TECNO POVA 7 Ultra 5G Review - Affordable smooth 120 fps shooting game expert
After a couple of weeks, we are now providing you with a full review of the standout affordable gaming powerhouse under PHP 17K.
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| TECNO POVA 7 Ultra |
To recall, this is TECNO's powerful gaming-focused mid-range device with a clean futuristic appearance, stunning 1.5K display, strong chip, large battery, and a built-in cooling system.
Before we give you a full dive, let's unbox the phone first.
Unboxing/Accessories
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| The box |
TECNO sent us a Black and White box with a huge POVA 7 Ultra 5G logo. You can also find its highlights specs, and a big PUBG Mobile logo since it is the PMSL SEA Official gaming phone.
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| Inside the box |
Inside, you'll find the unit itself, 70W charger, USB-A to USB-C cable, a FREE frosted case, and the paperwork.
TECNO also sent us FREEBIES such as the magnetic power bank and three pieces of magnetic PUBG skins for your case.
Build Quality/Design
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| The back design |
At first glance, the phone's side kind of looks like a metal frame, but it instead uses a polycarbonate material. This should provide a much stronger quality than the regular plastic builds. It still feels sturdy and doesn't bend when applying minimal force.
Its back cover uses a glass panel; however, TECNO did not mention any protection from it, so be sure to always wear the case to prevent it from damage due to accidental drops or falls.
Meanwhile, the display has a guaranteed Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection to safeguard it from scratches and minor drops.
The phone also has rounded corners for ergonomic grip, a pretty important aspect for long-session gamers.
Furthermore, the phone also has an IP64 dust and splash resistance, allowing it to survive some dirt, a minimal rain shower, or water dips.
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| Transparent glass back |
TECNO impressed us with its unique take on the design. Instead of going full hard on the flashy gamer vibe, the TECNO POVA 7 Ultra came with a cleaner aesthetic while retaining a touch of futuristic looks.
It has a transparent glass back with visible geometric shapes, a hint of the POVA logo on the bottom left portion, and a triangular camera island to house the three image sensors and an LED flash.
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| The LED lights at the back |
But that's not all, the design is also complemented with LED lights on the camera island. The brand claims it comprises 104 LED lights capable of producing more than 30 light effects and 5 usage scenarios.
We find them mostly useful when the phone is turned down and in silent mode. The lights can act as a notification when receiving messages or calls. It also lights up when you are gaming as well as when charging your device.
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| Top and bottom view |
Up top, the device has a speaker hole and an IR sensor. At the bottom, you'll find USB-C, a microphone, a SIM card slot, and another speaker grill to complete the stereo setup.
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| The side view |
The left portion is a blank space, while the right part covers the volume rockers and power button.
One thing to note here is that we didn't see game triggers despite being marketed as a shooting game-friendly device. Though, of course, they aren't being used for professional tournaments like PUBG Mobile's PMSL SEA.
Multimedia Experience
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| The display |
The TECNO POVA 7 Ultra brings big upgrades to the display. It now uses a high-quality 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with 2800 x 1260 resolution at 460 ppi, 144Hz refresh rate, 2,592Hz PWM dimming, 4,500 nits peak brightness, and an In-Display fingerprint scanner.
One of the best display specs for the price
Its improved resolution is already a treat in our eyes; the details are now sharper and crisper with deep blacks and great colors. This made our experience with watching videos and viewing photos a lot enjoyable.
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| Suitable for streaming |
Moreover, the device offers a smooth scrolling experience with its 144Hz refresh rate. It's also a lot safer for the eyes and efficient to the battery thanks to the dynamic refresh rate, which automatically switches from 60-144Hz depending on the app.
Meanwhile, the eye care mode will allow users to tweak the color temperature of the screen for a much healthier viewing experience.
The display is also significantly brighter with its 4,500 nits, allowing you to still get a decent view even when under the afternoon sunlight.
In terms of audio, the TECNO POVA 7 Ultra packs dual speakers for that immersive stereo effect. It's loud to fill our living room with decent audio quality, particularly in the mid and high regions, while there's only a minimal thump for the bass region.
Cameras
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| The cameras |
The TECNO POVA 7 Ultra boasts a 108MP f/1.7 HM6 sensor + 8MP ultra-wide + LED flash. On the front, it has a 13MP f/2.2 sensor for selfies or video calls.
