Tecno finally launch the Phantom 8

If you have been wondering what’s new on the Tech Market, well there’s something new and we have you covered.

If you think Tecno are just confined to making low-end phones after failing to convince in the smart phone world, well think twice before you conclude.

TECNO loves to making bold statements every time they have something new for the market even when it makes no cutting-edge difference from what they already have.

Good thing, they continue to steadily progress and have become one of the few household names especially in Uganda and some parts of Africa as well.

But in the market with a fast-growing demand for smart phones, they ventured into the smart phone industry in 2012 with the “made in Ethiopia” and here they are with the Phantom 8.

So, what do we have here in the Phantom 8?

The Tecno Phantom 8 comes just after last year’s Phantom 6 and 6 Plus. The Transsion Holdings owned company this time skipped 7 for 8, with one version of the device (no Plus option). Improvements were made and let’s take a look at the rest of the specifications.

Camera

Camera quality is one of the major selling points of the Tecno Phantom 8. Just like the predecessor, the Phantom 8 uses a dual camera setup with a combination of the 12 megapixels and 13 megapixels at the back with a single LED flash. The cameras are of Sony IMX 386 just like the iPhone.

Screen size

The Phantom 8 uses a 5.7 inches screen with Full HD display (1080 by 1920 pixels resolution and 403 Pixels Per-square Inch - PPI)

Processor

It uses a MediaTek Octa-core processor chipset type clocking at 2.6 GHz and. MediaTek is not the best of all if you compare it to the Nvidia Tegra, Samsung Exynos and the Intel Atom anyway.

The Phantom 8 is equipped with 6GB RAM to see to all your multi-tasking needs, this is the first Tecno device to come with that RAM capacity by the way.

Android Version

The Phantom 8 is built with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box with HiOS 3.0 from TECNO Mobile on top, the HiOS promises more optimized and sleeker user interface, unlike the Phantom 6 and 6+. The Nougat is not the newest version of Android, sadly, but they have a promise for an update to the latest Adroid version, the 8.0 Oreo.

Storage

On-board storage for the Phantom 8 is 64GB with option to expand to up to 2TB using a micro SD card, just in case you require more storage space. The smartphone is a dual Micro SIM Android device and supports dual standby with 4G network option as expected. There is a hybrid SIM card slot is on the right for the second option.

Further additions include global connectivity and 4G+ that is capable of 300 Mbps in downloads. Do we have the infrastructure to support the development? It's like getting fibre speeds on your mobile!

Battery

Tecno Phantom 8 has a 3,500 mAh battery, which I believe should have been improved with at least 4,000 mAh or more. Now this has not solved the problem of poor battery quality and that remains bad for the brand.

Design and User interface.

One of the biggest highlights of the phantom 8 is its unique ‘Diamond Fire Design’ that gives the device a glossy and attractive appearance. It is available in three different colors: Champagne Gold, Phantom Black and Galaxy Blue colors.

It comes with three basic navigation keys in the lower front bezel while the fingerprint scanner is centrally placed at the back below the camera position. It has a 3.5mm headphone jack is nestled comfortably atop while the speaker grilles and USB port are underneath.

The Phantom 8 is indeed well designed and takes Tecno miles ahead of the Phantom 6. But is it capable of breaking into the Samsung Galaxy and iPhone series? Only you can answer that.