TECNO Camon 40 Pro 5G Review

The Camon series has always aimed to bring strong camera features and stylish designs to more accessible price points. This year, with the Camon 40 Pro 5G, they’re leaning heavily into AI features and a unique quick-capture function they call Flashsnap, all wrapped up in a package that costs PhP 14,999 for the 12GB RAM / 256GB storage variant I tested.

Is it the new midrange king?

Build and Design

Right out of the box, the Camon 40 Pro 5G makes a statement. For a phone in this price range, the design feels quite premium. TECNO calls the camera module design “Independent Triple-Camera,” although technically it’s two cameras and an AI sensor, but visually it looks purposeful and balanced. While it doesn’t drastically change the formula from its predecessors, it looks striking. There’s a definite vibe that this phone is built for photography, even just from holding it.

TECNO opted for a dual-curved design, both front and back. This makes the phone feel slimmer in hand than its already lean 7.29mm thickness might suggest. It’s also surprisingly light at 179 grams. Holding it for long periods is comfortable, which isn’t always the case with phones packing large batteries. The back panel on my Galaxy Black unit has a really nice texture – it’s a vegan leather finish that feels good and resists fingerprints well. It’s also available in Glacier White and Emerald Lake, likely with different finishes. I saw the Emerald Lake variant back at MWC 2025 and thought it looked fantastic.

One interesting addition is the “One-Tap Button” on the side. It’s a dedicated, customizable button primarily intended for quick camera access (more on that later) and summoning the AI assistant, Ella. It’s a neat feature that adds a bit of functional flair.

TECNO includes a case in the box, which is always appreciated. It matches the phone’s aesthetic quite well and adds some welcome texture and grip. However, it feels like it offers pretty basic protection, so if you’re prone to drops, you might want something more robust. Still, it’s nice to have something decent included.

Durability gets a boost with an IP68/IP69 rating. This means it’s well-protected against dust and can handle submersion in water, even hot water exposure according to the documentation. That’s impressive for this price point and offers great peace of mind against accidental spills or getting caught in the rain.

Overall, the build and design are strong points. It feels more expensive than it is, it’s comfortable to hold, and the IP rating is a fantastic bonus.

Display

The Camon 40 Pro 5G sports a large 6.78-inch AMOLED display with curved edges. While many brands are shifting back to flat displays, TECNO stuck with the curve here. It definitely adds to the premium feel, though some users might prefer flat edges for usability or avoiding accidental touches. Personally, I didn’t have issues with accidental touches, and the curve looks good.

The panel itself is quite impressive. It’s an AMOLED, so you get those deep blacks, vibrant colors, and great contrast ratios we expect. The resolution is Full HD+ (1080 x 2400 pixels), which is plenty sharp for this size.

What really stands out is the 144Hz refresh rate. Scrolling through menus, browsing websites, and playing supported games feels incredibly smooth. The phone can intelligently switch between refresh rates (60Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz) to save battery when high refresh rates aren’t needed, which is smart. Touch sampling rate is also high, making it feel responsive.

Brightness is another highlight. TECNO claims a peak brightness of 1600 nits. While you likely won’t see that across the whole screen often, it gets plenty bright for comfortable outdoor use, even under direct sunlight.

Screen protection comes in the form of Corning Gorilla Glass 7i. TECNO states this offers better drop resistance (up to 1 meter onto asphalt simulation) and twice the scratch resistance compared to some alternatives. There’s also a pre-installed screen protector, but it’s quite basic and picks up fingerprints easily. It’ll do the job initially, but you might want to replace it with a better one. Thankfully, the underlying Gorilla Glass 7i provides solid protection itself.

The display is definitely a win – it’s big, bright, colorful, and super smooth thanks to that 144Hz refresh rate.

Hardware

Under the hood, the TECNO Camon 40 Pro 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Ultimate processor. This is a relatively new 4nm chip designed for the upper midrange segment, focusing on performance, efficiency, and AI capabilities. It is interesting to note that TECNO opted for the Ultimate variant of the said chipset. You will remember that reame 13+ 5G sports the same chipset, but realme opted for an “Energy” variant rather than Ultimate.

