Tecno’s much-awaited successor to last year’s Camon C9 is finally official, as expected.
The device, the Tecno Camon CX, was unveiled at a glitzy launch event earlier in the day in Nairobi not just for the Kenyan market but also for the several other markets where Tecno smartphones are available like the rest of East Africa and West Africa where the Tecno brand has taken root over its 10-year existence.
The Camon CX is, according to the company, its best camera-centred budget smartphone yet, something one would definitely say of every new iteration/version of a device coming out.
Here’s what makes the Camon CX’s much-hyped camera stand out according to Tecno:
- The Sony Exmor R IMX298 sensor with a 6P lens, f/2.0 aperture, 0.1 second Phase Detection Auto-Focus (PDAF) and a blue filter glass
- 16-megapixel sensor on the front and the back
- Dual front-facing flash
- Customized ring flash (at the back)
- 120-degree wide-angle group selfie
- Customized real-time portrait filter – a fancy line to mean live filters 🙂
- Smart Denoise software from ArcSoft that removes noise (Denoise?) from images
As much as Tecno’s Camon device lineup is usually all about the cameras, the rest of the stuff manages to hold up just fine to excite anyone upgrading from the Camon C8 from 2015 or the Camon C9 from last year. It’s just that the cameras got the biggest bump. Having used the Camon C9 last year, I could see a huge difference. The rest of the hardware features are incremental. There’s a huge and very crispy 5.5-inch full HD display just like it was in the Camon C9. The battery sees a minor bump in capacity to 3,200mAh while also benefitting from Tecno’s accelerated charging technology, Light Speed Charge.
Here is the full specifications list of the Tecno Camon CX
But that is not all. There was still one more addition to the Camon family today: the Tecno Camon CX Air. Well, to be honest, the CX Air is just a nice name for what is essentially a Camon CX “Lite”. The CX Air’s processor has been stepped down to a clock speed of 1.25GHz while both cameras have 13-megapixel sensors instead of the 16-megapixel ones found on the Camon CX. The customized ring flash found on the back of the Camon CX has been replaced with just a dual flash on the Camon CX Air while the full HD display is traded for a 720p panel.
Here is the full specifications list of the Tecno Camon CX Air
As has been the case for a while now, every Tecno device launch also happens to be a chance for the company to flaunt the latest additions to its own customized version of Android which goes by the name HiOS. This time round, HiOS is based on Android 7.0 Nougat.
In the Camon CX and Camon CX Air, users will be quick to notice a few improvements here and there and some standout features, like the ability to clear WhatsApp files that are no longer needed – all those Saitama memes and videos that have been filling up your internal storage lately.
Tecno is counting on providing a superior customer experience to grow its user base in Kenya and beyond. As such, buyers of the Camon CX will benefit from what the company calls “Camon CX Customized Warranty” which is a warranty package above the standard one the company provides for all smartphones it sells. Under the terms of that “special” warranty, buyers of the Camon CX are entitled to fast tracked repairs (24 hours) should the device malfunction and insurance for a broken screen for the first 3 months as well as up to 15 days to turn in the device for a free exchange in case of anything.
The Tecno Camon CX and Camon CX Air will retail at $143 (approximately Kshs 15,000 at current exchange rates) and $190 (approx. Kshs 20,000).
The Camon CX, which has been on pre-order prior to today’s launch, is expected in shops across the country and online through e-commerce site Jumia in Champagne Gold, Rose Gold, Sky Gray and Elegant Blue colours. The Camon CX Air, which was a rare sight even at the launch event, should hit the market in a month’s time.
Have anything you need to know about the Tecno Camon CX and Camon CX Air that wasn’t captured? Feel free to ask in the comments below. There might be more information on the two devices coming your way soon.
