Tecno Spark 9T (KH6) Price, Review And Specifications.

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Tecno Spark 9T (kh6) Quick Specs:

6.6" HD+ (1612×720) 90Hz IPS-LCD Drop-Notched Display.

268ppi, 20.15:9 Aspect Ratio.

MediaTek Helio G37 Chipset.

Android 12 OS, HiOS 8.6.

Triple-lens (13MP+2MP+QVGA) Back Camera.

Single-lens (32MP) Front Camera.

4GB of RAM (expandable to 7GB).

64GB/128GB Internal Storage.

Face Unlock.

Fingerprint reader (Side-Mounted).

USB Type-C Port:

4G (LTE) Network.

5000mAh Battery (No Fast Charging).

Price:

4GB/64GB: 102,500 naira, GHc 1,178, KSh 16,150.

4GB/128GB: 109,500 naira, GHc 1,340,  KSh 18,900.

The first thing that makes Tecno Spark 9T (kh6) stands out, from the rest in this segment, is its classy, all-flat, and glossy appearance.

And despite that it is an entry-level android phone, Tecno Spark 9T also features some of the attributes of mid-range phones.

For instance, the phone sports a large, and pretty, 6.6-inch drop-notched 90hz display, USB Type-C port, 32-megapixel front camera, side-mounted fingerprint reader and the recently introduced RAM expansion feature called MemFusion.

By the way, Tecno Spark 9T is another variant of the recently introduced Tecno Spark 9. Although Tecno Spark 9 (or Spark 9 kg5p) is the standard variant, while Spark 9T is more of a stand-alone variant in the latest series. Still, both of these variants succeeded Tecno Spark 8 (kg6).

There is also Tecno Spark 9 Pro (kh7); which is the most equipped variant in the Series. And it succeeded Tecno Spark 8P (kg7h).

It should also be noted that the Spark 9 Pro display does not support 90hz or higher screen refresh rate, like those of the Spark 9 and Spark 9T. Yet it is only the display of the Pro variant that features a Full-HD or 1080p resolution.

And while the Spark 9T and Spark 9 Pro sport a refreshing and more premium design, Tecno Spark 9 maintain the exact looks of the earlier Spark 8.

Talking about its looks. The only thing that Spark 9T has in common with its predecessor (Spark 8) is the drop-notched display. Yet, the one on the latest phone is slightly different.

Apart from the fact that the 6.6-inch screen of the Spark 9T is minute bigger than the 6.52-inch screen of the Spark 8, the latest phone's screen also has a slightly different aspect ratio, and a different HD+ resolution. The colours also appear more vivid on this screen.

Also, unlike the earlier model that features curved edges, Tecno Spark 9T has flat edges. And there is no fingerprint reader nor camera bump on its back. Except for the presence of a pair of neatly arranged circular camera modules (and LED flash). 

All those things make Tecno Spark 9T to have a unique, sleeker and more premium appearance, when you compare it to its predecessor. In addition to that, Tecno Spark 9T also sport an highly reflective or glossy finish.

On the back of the Spark 9T is a 13-megapixel triple-lens camera. Though this is slightly lower than the 16-megapixel dual rear camera of its predecessor. But the 32-megapixel front-facing camera of the latest phone is higher than the 8-megapixel front camera of the earlier model.

Also under the hood, Tecno Spark 9T is the first budget android phone from Tecno Mobile to feature Android 12 OS (Operating System) out-of-the-box. This is like a fresh breath of air in this time, when many low-budget android phones are still coming with Android 11 OS.

And to ensure smooth-runing of the recent Android OS, Tecno Spark 9T is equipped with a slightly better MediaTek chipset, and it also has an higher RAM than the earlier phone.

While the earlier phone was fitted with Helio A22 CPU and 2GB of RAM, Tecno Spark 9T is powered by a slightly faster Helio G37 CPU and an higher RAM of 4GB. Yet, through the MemFusion (more on it later), the RAM of the Spark 9T can still be increased, up to 7GB.

Tecno Spark 9T also comes with a larger inbuilt storage space of 128GB. Though like the earlier model, the phone is still available in 64GB storage option, but it has the same 4GB of RAM as the 128GB storage option.

And both of the storage options are also expandable, via microSD card, up to 512GB.

In short, because the microUSB port on the earlier model has been replaced with USB Type-C port, therefore, the only few things that Tecno Spark 9T has in common, under the hood, with the Spark 8 are its 64GB internal storage option, 5000mAh battery and lack of support for fast charging.

Price And Colour Design:

Tecno Spark 9T is available in various colour options of Burano Blue, Quantum Black, Particle Silver, and Vitality Green. Currently, the price of the Tecno Spark 9T is about 102,500 naira, and that's for the 4GB/64GB variant. The 4GB/128GB variant attracts a little higher price of about 109,500 naira.