Paired with this chip in my review unit is a generous 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. There’s also an 8GB RAM variant available with the same 256GB storage. TECNO includes memory fusion technology, allowing you to allocate some storage space as virtual RAM (up to 12GB extra on my unit), potentially helping with multitasking, though the base 12GB is already quite sufficient.

Connectivity-wise, you get 5G support, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC. It covers all the essentials you’d expect. TECNO also mentions a 12-layer cooling system to help manage heat during intensive tasks like gaming.

Benchmark

Running the usual suite of benchmarks gives us a good idea of where the Dimensity 7300 Ultimate sits. Here are the scores I recorded:

• Antutu v10: 709,264
  
• Geekbench 6 (Single Core): 1,029
  
• Geekbench 6 (Multi Core): 3,244
  
• 3D Mark Wild Life Extreme: 871
  
• PCMark Work 3.0: 14,391
  

These numbers are solid for a midrange device. The Antutu score comfortably breaks the 700k mark, indicating strong overall performance. Geekbench scores show decent CPU capabilities, both for single-threaded and multi-threaded tasks. The 3DMark score suggests respectable gaming performance for most titles, although demanding games might require lowering settings for the smoothest experience. The PCMark score reflects good performance in everyday productivity tasks.

Compared to its predecessor and some key competitors in the same price bracket (like the OPPO Reno 12 series or realme 13 series counterparts mentioned in preliminary info), the Dimensity 7300 Ultimate holds its own and often comes out slightly ahead. In day-to-day use, the phone feels snappy and responsive, handling multitasking and general apps without any noticeable lag. Gaming performance was generally good too; titles like Call of Duty Mobile ran smoothly at high settings. TECNO even claims support for 90fps in some games thanks to the chip.

It is also worth noting that its predecessor, the TECNO Camon 30 Pro 5G, sports a Dimensity 8200 Ultimate chip. Despite this higher nominal version number, the chipset on the TECNO Camon 40 Pro 5G performs slightly better.

Software and other software features

The Camon 40 Pro 5G runs TECNO’s HiOS 14, which is based on Android 15 according to the spec sheet (though often launch devices ship with the latest public Android, which would be 14, with 15 coming later – regardless, it’s up-to-date). One of the biggest software commitments from TECNO here is the promise of 3 major Android version updates (up to Android 18) over 5 years. This is fantastic longevity for a midrange phone and a significant selling point. This means that the phone will get Android version updates until 2030. TECNO also backs this with a TÜV Rheinland 72-month smoothness certification, guaranteeing fluidity for years.

HiOS itself is a feature-rich skin. Yes, there’s a fair amount of pre-installed software (bloatware, if you will). However, many of these apps are TECNO’s own additions aimed at enhancing the experience. You get features like Smart Panel, Game Mode, and various customization options.

The big push this year is AI. TECNO has integrated AI features throughout the system:

• Ella AI Assistant: This is TECNO’s voice assistant. It’s gotten a “glow up,” now powered by the Deepseek R1 large language model (at least currently). You can summon Ella by long-pressing the One-Tap Button or using a voice command (“Hi Ella”). It can handle tasks like making calls, setting reminders, controlling phone functions, and providing information. It also has an interesting “Reasoning” option that shows its thought process. The integration feels promising, though perhaps not as deeply woven into everything as some other AI assistants yet.
  
• One-Tap Button Integration: Besides summoning Ella, the dedicated button can be customized. By default, a double-click launches the camera’s Flashsnap mode (even from screen off), and a single click acts as a shutter button within the camera app. You can remap the double-click action to other functions like flashlight, screen recording, or launching specific apps. It’s a handy shortcut, making the phone feel a bit like the Nothing Phone series with its dedicated button, albeit focused differently. TECNO could potentially expand its functionality further to become a true AI hub like Nothing’s approach.
  
