Review Summary
Expert Rating
The Tecno POVA 6 Neo is the company’s latest budget-friendly smartphone, priced under Rs 15,000. It distinguishes itself with AI-powered features and a 108MP camera, although its other specifications remain fairly standard. This raises the question: should you choose the Tecno POVA 6 Neo over strong alternatives like the Redmi 13 and iQOO Z9x? Read on to find out.
Table of Contents
Verdict
The Tecno POVA 6 Neo is a decent buy for its price, offering a good balance of design, AI-powered features, and stereo sound. However, it struggles against competitors in terms of performance, daylight photography, and battery life. If you’re not a power user, this handset should adequately meet your needs.
Design and display
The Tecno POVA 6 Neo sports a familiar square-shaped camera module seen on many recent devices but distinguishes itself with a textured matte back panel that reveals a shiny gradient finish when light hits it at an angle. This design not only adds a premium touch but also effectively resists fingerprints and smudges, keeping the phone looking clean and tidy. However, the glossy camera module is prone to gathering dirt and smudges, requiring frequent cleaning to maintain its appearance.
| Tecno POVA 6 Neo | iQOO Z9x | Redmi 13 5G | |
| Thickness | 7.8mm | 7.99mm | 8.3mm |
| Weight | 192.3 grams | 199 grams | 205 grams |
| IP rating | IP54 | IP64 | IP53 |
We reviewed the Midnight Shadow variant, which sports a sleek black finish with contrasting outlines around the individual camera rings and module. The phone’s flat edges ensure a firm grip, though its weight of 192.3 grams makes it less comfortable for extended use. That said, the device feels sturdy, thanks to its plastic unibody design and IP54 splash resistance certification. Tecno also includes a transparent TPU case for added protection against accidental drops, further enhancing durability.
As for I/O, the Tecno POVA 6 Neo features a USB Type-C for data and charging on the bottom edge, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack. The handset is equipped with dual speakers for stereo output and relatively crisp audio at moderate volume levels. Moreover, the phone is Hi-Res Audio certified. On the right spine, the phone flaunts a power button-cum fingerprint scanner to unlock the device using biometrics. The scanner is quick to respond and works accurately.
| Tecno POVA 6 Neo | iQOO Z9x | Redmi 13 5G | |
| Display size | 6.67-inch LCD | 6.7-inch LCD | 6.77-inch LCD |
| Peak brightness | 580 nits | 1,000 nits | 550 nits |
The Tecno POVA 6 Neo boasts a 6.67-inch display with HD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and a centre punch-hole for the selfie camera. With a peak brightness of 580 nits, the display is somewhat dim compared to competitors. Consequently, visibility under direct sunlight may be less impressive than indoors. Since it is an IPS LCD panel, the viewing angles are slightly underwhelming and the contrast ratio is limited. Be that as it may, the colours are bright and punchy, whereas the text looks crisp. Additionally, the handset is Widevine L1 certified to stream content in FHD resolution from streaming platforms.
Cameras
The Tecno POVA 6 Neo comes with a modest camera setup, but it stands out with a 108MP main sensor, a feature not so common in this segment. This sensor is complemented by an AI lens to enhance image processing. For selfies and video calls, there’s an 8MP front camera. Despite the impressive 108MP resolution of the main sensor, the image quality feels underwhelming, with a noticeable lack of sharpness and dynamic range that could have made it a standout performer.
To give you a better perspective, here’s a comparison of Tecno POVA 6 Neo’s camera with its close rivals, the iQOO Z9x and the Redmi 13:
Daylight
In daylight, the iQOO Z9x and Redmi 13 5G capture relatively sharper images. The Tecno POVA 6 Neo overprocesses the images, leading to underwhelming details and dynamic range. Among the three, the Redmi 13 5G emerges as the top choice for daylight photography, thanks to its 50MP primary camera, which delivers impressive detail and pleasing colours at an affordable price.
Portrait
The Tecno POVA 6 Neo excels at delivering portraits with superior edge detection and more accurate skin tones than the Redmi 13 5G. However, it struggles to match the level of detail, which the Redmi smartphone handles better.
Selfie
The Tecno POVA 6 Neo captures better selfies than both the iQOO Z9x and Redmi 13 5G, offering superior facial detail and natural-looking skin tones. In comparison, the iQOO Z9x delivers selfies with slightly higher contrast, which may not be as appealing as the Tecno’s results, while the Redmi 13 5G tends to overexpose images, leading to a loss of finer details.
Low light (night mode)
With its night mode, the Tecno POVA 6 Neo outshines both the iQOO Z9x and Redmi 13 5G in low-light conditions. It produces noticeably less grainy images, resulting in sharper details than its competitors. Although the colours may appear slightly soft, this is easily overlooked due to the overall impressive results.
