Beyond brand loyalty and the prestige that comes with it, there lies a need to have something a little more affordable. The latter day smartphone manufacturers have made this much more feasible by marketing devices that are comparable to the high-end gadgets released of late at a better market price. The Tecno Spark 3 Pro, the brand’s latest version of the Spark series, attests to this.

Like we told you in our First Impressions post, the Spark 3 is suitably designed to match the latest industry trends and this confirms it firmly as the definite successor to last year’s Spark 2. A lot of changes and developments manifest on the new phone, offering the distinct difference from the predecessors while making it stand out from the competition.

The Spark 3 Pro poses a beautiful and decent handset that is worth having with an elegant look even in its box unopened. We have had a Bordeaux Red model of the brand for a week, and this is the full review. 

Hardware, Design & Build

Tecno is embracing the cut-out notch for its various models and the Spark is the latest to have the trend. The Spark 3 Pro, and its smaller sibling, have a 6.2-inch display with a 720 x 1500 screen resolution and a 19:9 aspect ratio.

Quite some extensive technology is built in the display such as adaptive brightness to optimize the screen’s brightness level based on available light; eye care – which tints the screen amber to ease reading while in dim light; the ability to switch the notch area on and off; and a wide selection of wallpapers to choose from.

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The Tecno Spark 3 is light and compact, a rare occasion for smartphones its size. It is beautifully curved in a unibody with a crystal design on the back side. This makes it glow in light and offers an attraction in it even from afar.

On the back is the fingerprint sensor in the upper center and the dual rear camera setup aligned vertically on the top left. Also visible is the quad flash light for your all-time photography, with clear demarcations of it being an AI camera.

Elsewhere, the bottom has a mono speaker, a micro USB port, and a 3.5mm audio jack; the left has the dual SIM slot and a dedicated MicroSD Slot for ejection; while the right features the volume and power buttons.

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Camera

On the Spark 2 Pro, we had just a single camera on the rear. The dual camera array on the Spark 3 Pro is a bigger development that gives a smart output with a clearer view of the focus. You don’t have to be in a lighted environment, the Spark’s strength lies in its ability to make images brighter.

Adjusting the camera settings and using the quad-flash at the back results in beautiful photography and the two lenses (the 13 MP and the 2 MP cameras) perform way better than a single camera; after all, two is better than one.

You can switch between various modes such Video, AI CAM, Beauty, Bokeh, and AR Mode, to perfect your imagery.

The Spark 3 Pro has an equally good front selfie camera. It offers an 8 MP sensor with a Mix Flash, which involves using both Screen flash and Dual front LED flash to illuminate the face as you take selfies especially in dark environment, and this results in better output than the usual.

The front camera too features a number of modes like Soft Light Selfie, beauty, Portrait, and AR Mode – all attributed to Artificial Intelligence.

Other camera settings you can attach to your photos include tagging a location, switching between what the volume keys should do during shooting – to shutter or to zoom, touch capture, delay in capture, and the image size.

Photography on affordable mid-range smartphones is redefined by the Spark 3 Pro.

Software

Something new on a Tecno smartphone is Android Pie out-of-the-box running along HiOS version 4.6. Having the Spark 3 Pro device on-boarding the latest OS, and all the enhanced features it comes with, is something quite prestigious. Getting to know that is one of the devices eligible for the third beta version of Android Q is another triumph that we shall get into later.

There is quite a lot to enjoy from this: a unique interface that looks extensively attractive and quite easy to use, time saving options by predicting and suggesting the apps you are most likely to use, as well as adaptive brightness and a number of battery features which optimize the phone’s battery consumption and improve it.

Performance

Using the Spark 3 Pro makes you ascertain that it is one of the best mid-rangers on the market today. It comes with a Qualcomm SD430 Octa-core processor, running on 2 GB RAM – something I find unfair for a Pro rated device. It is fast enough, though, and creates the impression you would expect of it when in operation.

The 32 GB internal storage is an improvement from the 16 GB that came on the Spark 2 Pro, and it is a worthwhile addition for the new phone. Unless your usage is beyond the ordinary, this is quite some good-enough memory to keep you going.

