Tecno Pova 6 Neo 4G (LI6) Review, Price And Specifications.

Tecno Pova 6 Neo 4G (LI6) Quick Specs:

Display: 6.78" Full-HD+ (2460×1080) 120hz Dot-in IPS-LCD Display.

Software: Android 14 OS, HiOS 14.0 Skin.

CPU: Helio G99 Ultimate (6nm).

RAM: 8GB (Up to 16GB through Virtual RAM).

Storage: 128GB/256GB (expandable up to 1TB).

Rear Camera: Dual-lens (50MP+QVGA).

Front Camera: Single-lens (8MP).

Security: Side-mounted fingerprint reader, Face Unlock.

Port: USB Type-C.

Network: 4G (LTE).

Speaker: Stereo.

Battery: 7,000mAh.

Charging Speed: 33W.

Starting Price:

₦240,000, KSh 20,999, UGX 800,500.

In you are looking for a budget gaming phone that also offers value for money, you should check out Tecno Pova 6 Neo. Firstly, the phone features a competent mid-range gaming CPU. And the CPU is paired with high RAM. Also to keep your mind off battery usage during gaming, the phone comes with a massive battery. 

Tecno Pova 6 Neo also sports a big and nice-looking 120hz Full-HD+ display. And for an immersive gaming (or viewing) experience, the phone is fitted with a pair of loud and clear speaker. Furthermore, the design of this phone is a reminiscent of gaming devices.

And when compared to others at this price point, the Pova 6 Neo stands out with its stronger CPU, higher RAM and and unsurpassed battery capacity. However, the phone camera is not among the best in this segment. Though, photos captured look more than okay.

Design Colour And Price:

Xiaomi Redmi 13 is available in colour options of Starry Silver, Speed Black, and Comet Green. Currently, the price of the phone is about 240,000 naira. 

The Contenders:

The main contender is the Itel RS4. Which is also a budget gaming phone like the Pova 6 Neo. The RS4 is cheaper, more compact (smaller) and wears a more stylish looks than the Pova 6 Neo. The Itel phone also features dual speaker and has the same high screen refresh rate. But instead of 1080p resolution, the slightly smaller screen of the RS4 has a 720p resolution. The Itel phone also features previous version of Android OS and it's equipped with standard battery. Nonetheless, the RS4 has the same processor, amount of RAM and storage capacity as the Pova 6 Neo.

The similarly priced Xiaomi Redmi 13 wears a more sleeker looks yet has a good build quality as the Pova 6 Neo. The Redmi phone also has a 1080p display. Even its display is minute bigger and has a slightly better picture quality. The Redmi 13 also features higher megapixel cameras. And photos taken with the phone look better. However, under the hood, the Redmi 13 is equipped with a less powerful CPU and a slightly lower amount of RAM. Even in spite of its bigger and slightly better looking display, its high screen refresh rate is lower than that of the Pova 6 Neo. Still and despite that the Redmi phone's battery capacity is similar to that of the Itel RS4, its fast charging remain as that of the Tecno phone. Also like Tecno phone, the Redmi phone is running on recent Android OS. Even, there's an assurance of major software updates for the phone.

The base version of the Samsung Galaxy A15 4G is also worth considering. Though, compared to the Pova 6  Neo and the other two, the Galaxy A15 features lower RAM and lower inbuilt storage, but the Samsung phone is equipped with the same powerful CPU as the Tecno phone and RS4. Yet the phone is running the same (recent) Android OS as the Pova 6 Neo and Redmi 13. And it also has good build quality too. Furthermore, like the Redmi 13, the A15 is fitted with better camera system.

Even while all the three phones are fitted with IPS-LCD displays, Galaxy A15 features an AMOLED display. However, the Samsung phone has a single speaker like the Redmi 13. Even the phone charging speed is lower.