Design: Tecno Spark 9T Is A Nice Looking Phone.

The first selling point of the Tecno Spark 9T is its premium, clear-cut and all-flat design.

Tecno Spark 9T has a thickness of 8.7mm, which means the phone is flatter than the 9.2mm thick Spark 8. Yet, as a result of its flat edges, the latest phone still appear flatter than it actually is. Also with its 194g, Spark 9T is not on the heavy side.

Also i stated earlier, there is no regular camera bump nor fingerprint reader on the back of this phone. What you have is only a pair of circular camera module. Though the two modules look like camera lenses but they are actually camera modules. Because while the first (or upper) module houses the 13-megapixel primary rear camera of the Spark 9T, the lower module houses the other two rear cameras of the phone.

Still, these circular modules look good on the Tecno Spark 9T, they'll remind you of those  ones on the recent iPhones. Also on the plain back cover of the phone are neatly placed Tecno Spark branding (on the upper left corner) and the Stop At Nothing inscription (on the lower left corner).

Personally, the only issue I have with the Tecno Spark 9T design is the glossy finish. Because, unlike the Pro version, i.e., Tecno Spark 9 Pro, which sport a combination of matte and glossy finish, Tecno Spark 9T has an highly reflective or glossy finish, too glossy if i may say. Which makes this phone to be fingerprints magnet, and prone to scratches easily. Though there is a transparent casing in the box, to protect or conceal the all glassy appearance of the phone. But the transparent casing, which is decorated with Spark patterns, didn't do any justice to the beauty of this phone.

Anyway, the arrangements of ports and buttons are still similar to those of the Tecno Spark 8. In other words, Tecno Spark 9T's Volume keys and Power button (which now doubles as fingerprint reader) are located on the right edge, while its dual Nano SIM+SD Card slot (and tray) is located on the left edge.

And because the phone's single speaker, USB Type-C port, microphone, and 3.5mm audio jack, are all positioned on the bottom edge, there is nothing on the top edge of the Spark 9T.

Clear And Colourful 6.6-inch Display:

Apart from the looks, the second selling point of the Tecno Spark 9T is the display. Though the drop-notched screen of the Spark 9T is a 720p IPS-LCD one like that of the Tecno Spark 8, yet the one on the latest phone support 90hz refresh rate (which ensures smoother scrolling and animations). The latest screen also seems to be slightly clearer (or sharper), and more colourful.

Different from the 1600-by-720 pixels and 20:9 aspect ratio of the Spark 8 display, the 6.6-inch display of the Spark 9T features a slightly different resolution of 1612x720, and a different aspect ratio of 20.15:9. Which implies that the screen has a pixel density or sharpness of 268ppi (which is almost the same with the 269ppi of the Spark 8).

It should be noted that this is the type of screen that came with Tecno Spark 8C. In other words, the screen of the Tecno Spark 8C has the same size, resolution, aspect ratio as that of the Spark 9T. But the one on the Spark 9T has a better white balance. The pictures and videos look sharp and vivid on this screen, and it has good contrast. Colours also appear natural and rich (almost saturated).

However, the brightness level is not really on the high side (about 300nits). As a result, the screen of the Spark 9T struggles to cope under direct sunlight.

The same can be said of the Tecno Spark 9 and Infinix Hot 12i displays; which share the same size, aspect ratio and resolution with that of the Spark 9T.

A Good Camera System:

The 13-megapixel triple rear camera of the Tecno Spark 9T is made up of a 13-megapixel main sensor, 2-megapixel Depth sensor (for Bokeh pictures or pictures with blurred backgrounds), and a QVGA sensor (which assists the main camera in taking clearer pictures in low-light environments).

Inspite of its higher megapixel front camera, the camera department is still one of the few areas that reveals that Tecno Spark 9T is a budget smartphone.

Though, compared to the 8-megapixel front-facing camera of the earlier model, the 32-megapixel front camera of the Spark 9T was able to take sharper and clearer pictures. Nonetheless the pictures are not detail as expected of a 32-megapixel sensor. The pictures also seem to be slightly washed-out or not to have enough colours. Still that doesn't erase the fact that this front camera is better than that of its predecessor, or any other phone (in this range) with the usual 8-megapixel sensor.

On the other hand. And despite that the shots from the 13-megapixel main rear camera of the Spark 9T are a little less sharper than the ones from the selfie lens, yet the pictures from the rear camera look more natural, and the colours also look better.

