As we anticipated, Tecno has unveiled its latest budget smartphone, the Tecno Spark 3, in the Kenyan market.
The Tecno Spark 3 comes in two variants: the standard model and the Pro model.
It is the Tecno Spark 3 Pro that one can buy right away in the country. The standard variant is expected to be available from April 25th.
The device is available for purchase from Tecno-branded retail stores across the country as well as online through Jumia Kenya.
The key difference between the two is in terms of the storage space available. The Tecno Spark 3 has 16 gigabytes of onboard storage while the Tecno Spark 3 Pro has double that. Both devices have similar memory capacity: 2GB.
By the standard variant packing a 2GB RAM module, that effectively means that it is outside the scope of the Android Go platform that its predecessor, the Tecno Spark 2, ran on. As such, the Tecno Spark 3, just like the other Tecno smartphones in the market (bar the second-generation Spark phone and the F-series smartphones) runs Tecno’s own take on Android: HiOS.
For long-time Tecno users, that means that most of the stuff will still be the same and in familiar places and tones. For the new users, this will be a good introduction to Tecno’s software which has grown to include several applications that are usually pre-installed on its devices.
The latest generation of Tecno Spark devices updates the lineup, which Tecno says has been a best-seller, to include things we are seeing more of in today’s devices like that divisive notch while keeping a lot of what has made us love previous devices in the Spark series like the battery.
Like the second generation Spark smartphone, those who buy the Spark 3 can expect to find face unlock and a similar level of excellence when it comes to the device’s overall design. Whether the Tecno Spark 3 manages to rise above the Spark 2’s woes when it comes to performance is at this point kind of assured when looking at its spec sheet but is something that we’ll be interrogating over the coming days as we share more on the device – stick around for that.
The Tecno Spark Pro 3’s 6.2-inch “Super FullView” display is the largest we’ve had on the Spark series, eclipsing the first generation Spark’s 5.5-inch display and building on the 6-inch HD+ panel on last year’s Spark 2.
The device’s standout feature is supposed to be the dual-camera setup at the back which Tecno has christened “bright camera” and which, like other budget devices we have seen over the last few months, also includes “AI” features.
Of interest to some of us, yes, the Tecno Spark 3 arrives running Android 9, Pie, right out of the box.
A big omission last year, 4G LTE, is available on the Spark 3, making the two devices the true competitors that other similarly-priced devices from competing smartphone brands have been lacking.
At Kshs 12,499 for the Spark 3 Pro, it goes straight for the Huawei Y6 Prime 2019‘s jugular, undercutting it by Kshs 1,000 in price and almost matching it spec for spec. Let the games begin.
We do not have details on the pricing of the standard Spark 3 at this point but we can, definitely, expect it to be less than the Spark 3 Pro’s.
Those who buy the Tecno Spark 3 Pro over the next few days will also get a gift hamper from Tecno.
