Tecno Spark 20 Review - Should You Buy?
The Tecno Spark 20 is an upgrade to the Tecno Spark 10 released earlier this year. It has some tiny upgrades, like a dual speaker that I love. The processor has also been upgraded from the MediaTek Helio G37 to the MediaTek Helio G85, which is more capable of handling performance. The selfie camera on the Spark 20 is also 32MP, an upgrade compared to the 8MP on the Tecno Spark 10. The phone is also striking a balance in the market, giving us more options because it has a price and specs similar to the Redmi 13C, which has been generating much buzz lately. I am working on comparing the Redmi 13C and Tecno Spark 20; stay tuned for that. The big question is, should you buy the Tecno Spark 20? This video will guide you on everything you need about the device.
Our review of Tecno SPark 20
Positives
- Good Battery Life
- Decent Camera for the Price
- Great Build Quality
Negatives
- Selfie Images Need to Be Better
Tecno Spark 20 Unboxing
Inside the Tecno Spark 20 box, you will get a phone, a charger, an earpiece, a silicone TPU case, a SIM ejector tool, and a warranty card. The packaging of the box didn’t change if you are familiar with the Spark 10 box and its content. I picked this unit for around 125k because Tecno hasn’t announced the price in Nigeria yet. I later learned from a reliable source that the base model with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage space won’t exceed 105K. I will update the phone's price in the description and pinned comments as soon as possible.
Best Tecno Phones in Nigeria with Prices
Tecno Spark 20 Design & Build Quality
For a while, Tecno has stuck with this design for their budget phones. The design is moving closer and closer to the iPhone, and I think it’s because the target audience for this phone is primarily young people. When you compare this with the Spark 10, there is a slight difference in design.
The camera island is slightly bigger this time around. There are three circled rings around the camera island, but we only have two cameras at the back of the phone; the third part is for the quad flashlight. The camera island is glossy; I imagine dust settling on that part. The phone has a plastic matte finish, and the color I have with me hides fingerprint stains. There are some other colors, but I think this is the best. I love how it shines in different colors depending on how light hits it. It has a plastic frame with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner that is reasonably fast. While there isn’t an official IP rating, there is a rubber ring around the SIM ejector tool on the left side, which means it can somewhat survive water. It would be best if you didn’t dip the phone in water intentionally, though. The phone has two speakers; surprisingly, I am impressed by how it sounds. It is not bass-heavy, but the overall sound is well-balanced. It charges through a USB C port with a microphone for calls. There is a Tecno Spark branding at the back, and the phone is comfortable to hold in hand even though it is pretty big. It is flat with slightly curved edges. The phone has a good build with no creaking or flexing on any part of the phone.
Display Review of the Tecno Spark 20
It has a 6.6-inch IPS LCD with a 90Hz refresh rate and 720p resolution. While the display is decent for the price, having a 1080p resolution would have been better. A punch hole is cut out on the display, and you can’t help but notice the bezels around it. The chin at the bottom is the most noticeable. Most devices within the price category typically come with bezels like that. The high refresh rate makes scrolling better, and I feel the presence more on the Spark 20 than on the Pop 8 I reviewed earlier. You can set the phone to auto refresh or the standard 60Hz in the phone's display settings.
You can also change the color in the settings, like on the AMOLED display. I set mine to an excellent color, better than the default or warm color. It can get up to 500 nits of peak brightness, but you must set it to adaptive brightness. Outdoors, I made sure the brightness was maxed to see the display. You can stream some YouTube videos at up to 2K resolution, and the colors are pretty vivid and sharp; I can’t complain about how it looks. It is responsive to touch, and the size makes gaming enjoyable. I played a couple of games, and it was okay. Overall, the display is impressive for the price and fits the phone perfectly. My only wish for the display is a higher resolution.
Software & Performance
The phone runs on Android 13, and HiOS version 13.5 is the user interface. The phone feels smooth, and I love how snappy everything on it feels. There are some levels of customizations you can do in the settings. My unit has 4GB RAM, but thanks to memory fusion, it can be expanded to 8GB using some storage space on the phone. The storage space on my model here is 128GB, but there is a model with 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage space. Performance will be better on that model. You get the dynamic port that mimics the iPhone's dynamic island. While you can use the dynamic island on iPhones to control apps, the functionality is limited on the Tecno Spark 20. It only shows some cool animations when there are incoming calls, phone charging, etc. The settings have many software features, and you will enjoy exploring the phone's settings. As expected, some bloatware apps come with the phone, but there are not as many. You also get many essential Google apps. I feel the HiOs needs a revamp i have seen version 13 many times, and I can’t wait to get a Tecno phone running on Android 14 so I will see the new features of HiOS; hopefully, material U will be in full effect.
Processor Performance of the Tecno Spark 20
The MediaTek Helio G85 is quite decent in performance, even though it’s an old chipset. The competing phones around the price category mostly come with the same chipset. There isn’t any noticeable lag while using the phone, and apps open up swiftly. I also played several games, and they ran just fine. It will handle everyday tasks like calls, text, and content consumption just fine. Multitasking is decent as well; multiple apps run in the background smoothly. Minus heavy games, though. Compared with the Spark 10, there is some upgrade since the MediaTek Helio G37 powered it. You will be okay with the performance if you do some gaming, consume content, text, and make calls.
Tecno Spark 20 Camera Test
The Spark 20 has a 50MP primary camera, and we have a second depth lens at the back. Upfront, we have a 32MP selfie camera, another noticeable upgrade from the predecessor. Here are some pictures I snapped with the phone; let us know what you think about it in the comment section.
Tecno Spark 20 Battery & Charging Test
It comes with a 5000mAh battery, and it supports 18-watt fast charging. it takes nearly two hours to charge the phone from zero to a hundred. The battery will surely last you an entire day of usage or even more if you are a casual user. The battery is one of the best aspects of the phone.
Conclusion
Rounding up, the Spark 20 is up there with the competition. It is bringing the heat to the Redmi 13C, and some aspects make it a better buy. Is it worth upgrading if you have the Spark 10? Well, I will say no, they are more of the same and are only separated by the new Processor and improved selfie camera on the Spark 20. Will I recommend this if someone asks me for a budget phone slightly above 100K? It's a yes. The phone ticks the necessary boxes required on a smartphone. Let us know what you think about the phone in the comments.