• 360° AI Call Assistant: This suite includes AI Noise Cancellation (using your registered voiceprint to isolate your voice), AI Call Summary (transcribing and summarizing calls, even in apps like WhatsApp), AI Call Translation (real-time translation during calls/chats), and AI Auto Call Answer (letting AI handle a call and provide a summary). These are genuinely useful features, especially the noise cancellation and translation.
  
• AI Efficiency: Features like Circle to Search (powered by Google), AI Writing assistance (paraphrasing, spelling correction), and AI Translate (text, voice, photo translation across many languages) are integrated.
  
• AI Imaging Creation: We’ll touch on these more in the Camera section, but features like AI Eraser 2.0, AI Image Extender, AI Perfect Face, and AIGC Portrait 2.0 leverage AI for photo editing.
  

While the sheer number of features and pre-installed apps might feel overwhelming initially, many of them add genuine value. The AI integrations, particularly the call assistant features and the long-term update promise, make the software experience feel modern and supported. It’s easy to forgive some of the bloat because the core performance is smooth, and the added functions are often useful.

Camera

The Camon series is all about the camera, and the 40 Pro 5G aims to deliver. Here’s the hardware setup:

• Main Camera: 50MP Sony LYT-700C sensor (1/1.56″ size, 1.0µm pixels) with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization).
  
• Ultra-wide Camera: 8MP sensor.
  
• Front Camera: 50MP sensor with Autofocus (AF).
  
• AI FlashSnap Sensor: Assists with the fast capture feature.
  

Let’s talk about Flashsnap. This is TECNO’s headline feature. The idea is to capture fast-moving subjects with clarity. It uses a combination of a super-fast electronic shutter (up to 1/11235s), AI algorithms (“BestMoment” which analyzes frames 0.5s before and after you press the shutter to pick the best one), and quick access via the One-Tap Button (double-click launches it in about 0.7 seconds). TECNO claims it can capture up to 9 shots in 5 seconds in this mode.

In practice, Flashsnap is surprisingly effective. Trying to capture kids (including myself) or pets running around or a pet jumping, moments that often end up blurry on phones, yielded much clearer results with Flashsnap enabled. It’s not foolproof, especially in lower light where the fast shutter struggles, but for bright daylight action shots, it’s a genuinely useful tool and a strong selling point. Having the dedicated button makes accessing it incredibly quick.

Now, for general photo quality:

The 50MP main camera with the Sony LYT-700C sensor performs well, especially in good lighting. Photos are detailed, colors are vibrant (sometimes a bit boosted, but pleasing), and dynamic range is decent. The OIS helps maintain sharpness and is beneficial in lower light conditions, allowing the camera to use slightly longer shutter speeds without introducing handshake blur. Portrait shots come out nicely with good subject separation. Landscape shots retain good detail. Macro shots (likely using the main sensor) are also quite good.

The 8MP ultra-wide camera is serviceable. It provides that wider perspective which is great for landscapes or group shots. However, the drop in detail compared to the main sensor is noticeable, especially towards the edges. Colors are generally consistent with the main camera, and AI distortion correction helps keep lines straight. It’s adequate for social media but not outstanding.

This is where we address the telephoto situation. Some initial information might have caused confusion, but the Camon 40 Pro 5G does not have a dedicated telephoto lens. Any zoom capability comes from digitally cropping the main 50MP sensor. A 2x digital zoom can look decent in good light thanks to the high resolution of the main sensor, but pushing further results in a significant loss of detail. If zoom is important to you, this might be a drawback. The quality of the digital zoom is likely what needs improvement.

The 50MP front camera is a strong point. Having autofocus is a big plus for ensuring sharp selfies, even when holding the phone at different distances or moving slightly. Detail is good, and TECNO’s Universal Tone 2.0 AI helps render skin tones accurately and naturally across diverse complexions, even in group selfies.

