The TECNO Pova 5 Pro’s design is undoubtedly one of its standout features. The previous Pova 4 series featured similar geometric patterns, but now the Pova 5 Pro takes it up a notch with a combination of transparent panels and LED strips on the back. It amounts to a futuristic feel that is certainly inspired by the Nothing Phone but is still eye-catching and stylish. Unlike the Nothing Phone 1, however, you can customize the backlights between nine different colors and pulsation patterns within the settings. That means you can have a number of notification LED effects that respond to incoming calls and texts, signal when the device is charging, or indicate battery life as a helpful visual cue.

You can even set the light effects to flash in sync with the music you’re listening to, which adds a fun factor you can show off to your friends. However, you may want to listen to music using the included wired earbuds, or a better pair of wireless buds, given that the stereo speakers can start to sound harsh at high volumes. Sadly, the light effects are limited to the top half of the phone. I wish that TECNO had adorned the entire backside with LED strips to give it a more pronounced effect. Additionally, the plastic backside of the phone is extremely prone to fingerprints. These were quite noticeable on the Dark Illusion model of the Pova 5 Pro I tested, which is a dark, metallic navy blue.

The 6.78-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate provides a pretty smooth user experience, especially for playing mobile games. On the topic of the display, I found the brightness levels could be improved. The Pova 5 Pro peaks at 580 nits, which can be challenging in direct sunlight.

Under the hood, the MediaTek Dimensity 6080 SoC ensures most tasks are handled with ease. It offers slightly higher CPU and GPU performance than the MediaTek Dimensity 700 found in the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G. I tried a few of the games from the pre-installed game app, AHA Games, such as Racing Limits and Among Us, without any noticeable issues to the eye. The TECNO Pova 5 Pro also managed to run more demanding games like Genshin Impact adequately without getting overly hot, though not at the performance levels of flagship devices.

Besides AHA Games, there is a lot of bloatware installed upon startup. There were nearly a dozen apps and services I will never use and had to remove manually, such as WOW FM, WPF Office, Visha Player, T-SPOT, Welife, Hi translate, and Carlcare, to name a few. Some of these may be specific to the Latin American model of the phone I reviewed, and others may pertain to different regions.

I found HiOS to be very similar to MIUI found on Xiaomi phones with an iOS-like drop-down menu, but not as heavily skinned overall. The Pova 5 Pro is also set to receive two years of OS updates over its lifetime, only taking it to Android 15. It’s better than nothing, but even though the team at TECNO says it will resolve any code vulnerabilities or errors detected during those same two years, we’d prefer at least a longer security update policy.

The TECNO Pova 5 Pro sets itself apart in the budget category with its fast charging speeds. Not only does it boast a hefty 5,000mAh battery, which I averaged about eight hours of screen time with on a single charge, but I never really worried about hitting zero thanks to the 68W charging capabilities. TECNO claims you can charge the phone to 50% battery in 15 minutes with the included wall charger, and the Pova 5 Pro lived up to those claims in our testing, give or take a couple of minutes. These speeds are especially useful for quick top-ups on the go, though you’ll need to keep the bespoke charger handy.

TECNO also claims it only takes 45 minutes for a full charge, which is accurate, but I could feel the phone getting warm while slurping up all that juice so quickly, so I am cautious of the long-term effects that might have on battery health. However, there is a bypass charging feature similar to Samsung’s, which can skip the battery and supply power directly to the phone. This can reduce heat while using the phone when plugged in, especially while gaming.

The 50MP primary rear camera and the 16MP selfie shooter capture decent images when given ample light, but low-lighting conditions can suffer in quality and look a bit grainy. The rear camera bins down to 12.5MP by default, but you can shoot in the full 50MP if you wish, though there hardly is any noticeable difference unless you pixel peep. The rear camera can zoom digitally up to 10x, but you will lose detail and gain image noise for anything beyond 2x.

In the default camera app, the AI CAM feature is enabled by default, which will automatically adjust images to look their best, at least in theory. I found in most outdoor settings, it can improve the edge detection and dynamic range, but did make some colors look a bit too saturated. For the most part, I opted for a straightforward point-and-shoot experience without AI.

The front-facing selfie camera is pretty good, with natural colors and sharpness reliable enough for most situations. I found the beauty filters to soften and smooth my skin too much, but the portrait effect does a great job of blurring the background while keeping me in full detail. You can view a gallery of sample images here.

For those keen on video recording, the device’s rear camera maxes out at 1440p at 30fps, which is commendable for its price range. Most budget devices top out at 1080p, which only the front-facing camera does on the Pova 5 Pro. Videos can come out a bit shaky and not always the sharpest, but that’s to be expected.

Overall, the TECNO Pova 5 Pro 5G offers a blend of style, performance, and value without breaking the bank. Its unique design, decent cameras, impressive battery life, and fast charging make it a decent choice in its price range, if you can get past the software quirks. For those who enjoy light mobile gaming and a unique design with notification LEDs in a mid-tier device, the Pova 5 Pro 5G emerges as a noteworthy choice.

If you live in North America, the U.K., or the rest of Europe, you unfortunately won’t be able to buy the TECNO Pova 5 Pro locally. However, if you are looking for something similar, these options are worth considering:

• Samsung Galaxy A14 5G ($199.99 at Samsung): Samsung’s popular budget phone might not have nearly as fast charging speeds, but it does boast an equivalent battery life, with a more versatile triple camera setup and longer update commitment.
• TCL 40 XE 5G ($169 at Verizon): The TCL 40 XE 5G doesn’t have as much storage or RAM, but it is lighter in weight and in bloatware, with the same chipset as the Galaxy A14 5G, not to mention cheaper.
• Motorola Moto G 5G (2023) ($199 at Amazon): This entry-level phone from Motorola has the same refresh rate and comparable battery life, and a stock Android experience.
• Redmi Note 12 Pro or Pro Plus ($285 at Amazon): The Redmi Note 12 Pro features a similar UI and has nearly as fast 67W wired charging speeds. It also has a brighter OLED display as well as an ultrawide camera, and 4K video recording capabilities for around $20 more. The 12 Pro Plus is about $100 more but doubles the charging speeds and has a 200MP camera.