TECNO Camon 20 Review: Stylish Design And Sharp Cameras On A Budget

TECNO Camon 20 was released in May 2023 and is the vanilla model in the Camon 20 series. There are three other devices in the series – Camon 20 Pro, Camon 20 Pro 5G, and Camon 20 Premier. Like the Camon 20 Pro, the Camon 20 is a 4G LTE smartphone. The other two are 5G phones. Let’s have a look at the key specs of TECNO Camon 20:

• 6.67″ 1080×2400 pixels, AMOLED
• IP53, dust and splash resistant
• 32MP selfie camera
• 64MP main camera, 1080p video
• MediaTek Helio G85 processor
• 8GB RAM
• 8GB Extended RAM
• 256GB storage
• MicroSD card slot
• 5000mAh Li-Poymer battery
• 33W fast charge
• Fingerprint (under display, optical)
• Colours: Predawn Black, Glacier Glow, Serenity Blue

TECNO Camon 20 Unboxing: What is in the box?

Inside the retail box are the following:

• the phone
• transparent silicon case
• 33W charging brick
• USB-C cable
• 3.5mm audio headset
• Warranty card
• SIM ejector tool

TECNO Camon 20 Review: Design & Display

Camon 20 has a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 1080×2400 pixel resolution. It is a sharp and bright display. It also supports 90Hz refresh rate for smoother animations and scrolling.

The back panel of the phone is where it gets more interesting. It has a nice design made up of differently sized and shaped polygons in different shades and hues. TECNO calls it “Puzzle Design”. It is an eye-catcher and separates the Camon 20 from the sea of other slabs. Everyone on our team loves it. It isn’t loud and showy; more of a subtle, tasteful design job. Our review unit came in the PreDawn Black colour scheme.

TECNO Camon 20 Review: Software

The Camon 20 runs HiOS 13 based on Android 13. Visually, we didn’t notice any changes. It is still packed full of extra features and utilities layered on top of the Android operating system. From the drop-down menu to the settings, HiOS is a highly functional user interface. But it still has all the usual TECNO/Transsion bloatware – 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 I lived happily ever after.

TECNO Camon 20 Review: Performance

If you care about specs, the Camon 20 uses a MediaTek Helio G85 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). Performance-wise, we encountered no trouble at all using the Camon 20. Apps open, switch and run smoothly. The phone does not stutter. Though it warms up under heavy use, it never heats up unduly.

Unfortunately, we were unable to test the under-display fingerprint scanner, as it was not enabled in the test device we were sent. The stereo loudspeakers are quite loud, and the audio quality is really good. You can hear the range of tones and timbres in the music you are listening to. One thing we wish it had more of is bass; it is in need of a booster shot of bass.

To store your music, images, videos, and documents, the Camon 20 has a generous 256 GB of internal storage, which is more than adequate. If you need more storage, there is a dedicated microSD card slot to add a memory card.

TECNO Camon 20 Review: Battery Life

With a 5000mAh battery, the battery life of the Camon 20 holds up quite well. In addition, there is 33W fast charge, and a compliant charger is included in the box. How did it perform? The charger tops up the phone’s battery from zero to about 60% charge in 30 minutes.

TECNO Camon 20 Review: Photography

TECNO has been investing a lot in their cameras. Of course, much of that is seen in their premium Phantom range, but some of it is seen in the Camon range, and those cameras keep getting better. The improvement is mostly incremental but having reviewed Camon smartphones for at least 7 years now, we have continued to experience that improvement firsthand. For a budget smartphone, the Camon 20’s cameras take good photos – photos you can proudly show off on social media and elsewhere.

Details and colour reproduction are good. In some scenarios, 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.

TECNO Camon 20 Review: Last Words

TECNO Camon 20 has a recommended retail price of ₦133,300. We have found it a stable, feature-packed smartphone with a stylish design on the rear panel. It does not let down in any serious way.