Earlier on in the year, we reviewed the Camon 20. This time, we have the Camon 20 Premier 5G Doodle Edition in our hands for review. Note that the Camon 20 Premier 5G is the most premium model in the Camon 20 series. And it is essentially the same as the Doodle Edition, bar one major distinction.
Besides the more powerful 5G chipset, the faster charging, the higher refresh rate display, and bigger internal storage, all of which the regular Camon 20 Premier 5G has, the Doodle Edition is different only because of a cool trick up its sleeve, or more accurately, on its back side. That cool trick is a beautiful back cover that is white in regular light, but glows green with doodle patterns in the dark.
To reiterate, the Camon 20 Premier 5G and the Camon 20 Premier 5G Doodle Edition have exactly the same specs and features apart from appearances. Let’s have a look at the key specs of TECNO Camon 20 Premier 5G Doodle Edition:
- HiOS v13 based on Android 13
- 6.67″ 1080×2400 pixels, AMOLED, 120 Hz refresh rate
- 32MP selfie camera
- 50MP main camera, 4k video
- 108 MP ultrawide camera
- MediaTek Dimensity 8050 processor
- 8GB RAM
- 8GB Extended RAM
- 512GB storage
- No MicroSD card slot
- 5000mAh Li-Poymer battery
- 45W fast charge
- Fingerprint (under display, optical)
- Stereo speakers
- Colours: White that glows green with doodle patterns in the dark.
You can access the more detailed specs of the Camon 20 Premier here.
Table of Contents
TECNO Camon 20 Premier 5G Doodle Edition Unboxing: What is in the box?
Inside the retail box are the following:
- the phone
- transparent silicon case
- 45W charging brick
- USB-C cable
- USB-C audio headset
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- Warranty card
- SIM ejector tool
TECNO Camon 20 Premier 5G Review: Design & Display
Camon 20 Premier 5G Doodle Edition has a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 1080×2400 pixel resolution. It is a sharp and bright display. It also supports 120Hz refresh rate for smoother animations and scrolling.
TECNO had earlier stated that the Camon 20 Premier would get the Dynamic Port feature (their ripoff of the iPhone’s Dynamic Island). The feature eventually arrived the phone via a software update. It works well, but the functionality is limited to displaying Face Unlock, background call, charging animation, charge completion, and low battery notifications. The screenshot below shows what it looks like.
The back panel of the phone is where it gets more interesting. It has a nice 3D Diamond Cutting design made up of differently sized and shaped polygons in different shades and hues of white. The catch is that it changes colour and glows when in the dark. Like this:
Software
The Camon 20 Premier 5G Doodle Edition runs HiOS 13 based on Android 13. It is still packed full of extra features and utilities layered on top of Android OS. From the drop-down menu to the settings, HiOS is a highly functional user interface. But it still has all the usual TECNO/Transsion software – scores of pre-installed apps. Some can be deleted; some cannot be.
All the pesky notifications that begin to jump at you once you connect the phone to the Internet can be disabled easily now. This is thanks to a notification menu that lets you easily toggle off notifications for apps. Within a few moments, we had notifications for all the usual suspects turned off, and we lived happily ever after.
Performance
If you care about specs, the Camon 20 uses a MediaTek Dimensity 8050 chipset and is equipped with 8GB RAM and up to 8GB extended/virtual RAM. Virtual RAM augments what the hardware RAM provides (you can read up on Virtual RAM in details). In daily use, the Camon 20 Premier 5G performed smoothly and without hitches.
The under-display fingerprint scanner is fast and accurate, unlocking the phone every time without issues. We are impressed with the audio quality and loudness of the stereo speakers. One area it could be better is in the bass notes; with a little more bass, these stereo speakers would be excellent.
The Camon 20 Premier 5G Doodle Edition shines in terms of built-in storage. With 512GB capacity, you won’t be running out of storage space quickly. There is no microSD card slot, though.
Battery Life
With a 5000mAh battery, the battery life of the Camon 20 Premier 5G holds up quite well. We didn’t have to worry about running out of battery before returning home from work each day.
In addition, there is 45W fast charge, and a compliant charger is included in the box. How did it perform? We drained the phone’s battery till it emptied and the phone shut off, after which we plugged it in to charge. Here are the charging results:
- 15 minutes: 29% battery
- 30 minutes: 49% battery
- 60 minutes: 87% battery
- 1 hour 15 minutes: 100% battery
Photography
TECNO says the Camon 20 Premier is the “Night Portrait Master”. Which was why we spent a whole lot more time shooting night photos on our review unit. What do you think of the above photos? Good? Very Good? Excellent?
Our verdict here at Mobility Nigeria is that the photos are really good. Details and colour reproduction are good. In some scenarios, especially selfies, there is a tad bit of over sharpening, but thankfully, not so much that the images are bad. Most people won’t even notice it; we notice it because it is our job to look at the photos closely, as reviewers.
Before The Dawn: Night Video Recording on TECNO Camon 20 Premier 5G Doodle Edition
The Camon 20 Premier’s main camera lens is equipped with Laser AF (auto-focus) and sensor-shift OIS. TECNO says this camera produces smooth video. We put it to the test. The following video, named “Before The Dawn”, was shot without the use of a gymbal or any other stabilising equipment; we wanted to see how stable or smooth video recording is in a low-light setting. We used the default video mode and set the LED light to auto.
We think this is a good quality video and that the anti-shake technology works quite well. You tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Last Words
We loved the TECNO Camon 20 when we reviewed it, and now, the Camon 20 Premier 5G Doodle Edition has topped it. This is a great package for you if you want near-flagship performance along with 5G and a very unique visual character. Smartphones have become very mature and that also means they are very boring now.
The glow-in-the-dark doodle design of the Camon 20 Premier 5G Doodle Edition adds some spice to solid features and performance and makes the phone stand out in the sea of boring slabs. The Camon 20 Premier 5G Doodle Edition has a recommended retail price of ₦339,500.