Tecno Spark 9 Pro Review: The Tecno Spark 9 Pro is a budget phone that is decently priced, has a good design, and features a 32MP selfie camera. In fact, the selfie camera is the selling point of this smartphone. So, how good is the selfie camera and why should you consider buying the Spark 9 Pro.
You can buy the Spark 9 Pro for about $170 (₦99,000) but before you swipe that credit/debit card, read this Tecno Spark 9 Pro review. This review reveals the specifications of this phone including its pros and cons and who should actually buy this phone. So, let’s get started.
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Tecno Spark 9 Pro Review
Display, Design, and Build
The display size of the Tecno Spark 9 Pro is 6.6-inches. It has a FullHD+ resolution, uses an IPS LCD display panel, and features a standard 60Hz refresh rate (no higher refresh rate). The display is very colorful and looks really sharp. This is because the screen is not big and its resolution is FullHD+. So, it gives really color when watching movies and playing games.
The design of the Spark 9 Pro is also very beautiful. It has a two-tone finish back design. The bottom panel of the rear is like a matte finish while the upper part of the rear is smooth and shiny. It has two rings for the rear cameras that is home to three camera sensors. On the front, it has a water-drop notch design. The 32MP selfie camera is placed in the water-drop notch.
The build materials used in this phone are front glass, plastic frame, and plastic back. The smartphone is not very big and it feels compact to hold. You can operate the phone with one hand with ease.
On the right-hand side are the volume rocker and the power button (which also serves as the fingerprint print scanner). On the bottom, you’ll find the speaker, USB Type-C port, microphone, and 3.5mm headphone jack.
The peak brightness of the phone is 400 nits, so it’s not easy to use under direct sunlight. But for indoor use, it gives you a really bright and colorful display.
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Chipset and Performance
The chipset inside the Tecno Spark 9 Pro is the MediaTek Helio G85. This is a 4G chipset that is built on 12nm process technology. It has a maximum CPU frequency of 2.00GHz and uses the Arm Mali-G52 MC2 GPU for gaming and graphic work. It has an estimated peak download speed of 1Gbps.
The chipset is a decent-performing chipset. It can play games but not in high graphic settings. When playing heavy graphics games, this chipset is capped at 30FPS. Which for a phone at this price point is not that bad. Also, playing games like PUBG, Call of Duty, and other graphics-intensive games, I’ll advise you to use low or medium settings so that the chipset won’t get HOT.
We ran some tests on Geekbench and AnTuTu for the Tecno Spark 9 Pro and below are the results.
| Tests | Spark 9 Pro |
| GB5 Single Core | 342 |
| GB5 Multi-Core | 1271 |
| AnTuTu Score | 223342 |
For a phone that is priced at $170, the performance of the Spark 9 Pro is pretty good. This phone can perform decently well under normal usage but when cranked up, it starts to drop performance. It’s not built for heavy gaming and graphics-intensive tasks.
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Photography and Videography
The camera set up of the Tecno Spark 9 Pro is 50MP primary camera, a 2MP depth sensor, an AI lens, and a 32MP front camera. The front camera is one of the best cameras on this phone and it’s supported by a dual-LED flash. The 50MP primary camera is also very good and takes decent photos.
The portrait mode is good but lacks good color and does very poor work at blurring the background. However, the 32MP front camera is very impressive. It retains good colors and is also very sharp. The same can be said of the 50MP primary camera.
When it comes to video, the front and back cameras can shoot videos in 2K resolution. There is no OIS or gyro-EIS stabilization features, so you have to hold your hand steady if you want to get really good shots.
Under low light, the photos from the Spark 9 Pro is also decent. Yes, it does not have the top features you get in premium phones but then again, the phone costs just $170 and for its price, the cameras are really good. However, under good lighting conditions, the Spark 9 Pro will give you good quality photos and videos.
RAM, Storage, and Software
Tecno Spark 9 Pro comes with 4GB RAM and it also has support for memory fusion (virtual memory extension). It comes with 128GB of internal storage and also has support for storage expansion via a MicroSD card slot.
As per software, the Tecno Spark 9 Pro boots HIOS 8.6 based on Android 12 out of the box. Tecno promises one year of major software updates and two years of monthly security patches for this phone. Now, let’s talk about the battery and charging features.
Battery and Charging
Tecno Spark 9 Pro is powered by a 5,000mAh battery with support for an 18W fast charge. You can charge this phone from 0 to 50% in about 60 minutes. When fully charged, this phone can use this phone for 17 hours and under heavy usage, you can get 10 hours of use. For light users, you can get more than 24 hours of use with this phone.
Tecno Spark 9 Pro Review: Price
The price of the Tecno Spark 9 Pro is about $170 (₦99,000) for the model with 4GB RAM and 128GB of storage. Even though the 32MP selfie camera is good but this phone is also not for everyone. So, who should buy this phone? See the verdict below.
Buy Tecno Spark 9 Pro
| Tecno Spark 9 Pro | Price | Price |
| N/A | $170 | ₦99,000 |
Tecno Spark 9 Pro Review: Verdict
Yes, the Tecno Spark 9 Pro is a budget phone you should consider buying. But who should actually buy this phone? If you want style and something easy to carry around, something affordable that offers a good camera and decent performance, then buy the Spark 9 Pro. Female students will find this phone very beautiful and fun to use.
However, those who like playing graphics-intensive games should not buy this phone. It won’t give you the quality you need when playing those high graphics games. So, where are the good things about the Spark 9 Pro?
The Tecno Spark 9 Pro is cheap, has a good display, a long last battery, decent cameras, and a really beautiful design. But, it has no higher refresh rate, no fast charging, and features an average-performing chipset.
There are really few phones to recommend instead of the Spark 9 Pro but if there is a phone that offers better value then buy the Infinix Note 11 or the Xiaomi Redmi 10.
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