Overview of the smartphone TECNO POVA 4 Pro: New reading of the familiar series

We have recently published a detailed article about the TECNO POVA series, which announced the early release of TECNO POVA 4 Pro. In fact, with this model, TECNO has somewhat destroyed the image of the series as primarily aimed at games, offering a new perception of POVA as universal smartphones. However, the key properties have remained unchanged in the Pro model.

This is a smartphone with a large screen. For the first time in the series, it uses an AMOLED matrix, with a "rapid" frequency of 90 Hz. It also has a powerful MediaTek Helio G99 hardware platform, combined with a large memory capacity of 8+256 Gbyte. There is a TECNO POVA 4 Pro and a few more aces in the sleeve, which is no longer a canned device for those who just love more than long.

♪ Technical characteristics

♪ Design, ergonomicity and software

For the new POVA, the manufacturer developed a new design code, which was first tested in the earlier TECNO POVA Neo 2, and not just what design code with nice eye shapes, but based on the visual stetten structures, yes-yeah, I also learned about them in a press release about the release of this model. However, the fine geometric patterns in which a couple of cameras and flashes are neatly written appear to be unusual and very beautiful.

The materials used are quite normal: the glass at the front and the plastic both on the sides and on the rear, while the plastic on the back is very pleasantly treated: the surface is matte, woolly and slightly sparkling in the sun, at least in the blue version that came to us on the test.

The versions of the colours "grey uraniumite" and "orange rutile" will also be presented.

In the front, TECNO POVA 4Pro is standardized: the front camera is hidden in a traditional clipping, but is encouraged by a relatively small frame without an outstanding back.

Moderate dimensions have never been a distinctive feature of the series, and TECNO POVA 4 Pro is no exception. Despite a screen smaller than that of the predecessors, diagonals, the hull is still very thick and heavy - 9.2 mm and 210 grams respectively.

The functional elements are quite common: the fingerprint scanner embedded in the power key is the second dynamic on the upper edge.

As I mentioned earlier, a key with a built-in fingerprint scanner is drowned into the body and is convenient to operate with -- it's a scrub under its finger, it's easy to find. The area of the capacitor, as always in the case of side sensors, is small -- it usually works quickly, but the percentage of marriage is visible. There is no problem with the random unlocking of the smartphone in the pocket. Also, the face identification system is available with the frontal camera. It works very quickly and almost without errors, but it is not the most reliable method.

Screenshot_2022104-172758.jpg See all images of Screenshot_202210404-172804.jpg Screenshot_202210404-172809.jpg Screenshot_202210404-172812.jpg Screenshhot_20220224J1740.jpg Screenshhot_202204-172840.jppg_202204-1740.jpg

TECNO POVA 4 Pro is built on the Android 12 operating system with the HioS 12 shell. The new version of the TECNO envelope is not very different from the previous version: two interfaces , extensive preset software and extensive functionality. The interface is quite pleasant, and the problems of russizing are decreasing from time to time -- it's still a rather specific shell, but the negatives are getting smaller and smaller. The HioS 12 is working fast and stable, and I haven't had a problem with it during the test.

♪ Scream and sound ♪

TECNO POVA 4 Pro has for the first time in the series received an AMOLED-display with a diagonal of 6.7 inches and a resolution of 2,400 × 1080 points. The density of pixels is 393 ppi. It is important not only that the display is used on organic LEDs, but also that the screen is selected with an increased update frequency of up to 90 Hz. This makes the experience with the smartphone much more pleasant.

However, the high frequency, as is often the case, does not work in all applications. Yes, system applications hide in a smooth way, interact with the smartphone, as I said, nice, but in games the gadget works on fixed 60 hertz. Why is it so massive - there is no answer.

The maximum measured luminance of the TECNO POVA 4 Pro display was 480 cd/m2.

The display settings are the minimum required: brightness; the "vision protection" mode with warm colors, which should be included before bed; the dark topic, which in this case actually helps to extend the time of the autonomous smartphone; the font size and the "in the pocket" mode, in which the sensitivity of the sensory layer of the display is reduced to avoid accidental action with it. However, the Always-On Display mode with the time and notices on the blocked screen is not available, which is a little surprising for the smartphone with the AMOLED-display. The color transmission cannot be changed.

The colour coverage of the TECNO POVA 4 Pro display is significantly higher than the DCI-P3 standard, which means a wide range of colours to be displayed, but not always a good color accuracy. The average gamma is actually perfect at 2.21 on a flat graph. The color temperature has been increased at a level, but at a level of 8,000 K. The average deltaE deviation on the Color Checker scale, which includes both a wide range of flowers and a shade of grey, was 4.27 at a 3.00 standard. The TECNO POVA 4 Pro screen is set up surprisingly well, and the broad gamma does not mean a flatly wrong color transmission this time.

TECNO POVA 4 Pro received analog audio separation with a conventional tract and Bluetooth 5.0 with support for LDAC, SBC and AAC profiles, but no aptX. But there are stereodonyms that support DTS technology – as I have already written above – these are two distinct dynamics with good sound positioning. Dynamics are loud and with relatively good sound quality.

♪ ♪ Jelezo ♪ and productivity

TECNO POVA 4 Pro received a new MediaTek Helio G99 hardware platform, which we only met once before — on Infinix NOTE 12 Pro. Presented at the end of May, Helio G99 is designed for medium-class smartphones without 5G support and offers a fairly high performance combined with acceptable energy efficiency, although it is not possible to boast with a particularly subtle process.

MediaTek Helio G99 consists of eight computing cores: two ARM Cortex-A76 with a tactical frequency of 2.2 GHz and six ARM Cortex-A55 with a frequency of 2.0 GHz. The ARM Mali-G57 MC2 has a tactical frequency of 950 MHz. The technology process is 12 nm.