Design: Pova 6 Neo Look Like Gaming Devices:

Tecno Pova 6 Neo sports a 6.78-inch hole-punch display and an highly reflective (or glossy) back cover. The back cover has a design pattern that will remind you of gaming devices. Though, Tecno Pova 6 Neo is an attractive phone, and it's appealing to look at, but it can't be referred to as a sleek or elegant (like the Tecno Spark 20 Pro and Infinix Hot 40 Pro that has the same form factor and display). Firstly, its display camera cut-out is bigger and the bezels around the screen is thicker.

The phone also looks and feels (at hand) a little rugged, thanks to its curved back cover, design pattern, and a large and bumpy camera module. Even the glossy finish and hole-punch camera couldn't tone down the rugged vibe that the phone gives off.

However, the phone has a good build quality. It is well put together and feels solid at hand. The phone is also IP53 (dust and splash resistant) certified. Nonetheless, as a result of its huge battery, the Pova 6 Neo is on the heavy side; about 225g. The phone thickness, which is 9.23mm, is also a little more than average.

By the way. Tecno Pova 6 Neo features dual back camera. And its ports and buttons are similar to those of others in this segment. The phone's volume keys and power button (which also doubles as a fingerprint reader) are placed on its right side. And on its left side is SIM tray; which can take two 4G nano-SIM cards and one microSD card.

On the bottom side of the phone is a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB Type-C port, a microphone, and a speaker. The second speaker is the only thing on the phone top edge. 

Decent Camera:

The dual rear camera of the Pova 6 Neo is made up of a 50MP main sensor and an AI sensor (which assist the main camera in capturing better looking photos). And on the front is an 8MP selfie lens.

As i said before, Tecno Pova 6 Neo doesn't have the best camera system in this segment. Though like the ones taken with the main contender (that has the same rear camera), photos from the phone's main camera are impressively clear and bright, but they lack impressive detail (or sharpness) that accompanies the ones from the competing phone. Colours are also slightly muted or dissaturated. Which makes the photos to look less exciting or pleasant. However, Portrait shots and low-light shots look good.

Portrait shots or selfies from the phone's front-facing camera also look good. So also normal selfies. The HDR selfies also look okay. However, and despite that i didn't expect impressive photos from an 8MP front camera, selfies taken with the Pova 6 Neo appear a little less detail than the ones from the competition.

Also, and just like the shots from its rear camera, the Pove 6 Neo selfies also have slightly dissaturated colours.

Generally, i prefer photos from the Itel RS4 to the ones taken with this phone. Notwithstanding, if you are not into photo details, you'll be fine with photos taken with the Tecno Pova 6 Neo. They look more than okay for average users.

Meanwhile, the front camera of the Tecno Pova 6 Neo can shoot videos up to 1080p at 30fps (frame per second). And its rear camera can go up to 2K at 30fps. This phone support Video Stabilization. And it also supports Dual Video recording. Which allows you to use both of the front and rear cameras of the phone to shoot videos at the same time or simultaneously. By the way, you need good lighting conditions to get nice looking shots from this phone cameras.

A Big And Nice Looking Display:

The 6.78-inch display of the Pova 6 Neo features an IPS-LCD panel. And the screen 1080p resolution is made up of 1080-by-2460 pixels (or 396ppi pixel density). Also, for a smoother gaming, page scrolling, and swiping, the screen supports high refresh rates of up to 120Hz. The other available refresh rate options are 60Hz, 90Hz and Automatic.

Generally, the display of the Tecno Pova 6 Neo is pleasant to look at. It is sharp, vivid and has vibrant colours. Games and other media contents look good on this screen. Yet, the screen is easy on the eyes.

The display brightness is also decent. With about 520nit of peak brightness, the display is noticeably clear and vibrant under normal lighting conditions. But as expected, it didn't perform well under direct sunlight. It's still viewable though. It should be noted that Tecno Pova 6 Neo display has the same attributes as those of the Infinix Hot 40 Pro and Tecno Spark 20 Pro.

Strong CPU, Higher RAM, Recent OS:

Tecno Pova 6 Neo is pre-installed with Tecno's HiOS 14.0 Skin, running on top of Android 14 OS. And concerning its hardware configuration. The Pova 6 Neo is powered by Mediatek Helio G99 Ultimate CPU. Which is a 6nm octa-core mid-range gaming processor. And it has clock speeds of up to 2.2GHz. And for its GPU, Helio G99 Ultimate makes use of Mali-G57 MC2.

