The TECNO CAMON 17P Smartphone has launched in South Africa and the biggest push for this budget priced smartphone is the selfie camera on offer. You’re looking at a super affordable smartphone, priced at R4999 on Vodacom. Here’s what you need to know about the phone:
Out the box
Straight out the box you’ll get the smartphone, a clear plastic cover, charging brick and cable as well as some in ears (they’re wired, because the TECNO CAMON 17P has an aux port!). The phone is tall and slender with a 6.8″ FHD Dot-in Display. It is a dual sim offering with 128GB of ROM and 6GB of RAM. The phone is powered by a G85 Octa-core processor with HyperEngine game optimisation. There’s a 5000mAh 18W Flash charging battery supplying the juice to this phone.
Before I get into the camera
The TECNO smartphones are reportedly some of the best selling in Africa. The last time I tried out a TECNO phone I was surprised by the forced advertising that was implemented on the phone’s HighOS (the Android OS skin that is used by the brand).
The advertising is gone. Which I’m really happy about. You’re getting a stock standard Android OS with some additional HighOS apps tossed in on launching the device. You can delete all of these apps if you so wish as well.
Let’s talk about that camera
This is the selling point for the TECNO CAMON 17P – the camera offering you’re getting on what is essentially a budget smartphone device. The phone offers up a 16MP Selfie Camera and 64MP AI Camera. The company claims the new phone boasts what they’re touting as the “clearest selfie camera on the market”. The camera offering is good. For a phone that costs you less than R5000 it is a really decent camera and some of the addition tech that optimises your camera’s settings based on things like lighting or scenery is rather cool.
Selfies… all the selfies
As part of the launch of the of the CAMON 17P, TECNO dropped a 20 minute documentary called the Rise of the Selfie which takes a look at how selfies have ultimately taken over and the role they now play in society. There’s insight from a psychology professor, photographer, tech journalist and even an influencer who discuss the history of the selfie and its evolution into becoming something that could turn regular Joes into multi-million dollar influencer brands. The phone is a nice entry level addition in South Africa and the documentary is a worthwhile watch if you’re looking for something to keep you busy:
There’s nothing about the CAMON 17P that jumps out at me and screams buy this phone – other than the price point, which is far more accessible to most of us. In all fairness I’ve felt this way about most smartphones recently so it could be the jaded words of a tech fan here.
It’s a good Android smartphone if you want to not spend a small fortune. It has a great camera considering the price. It’s a good phone.
Disclosure: I was sent a TECNO CAMON 17P Smartphone to keep.