The battery is at its best, a 3500 mAh inbuilt cell that can keep you going for more than a day on a single charge – even with as much active use. There is a Battery lab in the phone settings, which keeps you aware of how much time you have left for the battery to die out.

There is also an AI-enabled smart power saving alternative which allows you to restrict the phone’s power consumption for the apps you don’t use that much. The phones looks into the apps you use least, and keeps them off until you open them again. You can also program it to auto-switch on Airplane mode whenever it senses the phone’s inactivity.

Security-wise, you can choose between having a screen lock like a pattern, PIN or Password; a fingerprint unlock; or a face unlock to keep your phone secure from intruders. You can also set up the ‘Find My Device’ app on the phone to easily locate your device remotely and keep your data secure if at all you lose it.

A lot more features come with the Tecno Spark 3 Pro which can only keep you wanting to have the device even more. At purchase, it comes with a 13-month guaranty which cements the deal and gives you more reason to have it on you.

Tecno Spark 3 Pro Full Specifications

Announced: May 2019
Available: May 2019
Model: Tecno Spark 3 Pro (KB8)
Colours: Bordeaux Red
SIM: Dual Micro-SIM
OS: Android™ 9 Pie
Network: GSM, WCDMA, LTE
Display: 6.2-inch HD+ Super FULLVIEW, 1500 x 720px
CPU: Qualcomm SD430 Octa-core Up To 1.4GHz
Memory: 32GB ROM, 2GB RAM, microSD, up to 128 GB (dedicated slot)
Rear Camera: 13MP + 2MP dual rear cameras with quad-flash 
Front Camera: 8MP  front Camera with flash & Screen flash
Sensors: Accelerometer, Ambient Light, Proximity, Fingerprint
Battery: Non -Removable Li-Ion 3500 mAh (typ)

Tecno Spark 3 Pro Vs Tecno Spark 3

The Spark 3 series are really identical, and it can be quite hard to know which is which when assembled together. The two have the same 6.2 inch display, with a cut-out notch and similar slim bezel body. Until you open deeper into their specifications, you can have a problem distinguishing between the two.

The backside on both devices is made of the glowing crystal material which reflects back any visible object ahead of them. Both feature the dual camera setup, slightly different on close look, with the fingerprint sensor present too. Just below the vertical camera array, the Spark 3 has a ‘Spark’ tag on it while the Pro has an ‘AI Camera’ tag attached.

When you look into each phone’s system setup, you can then pick out the key differences between the two phones. Both have 2 GB RAM, an 8 MP front camera, a 3,500 mAh battery, and Android Pie OS. The Spark 3 Pro features a 32 GB internal storage, 13+2 MP rear camera combination, and HiOS v4.6, which differs from Spark 3’s 16 GB internal storage, 13+0.08 MP rear camera combination, and HiOS v5 respectively.

Tecno Spark 3 price in Uganda ranges from UGX 429,000 for the standard version to UGX 489,000 for the Pro version.

Tecno Spark 3 Pro Vs Other Pro devices

When a smartphone is labelled as Pro, the literal expectation you can have of it is ‘perfection’ or ‘over the normal’. Our experience with the Spark 3 Pro tries to match the two suppositions at the very least. The bigger question to answer would be whether it does match up to the projections set by other Pro devices.

The list of available Pros in the Spark 3’s range includes the Infinix Hot 6 Pro and Note 4 Pro, the Mi Redmi Note 6 Pro, Tecno Camon X Pro, Camon 11 Pro, and the Huawei Y7 Pro. The Spark 3 Pro stands out primarily on price basis, given its ‘below the UGX 500,000 tag’ makes it a lot more cheaper than the rest.

The competition however offers a much bigger battery capacity and more device RAM, something that keen Pro lovers have an interest in.

Verdict

For a mid-range smartphone, the equation on this is balanced – from the hardware, the software, the performance, and the price.

The Spark 3 Pro is the best smartphone in the Spark series, and the best mid-range device that the company has ever made. If you are looking for a device that will do it all, at the low budget you have, stake your hopes on this, you won’t regret.

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