Tecno Camon 17 Pro review

Introduction

Not quite Premier, but still a Pro, the Camon 17 Pro is Tecno's latest and greatest, bringing decent camera hardware, powerful midrange chipset and a big battery, all for about €250 to €300 depending on who you ask.

Africa being the primary market for Tecno, we're finding the Camon 17 Pro at Nigerian retailers for as low as NGN130K (€260). That will get you a large, 6.8-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate, though it's an LCD and not OLED. The Helio G95 should be easily good enough for most things, and the 5,000mAh battery promises excellent endurance.

Camon is the camera-focused series in the brand's lineup, and this 17 Pro comes with a 64MP primary unit, joined by an 8MP ultrawide with autofocus. Then there's a couple of 2MP cameras, one labeled 'bokeh', the other - 'black/white'. More important than these 2x2 is the selfie camera - a 48MP sensor is in charge there.

Here's a quick recap of the specs before we open that box.

Tecno Camon 17 Pro specs at a glance:

• Body: 168.9x77.0x9.0mm, 201g; plastic frame.
• Display: 6.80" IPS LCD, 90Hz, 1080x2460px resolution, 20.5:9 aspect ratio, 395ppi.
• Chipset: Mediatek Helio G95 (12 nm): Octa-core (2x2.05 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G76 MC4.
• Memory: 256GB/128GB storage, 8GB RAM; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
• OS/Software: Android 11, HIOS 7.6.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/2.0", 0.7µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.3, 119˚, 1/4.0", 1.12µm; Bokeh: 2 MP, f/2.4; Monochrome: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 48 MP.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 25W.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); FM radio; 3.5mm jack.

Tecno Camon 17 Pro unboxing

The Camon 17 Pro arrives in a two-piece box that's white on the outside and blue on the inside, the same blue that's used for the bold 'Camon' lettering on the lid.

Inside, there's a full set of accessories, including a reasonably beefy charger rated at 5V/3A and 10V/3.3A and a USB-A-to-C cable to go with it. There's also a transparent silicone case for protection, as well as a set of earbuds.