POVA 8 Pro review: chasing higher ambitions

• By Ramneek Singh
Published On: 3 September 2026 | 17:39 IST

The POVA 8 Pro marks the brand’s growing ambitions to move up the pricing ladder and cater to a relatively premium segment. Launched at Rs 49,999, the POVA 8 Pro incorporates a distinctive design, a capable primary camera sensor, and a toughened build with the addition of an IP69K rating and SGS 5-Star drop resistance. Competing in a segment with lifestyle-focused phones like the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ and Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, does the POVA 8 Pro stand a chance? Find out in this review where I daily drove the device for almost two weeks.

Quick verdict

The POVA 8 Pro distinguishes itself through a sci-fi-inspired design that sets it apart from other devices, paired with a vibrant display that delivers an engaging viewing experience. Its primary camera produces images with adequate detail, and the software incorporates stunning-looking glass elements, making it fun to use. However, the device trails rivals in raw processing performance, and the promise of only two OS upgrades constrains its long-term software support compared to others.

Design: easily distinguishes itself from others

Kicking things off with the design, the POVA 8 Pro flaunts a semi-transparent rear panel with multiple elements etched underneath the plastic layer, similar to the POVA 8. POVA calls it an Interstellar Spaceship Design, with subtle hints of a spaceship’s exterior by incorporating texture, screw and plate-like patterns. The main highlight, however, remains the triangular camera module and the Alive Matrix Display integrated within it. Since no smartphone ships with such a camera island, it helps in giving the POVA 8 Pro its own identity.

For a smartphone with a 6,500mAh battery and a sizeable 6.78-inch display, the POVA 8 Pro feels relatively light to hold at 189g, while its side profile measures 7.39mm. With an extensive range of IP ratings in tow, including IP66, 68, 69, and 69K, I actually submerged the phone under a running tap after getting it dusty, and yet it remained flawless to use. In fact, the IP69K rating, in particular, allows the phone to withstand pressure from jet sprays in rare instances when you happen to face one.

While the POVA 8 Pro offers a near-premium in-hand feel, its closest rival, the Nothing Phone (4a) (review), features a metal unibody aluminium frame, making it feel even more premium. While we received our unit in the Arc White colourway, it is also available in Tundra Green and Graphite Black.

Display: rich viewing experience

The POVA 8 Pro packs a 6.78-inch HyperLux 1.5K AMOLED display with up to 144Hz refresh rates and up to 4,500-nit peak brightness, while the high-brightness value is 1,600 nits. The panel is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, and after removing the pre-applied screen protector and using the device, there are no visible scratches or scuffs on the display after a week or so.

Coming to the panel’s actual experience, I was completely satisfied with its output. The details are sharp, the colour tuning by default leans towards vibrancy, and the contrast levels are rock solid. During my time, I watched the first two episodes of DCU’s Lanterns on JioHotstar, and the panel didn’t disappoint. On top of this, the Dolby Atmos-supported stereo speakers deliver crisp sound and don’t distort at high volumes.

When comparing the POVA 8 Pro’s display with the Redmi Turbo 5 (review) side by side, the former not only offered higher brightness levels indoors and outdoors but also appeared perfectly saturated for my liking. On the other hand, the Turbo 5 features slimmer bezels, giving it a more high-end feel. My only major gripe with the POVA 8 Pro’s display is that when you install a new app, it’s often limited to 60 or 90Hz. As a result, you’ll have to manually set the app’s refresh rate to 120Hz, while 144Hz is supported only in certain first-party apps, like Settings.

Performance: trails behind the competition

While the significant rise in smartphone prices is understandable due to the memory crisis, the POVA 8 Pro runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Ultimate, the same chipset that recently debuted on the Rs 34,999-priced Realme P4s. This puts it significantly behind performance-focused smartphones, such as the OnePlus Nord 6 and POCO X8 Pro Max and lifestyle-oriented phones, like the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+, all of which sell under Rs 50,000 at the point of drafting this review.

The processor is paired with a P1 Graphic chip, a dedicated chip to boost the graphics performance. That said, here are some benchmark results for your reference to assess how the POVA 8 Pro fares against the competition in raw performance:

While I duly enjoyed using the HiOS 16.3 software on the POVA 8 Pro, more on this later, there were several instances when I felt the performance was being bogged down due to the midrange-level chipset. While the Dimensity 7400 Ultimate is a skilful chipset for daily use and even for running games at decent graphics settings, I often encountered stutters and scrolling delays when opening or closing apps or navigating social media apps.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t hamper the daily usability unless you have a very keen eye and are particular about animations. In Call of Duty: Mobile, the POVA 8 Pro delivered an average of 59.4 frames per second during a 30-minute gaming session at ‘Very high’ graphics and ‘Ultra’ frame rates, which is appreciable given the hardware on board. On the other hand, in BGMI, we achieved an average frame rate of 39.6 after playing for 30 minutes straight. In both games, temperatures remained well below 32 degrees Celsius, indicating efficient performance even over long periods.

