Affordable devices usually come with cheap screens, chips, cameras, support and batteries. But over the past five years, buying an entry-level device has become an increasingly satisfying experience. A few weeks ago, the Tecno Camon 40 Pro was launched at a price below RM900. Now the Tecno Camon 40 Pro 5G has been launched at a slightly higher price but finally brings 5G support and here is our review.
Specifications
Tecno Camon 40 Pro 5G
6.78″ AMOLED screen
FHD+, 144Hz
MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Ultimate processor (4nm)
4x Cortex-A78 2.6 GHz chips
4x Cortex-A55 2.0 GHz
Mali-G615 MC2 GPU
RAM 8 GB LPDDR4x
8GB of MemFusion virtual memory
256 GB UFS 2.2 storage
Main Camera 50MP f/1.9, OIS (Wide Angle)
8MP (Ultra Wide Angle)
Front Camera 50 MP f/2.5
5200 mAh battery
45W wired charging
SIM/Telephony Dual SIM/5G
NFC Yes
No Audio Jack
Waterproof IP69
Fingerprint Scan System under the optical screen
Face scan
Price RM 1099 (8/256GB)
Screen
The screen is a 6.78″ AMOLED with FHD+ resolution and supports a 120Hz refresh rate but is not of the LTPO type. The panel has a uniform bezel size but with curved sides. The content displayed looks beautiful and every touch is detected well along with a haptic system that is just satisfactory.
The device feels smooth to use and the screen brightness is satisfactory even under bright sunlight. Since the Camon 40 pro is an affordable device, the screen does not support any HDR content display. The optical fingerprint scanner is placed under the screen. It can unlock the device at a fairly fast speed.
Design
The design is the same as the Camon 40 Pro that was launched a few weeks ago. I had trouble distinguishing between these two devices and this is not surprising because they are the same device with changes made to the processor chip only.
The frame is made of metal which makes the device feel comfortable in the hand. The back panel is also made of metal with a slightly rough finish. It does not trap any dirt easily. The left side of the back panel is higher to accommodate the three camera bumps. The use of three lenses is strange because the Camon 40 Pro 5G only has two cameras on the back.
On the right side there is a power button and two audio adjustment buttons. It is rare to see a device with two audio adjustment buttons on the market today. There is a special button to call the Ella virtual assistant powered by the DeepSeek R1 AI model. The same button can also be pressed to launch the camera.
This device has a somewhat retro design that reminds me of the Samsung Galaxy S8 design. It feels the same in the hand with the difference being that the S8's back panel is made of glass. Despite being equipped with a 5200 mAh battery, the body is still quite thin.
Below there is a speaker grille, a USB-C charging port and a tray for dual nano SIMs. Above there is another speaker grille and an infrared emitter. Overall the device feels comfortable and premium in the hand despite its affordable price. It also passes the IP69 waterproof and dustproof standards which are rarely seen in devices in the same class.
Usage and Software
Camon 40 Pro 5G is equipped with the HiOS 15 operating system based on Android 15 which smooths the user experience even though it is equipped with a less powerful processor chip. The interface is quite similar to One UI with rounded icons. Among the interesting features included is Dynamic Port which is like Dynamic Island on the iPhone. Dynamic Port supports music players, phone calls, charging status, audio recording and more.
The Tecno AI feature is perhaps the most interesting because it supports real-time language translation when making phone calls. Samsung only offers this feature on flagship devices. There is also a real-time language translation feature using applications and writing assistance and formulas assisted by artificial intelligence.
The standard image editing feature through AI Gallery is also included with the ability to enlarge images. The process is quite slow with it taking up to 15 seconds for each image. In addition to the features with AI, there is also the ability to add virtual memory up to 8GB and a child mode that changes the interface used. In this mode, time and application limits can also be set by the device owner.
The Tecno Camon 40 Pro 5G will receive 3 Android version updates and up to 5 years of security patches which is quite a long time for a device priced under RM1200 in Malaysia.