Rear camera samples
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| 1x outdoor |
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| 3x outdoor |
Though it is a game-centric device, it still provides decent output across different scenarios, from outdoor, indoor, and lowlight.
The main camera captures bright and clear images for the majority of our shots in daylight and low-light scenarios
The ultra-wide sensor capably captures expansive scenes and group shots, though with a slight drop in image quality compared to the main camera.
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| Indoor ultra-wide |
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| 3x zoom indoor |
We were consistently impressed with its indoor performance, as the main, ultra-wide, and zoom cameras all delivered decent photo quality.
We mentioned earlier that its sensor could take bright output. That is also the case in indoor scenes with a dark setting.
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| Portrait mode 2.5x in a dark indoor setting |
In our image sample, the overall surroundings ended up looking like it was taken with proper lighting. The exact scene was shot past 6 PM with a dark purple light environment.
We think that TECNO's AI also comes into play, adjusting the scene's exposure to achieve an improved result. However, in terms of accuracy, it should be a lot darker.
For portrait mode, it lets users achieve background blur around the subject to emphasize it. Although it obviously looks artificial, it has an acceptable edge detection.
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| Food photo in tall orientation |
Another highlight is its food photography, producing vibrant and detailed shots that require little to no editing before sharing on Instagram or other platforms.
The Tecno POVA 7 Ultra's main camera delivers impressive low-light performance for a gaming phone, thanks to the wide f/1.7 aperture and AI, which allowed us to capture vibrant colors and minimal noise in a cozy outdoor setting.
It offers decent dynamic range and sharpness in the center, though edge softness and slight grain are still noticeable.
For ultra-wide, again, you are getting more space from your subject, but there's noticeable reduced dynamic range and more noise in the image. But in terms of color accuracy, it actually captured what our eyes see at the moment.
Its 3x in-sensor zoom delivers usable low-light performance with still vibrant colors despite having slightly reduced details. There are also minor softness and noise present, and the leaves in the plants appeared a little blurry.
Selfie Camera Samples
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| Daylight 1x selfie camera |
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| Indoor selfie |
You can expect detailed selfies with natural skin tones and balanced exposure from the front camera, making it reliable for well-lit indoor and outdoor shots.
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| Portrait mode |
For a daytime portrait, the TECNO Pova 7 Ultra's camera delivers a reliable and appealing shot, suitable for casual selfies or social media with its bright, clear results and natural colors. It's not perfect, though, with its artificial bokeh and edge softness, but it’s more than capable for everyday use in good light.
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| Low light selfie |
For lowlight, it is surprisingly good as well for the subject face, although there's visible noise in the background, the leaves turned washed, and it has less dynamic range.
Performance
The TECNO POVA 7 Ultra uses the powerful 3.35GHz 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Ultimate octa-core chip with Mali-G615 MC6 GPU.
It is paired with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM + up to 12GB virtual RAM and 256GB storage.
Below are the benchmark tests:
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| The benchmark results of TECNO POVA 7 Ultra |
- AnTuTu - 1,458,750 points
- Geekbench - 1,196 single core, 4,010 multi-core
- 3D Mark Wild Life - 10,766 overall score, average frame rate 64.46
- CPDT - 675.24 MB/s sequential write speed, 1.08GB/s sequential read speed
In terms of real-life performance, these numbers are already above average and guarantee almost zero lag in running your everyday apps like social media, browser, streaming apps, and games.
Scrolling across several apps opened is a breeze, while running multiple browser tabs is no sweat either.
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| PUBG Mobile HDR and Ultra frame rate |
Now for the gaming performance, this is the POVA 7 Ultra's bread and butter, as the powerful chip allowed us to run PUBG Mobile at both HDR graphics and ultra frame rate.
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| PUBG Mobile in 120 fps |
If you want a more fluid performance, you can also set it for Smooth graphics + 120 frame rate mode.
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| Mobile Legends settings |
Running Mobile Legends and Genshin Impact is also no problem on both max settings. Hitting combos is a breeze while the animations are buttery smooth, even in challenging conditions.
One of the most consistent for the price
In terms of thermals, the device gets warm when using max graphics and frame rate, which is understandable, but not to the point of it being alarmingly hot.