This could also be attributed to the inclusion of a relatively large 5,000mm2 vapour chamber. Gamers into casual titles such as Clash Royale can expect consistently smooth gameplay with 120FPS support. I played the game every day during the review period for at least an hour and never experienced jarring animations or motions.

Software: incorporates stunning-looking elements

The POVA 8 Pro runs on Android 16 with HiOS 16.3 layered on top. From my experience with the standard POVA 8, the ‘Pro’ variant features smoother, more detailed animations, which makes sense given the significant price gap of almost Rs 20,000. On top of this, I really adored the real-time frosted-glass effects on HiOS 16.3, scattered throughout the UI. From the lockscreen clock to first-party apps to buttons and menus, POVA has curated the effects excellently.

Apart from the software design, POVA has added a multitude of AI features to the 8 Pro, with the AI Assistant as the major highlight. While I didn’t get the chance to use it in depth, the feature can record, transcribe, summarise, and even create to-dos for regular or WhatsApp calls in multiple languages, including English, Hindi, Marathi, and Bengali. Apart from that, Tecno AI offers several AI features, including AI Writing, AI Note, AI Recording, AI Gallery, and more.

What doesn’t fall in POVA 8 Pro’s favour in terms of software is its update longevity. It’s promised just two OS upgrades and three years of security patch updates, falling behind the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ and Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, both of which are set to get three major Android updates.

Battery and charging: power-packed to last for days

The POVA 8 Pro runs on a 6,500mAh battery. While the capacity may not seem large by mid-2026’s standards, when every other brand is chasing higher numbers, say 7,000mAh or above, POVA claims the battery is tuned to run normally even during extreme conditions. These include places with temperatures ranging from -20 to 60 degrees Celsius.

While we used the POVA 8 Pro in the stable weather conditions of New Delhi and Gurugram, the phone consistently delivered over 1.5 days of battery life on a single charge. On top of that, almost every battery cycle ended with some juice left in the tank. Coming to the real-world battery stats, the phone can easily provide 7.5+ hours of screen time under heavy use within a 24-hour window, while light to medium users can expect around 5 to 6 hours of screen time in a 35+ hour duration with over 20 percent battery remaining.

For an overview of how well the battery performs, you can view the stats from multiple charge cycles below:

In our in-house PCMark Battery drain test, though, we expected better results from the POVA 8 Pro, as its 6,500mAh cell lasted just over 10 hours. The Vivo V70 with the same battery capacity clocked 15 hours in the same test. With 45W charging support in tow, which is on the lower end for a device priced at Rs 49,999, we were able to fully top it up from 10 percent in under 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Cameras: lacks flexibility, but gets the job done

In optics, the POVA 8 Pro is equipped with the highly capable Sony LYTIA 700C primary camera with OIS, an 8MP ultrawide lens, and a 13MP selfie shooter. Coming straight to the camera results, the POVA 8 Pro shoots natural-looking images, though it tends to produce cool tones in some instances, such as when the sky occupies a dominant part of the frame. Similarly, while the dynamic range is well portrayed when photographing distant subjects, it can be challenging for the phone to maintain it, as the skies can be blown out or darker areas show heavy blue tones when there’s a prominent subject in the foreground.

While the POVA 8 Pro doesn’t have a telephoto lens, you’d have to resort to a 2x digital crop to take close-up photos. Fortunately, the results are quite usable, with the images retaining adequate detail unless you zoom in to examine specific parts.

While the LYTIA 700C sensor delivers adequate detail, the daylight results aren’t as sharp as those of the Redmi Turbo 5 and Motorola Edge 70 Pro+, both of which have a similarly sized or smaller main camera sensor. Despite that, shots taken indoors with good lighting turn out quite decent, as the images pop and are finely detailed with no signs of heavy smoothing or noise. Similarly, in low light, you can make out individual leaves when capturing trees or plants, while the exposure control is balanced, so the scene isn’t too bright or too dull. However, the details can be improved in low light.

In order to assess how well the cameras of the POVA 8 Pro fare against the competition, I compared it against the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+:

Daylight

POVA 8 Pro

Moto Edge 70 Pro+

While both smartphones have done their best to deliver natural results, the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+’s shot is closer to reality, retaining the building’s dark red shade. Similarly, with higher contrast levels, the image pops out more. Upon zooming in, Motorola’s output is slightly sharper, while the POVA 8 Pro handles dynamic range better, though the darker areas show a bit of noise.

