Introduction
Tecno’s Powa series generally operates on a low budget, but usually manages to deliver a surprise hardware hit here and there. This time Techno focused on visual flair. The Pova 8 certainly looks interesting with its semi-transparent panel, funky camera island shape and the inclusion of what Tecno is calling an “Alive Matrix Display.”
The Powa 8 also has some practical features, like a large 8,000 mAh battery. The Powa 8 is also a dual-SIM 5G device and is powered by the quite capable MediaTek Dimensity 7100 chipset. Tecno also has two in-house additional chips to help out inside – one with network signals, the other with Wi-Fi.
Tecno Pova 8 specifications at a glance:
- Body: 165.7×78.5×8.8 mm, 225 g; Plastic back and plastic frame; IP64 dust resistant and water resistant (splash water), round matrix display (on the back), MIL-STD-810H compliant.
- Display: 6.76″ IPS LCD, 144Hz, 1080x2344px resolution, 19.53:9 aspect ratio, 381ppi.
- Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 7100 (6nm).
- Memory: 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; UFS 2.2; MicroSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) – India model only.
- OS/Software: Android 16, HIOS 16.
- rear camera: wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm, 1/1.95″, 0.8µm, PDAF.
- Front Camera: 13 MP, f/2.2, 24mm (wide).
- video capture: rear camera: 1440p@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps; front camera: Yes.
- Battery: 8000mAh; 45W wired, 50% in 35 minutes, 10W reverse wired.
- Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi 5; BT 5.4; NFC; FM radio, recording; Infrared port.
- various: fingerprint reader (side-mounted); Stereo speakers (with Dolby Atmos).
The main 50MP Sony LYTIA 600 camera won’t top any quality charts, but it’s a proven performer that should live above expectations for the class. Although you’ll have to settle for an LCD panel instead of OLED, at least it can refresh up to 144Hz.
On the software side, Tecno invested in “Practical AI,” offering things like AI noise cancellation and AI YouTube summaries. The Powa 8 itself comes with two major OS updates and the promise of three years of security patches. But we’ll get to all that in a moment.
unbox
The Powa 8 comes in a two-piece cardboard box. It feels very sturdy and protects the phone completely during shipping. On the inside there is a cradle for the phone. It’s made of cardboard, and there’s no plastic at all in the packaging, which we can appreciate. This box is quite attractive due to its bright blue/violet (depending on how the light falls on it) color scheme.
The Powa 8 comes with a 45W Techno-branded charger – which is enough to maximize its charging capacity. You also get a USB Type-A to Type-C cable, as far as we can tell, that cable isn’t actually proprietary and doesn’t use extra pins. However, the charger is designed to send up to 4.5A of current through said cable, so if you change it, make sure you at least match that. Keep in mind that if the Powa 8 does arrive in Europe at some point, the charger will be absent from the bundle.<.p>
Tecno also, quite generously, offers a clear hard case for the Powa 8, so you can start using it worry-free right away.