The increase in productivity relative to TECNO POVA 3 is really radical: in some benchmarks, it's fast and smooth. The manufacturer also claims that the smartphone has particularly sensitive gyroscopes that are very good at playing. Somehow I can't tell my user impressions from them, but it needs a long test experience, not a two-week experience.

At the same time, TECNO POVA 4 Pro has no problem with overheating or throttling: there is no noticeable reduction in tactical frequency in the 3-DMarkxs Wild Life resource tests. For this, both the hardware platform and the smartphone cooling system using a graphite heat tube are to be commended.

In the CPU Throtting Test, the tactical frequency drops to 93% with an average output of 155 GIPs.

TECNO POVA 4 Pro is offered in the Russian retail with 8 Gbytes of operational memory and 256 Gbyte flash drive. The memory can be further expanded with the Microsoft card, and the slot allows it to do so without sacrificing one of the SIM cards. With the smartphone memory, as well as with productivity, order.

♪ Communications and wireless communications

The TECNO POVA 4 Pro does not have a 5G modem, and the speed of the built-in LTE modem is not reported, nor does it share the manufacturer and the list of supported ranges. We could not perform a complete communication quality check using the 4G modem, but in Moscow and Underwater smartphone the signal is positive, the connection speed is good.

Other wireless modules include a two-band Wi-Fi, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo, as well as NFC.

♪ The camera ♪

And here's a camera, compared to what was in TECNO POVA 3, if it's changed, it's slightly worse: there's a double, not a triple, system, though with the same primary sensor, and there's only one reason to be sad about the smaller number of cameras -- directly for filming, like at POVA 3.

The main chamber uses a 50-megapixel sensor, which follows the Quad Bayer pattern. This module is 0.03 pixel resolution, light intensity of the optics isn't important.

By default, the TECNO POVA 4 Pro camera removes with 12.5 megapixel resolution, but if you want to switch to a camera mode using each subpixel -- and get a picture with 50 megapixel resolution. Examples are higher. I can't say that this advantage in resolution is clearly visible, but the 12 megapixel image is visually sharper by increasing the contour sharpness. There is a slight overrun, but within reasonable limits.

In general, the picture has a slightly cold color and medium dynamic range, but it's not a bad level, and we've seen the same 50-megapixel module many times on machines in the price category of 10-20,000 rubles, at least in the same TECNO POVA 3.

And as usual, this camera shows itself well at night -- in a specialized mode called Super Night here. Again, the examples are higher: except for the maximum contour sharpness, the smartphone works very carefully with the image: the balance of colors and shadows is maintained, the images are not re-lighted, the saturation is normal. The only thing that can be seriously claimed is the processing of light sources that look unnaturally, well, the glare in the frame.

As is usual in TECNO, the portrait mode is separated: it is possible to take off both with a customized butifier, and with an artificial side, but only separately, in two different modes known as "Creature" and "Portret" respectively. There are also some new filters in the portrait mode: the complete separation of the object from the background with the filler, the mitigation of the focus with the effect "top" in front of the lens, and so on. I note the soft, reasonably correct separation of the object from the background, although there are some artifacts along the contour that "wash" separate smashing rods.

The camera application is implemented in a standard way: a horizontal mode carousel, additional due to the extraction of a switch from the bottom edge. The function set is small but there is a "professional" mode with manual settings.

IMG_20221001_135522_836.jpg Look at all images of IMG_20221001_140226_582.jpg IMG_20221001_140821_932.jpg IMG_20221001_143119_182.jpg IMG_20221001_143812_758.jg IMG_20221001_144319_230.jpg IMG_125504_3224.jpg IMG_20221007_130411_273.jpg IMG_20221007_182242_759.jpg IMG_202208.jpg IMG_122308_705.jpg IMG_20221008_124308_693.jpg

The video is available with a maximum resolution of 2K and a frequency of up to 30 frames per second. There is not a very effective digital stabilization, but it works at any resolution. There are additional modes: the smartphone allows the video to be shot with the artificial side and the portrait video with the bust -- as in the case of the photo, these are two separate modes, and both are available only with the 720p resolution. There is also enhanced stabilization -- it works in Full HD 30p mode.

The front camera hasn't changed as to what was in TECNO POVA 3.

♪ Authonom work ♪

TECNO POVA 4 Pro received a 22.8 Wh battery, but for a smartphone with an AMOLED screen and a very energy-efficient platform, it's enough to hold the charge for more than 24 hours at standard load and a guaranteed light day, with continuous use of the smartphone. POVA 4Pro's records do not actually add up to the spirit of the series.

In the Full HD video test for maximum luminance, with Wi-Fi on, TECNO POVA 3 lasted almost 16 hours, a very good result.

It's also important that TECNO POVA 4 Pro is charged quite quickly, with a 45 W charger in the kit, and the smartphone supports the charger with the same power. It takes about an hour and a half to fully charge the smartphone with the huge battery, very good.

♪ Conclusion

The first smartphone in the POVA series with the word Pro in the title doesn't change, the values are the same: big screen, beautiful autonomy, large dimensions. But the manufacturer wants to play with this gadget in a slightly different league: original and memorized design, a powerful platform for her class, a lot of memory. The camera's a little bit pumped up -- no progress on POVA 3, but it's a significant step forward. Another very interesting TECNO smartphone on a slightly smaller market is now in the middle price category.

Dignity:

• Large AMOLED-display with Full HD resolution and update frequency 90 Hz; excellent autonomy + moderately fast charging; original and rememorial design; good night-time survey quality; multi-memorial + selected memory card slot; good performance in the absence of Trottling problems.

Disadvantages:

• Very large dimensions and weight; only one backset focal distance; Portrait mode and butifier - two different modes; Medium Front; Specific shell.