Tecno Pova Curve 5G review: Come for the price, stay for the performance

Tecno Pova Curve 5G

Tecno launched its Pova Curve 5G recently, and it is one of the most feature-rich phones in its segment, at around Rs 15,000. Take the design of the phone, it’s curved from both front and back, and then it is loaded with AI features too. Not only that, the phone is also powered by the Dimensity 7300 chip, which is mated to either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. It is slim while packing a 5500mAh battery.

On paper, these specs are impressive, but what is it like to use in real work, and does it make sense in a segment where there are several other contenders? I used the phone for almost two weeks, and here’s a complete review:

Design and display
Tecno has paid some serious attention to the design of the phone. It is sleek and edged all around. The phone feels premium for its cost, thanks to its curved display and curved back panel. The back has a bold, nearly spaceship-like texture. It’s a phone designed to grab attention, not just blend into the background. The rear has a sophisticated finish — not a mirror-like fingerprint magnet, but a matte surface that feels nice against the skin and resists smudges. It highlights the phone’s curved silhouette — a slight arc at the back — which makes it sit more naturally in the hand.

Tecno Pova Curve 5G display

At 7.45 mm thick, this phone is surprisingly slim for a 5G phone with a 5500 mAh battery. It feels well-engineered — not overly heavy at 177 grams — but substantial enough to be confidence-inspiring. The IP64 rating adds peace of mind; it can handle dust and a few splashed drops without trouble. I appreciate this consideration in a phone designed to be a daily driver.

Turning it over, you’re greeted by a large 6.78-inch curved AMOLED display with 144 Hz refresh rate. The first thing I noticed is how smooth everything feels — whether I’m scrolling through menus or swapping between apps, it glides effortlessly. The curved edges add to the feeling of depth; the phone feels more immersive and less “box-like.”

The display is vibrant too and has rich contrast and deep black, thanks to the AMOLED panel. The phone’s ability to peak at 1300 nits is a little average, though. While the legibility of the phone indoors is alright, the outdoor visibility could have been better. I really had a hard time viewing the content on the phone’s display under direct sunlight.
But, there’s one feature that I appreciate having is the 2304 Hz PWM dimming. It dampens the flicker you sometimes find on OLED screens at lower brightness. The protective Gorilla Glass 5, adding a layer of toughness, feels appropriate for a phone meant to handle daily wear.

Performance and thermals

Under the hood is the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Ultimate. Now, this is a good processor, and I can say this because it handles most tasks without any major lag or sluggishness.

The phone is paired with 8GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. Overall, the phone performs well. But, there’s a 6GB version too, and we are not sure because the phone does feel a little overpriced – Rs 15,999– for that variant. Considering that other brands are offering 8GB RAM in a similar price bracket.

Tecno Pova Curve 5G

Talking about the 8GB variant and the D7300 Ultimate, it’s not a flagship chip, of course, but it feels more than enough for the phone’s intended use, whether you’re gaming, multitasking, or just consuming media.

App launches were snappy, games maintained a reasonably stable frame rate, and the phone didn’t show signs of lag or stuttering under pressure. The Mali G615 GPU handles graphical workloads gracefully; I tried a few heavy titles, and while the phone isn’t meant for hardcore gamers, it held its own without dropping frames or heating up excessively.

The phone remained reasonably cool under sustained use — thanks, I suspect, to the combination of efficient silicon and a well-engineered thermal dissipation. The back grew warm after extensive gaming, but it was nothing alarming. Importantly, it cooled back down quickly once the load fell.

Battery and charging

Battery life is a strong point here. The 5500 mAh cell is large, and it shows in daily use. I easily made it through a heavy day of phone calls, messages, video calls, social media, gaming, and photo sessions with plenty of juice left at the end of the day.

Tecno Pova Curve 5G Battery

When you do need to charge, the 45 W Flash Charge over Type-C is a huge help. It filled nearly 50% of the battery in about 17 minutes. That’s perfect when you’re in a rush and need a quick boost. Importantly, this isn’t proprietary; it supports Type-C PD, which makes it more convenient to find a charger.

Camera

A phone’s camera isn’t just about raw numbers; it’s about whether it performs in a range of conditions — from a dimly lit dinner table to a bustling city scene in broad daylight. The POVA Curve’s main 64 MP rear sensor (using a Sony IMX682) performs quite well across the board.

In good lighting, it produces crisp, well-detailed images with accurate colour. The phone’s software tweaks, like AIGC Portrait and Super Night, add a nice touch to the final result — skin tones were rendered naturally, while low-light shots maintained a reasonable amount of detail and texture without descending into pure softness.

Tecno Pova Curve 5G camera

The phone’s camera UI is clean and feature-rich. The camera quality is mostly acceptable. The shutter is fast and responsive. The dynamic range is okay-ish here with colour and saturation being present on a good level. I wasn’t expecting any miracle to happen here and that’s exactly the case – the Pova Curve 5G camera will get the job done if your expectations are at right place.

The 13 MP selfie camera is serviceable for video calls and social media selfies. It avoids overprocessing, yielding skin tones that are close to reality. The phone can capture 4K video at 30 fps — a nice addition for content creators — and the rear camera supports slow motion and dual video, adding some creative possibilities.Software and AI features

Pova Curve 5G comes with Android 15 with HiOS on top of it. The phone feels modern and up to date. The UI is reasonably clean, without much bloatware, and it benefits from numerous customisation options — from icon packs to colour schemes. The phone promises two years of OS upgrades, which is reasonable for a phone in this segment.

Tecno Pova Curve 5G Software

Features like ELLA, the phone’s in-house digital assistant, adding native multi-language support, make the phone more useful in daily tasks, whether you’re sending messages, organising your calendar, or making calls hands-free.

AI features are the core part of the HiOS now, and Tecno has backed almost everything that you can find on some relatively more premium smartphones.

Clubbed under the “Tecno AI” umbrella, the feature list is long. It has got a dedicated AI assistant called Ella Voice, which also has a Smart Touch feature that recognises content on the screen with one tap and allows users to extract text easily.

Pova Curve 5G

Moving on, there’s the Call Assistant feature that includes AI Auto Answer, Call Summary, and Real-Time call translator.

Apart from these, you can find Translation Assistant, Social Assistant, Document Assistant, Writing Assistant and AI Note.

That list does not end here, Recording Summary, AI wallpaper, AI Gallery, and Google’s Circle to Search are also present.

While the list is long, the performance is completely network and cloud- based and you’ll need a regular connection to make these features work. Not only that, the accuracy is also hit or miss, and there’s some delay as well.

All said and done, I wasn’t expecting it to deliver a flagship level of AI accuracy and performance. But these features are there, and having them in a phone that costs almost 8 or 9 times less than the Ultra is an impressive thing. But, the competition shouldn’t be on how long is the list of AI features, instead it should be how better these AI features work. The less the better should be the approach here

Additionally, the phone’s Intelligent Signal Hub, with its ability to route signals through different paths to maximise coverage, feels more like a hidden utility — something you appreciate when you realise you have service in a weak spot where your friends’ signals drop.

Verdict
The Tecno Pova Curve 5G offers a stylish design, strong battery life, smooth performance, and a range of AI-assisted features at a reasonable price. While it falls short in outdoor visibility and camera consistency, it delivers a well-rounded experience for those who want a phone that performs daily tasks effortlessly.