Just bought a new phone and discovered that its AnTuTu score is only 700K? If you’re doubting smooth gaming, we have some insights for you.
While getting a million AnTuTu is nicer, the 700K scoreline isn’t that bad, especially if your games aren’t so demanding. In this article, we presented the reasonable upsides and downsides of a 12K smartphone that still manages to get that AnTuTu score.
The 12K Smartphone for Mobile Gaming
The sample unit in this article is the TECNO CAMON 20s Pro 5G, a midranger. When it was launched, it had an SRP of ₱12,999 and was even sold at a sale price of ₱10,599.
The device may be familiar to you and that’s because the handset is a “re-release” version of the TECNO CAMON 20 Pro 5G. One of notable differences between these two is the slightly lower processor.
TECNO CAMON 20s Pro 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8020, while the TECNO CAMON 20 Pro 5G has the Dimensity 8050. Why this change?
It’s likely a way to mitigate the heating from the chipset. One of these two has more power, thus more heat. Check their configuration below:
TECNO CAMON 20s Pro 5G
- 4 cores at 2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 (performance)
- 4 cores at 2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 (efficiency)
TECNO CAMON 20 Pro 5G
- 1 core at 3 GHz Cortex-A78 (prime)
- 3 cores at 2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 (performance)
- 4 cores at 2 GHz Cortex-A55 (efficiency)
As you can see, that prime core is clocked at 3GHz and having that much speed can lead to excessive heat, particularly during hardcore gaming and nonstop photography. Although TECNO CAMON 20 Pro 5G has a passive cooling system, it may not be enough to truly keep it cool.
Is It Still Good for Gaming?
On AnTuTu, TECNO CAMON 20s Pro 5G still manages at least 750K and not many 12K phones can get the same score. This means that the phone remains relevant in mobile gaming and can even run AAA titles, including miHoYo’s Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. Both of these games are playable on medium graphics at 60 FPS.
What about first-person shooters or MOBAs? These games are surely enjoyable on medium graphics and high FPS. But you can adjust specific parameters in the graphics settings for a custom experience.
Adjusting these parameters can let you play games on high or ultra textures at 30 to 60 FPS. Just keep in mind that poorly written games won’t run smoothly on any phone, budget or flagship.
PUBG, Call of Duty, Call of Duty Warzone Mobile, and Blood Strike should be good on TECNO CAMON 20s Pro 5G. MOBA games like Mobile Legends Bang Bang, Wild Rift, and Pokémon Unite should run on medium at 60 to 90 FPS.
Games like MIR4, Diablo Immortal, and Onmyoji Arena may be challenging because these titles have high textures and high-poly meshes if you raise the graphics settings.
Is It Still Good in the Next Few Years?
That depends on how you use your phone. At 750K AnTuTu, the TECNO CAMON 20s Pro 5G is respectable in gaming.
As of March, the benchmark ceiling is at 2.14 million with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, followed by the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 at 2.13 million. These scores are for high-powered smartphones.
In the mid-range segment, the best scores are from 836K to 1.46 million via the top ten performing midrangers for March. Check out that story at the side.
TECNO CAMON 20s Pro 5G has other offers outside mobile gaming. It features a decent camera setup and can even do 4K Portrait Video. It also boasts dual-SIM 5G connectivity for those always on the move, and a sizable storage of 256GB, expandable via microSD card.
If you’re not planning to use this phone for hardcore gaming, it’s still viable for AFK gaming, thanks to bypass charging. Plug it like a console and let your character do their thing for hours without fear of damaging the battery.
Even if you stopped using the handset as a gaming device after a few years, it still has more than enough performance for browsing, streaming, photography, and video recording. With a tanky battery of 5000mAh, it’s a viable backup phone or secondary unit for 5G hotspotting.
Final Thoughts
Your 12K phone isn’t a goner yet in mobile gaming. Sure, you can’t really play very demanding games with the best visuals. But it doesn’t mean every single AAA title on the Play Store is out of your league.
With a few tweaks, many titles will be playable at high frame rates on decent visual fidelity – not ultra but enough to show you more details than on low graphics.
If TECNO CAMON 20s Pro 5G is not available near you, you can opt for Infinix ZERO 30 5G, also powered by Dimensity 8020. It has a 108MP main camera and a 68W turbo charging.
