Some months ago we discussed the Tecno pop 4 today we will be talking about the Tecno pop 4 successor which is the Tecno Pop 5. Tecno pop 5 was released on July 2021, currently, the pop 5 has two variants the 32GB ROM and 2GB ram, and the 16GB ROM, 1GB ram. But today, we will be reviewing only the 32GB ROM and 2GB RAM version which is the Tecno pop 5 BD2p model.
Table of Contents
Tecno pop 5 key features
- 5000mah inbuilt battery
- 32GB ROM and 2GB RAM
- 6.1 inches screen size
- Android 11 operating system based on HIOS 7.5.0
- Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 MTK processor
- 5mp back dual camera and 5mp selfie camera
- Fingerprint rear-mounted
- 9.55mm thickness
Design and display
Pop 5 comes with a design that looks like that of the Pop 4 apart from the front view, the backside of pop 5 is almost the same as pop 4 the only noticeable difference is the 5MP double rear camera and loudspeaker positioning. At the front view, the Pop 5 looks more like the Olla m8 smartphone. At the top of the screen is its 5mp selfie camera and at the top of the camera is its beautiful earpiece.
Heading over to the display aspect, the pop 5 comes with a 6.1 inches display, which is a little bit larger than the pop 4 with 0.1 inches. The pop 5 also comes with a better screen resolution of 720 x 1560 which is quite impressive compared with the Tecno pop 4 which has a screen resolution of 480 x 960.
The Tecno Pop 5 comes with three different colors to pick, these colors include; obsidian black, ice blue, and ice lake green. It also has texture lines on each of the color variants like that of the pop 4. At the top of the pop 5 is its earphone jack and at the bottom is the USB port.
Camera
Like I said earlier the pop 5 comes with a dual 5mp camera and a flashlight at the back while at the front is another 5mp camera. Seems like the Tecno pop series comes with the worst camera ever, I remember vividly, I complained bitterly about the pop 4 camera, here we have it again the pop 5 camera is not as good as I thought it would have been. The dual 5mp back camera is the worst, pictures look dull especially when it’s dark, pictures look a little bit better when there is enough light. The back flashlight is fine but, due to the camera quality, you need to be close to capturing objects.
Let’s move over to the front 5mp camera. The 5mp camera seems to be better than that of the Pop 4, even as the Pop 4 also comes with the same 5mp front camera. The front camera also comes with a bokeh effect mode that looks manageable. But, it is nowhere compared with that of the Tecno spark 7p smartphone. The front 5mp camera doesn’t take good pictures in areas with low light. Finally, on the camera aspect, the pop 5 stands out saying “ I am not the picture type”
Hardware and software
The Pop5 comes with a Mediatek processor and a Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 CPU. This processor is used on most mid-range smartphones as well. Pop 5 comes with 32GB and 2GB while Pop 5 Go has a 16GB ROM and 1GB RAM variant. But like I said I am only reviewing the 32GB and 2GB ram versions.
Pop 4 was never a gaming smartphone same thing goes for its successor, Tecno pop 5. But when it comes to speed the Tecno pop 5 is average, Tecno pop 5 also comes with a 32GB ROM and 2GB ram just like the pop 4.
The Pop 5 smartphone comes with GAPPS (google applications) like the play store, Gmail preinstalled on it. And as usual, they ditched the YouTube music in replacement of the boom player like they did in the pop 4.
Battery and network
Pop 5 inherited the 5000mah battery from Pop 4. The 5000mah battery can last for two days on medium usage which is the same duration as that of the Tecno Pop 4. Here comes the problem, the Pop 5 also inherited a liability which is the “no fast charge feature”. This means it doesn’t come with a fast charge feature and you are likely to stay long for it to charge to the fullest.
Now we move over to the network aspect. The Tecno Pop 5 comes with WCDMA, EDGE, and GPRS networks service, sadly the downside of the pop 5 is that it doesn’t come with a 4G or 5G service. Seems like pop 5 inherited that plague from the Pop series.
Pop 5 full specification
Body
- Height: 157.7 mm
- Width: 75.7mm
- Thickness: 9.55mm
- 6.1″ HD+ Dot Notch Screen
- 1560*720px Display
- Touchscreen
Network & Connectivity
- GSM
- WCDMA
- EDGE
- GPRS
- FM
- WIFI
- GPS
- Bluetooth
Storage
- 16GB ROM
- 1GB RAM
Camera & interface
- 5MP Front Camera with Flash
- 5MP Dual Rear Camera with Flash
Sensor
- G-Sensor
- Fingerprint Sensor
Processor
- MTK 1.3 GHz Quad-Core
Battery
- 5000mAh
(Full specification got from Tecno mobile)
What I love about tecno pop 5
Large battery: The pop 5 comes with a large 5000mah battery which can take you two days or more on medium usage. With this, I was able to stay connected for two days on medium usage, but if you are a heavy user you would need to charge up before the day runs out.
Large storage: Pop 5 comes with a 32GB ROM and 2GB RAM while pop 5 Go comes with 16GB ROM and 1GB RAM. I would only recommend pop 5 to pop 5 go because it has times two space of ROM and ROM of the pop 5 go version.
Nice resolution: remember the bad part of pop 4 includes the screen resolution right? In this case, it is different now as the pop 5 comes with a bigger and better resolution of 1560*720px Display. This is times two better than that of the Tecno Pop 4.
What I dislike about tecno pop 5
Low-quality camera: If you followed up my previous review about Tecno pop 4 you will notice it is also affected by this same problem. The Pop 5 looks a little bit good with the 5mp front camera compared to that of pop 4. The pop 4 back 8mp camera looks better compared to that of the pop 5 dual cameras.
No fast charge: For me, a smartphone with a large 5000mah battery is mandatory to come with a fast charge feature. But in the case of Pop 5 and pop 4, these features are not installed which means you are bound to charge your phone for a longer period before it gets filled up.
Poor front design: I remembered I called the pop 4 front design old-fashioned but I would rather go for its design than that of the pop 5. The pop 5 screen to body ratio is so bad that it is noticed even from far away it looks too childish. It looks like that of the Olla m8 which is been sold two times lesser the price of the pop 5. To me, a better design or screen-to-body ratio is being expected than what is been presented now.
Where to download tecno pop 5 firmware
You can download the pop 5 firmware here
Where to buy the tecno pop 5 smartphone
Jumia
Conclusion
For me, the Pop 5 wasn’t built for selfies or photo purposes but is built for the juice lover. With its 5000mah battery, you are sure of doing more before it runs out. There is not much difference between Pop 4 and 5. It is just the front design and nothing much.
Are you using Tecno pop 5? what’s your experience so far? We would love to hear from you in the comment section below.
Nice and on budget…
Hi Sara, Thanks for stopping by.