Tecno Pova 6 Neo 256GB

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:DaylightIn 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.PortraitThe 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.SelfieThe 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.

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 appsUpdatesTecno POVA 6 Neo442 years of security updatesiQOO Z9x602 years major + 4 years securityRedmi 13 5G542 years major + 3 years security

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 speedCharging time (20-100 percent)Tecno POVA 6 Neo18W86 minutesiQOO Z9x44W61 minutesRedmi 13 5G33W86 minutes