Benchmarks
The Dimensity 7300 Ultimate chip used is a mid-range chip that was launched a year ago using 4nm technology. It still comes with four Cortex-A78 and Cortex-A55 CPU cores paired with a Mali G615 GPU. Therefore, the Tecno Camon 40 Pro 5G is compatible compared to devices with the chips below.
Dimensity 7300 Ultra – Poco X7
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 – Realme 13 Pro+ 5G
Dimensity 7300 Energy – Realme 13+ 5G
Dimensity 7300 – CMF Phone 1
Dimensity 7020 – Infinix Note 40 Pro
AnTuTu 3D
Chip Score
Dimensity 7300 Ultimate 688,532
Dimensity 7300 Ultra 686,014
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 741,709
Dimensity 7300 Energy 613,504
Dimensity 7300 644,913
Dimensity 7020 450,320
Geekbench 6
Single Core Multi Core Chip
Dimensity 7300 Ultimate 1017 3079
Dimensity 7300 Ultra 1026 2936
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 921 2127
Dimensity 7300 Energy 899 2763
Dimensity 7300 1044 2927
Dimensity 7020 1120 3338
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Chip Score
Dimensity 7300 Ultimate 870
Dimensity 7300 Ultra 850
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 855
Dimensity 7300 Energy 809
Dimensity 7300 851
Dimensity 7020 N/A
Application performance is satisfactory for an affordable entry-level device. Applications can be launched quickly but the application installation process is quite slow. UFS 2.2 storage is slow compared to UFS 4.0 used in mid-range and high-end devices. This makes the process of viewing photos taken after pressing the camera also take a few seconds.
The performance of the front is only satisfactory at medium settings. The majority of the front is only smooth at medium settings. We cannot recommend higher settings on fronts like COD Mobile, Mobile Legend, PUBG Mobile and COD Warzone. This is an issue with the chip still using the Cortex A78 core. This is the ARM V8 core that was launched in 2020. Five years ago the A78 may have been powerful enough but modern CPU cores are much faster.
Camera
The main camera consists of a 50MP f/1.6 wide-angle lens (OIS) with an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens paired with a 50MP front camera. For an affordable device. I feel the quality of the pictures taken is quite good for its class. Yes, it must be admitted that the reproduction is not very vivid and the HDR system used is not very good. But in the majority of situations the pictures look sharp if taken in bright lighting situations. The OIS system helps to ensure that every picture taken does not look foggy especially on the main lens.
The picture quality is clearly different when the ultra-wide-angle lens is used because the sensor size is smaller and there is no OIS. If there is a bright light source, it “blinds” the camera. Every light source and the sun look bloated compared to a better camera system.
Audio
There are stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support with speakers firing to the sides above and below. The result is balanced audio quality but it sounds quite flat. There is absolutely no dimension in the audio produced by the speakers even with the Atmos system enabled. At loud audio settings the sound starts to sound choppy. Audio through the speakers is quite disappointing and is only better when using headphones or earphones.
Battery
The 5200 mAh battery is capable of providing a day’s worth of usage. In moderate usage I was able to enjoy SOT up to 8 hours which is to be expected given the relatively large battery size. Recharging using the 45W charger takes around 90 minutes. Tecno includes a 45W charger and charging cable with every purchase.
In the Box
Here's what you get in the box with every purchase.
1x Tecno Camon 40 Pro 5G
1x Plastic frame
1x USB-A to USB-C charging cable.
1x 45W USB-A charging head
1x Manual.
1x SIM pin.
Conclusion
The Tecno Camon 40 Pro 5G offers an attractive package because it has good camera capabilities with OIS for its class, complete software, advanced AI features and a large battery capacity that lasts. It will also receive 3 versions of Android and 5 years of security patches. It is not the most powerful device on the market but it is not a cheap device even though it is sold at a price of RM1099 each.
Pros
Attractive design and comfortable in the hand.
Good camera capabilities for its class.
Large battery that lasts.
IP69 water and dust resistance
3+5 years software support
Cons
Dolby Atmos audio system does not stand out.
Gaming performance is not very good.