Tecno’s third iteration in its entry-level Spark Go series keeps things simple. Priced at Rs 8,999, this affordable smartphone is powered by a 12nm Unisoc T7250 processor and runs Android 15 out of the box. It misses out on 5G connectivity, but gets the Tecno AI suite. The 6.74-inch display is ideal for media streaming purposes. The smartphone crossed our desks earlier this month. We’ve been using it for the last week to find out if it can serve as a reliable daily driver. Here is our review of the Tecno Spark Go 3.
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In This Article
Tecno Spark Go 3 Review: Design and Display
Before we talk about the Spark Go 3’s design, let’s take a look at what you get inside its retail box:
- Smartphone
- 10W power adapter
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- Silicone cover
- SIM ejector
- User manual
- Warranty card
The Tecno Spark Go 3 has an all-plastic build. The rear panel has a dual-tone finish. The oval-shaped camera cutout houses the main camera and an IR blaster. The LED flash is placed right outside this cutout. Since there is no significant protrusion, the smartphone does not wobble when placed on a flat surface. The smooth finish on the back panel makes sure that it does not attract smudges and fingerprints easily.
The right side of the plastic frame houses the volume rocker and the side key. The side key doubles as the fingerprint scanner. The hybrid SIM tray (with microSD support), microphone, and 3.5mm headphone jack are placed at the bottom. Up top lies the speaker grille. The smartphone is rated IP64 for dust and water resistance. It can survive exposure to light water splashes. Tecno also claims that the smartphone is drop-resistant up to 1.2 metres.
The 6.75-inch IPS LCD panel has a 120Hz refresh rate. It is able to maintain legibility in outdoor daylight conditions. There are some instances (typically at noon, when the sun is directly overhead) when you need to shield the display with your palm to view its contents, but outdoor legibility is not an issue for most stages of the day. The touch response is a little staggered, but that’s something to be expected from every phone in this price bracket. The fingerprint scanner mounted on the side button is snappy and accurate.
The Spark Go 3 offers a good viewing experience. Its 720 x 1,600p display is able to produce vibrant colours and charming details. It misses out on the punchy contrast produced by AMOLED panels, but the picture quality on offer here is still pretty good. The top-firing speaker produces a surprisingly good audio output. The sound isn’t as boxy as some of the other phones in this price segment.
Tecno Spark Go 3 Review: Performance and Cameras
The Tecno Spark Go 3 is powered by the Unisoc T7250 processor. The smartphone comes in a single 4GB LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB eMMC 5.1 storage. The good news is that it has expandable storage. You can slip a microSD card in the SIM tray to increase the storage capacity. We ran a couple of benchmark tests on this device. Here is how it performed.
- Geekbench 6: 436 (single-core) | 1,426 (multi-core)
- AnTuTu 3D Lite: 370,087
Given that the Tecno Spark Go 3 is an entry-level device, we did not expect soaring numbers in the benchmark tests. In day-to-day use, the smartphone puts up a decent display, handling routine tasks like calling, instant messaging, emailing, media streaming, and web browsing without any unwanted hiccups. The apps take some time to load, but once they’re ready, they run without any lag. However, loading multiple apps and switching among them can reduce the general speed of the device.
The Spark Go 3 is able to run titles like BGMI and Call of Duty Mobile, but the gameplay is riddled with stutters and frame drops. You can elevate the gameplay by limiting it to low graphics, but some stutters are bound to creep in. Lacking a dedicated cooling chamber, the smartphone starts warming up after 15 minutes of continuous gameplay.
Software duties on this phone are handled by the Android 15-based HiOS 15. The lack of Android 16 OS out of the box is a bit of a letdown, especially when you consider that this device will receive only 1 major OS upgrade.
The highlight of HiOS 15 is Tecno’s in-house Ella AI. This AI assistant supports 5 Indian languages – Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Bengali, and Gujarati. The Tecno AI suite contains features to summarise text documents, create quick emails and other text drafts, and spell check your texts. HiOS 15 offers decent customisation options for the lock screen and home page. You also get Always on Display on this device, which is surprising since it uses an LCD panel. Since this AOD requires powering every pixel on the display, it only springs into action when you tap the screen.
Speaking of battery life, the Tecno Spark Go 3 can last an entire day of heavy usage with ease. Its 5,000mAh battery pack holds enough juice to keep your battery anxiety at bay. We were able to get 5-6 hours of screen time before needing to plug in the charger. The 10W adapter provided in the box takes up to 2.5 hours to fully charge this phone.
The camera performance offered by this device is above average for its price bracket. The oval cutout on the rear panel houses a lone 13MP primary shooter. An 8MP front-facing camera is nestled inside the waterdrop notch on the display. Both cameras can record 2K videos at 30fps.
The rear camera captures decent pictures in outdoor daylight conditions. The images are on the softer side, but they pack punchy colours. The contrast and dynamic range are passable. In limited lighting conditions, the main camera relies on Supernight Mode to illuminate the subject. The images are a tad grainy, but not entirely dull.
Portraits taken with the rear camera are vibrant and well-focused. However, the intensity of the background blur leaves more to be desired. The 8MP front-facing camera takes crisp and clear selfies without messing with the skin tone and texture. The ‘Beauty’ section in the Camera app lets you apply tone, texture, and other effects to your selfies.
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Verdict
All things considered, the Tecno Spark Go 3 is a good deal at Rs 9,000. As a daily driver, it gets the basics right. The large display is optimum for media consumption. The warm output from the top-firing speaker is a bonus. The general performance is lag-free as long as you don’t overwhelm the device by loading a lot of apps in the foreground. The main camera performs well in outdoor daylight conditions. The front-facing camera doesn’t disappoint with its selfies either. You also get useful AI tools that can easily be incorporated into daily use. While no Android 16 out of the box is a letdown, the biggest miss for us is the lack of 5G connectivity.
Pros
- Big display
- Good audio output
- Captures nice selfies
- AI features
Cons
- Runs Android 15 out of the box
- Lacks 5G connectivity