Ultrawide

POVA 8 Pro

Moto Edge 70 Pro+

Right off the bat, it’s evident that the Moto Edge 70 Pro+’s ultrawide lens has a noticeably wider field of view, allowing it to fit in more of the landscape. Since it’s equipped with a 50MP sensor, the details are better than those of the POVA 8 Pro’s 8MP ultrawide camera. However, an area where the POVA 8 Pro’s ultrawide comes out on top is colour consistency compared to the main camera, an area where the Moto phone struggles.

Portrait

POVA 8 Pro

Moto Edge 70 Pro+

In portrait mode, the POVA 8 Pro has overexposed the subject’s clothes and face, which has also resulted in crushing the shadows in various parts of the image. On the other hand, while the Moto Edge 70 Pro+ adds high levels of warmth, the exposure and highlights are well maintained, and the detail levels are also better than those of the POVA 8 Pro. It’s also worth noting that the portrait images from both phones were captured with the primary cameras at around 50mm to keep things fair and square.

Selfie

POVA 8 Pro

Moto Edge 70 Pro+

Even though the POVA 8 Pro captures selfies with a wider field of view, the reddish tones make the image less appealing than the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+. The Moto phone’s image also carries balanced contrast tones and sharpness.

Low light

POVA 8 Pro

Moto Edge 70 Pro+

In low-light conditions, the POVA 8 Pro gathers sufficient light by default and renders the scene naturally, whereas the Moto Edge 70 Pro+ introduces a reddish tint. As in previous scenarios, the POVA 8 Pro’s primary camera doesn’t match the Moto Edge 70 Pro+ in detail.

Night mode

POVA 8 Pro

Moto Edge 70 Pro+

With night mode enabled, the differences remain the same: the POVA 8 Pro delivers better exposure and more natural colours, with accurate red tones on the signboard, while the Moto Edge 70 Pro+ offers sharper details.

The extras worth knowing

Haptic feedback: The POVA 8 Pro is equipped with a strong haptic motor that delivers tight feedback, though it isn’t as good as the one on the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro.

Active Matrix Display: The small display within the camera module comprises 177 LEDs that work in tandem to display symbols, animations, and custom styles during various scenarios, such as incoming calls, music, charging, and more. During my use, I figured that only those who keep their phones facing down can take advantage of the Active Matrix Display, and I am clearly not one of them. Therefore, while there’s a lot to play around with, it didn’t suit my phone usage patterns.

SGS 5-Star drop resistance: Along with multiple IP ratings, the POVA 8 Pro is SGS 5-Star drop-resistant, meaning it can withstand the shocks from drops or bumps on hard surfaces to a certain extent.

One-Tap Button: The POVA 8 Pro features a dedicated button on the right side of the frame that lets users trigger actions such as turning on the flashlight, capturing screenshots, switching sound profiles, and more. During my use, I used the One-Tap Button to turn on the torch, and it never failed on my end.

Final verdict

Much like the POVA Curve 2 and POVA 8, the POVA 8 Pro strikes its own identity with a spaceship-inspired design that’s unique, tasteful, and visually appealing. The 6.78-inch AMOLED display is equally impressive, outputting sharp details and punchy colours in all sorts of content. While the cameras aren’t the phone’s strongest suits and lack the versatility many photography enthusiasts may seek at this price, they deliver usable, social media-ready photos.

On to the deal breakers, at a price of Rs 49,999, the MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Ultimate falls short of the performance delivered by close rivals such as the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ and POCO X8 Pro Max, whether in everyday use or gaming. Minor hiccups and stutters during regular operation indicate that the POVA 8 Pro would benefit from one or two software updates to refine its responsiveness. The update cycle (2+3) of the smartphone also feels limited compared to other similarly priced phones in the segment.

Moreover, users seeking flexible cameras with a telephoto lens, better everyday and gaming performance, and more software upgrades may consider alternatives such as the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ and the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro.

Having said that, the POVA 8 Pro at Rs 49,999 is a viable option for its striking design, rich display experience, comprehensive software design and features, and decent primary camera output.

Editor’s ratings: 8/10

Reasons to buy

• A design that stands out and integrates fun, nifty additions such as an LED display on the rear and a side button to trigger actions.
• Display outputs detailed and vibrant tones for enjoying content.
• Primary camera offers usable and social media-worthy results.
• Great attention to detail in software, while offering loads of AI and customisation features.

Reasons not to buy

• Gaming and raw performance aren’t on par with its close rivals.
• It promises only two OS upgrades, whereas four OS upgrades have become standard in the segment.