Tecno Spark 8C Review in Kenya: Specs and Prices Leave a comment
Welcome to this detailed Tecno Spark 8C review in Kenya.
If you are looking for a budget-friendly smartphone with a large display, decent performance, and long-lasting battery life, you might want to check out the Tecno Spark 8C.
This phone was launched in February 2022 and is the latest addition to the popular Spark series from Tecno.
In this blog post, I will share my honest and detailed review of the Tecno Spark 8C in Kenya after using it for a week.
I will cover its design, performance, camera, and battery.
By the end of this review, you will have a clear idea of whether this phone is worth buying.
Tecno Spark 8C
KSh 16,347
- The Tecno Spark 8C has a large 6.6-inch display with HD+ resolution and a notch for the selfie camera. It also has a sleek design with curved edges and four attractive colors.
- The Tecno Spark 8C boasts a massive 5000mAh battery lasting up to two days on a single charge. You can also enjoy fast charging with the 10W charger included in the box.
- The Tecno Spark 8C features a dual rear camera setup with a 13MP main sensor and an AI lens. You can capture stunning photos and videos with various modes such as HDR, portrait, night, panorama, and more.
- The Tecno Spark 8C runs on Android 11 with HiOS 7.6, which offers a smooth and customized user experience. You can also access various features such as smart panel, game mode, anti-theft alarm, app lock, etc.
- The Tecno Spark 8C comes with either 2GB or 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. You can also expand the storage up to 256GB with a microSD card1. Some users have reported that their phone has an additional memory fusion feature that boosts the RAM by using part of the storage.
- The Tecno Spark 8C is available at around $100-$120, depending on your region and retailer. You can order it online or find it at your nearest store.
Tecno Spark 8C Review in Kenya: Design
The Tecno Spark 8C has a plastic body with a glossy finish that reflects light in different patterns.
It comes in four colors: Diamond Grey, Iris Purple, Magnet Black, and Turquoise Cyan.
The phone measures 164.6 x 76 x 9 mm and weighs 190 grams. It feels solid and comfortable in the hand but attracts fingerprints and smudges easily.
The front of the phone has a 6.6-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720 x 1612 pixels and a pixel density of 266 ppi.
The display has a notch at the top that houses the selfie camera and the earpiece.
The bezels around the display are relatively thin, except for the bottom chin which is quite noticeable.
The display quality is decent for the price range but lacks sharpness and brightness. It also has a low refresh rate of 60 Hz, making scrolling and animations less smooth.
The back of the phone has a dual camera setup with an LED flash and an AI lens in the top left corner.
A fingerprint scanner is also in the middle, and a Tecno logo is at the bottom.
The camera module protrudes slightly from the back panel, making the phone wobble when placed on a flat surface.
The fingerprint scanner is fast and accurate in unlocking the phone.
The right side of the phone has a power button and a volume rocker which are easy to reach and press.
The left side has a dual SIM tray with a dedicated microSD card slot for memory expansion of up to 256 GB.
The bottom has a micro USB port for charging and data transfer, a speaker grille, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The top has nothing but a microphone hole.
Tecno Spark 8C Review in Kenya: Performance
The Tecno Spark 8C is powered by the Unisoc T606 chipset, which has an octa-core processor with four Cortex-A75 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz and four Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.6 GHz.
It also has an IMG8322 GPU for graphics processing.
The phone comes with either 2 GB or 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded via a microSD card.
The phone’s performance is decent for basic tasks like browsing, social media, messaging, etc., but it struggles with heavy apps and games.
The phone tends to lag and stutter when switching between apps or running multiple apps in the background.
It also heats up quickly when playing games or using the camera for a long time.
The user interface is not very smooth or responsive either.
It runs on Android 11 with HiOS 7.6, a custom Tecno skin that adds some features and bloatware to the phone.
Some of the features that HiOS 7.6 offers are Smart Panel, Game Mode, Social Turbo, Kids Mode, etc.
