Tecno Camon 50 Ultra

The Tecno Camon 50 Ultra costs Rs. 119,999 for the 12GB RAM + 256GB version sold in Pakistan. It is a camera-first phone, and at this price its 3x telephoto camera is still rare.

• Strengths: a 50 MP 3x telephoto plus a 50 MP main camera with OIS, a 50 MP selfie camera that records 4K, a curved 144Hz AMOLED screen, a light 178 g body with IP68/IP69K water and dust protection, NFC, an IR blaster, and eSIM alongside two physical SIMs. It is an official, PTA-approved launch with local warranty.
• Weaknesses: charging is only 45W, there is no wireless charging, the frame is plastic, performance is good but not gaming-class, video focus can hunt, and bloatware comes preinstalled.

Compared with the Vivo V70 FE (Rs. 121,999), you give up a bigger 7000 mAh battery and 90W charging but gain a real zoom camera and higher water protection. The Motorola Edge 70 Fusion (Rs. 134,999) costs more and charges at 68W, but has no telephoto camera.

Verdict: a good buy if photos, zoom and selfies matter most and you want a premium-feeling, water-resistant phone. If you mainly game or hate waiting for your phone to charge, look at the alternatives.

The Camon 50 Ultra has a 6.78-inch curved AMOLED screen at 1208 x 2644 pixels (a sharp 1.5K panel) with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz.

In everyday use, colours are punchy and deep, and HDR videos in YouTube look bright and rich, slightly better than on the Infinix Note 60 Pro. Outdoor visibility is good, though GSMArena's measured brightness is well below Tecno's advertised peak figure.

Things to know:

• Only some apps and games run at the full 144Hz. Most apps run at 60, 90 or 120Hz.
• The curved edges look premium, but curved screen protectors and repairs cost more than flat ones.
• 2160Hz PWM dimming helps reduce flicker at low brightness for sensitive eyes.
• The optical in-display fingerprint sensor is very fast, and the always-on display can be customised to fill the whole screen.

The MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Ultimate (4 nm) is paired with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and faster UFS 3.1 storage. Apps load quickly, multitasking is smooth, and daily use feels close to a much more expensive phone.

Gaming: PUBG Mobile runs at 90 fps on Smooth graphics and at the Ultra frame rate on higher settings. In side-by-side play, it held 90 fps more steadily than the Infinix Note 60 Pro and stayed cooler. It handles games well, but it is not a dedicated gaming phone.

Heat and limits: the chip runs cool and holds about 93% of its performance in a CPU throttling test. One weak spot is heavy rendering, such as 4K video tasks, where it can stutter slightly. Rivals with Snapdragon chips post higher benchmark scores, but in normal use the difference is small.

The cameras are the main reason to buy the Camon 50 Ultra: a 50 MP main camera (Sony sensor) with OIS, a 50 MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, an 8 MP ultrawide, and a 50 MP selfie camera.

• Daylight: the main camera takes detailed, well-balanced photos with natural skin tones, a little better than the Camon 50 Pro.
• Zoom: the 3x telephoto keeps detail well, and photos stay usable well past 3x. AI enhancement helps up to 100x for buildings and cars, but faces look poor at extreme zoom.
• Portraits: shots at 3x through the telephoto have natural-looking background blur. The telephoto also works in Super Night mode.
• FlashSnap: it captures fast-moving subjects automatically, even while zoomed in, which is handy for cricket or children.
• Ultrawide: good in daylight, but softer than the main camera.
• Selfies: sharp and detailed, and especially good with strong light behind you.

On video, opinions differ. The front and rear cameras both record 4K, the rear with OIS plus EIS, and the selfie camera handles backlit faces well. However, focus sometimes hunts, detail can look soft, and video started at 1x does not switch to the telephoto, so start recording at 3x if you want zoom quality.

The Pakistani Camon 50 Ultra has a 6500 mAh battery (some other markets get a smaller 6160 mAh version), which comfortably covers a full day for most users.

In side-by-side use, it drained a little faster than the Infinix Note 60 Pro, which has the same capacity, so the Dimensity 7400 Ultimate is not the most frugal chip.

Charging is the weak point at this price:

• 45W wired charging, with the 45W charger in the box.
• No wireless charging, while rivals such as the Infinix Note 60 Pro offer it.
• Reverse wired charging lets you top up earbuds or another phone.

If charging speed matters, the Vivo V70 FE (90W) and the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion (68W) both refill much faster.

The Camon 50 Ultra runs HiOS 16 on Android 16. Tecno promises 3 major Android upgrades, which is fair at this price but shorter than Samsung's policy.

Useful features:

• Ella, Tecno's AI assistant, plus call, photo and conversation translation, a symptom checker and AI theme and video generation. All of them work in Pakistan.
• An AI button on the side that you can set to open Ella or another app, and a one-tap assistant that can link to ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok.
• AI photo tools in the gallery, such as AI Eraser, reflection, shadow and flare removal, auto zoom and 3D effects.
• Noise Reduction 2.0 cleans up background noise on calls, and call recording is built in.
• A red light on the back shows when video is recording and doubles as a notification light.

Downside: a lot of bloatware comes preinstalled, including extra app stores and games. It can all be uninstalled, but it should not be on a phone at this price.