It’s the 5G version of the TECNO Spark 10: preppy, funky, and with lots of improvement for a slight price bump!
When it comes to the best price–to-specs ratio, there’s nothing better than Transsion. Their smartphones have exciting features with a price tag you won’t find in any mainstream brand– it’s easy to see why Tecno dominates the Asian and African markets as of this moment.
And the TECNO Spark 10 5G is no exception to that rule. For around the 5k-6k price point, you’ll already get a capable chipset with 5G, a beautiful back design, a fast refresh rate, and overall value for money with all the goodies tucked inside.
Let’s get to the packaging aspect first: as with past TECNO Spark boxes, this box art includes the TECNO logo, SPARK moniker, and a considerable number of 10 imprinted front and center (with the 5G name located down below).
But wait, there’s more– TECNO proudly claims that this model has 128GB of internal storage and up to 16GB of RAM. Below is a Hi-Res Audio sticker, indicating that this phone has above average sound signature– all for an affordable price (even though we still don’t know the exact pricing, the Spark series are usually priced around the 5k-6k mark).
One thing we also noticed is that when compared to the regular Spark 10 (without the 5G), the Spark 10 4G doesn’t have a textured box design, compared to the Spark 10 5G, which has a cluster of squares hiding beneath the texts like a chameleon. Foreshadowing, perhaps?
The main specs for the Spark 10 5G are listed on the back. Besides that, this is a vanilla box design with added neat touches.
Inside the box, we are greeted by the smartphone itself, but before we delve more profound into the main course, let’s sort out the appetizers first.
A sturdy plastic tray creates a division between the phone and the accessories. Upon removing it, legal papers and the usual 12+1 Warranty Card are there, which is always lovely.
Then we have a clear jelly case inside a plastic bag, and it seems that the Spark 10 5G is the gift that keeps giving. The final accessories include an 18W fast charger, and the usual TECNO Type-C cord is also here.
Not to mention, a set of earphones is getting rare these days to find inside a smartphone box. The sim ejector pin is also hidden inside the cord and earphone box.
The phone is wrapped in your typical TECNO plastic sleeve format, highlighting the main features.
After unwrapping it, we noticed the Spark 10 5G’s gorgeous back design, which looks like it was borrowed from past designs such as the Camon 18 Premier and the recent Camon 19 Pro Mondrian Edition with the UV glass, which changes colors when the sun shines on it, or if directly exposed to UV light.
It’s no color-changing back, but we sense a robust art-nouveau inspiration behind it and commend it by creating fun-looking phones.
When looked at at different positions, the cube design emits a shimmer of gold. Anchoring on its baby blue colorway, the Cubism style etchings compliments the whole personality of the phone itself.
A subtle TECNO Spark 5G etching can also be seen at the back from an angle; the overall feel is similar to frosted, smudge-proof glass. The section around the camera bump, however, is not so much.
The camera islands look very refreshing and modern – it’s like looking at a Huawei flagship phone from this year (think of the P60), with all of this style and swagger for a fraction of the price.
Teens will love it, and so are people tired of the same monotonous black-and-white designs and willing to try a new color palette for a change.
The camera islands, we guarantee you, will earn a couple of looks, mesmerized by how beautiful the phone is.
There are no buttons or speakers on its left and top corners except for the SIM tray, which accepts a SIM card and a dedicated microSD slot.
The right corner, in contrast, includes the power/fingerprint button and the volume rockers. Its single speaker, charging port, microphone, and headphone jack are at the bottom.
Looking at the TECNO Spark 10 5G’s display, we get a very crisp 6.6-inch display that’s 720p. However, upon closer inspection, this doesn’t look like a 720p panel, which is impressive.
However, TECNO needed to cut corners somehow and decided to go for the water drop notch route plus a reasonably prominent chin – and that’s understandable.
On the bright side, there’s a pre-installed thin screen protector for added protection, and that’s always a win in our book.
Upon first usage, we noticed that the TECNO Spark 10 5G got some heft; despite having an all-plastic build, the large 5,000mAh battery was mainly behind the weight.
We also thought that the earpiece on top of the selfie camera (which sits flush inside the screen bezel) functions as a secondary speaker, but that’s not the case.
The colors are vibrant, full of contrast, and pull no punches. This is a perfect display despite its 720p resolution.
Navigating through the app drawer is a breeze, thanks to the Dimensity 700 5G chip that delivers a buttery-smooth user experience. The side-mounted fingerprint is also snappy and responds fast.
As for its speaker, despite not having a stereo setup, the phone is decently loud, but it may vary from media to media.
We always prefer dual speakers over a single firing one– but hey, as we said earlier, this is a budget phone, an excellent budget phone.
Using complimentary earphones is a different situation: it’s pretty good despite looking cheap. We believe that the Hi-Res Audio works wonders here. A modern Quad-DAC reminiscent of LG? We’re down for that.
So that’s it for now, we guess. TECNO Spark 10 5G is a solid contender for the best budget phone with quality-of-life classics such as 5G capability, headphone jack, a nice pair of cameras, and even the display doesn’t look like a 720p panel.
We are thrilled to review this thoroughly soon, so stay tuned.