- Smart Panel is a floating window that gives quick access to some apps and tools like a calculator, screen recorder, WhatsApp mode, etc.
- Game Mode optimizes the phone’s performance and blocks notifications when playing games.
- Social Turbo enhances some social media apps like WhatsApp and Instagram with features like video beauty mode, stickers, voice changer, etc.
- Kids Mode allows parents to control their kids’ online activity and screen time on the phone.
Tecno Spark 8C Review in Kenya: Camera
The Tecno Spark 8C in Kenya has a dual rear camera setup, a 13 MP main sensor, and an AI lens.
The main camera has an aperture of f/1.8 and supports autofocus and HDR.
The AI lens is used for depth sensing and bokeh effects. The rear camera can record videos up to 1080p at 30 fps.
The front camera is an 8 MP sensor with an aperture of f/2.0 and a dual flash. It also supports HDR and face unlock.
The front camera can record videos up to 720p at 30 fps.
The camera quality of the phone is average at best.
The photos taken by the rear camera are decent in daylight but lack detail and sharpness.
They also have some noise and distortion in low light or indoor situations.
The colors are sometimes oversaturated or washed out depending on the lighting conditions.
The AI lens does not add much value to the photos as it often fails to detect the edges or blur the background properly.
The portrait mode is also inconsistent and artificial-looking.
The photos taken by the front camera are similar to the rear camera in terms of quality.
They are okay for selfies or video calls but nothing impressive.
They also suffer from low light performance and skin smoothing effects that make them look unnatural.
The dual flash helps brighten up the selfies but also creates harsh shadows and reflections on the face.
The camera app of the phone is simple and easy to use. It has some modes and features like Photo, Video, Beauty, Bokeh, AR Shot, etc.
- Photo mode allows you to adjust settings like flash, timer, grid, watermark, etc.
- Video mode lets you switch between normal and short video recording modes.
- Beauty mode lets you apply filters and effects to your photos or videos like smoothness, slimming, whitening, etc.
- Bokeh mode lets you adjust the blur level in your photos before or after taking them.
- AR Shot mode lets you add stickers or animations to your photos or videos.
Tecno Spark 8C Review in Kenya: Battery
The Tecno Spark 8C has a 5000 mAh battery that supports 10W charging.
The phone’s battery life is one of its strong points, as it can easily last for a day or more with moderate usage.
The phone also has power-saving modes that can extend the battery life further by limiting some functions or apps.
And the phone’s charging speed is not very fast as it takes about 3 hours to charge the phone from 0 to 100% fully.
Compared to phones with 5000 mAh battery under KES 20K, the Tecno Spark 8C offers good value for money.
Some competitors are POCO C551, Xiaomi Redmi 101, Infinix Smart 71, Moto E131, etc.
These phones have similar or slightly better specifications than the Tecno Spark 8C, but they also cost less or are unavailable.
Tecno Spark 8C Review in Kenya: Verdict
The Tecno Spark 8C is a budget smartphone in Kenya with a large display, a long-lasting battery, and decent performance for basic tasks.
It also has features like face unlock, dual flash, and HiOS 7.6 that enhance the user experience.
However, it also has some drawbacks, like a low-resolution screen, an average camera quality, a slow charging speed, and a laggy user interface.
It is not suitable for heavy users who want to play games or multitask on their phones.
It is also not very competitive in specifications or price compared to other phones in the same segment.
Therefore, we recommend the Tecno Spark 8C to those looking for a simple and affordable phone in Kenya under 20K that can handle their daily needs without hassle.
It is a good option for first-time smartphone users or those who want to upgrade from an older or feature phone.
It is also a good choice for those who value battery life over anything else.
However, if you are looking for better performance, camera quality, display resolution, or design in your phone, you might want to look elsewhere.
We give the Tecno Spark 8C a rating of 3 out of 5 stars based on our evaluation of its pros and cons.
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