Tecno Pova Curve 2 5G has been announced in India with a starting price of Rs 27,999 and is being touted as the “world’s slimmest 8000mAh Curve Display Smartphone.” While some of these terms may look appealing on paper, do they also translate well in the real world? Take a look at our first impressions of the Tecno Pova Curve 2 5G and decide for yourself.
Design & Display
The Tecno Pova Curve 2 5G surely is a slim smartphone at 7.4mm thickness for a handset with such a huge battery. It curves from both the front and back and despite having a plastic frame, the premium matte finish on the back doesn’t let the device feel cheap in the hand. It has that premium heft to it which further enhances the feel. The curves and the rounded form factor help make for a decent grip in the hand.
The rear design will surely catch anyone’s eye. There are triple camera cutouts but the device has a dual sensor setup. These are positioned inside a triangular layered module along with geometric patterns across the back panel and 3D printed elements which add to the funkiness for anyone who isn’t looking for a minimal-looking device. The device is also IP64 rated so it can withstand splashes of water and some amount of dust with ease.
A good amount of attention to detail is present, including an orange coloured power button which is also textured. These buttons also feel tactile. The Haptics are decent, and the bottom-mounted single speaker solely focuses on vocals and loudness.
As for the in-box contents, the device comes with a 45W charger, a USB-C cable, SIM ejector tool, a transparent TPU case, and some manuals.
At the front, the Tecno Pova Curve 2 5G sports a 6.78-inch curved AMOLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, 1080 x 2364 pixels FHD+ resolution, 93.18% screen-to-body ratio, Gorilla Glass 7i protection, 2800Hz instantaneous touch sampling rate, 429 ppi, and 4500 nits peak brightness.
The display is a highlight of the device thanks to its minimal bezels, ample brightness outdoors, smooth refresh rate, vivid colours, and sharp visuals. The optical under-display fingerprint sensor is accurate, but it isn’t the fastest in its segment for unlocking.
Software & Performance
You get 8GB of LPDDR5x RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. At the helm of the Tecno Pova Curve 2 5G is the MediaTek Dimensity 7100 processor, while the handset runs HiOS 16 based on Android 16.
Software-wise, things seem to have improved quite a lot over HiOS 15. Not only does the user interface of HiOS 16 look more modern, but even the animations have gotten smoother and more consistent, while smaller attention to detail, such as the orange accents across the UI, are welcome additions. Yes, some animations still need improvement, such as the App opening and closing ones but apart from that, our initial usage of Tecno Pova Curve 2 5G shows fluid handling for the most part.
Features like Circle to Search, app cloner, app locker, ability to check battery health, reverse wired charging, bypass charging, smart side panel, game mode, gestures like double tap to turn the screen on or off and flip to mute (and more), theft protection including including the ability to auto capture photo after two unsuccessful unlock attempts and theft alert, and much more, are present which are quite thoughtful additions.
Also Read: Tecno Spark Go 3 Launched in India: Price, Specifications, Availability
Customisation options are plenty, including depth effect on not only the lock screen but also the home screen, which can overlap icons, a bunch of themes, clock styles, an AI theme generator with a text prompt, and more, adding to the value so the user can customise their device to their liking. Always-on Display exists, but it’s not actually always on; it turns off after a few seconds of inactivity. However, you can still change the clock style for the AOD.
Tecno has put a lot of effort into AI as well, where apart from Circle to Search, there are a plethora of other features like an Ella assistant, which is an alternative virtual assistant like Bixby on Samsung phones. You can even change the AI model of Ella to Grok, Gemini, ChatGPT for free. However, we couldn’t test the limits of the queries you can ask with these models but Tecno does claim you can use them for free.
Aside from that, expect other usual AI features like AI notes, call summaries, translator, etc., which are all on par with other major players’ AI features.
Moreover, there’s not much bloatware, which is another great improvement. Pre-installed apps include Google apps, Tecno’s own translator, file manager, game centre, PhonePe, Spotify, My Health app, and a few more, which are still fewer than what some competitors offer.
In our initial use, the device stuttered a few times when performing multiple tasks simultaneously, but apart from that, Tecno’s software experience has taken a major step forward in almost every aspect, which is something to appreciate.
Battery & Cameras
Coming to the 8000mAh battery inside the Tecno Pova Curve 2 5G, of course, we couldn’t test it in depth, but you can easily expect up to 2 days of use with casual use, while heavy users can expect up to 1.5 days, which is still phenomenal. Charging time remains to be tested.
For optics, the Tecno Pova Curve 2 5G features a dual rear camera setup with a 50MP primary sensor and a 2MP macro sensor, plus a 13MP front camera. The device can shoot decent photos outdoors, as there’s enough light for the sensor to capture.
These shots look sharp and handle the colours very well. The dynamic range also seems decent. The macro sensor seems to click noisy shots.
Selfies from the front sensor appear to capture decent skin tones but sharpness could have easily been better as these shots tend to soften a little.
So to sum it up, the Tecno Pova Curve 2 5G packs a good amount of improvements, and those improvements are in areas that count, like the battery, software, display, looks, and build quality. Surely, it does seem to lack behind when it comes to the Chipset in use and the cameras, but based on our limited time with the device, it feels well-suited for everyday, casual use. As long as you go in with realistic expectations, the Pova Curve 2 5G is unlikely to leave you disappointed.
Author: Abhishek Malhotra
Source: The Mobile Indian
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
