TECNO Phantom 5 is TECNO’s flagship smartphones in 2015 and some people have been calling it the ‘smartphone of the year’ as far as Nigeria is concerned. However arguable that may sound, there is no denying the fact that it is a good device.
Over the years, the company dominated the mid-range smartphone market until recently, strong competition from other brands like Infinix is becoming a force to contend with. The company’s significant leap into the premium space was highly welcomed even though the name TECNO is almost synonymous to the word ‘cheap’ in Nigeria, the Phantom series have been able to provide Nigerians with devices that have high specs without dipping a hole in the pocket.
While the Phantom Z did brings improved camera capabilities, better display, the Phantom 5 consolidates on those features with the addition of extra top notch specs. Well we like the device but it still has its shortcomings… almost all devices do.
Design
The 5.5 -inch Phantom 5 comes with a premium metallic build and a 6.8mm slim body, it is slightly curved at the back which allows it sit comfortably in the hand. This slight curve behind and the bulging camera doesn’t make using the Phantom 5 a delight when placed on the table, it just dances to the right and left for as long as u continue to touch or type. Every other thing about the design seems good but I still did not enjoy the slippery metallic finish and its sharp edges, smartphones with slight curves at the four edges just feels better in the hand.
The Phantom 5 is dual SIM enabled, this time around you can use two SIM cards and a SD card at the same time, no trade off, there is a separate slot for your memory card.
Camera
Camera on the Phantom 5 is 13 MegaPixel which delivers good quality pictures (notice I didn’t say super) alongside a dual flash to brighten the subject. There is also a great improvement in the camera technology as it allows more light come into the lens, so even if you are in a low lit environment, you will still be able to take a decent but slightly busy looking picture. I compared video recording on the phantom 5 with the HTC One M8 during a night out with a friend and I was able to record videos while my friend couldn’t. Yeah some kind of ego…
The 8MP front camera trips me the most as I have now become a selfie king even when my folks know am so camera shy. At least I am not worried about taking selfies at night again, all thanks to the front flash which brings out the photographer in me at night. I was at a get together with friends and it got dark, while others had to keep their phones, I was on a freestyle selfie spree. However the front flash stays on when you want to take the selfie and it can disturb the eyes.
Music capabilities is also great, it is loud and the quality of sound pumping out from the big speaker grill behind is awesome. This phone can also play Hi-Fi audio.
The display of the Phantom 5 is a strong selling point, bright sharp displays forms part of my favourite specs on a smartphone. The full HD display encourages me to watch movies on the phone, at least I fall asleep fast when doing this at night, colours also look real and vibrant.
Storage and Performance
Internal memory is clocked at 32GB with an option to expand with a memory card but you only have access to about 26GB and the same thing applies to the RAM. RAM size is touted to be clocked at 3GB but in the real sense, the phone system actually takes up about 40% of the RAM size so let’s say you have between 6 and 10 apps running, you will be using about 65% RAM size.
This invariably slows down the device and then you experience some kind of lag while in use even though you have specs required for a fast smartphone such as MediaTek’s 1.5GHz octa-core processor. Sometimes the device just hangs when trying to unlock, Arghhh!!! That experience was a turn off because I didn’t even expect that hanging and unresponsive thing from a one month old phone. I also experienced a delay in opening some apps and unlocking using the finger print sensor. Switching between apps is smooth
Finger Print Scanner:
Finger print works fine except for the split seconds delay experienced when unlocking the device, this can however be overlooked for a an average phone user. Phones can be unlocked from sleep mode without pressing the power button.
Out of the box, the Phantom 5 does not allow you snap a picture by placing your finger on the finger print sensor. I have heard many people complain about this because it is obtainable in most devices with finger print scanners, however I take selfies using the finger print scanner. YES!!! This feature was included in the most recent system OTA update I did so if you want to enable that feature, ensure you update your device as the updates are pushed in.
Battery:
Overall battery life of the device is far above average bu also tricky, the 3000mAh battery can last an average user for a day even though you are connected to WiFi but if you are a heavy user or you use the device continuously over a lengthy period with the screen continually on, you will be surprised how the battery drains right in your very eyes. There is no fast charging technology so charging the battery takes a while and i’d advice you do not use the phone while charging because it may ‘take the whole day‘ to get extra juice.
Power saving mode is also available to extend your usage time when the battery is almost out.
That’s our TECNO Phantom 5 review, In summary the Phantom 5 is a good device which I think is worth giving a trial if you are considering it but just like many Nigerians, I am so concerned with the 70k pricing. Many people have argued that it is way too high while some see it as good price point when you make comparison with other smartphones that have the same or very close specs sheet.
For me, I am still stuck on this device which is quite unusual. I have refused to give out the Phantom 5 like I simply do to other devices but maybe I will in the coming days…