The year 2025 is shaping up to be a turning point for smartphone design, with brands moving away from bulky designs to embrace slimness once more.
Surprisingly, Tecno is leading this charge in the affordable segment with its new Tecno Pova Slim 5G. This smartphone is the company’s most ambitious attempt yet to deliver a design-first device that feels refreshingly light and premium.
But in the pursuit of a super-slim profile at a super-low price, has Tecno made compromises on everyday usability? We take a closer look at whether this aesthetic triumph can maintain balance against its competition.
Design: A Head-Turner in the Budget Segment
At a mere 5.95mm thick, the Tecno Pova Slim 5G immediately sets itself apart. It is one of the slimmest smartphones available today and the thinnest under Rs 1 lakh, instantly making it a standout in the crowded budget market.
The device feels absurdly light at just 156 grams—so light, in fact, that you might forget it's in your pocket. This slender profile is further enhanced by a curved frame, which lends it a premium vibe rarely seen in this price category. Many users even mistook it for the "iPhone Air," a significant compliment to Tecno's design efforts.
The body is crafted entirely from polycarbonate with a glossy finish that looks neat but can be slippery. Thankfully, Tecno includes a hard case in the box to improve grip and protect the delicate frame.
Sky Blue and Dynamic Mood Light
The Sky Blue shade, is a genuine head-turner with its classy, subtle hue that gleams beautifully in the light. Adding a dash of personality is the vertical dual-camera visor, which features a glowing Dynamic Mood Light.
This LED strip lights up for notifications, calls, charging, and alarms. While not fully customizable, this unique aesthetic touch makes the phone feel more lively.
Durability and IP Rating
What truly impressed us was the IP64 rating, a rarity in budget smartphones, offering protection against dust and light water splashes. Despite its wafer-thin profile, the Pova Slim 5G doesn’t feel fragile. The plastic body exhibits almost no flex, making it one of the most comfortable and surprisingly durable phones we’ve used recently.
Surprisingly Good Display, But Not 144Hz
The Tecno Pova Slim 5G doesn’t just rely on its looks; it also offers a solid display experience for its price. It features a large 6.78-inch AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution and slim bezels, maximizing screen space for an enjoyable viewing experience.
Thanks to Widevine L1 certification, streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video offer HD content. Colors are punchy, blacks are deep, and the contrast is excellent. Furthermore, the screen remained quite legible under bright sunlight, which we noticed during outdoor testing.
The 144Hz Claim: Marketing Over Reality
While Tecno advertises a 144Hz refresh rate, our testing revealed that the phone never actually hit this mark. The MediaTek Dimensity 6400 chipset supports a maximum of 120Hz, and the screen dynamically switches between 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz depending on the app.
In essence, the 144Hz panel claim appears to be more marketing speak, though the resulting scrolling and touch performance remain smooth.
Thoughtful Features
The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, offering good scratch resistance. Tecno also includes a tempered glass protector in the box—a thoughtful addition for budget buyers.
The front also features a pill-shaped cutout similar to Apple’s iPhones. Functionally, it mimics the Dynamic Island by expanding to show notifications, charging progress, and music playback with cool animations.
Though not as refined as Apple’s version, it’s a fun, interactive addition. The only area needing polish is the in-display fingerprint sensor, which is accurate but suffers from a noticeable half-second delay in unlocking.
Performance: Cutting Corners for Thinness
If the Tecno Pova Slim 5G’s design turns heads, its performance raises a few eyebrows. Powering the sleek device is the MediaTek Dimensity 6400 chipset, a processor typically found in phones priced around the Rs 10,000 range. This suggests Tecno may have had to make a performance trade-off to achieve the phone's thin design and budget price point.
The Dimensity 6400 is not a slow chip; it’s a 6nm mid-range processor capable of handling everyday smartphone duties—calling, messaging, social media, and streaming—without trouble. Basic multitasking remains smooth, and apps open quickly enough for casual users.
However, the Pova Slim 5G falls behind its competition. Competing phones in the same price bracket offer faster chips like the MediaTek Dimensity 7400/7300 or Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, which provide better efficiency, faster app load times, and stronger GPU performance.
Gaming Limitations
We tested the phone with various games. BGMI ran surprisingly well at HD settings, maintaining stable frame rates for a good 30 minutes. However, switching to heavier titles like Genshin Impact pushed the limits of the hardware.
Frame drops were noticeable during intense scenes, and while the game was playable, it wasn't entirely smooth even at low graphics settings at 30fps.
Conclusion
So far, so good, you must have noticed something or some things you like or hate about this Pova Slim 5G phone. Let us know about that in the comment below.
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