Tecno Camon 40

At Rs. 57,999, the Tecno Camon 40 offers a strong mix for a budget phone: a 50 MP main camera with OIS, an 8 MP ultrawide, a flat 120Hz AMOLED screen, IP66 dust and water protection, stereo speakers, NFC, 45W charging with the charger in the box, and three promised Android upgrades.

Main drawbacks: a 4G-only chip that is adequate rather than fast, missing app animations, no headphone jack and an ultrawide that struggles indoors.

• Against the Redmi Note 14 (Rs. 50,999): the Redmi is cheaper, with a 5500 mAh battery and a headphone jack, but it has no ultrawide camera, no OIS on its main camera, slower 33W charging and only IP54 protection.
• Against the Camon 40 Pro: the Pro adds a curved screen, IP69, Gorilla Glass 7i and a 50 MP selfie camera, but performance, battery and the rear camera are the same, so the extra cost is hard to justify for most buyers.

Verdict: one of the better camera phones in its price class. Buyers who can wait may find it cheaper later, as earlier Camon models dropped in price after launch.

Official specs: a 6.78-inch AMOLED panel with 1080 x 2436 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and Panda King Glass protection.

Real-world use: the screen is completely flat with very slim bezels, which makes it look modern and keeps it easy to grip. The frame has a slight curve at the edges, so the phone is comfortable to hold for long periods. A flat panel is also easier to fit with a screen protector than the curved screen on the Camon 40 Pro.

Practical tip: Tecno does not include a glass screen protector, only a plastic sheet that scratches easily, and fitted tempered glass and cases can be hard to find in smaller cities soon after launch. Buy a proper protector early.

Limitations: Tecno does not list an official brightness figure, so outdoor brightness has not been verified against rivals.

The MediaTek Helio G100 Ultimate (6 nm) comes with 8GB or 12GB of RAM. For calls, social media, browsing and streaming it performs well, and the phone does not feel slow in everyday use.

Gaming: PUBG Mobile offers the Ultra frame rate at Smooth graphics and the High frame rate at HD graphics, and most games play at around 30 to 40fps. Tecno's Game Space can be customised to tune the gaming experience.

Limitations:

• App opening and closing animations are missing or abrupt, which makes the phone feel less polished than its rivals.
• It is a 4G-only chip, with no 5G support.
• The phone warms up a little, especially while charging in hot weather.

This is a chip for normal use and casual gaming, not for demanding games at high settings.

Official specs: a 50 MP Sony main camera with f/1.9 aperture and OIS, an 8 MP ultrawide, and a 32 MP selfie camera.

Real-world use:

• Main camera: the standout. Colours are realistic rather than boosted, showing scenes close to how the eye sees them.
• Portraits: you can shoot at 24mm, 35mm and 50mm focal lengths, and the results are very good.
• Ultrawide: use it outdoors in good light only. Indoors, images get very noisy, though night mode helps a little.
• Selfies: the 32 MP front camera gives natural-looking results, close to the 50 MP camera on the Camon 40 Pro, which adds heavier HDR.
• Video: both cameras record up to 2K at 30fps, but stabilisation is best at 1080p. Portrait video with background blur works at 720p. Faces in strong sunlight can overexpose.
• Extras: FlashSnap captures fast-moving subjects, and plenty of filters, frames and effects are built in.

Official specs: a 5200 mAh battery with 45W wired charging, and the charger is included in the box. Tecno quotes 50% in 23 minutes and a full charge in 43 minutes.

Real-world use: with medium to heavy use, the phone delivers roughly six to seven hours of screen-on time, which covers a full day for most people.

Battery health: Tecno advertises a five-year battery durability claim based on its own testing. This is a claim, not a warranty.

Limitations: the phone gets slightly warm while charging in hot weather, and there is no wireless charging.

The Camon 40 runs Android 15 with HiOS 15. The interface looks modern, colours are well chosen and the settings menu is neatly organised.

One Tap button: a customisable side button. A long press opens the AI assistant, and you can set it to turn on the flashlight, switch to silent mode and several other actions.

AI features:

• Ella assistant and DeepSeek R1 built in, free to use.
• AI Smart Touch reads text and numbers from anything on screen.
• Call assistant transcribes and translates calls, including Urdu, and saves them as text.
• Writing, document and note-taking assistants, recording summaries, AI wallpapers, Circle to Search, AI image extender and AI eraser.

Other touches: a small red notification light on the back flashes for calls and messages when the phone is face down.

Updates: Tecno promises three major Android upgrades and five years of security updates, which is strong for this price.