Meet The Tecno Spark 2 "A Premium Budget Smartphone" - Full Review, Specifications And Price
Tecno released the Spark 2 which is the next smartphone in its Spark lineup and this device comes with features that will make you mistake it for a Flagship device. I previously wrote a first impressions post about it here -
https://www.naijatechguy.com/2018/07/meet-tecnos-spark-2-and-what-happened.html.
This is one of the best Tecno phones I have seen this year and considering the fact that it's not an expensive device I feel the Spark 2 has all it takes to be a Flagship device , the only thing that changes that is the RAM. I spent two weeks with the device - Here's my review video below -
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The thing I don't like about the device is the HiOS launcher that comes with it. It's pretty difficult to navigate through and I hope Tecno can make improvements on the launcher but until then the best option is to install a third party launcher on the device.
Also the colors are nice and does not look over saturated, the white balance is great as well. Like all Android Go smartphones you still have the optimized lightweight Google apps - Maps Go , Gmail Go, YouTube Go , Google Go and my personal favorite Assistant Go. There's also an Eye care feature that prevents eye strain while using your smartphone. The Spark 2 also supports portrait mode.
An interesting design change here is the headphone jack. Tecno may just have kicked off the future of headphone jacks by moving it to the bottom of the device. This move will actually make your headphones last longer. It's an awesome move by Tecno although it will take a bit of getting used to.
So , let me know what you think about this device ? Is it a worthy replacement for your current smartphone?
https://www.naijatechguy.com/2018/07/meet-tecnos-spark-2-and-what-happened.html.
This is one of the best Tecno phones I have seen this year and considering the fact that it's not an expensive device I feel the Spark 2 has all it takes to be a Flagship device , the only thing that changes that is the RAM. I spent two weeks with the device - Here's my review video below -
Don't forget to subscribe to my channel so you can stand a chance of winning awesome prices from smartphones to gadgets and data subscription.
O.S , DESIGN AND DISPLAY
The Tecno Spark 2 runs on HiOS 3.3.0 on Android 8.1.0 Oreo (Go Edition). The bezels are very slim and Tecno actually did a pretty good job on the design and gives the back a plastic finish which is more of a fingerprint magnet so I recommend you use the device with the plastic casing that comes with it. The UI is awesome and I never experienced any lagging on the device thanks to the Android Go OS. The display is an impressive 6" Display with an 18:9 aspect ratio so you can get an immersive experience while watching movies or gaming.
Also the colors are nice and does not look over saturated, the white balance is great as well. Like all Android Go smartphones you still have the optimized lightweight Google apps - Maps Go , Gmail Go, YouTube Go , Google Go and my personal favorite Assistant Go. There's also an Eye care feature that prevents eye strain while using your smartphone. The Spark 2 also supports portrait mode.
An interesting design change here is the headphone jack. Tecno may just have kicked off the future of headphone jacks by moving it to the bottom of the device. This move will actually make your headphones last longer. It's an awesome move by Tecno although it will take a bit of getting used to.
PERFORMANCE
When it comes to performance the Tecno Spark 2 is one smartphone that definitely makes use of the small resources it has and maximizes it to the fullest. The Tecno Spark 2 is powered by an impressive 3500mAh non removable battery.
The battery lasts for 18 hours on constant use and the only thing I don't really like is the time it takes to go from 0-100% (about 4 hours). It could get frustrating at times. The Xcharge feature shows on the device while charging but I won't say it's a fast charge feature because of the time it takes to charge .Apart from that performance is pretty solid.
I played Asphalt 8 for 1 hour and only 13% went off the initial battery percentage. The device doesn't over heat normally but extended gameplay can make it start feeling a bit warm. .
The Tecno Spark 2 is powered by a MediaTek Quadcore chipset clocked at 1.3GHz. It also comes with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. To enjoy more space on the phone I suggest you get an SD Card.
CAMERA
Whenever I think of the Tecno Spark 2's camera I feel like this -
That's because one of the selling points of the Tecno Spark 2 is the camera. You get an 8MP front camera that is accompanied by a dual LED flash and a 13MP rear camera that is accompanied by a ring LED flash.So both the front and back camera take quality picture. With that taking pictures at night is also awesome as there are different modes on the camera.
. Here are a couple of shots I took on the Tecno Spark 2 -
NETWORK ,BATTERY AND CONNECTIVITY
The Sim slot is placed on the left hand side of the device and you have to bring it out using the sim ejector tool. Both sim slots are Nano.
There's support for WCDMA,HSPDA and GSM.
Coming to the battery , It packs in a massive 3500 mah battery and can last up to 2 days on normal use. It takes about 4hrs to get full from 0%. The good part is that the OS it runs on is optimized for both data saving and battery saving so the battery may actually last more than those of other devices with the same capacity running on older android versions
SECURITY
Another awesome feature on the Tecno Spark 2 is the Face ID feature. This allows you unlock your phone by just looking at your phone without using the fingerprint security or a PIN. I really love this feature as it makes unlocking the device seamless and easy. In case you are wondering how it works at night , It allows you turn on your front flash so it can easily identify your face even in the darkest places.
Also the fingerprint scanner does a really good job. It has a finger print scanner that unlocks within 0.1 seconds and it's accuracy is top notch. You can add up to five finger prints, so if you wish to add all of your fingers you can do that easily. The fingerprint is combined with the standard security as a secondary layer of security .(PIN, Password, Pattern).
PRICING
The Tecno Spark 2 Costs N34,700
Here's a quick recap of the specifications of this device -
Network Properties
2G: GSM, GPRS, EDGE 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
3G: UMTS, WCDMA, HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
4G: No
Data Speed: HSPA
SIM Type -Dual SIM
Operating System
Android 8.1 Oreo (Go edition) + HiOS 3.3.0
Display
Type: IPS LCD display
Size: 6 inches
Resolution: –
Multitouch: Yes
Hardware
Chipset: Mediatek MTK
CPU: 64-bit Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU: ARM Mali
RAM: 1GB
Internal Storage: 16GB
External Storage: microSD
Cameras
Rear: dual 13 megapixels, auto-focus, LED flash
Video recording: Yes
Front-facing: 8 megapixels
Multimedia
Music Support: MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player
Video Support: MP4/MPEG4/H.263/H.264 player
FM Radio: Yes
Loudspeaker: Yes
3.5mm jack: Yes
Connectivity
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot
Bluetooth: v4.0
GPS: Yes
USB: microUSB v2.0
Miscellaneous
Sensors: Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Proximity
Messaging: SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
Browser: HTML
Document viewer
Photo/video editor
Battery
Charging: Regular
Battery Type and Capacity: Li-po 3500mAh
So , let me know what you think about this device ? Is it a worthy replacement for your current smartphone?