It should be noted that Helio G99 Ultimate is the same CPU that's inside the more expensive Spark 20 Pro, Hot 40 Pro, and Infinix Note 40. As a result, the Pova 6 Neo performance is similar to those of the aforementioned phones. The Pova 6 Neo comes in only 8GB of RAM. But the RAM is paired with either 128GB or 256GB inbuilt storage. Irrespective of your choice, the phone's inbuilt storage can still be expanded, via microSD card, up to one terabyte (1TB).

As i said before, the CPU that powered this phone is a mid-range gaming chipset. Which means the phone's processing power is more than enough for a day to day usage and regular tasks. For instance, the phone multitasks quickly and scrolling through social media apps is noticeably smooth.

And when it comes to gaming, which i think Pova 6 Neo is designed for. The phone plays less graphics demanding games without hiccups. Even it handles most of the graphics demanding ones without stress. Though when it comes to popular demanding ones such as COD War Zone, graphics settings have to be reduced a little, to ensure consistence smoothness. Furthermore, as i said earlier, the duo of the Atmos powered stereo speaker of the Pova 6 Neo also brings about a more pleasant and immersive gaming experience.

Bigger Battery But Average Fast Charging:

In conclusion, the main highlight of the Tecno Pova 6 Neo is its huge battery. At this time, when 5,000mAh battery capacity has already become the norm among Android phones, the Pova 6 Neo is equipped with a much bigger 7,000mAh battery. This should be a good thing for game enthusiasts. As it will allow them to stay online and off power sockets for a long period of time.

In addition to that, the Helio G99 Ultimate CPU that powered this phone is a 6nm power efficient processor. Therefore, a long battery life is guaranteed on this phone.

However, when the battery eventually ran down. It took about two hours fifteen minutes to fully charge the battery from zero to one hundred percent. That's with the phone's 33W fast charging and it's out of the box 33W fast charger. Considering the phone's huge battery, 45W fast charging (like the Itel RS4) would have been better for the Tecno Pova 6 Neo.

Tecno Pova 6 Neo 4G (LI6) Full Specs:

GENERAL

Maker: Tecno Mobile.

Name: Pova 6 Neo 4G (li6).

Year Released: April, 2024.

Dimensions: 168.6x76.6x9.23mm.

Weight: 225g.

Ingress Protection: IP53 (Splash And Dust resistance).

Colour: Speed Black, Starry Silver & Comet Green.

DISPLAY
Screen Type: IPS-LCD Capacitive Touch-screen.

Size and Resolution: 6.78-inch, Full-HD+, 2460-by-1080 pixels, 120Hz (high) Refresh Rate.

Aspect ratio & Pixel Densities: 19.5:9, 396PPI.

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

Chipset: MediaTek Helio G99 6nm Octa-Core Processor, 2.2GHz.

GPU: Mali-G57 MC2.

RAM: 8GB (With up to 8GB of Virtual RAM).

Operating System: Android 14, HiOS 14.0.

STORAGE

Internal Storage: 128/256GB.

Micro-SD card slot: Yes, up to 1TB (One Terabyte).

SIM AND NETWORK

SIM: Nano, Dual SIM slots.

Network:  GSM, HSPA+, & LTE.

CAMERA

Rear camera: Dual-lens; 50MP (Wide)+AI (Auxiliary), Dual-Flash.

Front camera: Single-lens, 8MP+ Front Flash.

VIDEO RECORDING:

Rear Cameras: 720p, 1080p @ 30 fps.

Front Camera: 720p, 1080p, 2K @ 30 fps.

CONNECTIVITY:

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, HotSpots, USB-OTG, NFC.

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).

BATTERY

Battery Capacity: 7,000mAh.

Reverse (Wired) Charging: Yes

Qi Wireless-Charging: N/a.

Fast Charging: 33W (Wired).