Tecno Pop 1S Pro 16 GB / 2 GB

More for the same money

Tecno POP 1S Pro is a solid representative of the class of 100-dollar Android smartphones. While more advertised brands at this price offer only 1 GB of RAM and a stripped-down Android Go operating system, smartphone manufacturer Tecno Mobile, which just recently officially appeared in our area, already provides 2 GB of RAM and a full version of Android 8.1.

Software optimization

And taking into account the beautiful and at the same time lightweight HiOS graphical shell, a little more than a gigabyte of RAM remains free for programs and games. HiOS has many small but useful innovations compared to the pure version of Android. For example, Freezer allows you to temporarily “freeze” the heaviest applications, like “fatty” Facebook, so that they do not load the processor, RAM, and do not waste battery power. And T-Point allows you to pin shortcuts to your most frequently used applications in the quick access menu.

Sufficient performance

The Tecno POP 1S Pro has a MediaTek MT6739 processor with four Cortex-A53 cores and a PowerVR GE8100 graphics accelerator. This seemingly very basic processor is enough even for most three-dimensional games, like World of Tanks Blitz, Asphalt 8, FIFA Mobile, Mortal Kombat X, etc. Except that 16 GB of internal memory won’t fit many games at the same time. But, unfortunately, it is impossible to transfer them to a memory card, by analogy with photographs and music. But if you have fast Wi-Fi, games can be deleted without regret and then re-downloaded if necessary.

Two cameras - two flashes

On the back and front panels of the Tecno POP 1S Pro there is one camera each: 13 and 5 MP, respectively. I was especially pleased with the additional flash near the front camera. It, like the rear one, consists of two LEDs (white and yellow), which makes the complexion in selfies in the dark more natural. Video is recorded in FullHD resolution, which is another pleasant surprise for such an inexpensive smartphone.

Unprecedented generosity

Overall, the Tecno POP 1S Pro is a solidly built 5.5-inch smartphone with a good price-performance ratio. There are three colors to choose from: black, gold and blue. Those who like to simultaneously use two SIM cards and a microSD memory card will also be pleased - the smartphone has three separate slots. The most pleasant bonus awaits the buyer after opening the box: a protective film on the screen, a transparent silicone case and a stereo headset included (if you had to buy it separately, all this stuff would cost another 20 dollars). And Tecno Mobile gives an official local warranty on its smartphones for not 12, but 13 months. As they say, it’s a small thing, but it’s nice. Finally, let's say that Tecno POP 1S Pro has a younger brother - POP 1S is a third cheaper.