Performance and software
Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC, the Tecno POVA 6 Neo offers up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of expandable storage. We tested the top-tier variant, which achieved an impressive 443,163 score on AnTuTu—comparable to other devices with the same chipset. On Geekbench, it recorded 744 in the single-core and 1,973 in the multi-core tests. The phone throttled up to 62.6 percent of its peak performance on the Burnout CPU throttle test. While these are solid benchmark results for an affordable smartphone, they still trail behind the segment leader, the iQOO Z9x.
The Tecno POVA 6 Neo offers reliable performance during everyday use. While not entirely smooth, it showed no significant jitters or lags when switching between apps, browsing, or scrolling. Additionally, it handles graphically demanding games like BGMI, Call of Duty, and Real Racing with frame rates similar to those of the iQOO Z9x. We tested each game for half an hour with moderate graphics and frame rate settings. However, the Tecno POVA 6 Neo falls slightly short in thermal efficiency compared to its rival, with its temperature rising by 17.4 degrees, versus 15.2 degrees on the Z9x.
Software-wise, the Tecno POVA 6 Neo boots Android 14-based HiOS 14.5 out of the box. There are 44 pre-installed apps, among the least within the segment, of which two are third-party ones with millions of downloads. The company hasn’t confirmed any major OS upgrades for the smartphone yet; however, it has promised to provide two years of security patches.
| Pre-installed apps | Updates | |
| Tecno POVA 6 Neo | 44 | 2 years of security updates |
| iQOO Z9x | 60 | 2 years major + 4 years security |
| Redmi 13 5G | 54 | 2 years major + 3 years security |
Tecno has equipped the POVA 6 Neo with a suite of AI-driven features, including the ability to remove unwanted objects from images using the AI Magic Eraser and create custom stickers with AI Cutout. Users can also generate wallpapers and transform doodles into artwork with the device. Among these, I found the AI Magic Eraser and AI Cutout to be the most practical. The Magic Eraser is accessible through both the camera and gallery apps, and while it’s not the best I’ve used, it effectively blends the surroundings in place of the unwanted subject. While the results are generally satisfactory, the edits remain somewhat noticeable. The AI Cutout, on the other hand, excels when working with human subjects, offering more precise results. Both these features are on-device, which means you don’t need to connect to the internet to access them.
Battery and charging
The Tecno POVA 6 Neo is equipped with a 5,000mAh battery, which is standard for the price. In the PCMark battery test, which simulates various tasks until the battery depletes from 100 percent to 20 percent, the phone achieved a runtime of 11 hours and 46 minutes. While it is respectable, the score is far from the segment-leading Realme Narzo N65, which scored 17 hours and 16 minutes with its 5,000mAh battery during the test.
Furthermore, in our lab test, the handset consumed 25 percent of its battery after playing our standard games (BGMI, Call of Duty, and Real Racing) for 30 minutes each, followed by streaming a 30-minute YouTube video at 50 percent brightness and volume. This is again not very efficient. If you are a regular user, the battery life may seem sufficient. However, power users might have to charge the device at least once during the day.
| Charging speed | Charging time (20-100 percent) | |
| Tecno POVA 6 Neo | 18W | 86 minutes |
| iQOO Z9x | 44W | 61 minutes |
| Redmi 13 5G | 33W | 86 minutes |
Speaking of which, the Tecno POVA 6 Neo supports 18W fast charging, which could take close to one and a half hours to achieve full charge from 20 percent. This is standard for smartphones in its price range.
Final verdict
The Tecno POVA 6 Neo has been priced in India at Rs 12,999, making it the most affordable smartphone with AI features. While these features could benefit from enhancements, they give the smartphone an edge by allowing users to generate wallpapers, do some basic image editing, and create stickers, among other things. Be that as it may, the handset faces stiff competition from similarly-priced iQOO Z9x (review) and Redmi 13 5G (review), particularly in terms of performance, battery life, and daylight photography. The 18W charging speed and peak brightness of 580 nits may also disappoint those seeking a more robust experience.
However, if you’re not a heavy user and value design and AI features, the Pova 6 Neo is worth considering. Moreover, it offers a capable 108MP camera that performs reasonably well in low-light conditions. The stereo speakers add to the media experience, making it a suitable option for everyday users.
Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10
Reasons to buy
- Textured matte back design adds a premium feel, resists fingerprints, and enhances grip.
- The phone comes with AI-powered features to improve usability.
- The performance is good for regular usage.
- Stereo speakers deliver decent audio quality for media consumption.
Reasons not to buy
- 18W charging speed lags behind competitors, taking longer to fully recharge.
- Battery performance is decent but not exceptional, especially for power users.
- Peak display brightness of 580 nits can make outdoor visibility under direct sunlight challenging.
