Tecno Spark 7 Review – Entry Level Performer For Beginners

Techno Spark 7 is the latest offering from the company with decent specifications in the entry-level price segment. It has a vibrant design, decent display, a huge battery under the hood, and stuff. It is an entry-level phone and the specs are the same. But how does it perform when subjected to real use cases?

Oh, Wait! Recycle Your Old Phone, Get Rewarded!

Well, I got my hands on Tecno Spark 7 for more than a week to test it out, and here’s my hands-on review on it that you must read to understand.

Tecno Spark 7 is available in two storage trims. The first is a 2GB+32GB trim available at Rs. 7,499/- while the higher 3GB+64GB variant is available at Rs. 8,499/- on Amazon India. You can check out colourways between Spruce Green, Magnet Black, and Morpheus Blue. There are a few deals and discounts such as Rs 200/- off coupon available (till stock last) along with up to Rs 8,000/- off on exchange offer. Then, you have the usual No Cost EMI on selected cards among others.

Before we talk in detail about the Tecno Spark 7 let’s see what the on-paper specs look like?

• Display: 6.52-inch HD+ Dot Notch Display
• Processor: Mediatek Helio A25
• Storage: 2GB/32GB, 3GB/64GB
• Software: HiOS 7.5 based on Android 11
• Rear cameras: 16MP Dual AI Camera
• Selfie Camera: 8MP with dual Flash
• Battery: 6000 mAh
• Weight: 203g
• Dimensions: 16.5 x 7.6 x 1 cm

Tecno Spark 7 weighs 206 grams which might seem a lot but trust me, once you hold the phone, you will not feel the weight. The phone follows a slightly different design compared to its Pro variant.

Instead of a punch-hole cut-out, you get a V-shaped notch for the front camera. The bezels are medium-sized although the chin is huge but that sums up the expectations you can have with an entry-level smartphone. There’s nothing much different about the front panel when comparing both Spark 7 and Spark 7 Pro.

The phone’s back is made with polycarbonate plastic that looks dope. It is matte in the finish so there’s no way any fingerprint marks or smudges will stay put. The back panel has lines with a different share of colours that shines when put against the light. It is such that you have two shades overlapping each other that look cool.

Planning to upgrade? Sell Your Old Phone in 60 Seconds From Home

The camera assembly is nicely packed on the top-left corner in a rectangular camera bump with three lenses although you only get two sensors plus a third decoy. There’s an oval-shaped fingerprint scanner adjoining the rear camera assembly probably placed a lot higher than most users would like although it is snappy.

There’s no bottom-firing speaker here since the earpiece doubles as a speaker on Tecno Spark 7. On the left side of the device, you get a dual SIM card tray and a dedicated microSD card slot. You get a volume rocker and a power button on the right which is well-positioned. Finally, you get a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microphone, and a micro USB port for charging and data sharing purposes. That’s all about the I/O ports and buttons that you will find on Spark 7.

The display tech used on Tecno Spark 7 is a 6.5-inch IPS LCD panel with a 720 by 1600 pixels resolution. With 270 PPI density, the display has an aspect ratio of 20:9 which makes it tall and great for watching movies and gaming and stuff.

For those who love comparing, the display mounted on Tecno Spark 7 has a few shortcomings when compared to Spark 7 Pro. This includes a slightly shorter display and the absence of a 90Hz refresh rate. I would stress it enough, having a 90Hz display does make a lot of sense since you are literally using a budget phone with a higher refresh rate than most devices available in the market.

Broke Your Old Phone Screen?

– Affordable Display Replacement at Home

If you are ready to let go of the differences, the Spark 7 display is literally the same as Spark 7 Pro. It is vibrant and has vivid colours and in fact, it shocked me immensely to see a 7K INR smartphone have such a cheerful display. The chin is large but that’s something you can chuck. You would love the movie watching and gaming experience on Spark 7 for sure. The tiny V-shaped notch doesn’t put any distractions when viewing the display which is another USP.

I have tested several smartphones this month and I wouldn’t shy away from saying that Tecno Spark 7 has one of the best displays for its price and other factors. It isn’t the best though, it still has competitions but that doesn’t mean you would like it.

I have used Tecno Spark 7 for more than a week now. The phone has a MediaTek Helio A25 SoC which is almost or under Helio G25 SoC. But hey, we will have to see how it performs when subject to real use cases. The device has a PowerVR GE8320 GPU, 32/64GB eMMC 5.1 storage, and 2/3GB RAM. That’s all about the hardware specifications mounted on the entry-level device.

As said, Helio A25 isn’t a gaming chipset. I have used Helio G25 extensively and could say the difference here. The Helio A25 can handle day-to-day tasks without any hassle. Switching between apps, toggling, and scrolling through the recent menu is way faster on A25 than G25 or it could be something Tecno has done with the magic of software optimizations.