AI camera features like AI Eraser 2.0 (removing objects/people), AI Sharpness Plus (one-click enhancement), AI Perfect Face (fixing closed eyes in group shots), and AIGC Portrait 2.0 (changing hairstyles/outfits) offer creative options directly in the camera or gallery app. They work reasonably well, though results can sometimes look artificial.

Video capabilities top out at 4K 30fps for both rear and front cameras. Quality is decent, with good colors and detail in good light. Stabilization works reasonably well to smooth out smaller movements.

Overall, the camera system is good for the price, with the main sensor and front camera being highlights. Flashsnap is a unique and genuinely useful feature for capturing action. The ultra-wide is average, and the lack of a dedicated telephoto lens means zoom quality is limited.

Audio

Audio is often an afterthought in midrange phones, but TECNO put some effort in here. The Camon 40 Pro 5G features dual stereo speakers, one bottom-firing and the other integrated into the earpiece. They also collaborated with Dolby for Dolby Atmos support.

The result is impressive sound performance for this class. The speakers get quite loud without distorting excessively. The sound profile is relatively full, with decent clarity in mids and highs, and even a hint of bass. It’s definitely a step up from typical single-speaker setups. Watching videos or playing games without headphones is an enjoyable experience. Dolby Atmos tuning helps create a wider, more immersive soundstage.

Battery

TECNO equipped the Camon 40 Pro 5G with a large 5200mAh battery. Combined with the efficient Dimensity 7300 Ultimate chip and adaptive refresh rate display, battery life is excellent.

In my testing, which involved a mix of browsing, social media, video streaming, some photography, and light gaming, the phone easily lasted a full day and well into the next. On one particularly heavy day, I managed 16 hours and 12 minutes of screen-on time and still had 15% battery remaining by the end of it. That’s fantastic endurance. TECNO also highlights the battery’s longevity, claiming it retains over 80% capacity even after 1800 charge cycles (roughly 5 years of typical use).

When it’s time to recharge, the phone supports 45W Super Charge, and crucially, the 45W charger is included in the box. It’s not the absolute fastest charging in the midrange segment, but it’s plenty quick. You can expect to get a significant charge (around 50% or more) in about 30 minutes, and a full charge takes just over an hour. There’s also bypass charging, which powers the phone directly when plugged in during gaming, reducing heat and battery strain.

Verdict

The TECNO Camon 40 Pro 5G is a really compelling package in the midrange market, especially at its PhP 14,999 price for the 12GB/256GB version (with launch deals making it even more attractive).

It gets a lot right:

• Design: Striking looks, comfortable feel, premium materials (like the vegan leather option), and excellent IP68/69 water/dust resistance.
  
• Display: Large, vibrant, and incredibly smooth 144Hz curved AMOLED display with good brightness.
  
• Performance: Solid performance from the Dimensity 7300 Ultimate, capable of handling daily tasks and gaming smoothly.
  
• Camera: Good 50MP main and front cameras, with the unique and effective Flashsnap feature being a standout. AI camera features add versatility.
  
• Battery: Excellent battery life and reasonably fast 45W charging with the included adapter.
  
• Audio: Impressive stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support.
  
• Software: Long-term update promise (3 Android versions!), useful AI features (especially call-related), and the handy One-Tap Button.
  

However, it’s not perfect:

• Ultra-wide Camera: The 8MP sensor is just average.
  
• Zoom: Lack of a dedicated telephoto lens means digital zoom quality drops off quickly.
  
• Software: HiOS has improved, but there’s still noticeable bloatware, even if some of it adds function.
  
• Included Accessories: The case and screen protector are basic.
  

Who is it for? If you’re looking for a stylish midrange phone with a great display, fantastic battery life, solid performance, and a focus on camera features – particularly capturing action shots quickly with Flashsnap – the TECNO Camon 40 Pro 5G is a fantastic option. The long software support and robust IP rating add significant value. It definitely poses a threat to other devices in its price range by offering a well-rounded set of features, with AI and Flashsnap being key differentiators. It successfully delivers on TECNO’s promise of bringing advanced features to a more accessible price point.