, the absence of electronic image stabilization and sound hinders overall performance.
Energy-efficient, reliable, and cool, however 3D gaming and multitasking are difficult. Rich software needs bloatware removal. The 18W charger and 5000mAh battery provide high standby times. The case/earphones included in the box are a plus. I loved the device’s price: 170$ gets you a VFM device. TECNO rocks!
PROS
- 50-megapixel camera
- 32MP front camera
- Type-C compatibility
- 18W Flash Charger, 5000 mAh Battery
- Android 12 OTA update
CONS
- Bloatware
- Video shaky
- Mediocre audio