Yet, i still prefer the qualities of the shots from the 13-megapixel rear camera of the Infinix Hot 12. Though the 8-megapixel selfie lens of the Infinix phone is no match for the 32-megapixel front-facing of the Spark 9T.

Meanwhile, like its predecessor, the video recordings, for both the front and rear cameras of this phone, are capped at 1080p at 30fps (frame per second). There is no image stabilization (OIS).

Better Chipset, RAM Expansion, Android 12:

To a large extent, the strength of the Tecno Spark 9T performance lies in its higher RAM (and possibility of RAM increment). Because there's no much difference between the Helio G37 CPU of the latest phone and the Helio P22 of the Spark 8.

Though Helio G37 is a recent chipset, and it also has a slightly faster maximum clock speed of 2.3Ghz (compared to the 2.0Ghz of the Helio P22). However, both of these CPUs are 12nm Cortex-A55 octa-core processors. Both of them also feature the same PowerVR-GE8322 GPU; which doesn't posses enough power for graphics demanding games. As a result, you have to put your high-graphics games on medium or low graphics settings before you can enjoy them on the Tecno Spark 9T.

Nonetheless, as i stated earlier, one of the interesting features of the Spark 9T is the MemFusion. Firstly introduced in Tecno Spark 8C, MemFusion enables you to convert certain amount of your phone's internal storage space to Virtual RAM. In other words, and in case of Tecno Spark 9T, MemFusion enables you to convert up to 3GB of free space (out of the phone's inbuilt storage) to RAM. Therefore, allowing you to extend the 4GB RAM of Tecno Spark 9T up to 7GB.

This will ensure continuous smooth-running of this phone for long period of time, especially after many files and apps have been added to it.

Another feature that distinguishes Tecno Spark 9T from its predecessor is the Tecno HiOS 8.6 Skin (which is running on top of the Android 12 OS). One of the interesting features of the HiOS UI (User Interface) is its prettier Quick-Menu panel. To display this Quick Menu, you'll have to swap down from the top-right corner of the screen. And if you swap down from the top-left corner (of the screen), your Notifications will be displayed.

Features like Ella (Voice Assistance); which were once restricted to the premium Tecno phones has also found it ways into Spark 9T.

Though USB Type-C Port, But Same Battery & No Fast Charging:

Although, unlike its predecessor, Tecno Spark 9T comes with USB Type-C port, the phone still retain the 5000mAh battery and 10W charging of the earlier model. Therefore, as a result of its lack of support for fast charging, it'll still take you about three hours and eight minutes to fully charge this phone battery (with its out-of-the-box 10W charger) when it dropped to one per cent.

Full Specifications Of Tecno Spark 9T (kh6):

GENERAL

Maker: Tecno Mobile.

Name: Spark 9T (kh6).

Year Announced: June, 2022.

Dimensions: 164.27x75.55x8.65mm

Weight: 194g.   

Colour: Burano Blue, Vitality Green, Quantum Black & Particle Silver.

DISPLAY
Screen Type: IPS-LCD capacitive Touchscreen.

Size and Resolution: 6.6-inch, HD+, 1612x720 pixels, 90Hz Refresh Rate.

Aspect ratio & Pixel Densities: 20.15:9, 268PPI.

Protection N/a.

PORTS:

3.5mm Audio Jack: Yes.

USB Type-C Port: Yes.

MicroUSB port: No.

Lightning Connector: No.

Google Assistant Button: No.

PERFORMANCE

Chipsept: MediaTek Helio G37 Octa-core Processor, 2.3GHz.

GPU: PowerVR-GE8320.

RAM: 4GB (can be increased, up to 7GB).

Operating System: Android 12, HiOS 8.6

STORAGE

Internal Storage: 64GB/128GB.

Micro-SD card slot: Yes, up to 512GB.

SIM AND NETWORK

SIM: Nano, Dual SIM slots.

Network:  GSM, WCDMA, HSPA+, LTE.

CAMERA

Rear camera: Triple-lens; 13MP (Main) +2MP (Depth) +QVGA, With Quad-Flash.

Front camera: Single-lens, 32MP+ Front Flash.

VIDEO RECORDING:

Rear Cameras: 720p, 1080p @ 30 fps.

Front Camera: 720p, 1080p @ 30 fps.

CONNECTIVITY:

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, HotSpots, USB-OTG.

BIOMETRIC, SENSORS & LOCATION: 

Security: Face Unlock, Side-mounted Fingerprint Reader.

Sensors: Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, G-sensor, Accelerometer And

Barometer sensor

Others: GPS, Location (Geo, Glonass), Radio.

BATTERY

Battery Capacity: 5000mAh.

Qi Wireless-Charging: N/a.

Fast Charging: NO, 10W.

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