For battery, the phone boasts a large 6,000mAh battery and is paired with a 70W USB-C fast charger and 30W wireless charging support.
The battery gives us around 11-12 hours of screen time for continuous usage. That includes casual gaming, using mobile data, frequent social media, and web browsing.
Meanwhile, it has an outstanding standby time. You can leave it for a few days, and the battery will only budge a small percentage.
Charging the device is quite fast. You only need to wait around 40 minutes to get to 100 percent coming from 18 percent.
It also supports wireless charging, which means you can use the magnetic wireless powerbank for a hassle-free experience.
Another thing we liked is the Bypass charging support so you can keep on gaming for extended periods without thinking of your phone's battery health.
Connectivity features are WiFi, 5G, 4G, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, NFC, and dual SIM.
The WiFi features dual-band, so you can connect to 2.4GHz for wider and stable coverage. Meanwhile, the 5GHz lets you experience faster speeds but with fewer signals.
In terms of data connectivity, 5G is quite fast and stable. Also, TECNO has partnered with DITO Mobile to bring unlimited PUBG Mobile gaming for 1 whole year.
Its Bluetooth connectivity was stable as well; we didn't experience any drops when it was connected to a smartwatch or TWS earbuds.
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| Very clean UI for HiOS 15 |
For software, the POVA 7 Ultra features Android 15 with HiOS 15 Special skin.
TECNO has greatly stepped forward in this area. The UI now looks clean and minimalist with the new, fresh transparent design. It also now has smoother animations, and it feels lighter to navigate across different apps.
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| The HiOS 15 Special Skin |
You can also style the UI according to your preference, add different colors, lighting effects, and styled fonts for a more personalized interface.
Improved UI design and features
There are also updated icons comprising black, white, and orange, providing a cleaner aesthetic. Overall, it kind of feels similar to the Nothing OS in terms of experience.
Lastly, the TECNO POVA 7 Ultra is equipped with a plethora of AI features for productivity or gaming.
You can use AI Eraser 2.0 to remove unwanted objects from your photo. While the AI image extender magically widens your preferred image.
For gaming, its AI Magic Box features Dialogue Acceleration, Auto Pick-up, Character Unfreeze, and a Lock-to-Run function. These AI-powered utilities are remarkably similar to those found on the flagship ROG Phone 9, making their presence on a more accessible device like the POVA 7 Ultra particularly worth praising.
Pros - Clean gamer aesthetic, Bright and crisp display, powerful chip, long battery life, Bypass Charging, AI gaming features, Clean UI.
Cons - No clear indication of how long the OS update support will last, no game triggers despite being marketed as a shooting game-focused device.
TECNO POVA 7 Ultra 5G Specs
Display: 6.67-inch AMOLED screen w/ 144Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, 2800 x 1260 resolution at 460 ppi
CPU: 3.35GHz 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Ultimate octa-core processor
GPU: Mali-G615 MC6
RAM: 12GB LPDDR5X
ROM: 256GB UFS 4.0
Back Camera: 108MP f/1.65 HM6 sensor + 8MP f/2.2 111.4-degree ultra-wide-angle + LED flash
Selfie: 13MP f/2.2
Battery: 6,000mAh battery w/ 70W fast charging, 30W wireless charging, 5W reverse charging
OS: Android 15 w/ HiOS 15 Special
Connectivity: WiFi 6, 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.4, FM Radio, NFC, GPS, dual SIM (nano)
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, IP64 dust and water resistance, IR Blaster, stereo speakers, Hi-Res Audio (Wired/Wireless), LED light, X-axis linear motor, Hyper Cooling System, USB-C, Colors: Geek Black, Geek White
Dimensions: 160.9 x 75.2 x 8.87 mm
Weight: 201 g
Price: PHP 16,999
Verdict
TECNO POVA 7 Ultra offers gaming-ready performance at a reasonable price of under PHP 17K.
It brings a clean, futuristic appearance, a bright, smooth, and high-resolution display, powerful performance, decent storage, a large battery with bypass charging, and a decent camera.
It also comes with attractive freebies that could let you continue gaming on the go with its wireless powerbank and some PUBG skins to flaunt for your protective case.
Perhaps TECNO could just take notes from us and add the game triggers for the next iteration.
Overall, we are very happy with what the TECNO POVA 7 Ultra can bring to the table.
What do you guys think?
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