Check Out: All That You Need To Know About iQOO 7 FAQs

There were no apparent heating issues and I couldn’t agree more given the fact that you won’t be able to play heavy-duty games or apps on Spark 7 which relieves it from the extreme stress these games would put it through. You can play their Lite variants such as PUBG Mobile Lite although tweak the graphics and frame rates properly to get the best outcome.

Daily tasks such as texting, calling, browsing, watching videos, and listening to music among others won’t cause many issues. However, you need to understand that you are using a phone with an average entry-level chipset and thus, subjecting it to do more than what it could slow down.

The software is where you get some distinction between the two storage variants. The 2GB RAM variant gets an Android 11 Go-based HiOS 7.5 out-of-the-box while the 3GB variant is using a full-fledged Android 11-based HiOS 7.5. The software is surprisingly snappy and doesn’t introduce lags or anything else. There is some bloatware and you could intercept some ads here and there but the rest of everything works fine.

When it comes to the optics, Tecno Spark 7 is equipped with a 16MP dual rear camera setup with Quad-LED flash. On the front, you get an 8MP camera setup with Dual-LED flash and that pretty much sums up the camera department.

I have used a number of smartphones for the sole purpose of reviewing them and can easily compare Tecno Spark 7 shots with others. But hey, it is to be noted that Spark 7 is an entry-level smartphone and thus, it has a lot to work for when it comes to the camera section.

The selfies using the 8MP camera are good. The dynamic range is okay although the background gets a bit overexposed and you need to manually set the focus to keep the overexposure at bay. Portrait shots using the front camera are okay as well with decent edge detections. However, you do get some hits and misses when it comes to edge detection. Overall, the camera quality is decent for its price. However, low-light photography is something that could use a lot of work. I would simply use flash or add some light to the frame using external lights to get good-quality images in low-light conditions.

Also Check Out: iQOO 7 Camera Review 

The camera app throws in a lot of AI features that you can use with the rear or front camera. Moving on, we get a dual 16MP AI camera setup at the back. The shots are decent as well with abundant light. Dynamic range with the rear camera is decent although don’t expect it to blow your mind in any case. You can still capture quality shots in the daytime and with abundant AI features and filters at your disposal, the camera is your playground in this social media-addicted world where clicking selfies and posting videos is more important than anything else.

What you get with your Tecno Spark 7 is a beefy 6,000 mAh battery which is considerably big, to be honest. It is 1,000 mAh larger than the one mounted on Tecno Spark 7 Pro. The battery should last for a day and a half without any issue even if used extensively. You can still use its Ultra Power Saver Mode to get more juice. For a light user, I would say the battery will give more than two days of charge when fully charged.

Frustrated with a draining battery? Affordable Mobile Battery Replacement at Doorstep

Now for the low part of the phone. There’s a standard 10W charging support which means you would spend at least three and half hours juicing up the battery. Although that’s quite a long time, given the fact that you paid peanuts for it, I would say that’s a compromise you will have to make.

Usually, you would get a bottom-firing loudspeaker on smartphones. Being an entry-level device, the Tecno Spark 7 bids goodbye to the setup and instead uses the earpiece as a loudspeaker. It is loud although has an average sound quality so don’t expect much bass on it. Since the earpiece is the speaker, I loved the arrangement for watching movies since people might obstruct a bottom-firing speaker but when it is in front, the problem is minimized but that’s subjective.

Talking about the other connectivity features, the device is equipped with dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v5.0, A-GPS, and Glonass support. Unfortunately, with the price you are paying, you don’t get an NFC or IR port. You do get a 3.5mm headphone jack which is a must for audiophiles who don’t want to switch to wireless solutions. Finally, you get a micro USB port which is slower than a USB-C port. Of course, some trade-offs are buying a phone at a price tag of Rs 7,499/-.

You get dual 4G VoLTE support with Tecno Spark 7. This ensures that you can use two 4G SIM cards for better network reception. I have been using Jio 4G for a while now and there’s a mix of response when using Jio 4G since you get better sound quality, some call drops, some missed connections as usual. 4G internet is also on par with the segment, although you will see a noticeable difference in the speed and quality of internet access when using Tecno Spark 7 and a flagship phone.

You get a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner adjoining the rear camera setup. It is snappy and a single tap unlocks the phone just like that. If you are downgrading or using Spark 7 after using a midrange or flagship phone, you will see significant delay though but that’s normal for an entry-level smartphone. Face Unlock is available on-board as well and has a delay of a second or so. It isn’t that snappy but works fine. You also get the usual PIN and Pattern lock at your rescue.

Pros

• Huge 6000 mAh battery
• AI power-saving technology
• 3GB + 64GB variant
• Android 11 with HIOS 7.5 skin on top
• 16MP AI Dual camera
• Rear-mounted fingerprint scanner
• Stylish slim design
• Dual VOLTE

Cons

• No fast charging
• No Type-C port
• Only 720-pixel resolution
• Slow processor for heavy gaming