POVA launched the POVA 8 Pro 5G, the company’s latest 5G smartphone in the POVA 8 series, last month. This has a 144Hz 1.5K AMOLED screen, is powered by the 7400 Ultimate processor, and has a huge 6500mAh battery, yet maintains a 7.39mm sleek design.
Is it a good phone for the price when it comes to the competition? Let us dive into the review to find out.
| Box Contents |
| Camera |
| Battery Life |
| Conclusion |
Box Contents
- POVA 8 Pro 5G 8GB + 256GB in Tundra Green colour
- 45W fast charger
- USB Type-C cable
- Protective case
- SIM ejector tool
- User manual
Display, Hardware, and Design
The POVA 8 Pro 5G sports a 6.78-inch (2644 × 1208 pixels) 1.5K 20:9 aspect ratio AMOLED flat display with 144Hz refresh rate. The screen has up to 4500 nits peak brightness. The colour output is good as well since it has 1.07 billion colors.
You can select smart switch or force it to 60Hz or 144Hz. The 144Hz refresh rate offers a smooth user experience, especially when you are scrolling through the UI and when gaming. You can select from Original (default), and Bright colour style.
There is 2592Hz PWM Dimming that is automatically activated when you are using the phone in low brightness. You also find sleep aid mode and eye care mode in the display settings.
There is a 13MP front camera inside the tiny punch hole, and the phone supports up to 4K 30 fps video recording. The earpiece is present on the top edge that doubles up as a secondary speaker. It supports Dolby Atmos audio. There is a small bezel below the screen. It has an in-display optical fingerprint scanner.
Coming to the button placements and ports, the power button is present on the right along with volume rockers. The dual SIM slot is present on the bottom along with the primary microphone, the USB Type-C port, and the loudspeaker grill. The infrared sensor is present on the top along with the speaker vent and the secondary microphone.
Even though the phone has a plastic frame, it looks like metal and has a matte finish, so it looks premium. The phone is just 7.39mm thin. It weighs just 189 grams, and the weight distribution is good.
The POVA 8 Pro 5G retains the series’ signature sci-fi-inspired design language, incorporating sharp geometric elements and a semi-transparent rear panel. In addition to Tundra Green color that we have, the phone also comes in Arc White and Graphite Black colours.
The rear panel is equipped with the Alive Matrix Display, a functional dot-matrix screen with 177 mini LEDs designed to display battery levels, active timers, incoming notifications, and caller ID with spam detection. The display also functions as a desk clock when the handset is placed face down. This is much bigger than the
The device features comprehensive environmental protection, carrying IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings for resistance against dust, prolonged water submersion, and high-pressure water jets. Additionally, the phone holds a MIL-STD-810 military-grade certification, indicating it has passed rigorous testing for durability against drops, shocks, and everyday physical stress.
Camera
- 50MP rear camera with 1/1.56″ LYT-700C sensor, OIS
- 8MP ultra-wide camera with f/2.2 aperture
- 13MP front-facing camera with f/2.2 aperture
The camera UI is the same as other phones running HiOS 16. It includes several features such as Portrait, Super Night, Dual Video, Vlog, Time-lapse, Panorama, Sky Shop, Pro, Documents, Aqua mode and more. Even though the phone has a 50MP rear camera, the final output is about 12.5MP in size after pixel binning, and the front camera output is 50MP.
Coming to the camera quality, the daylight shots are good, and it is recommended to enable the HDR option, which automatically switches on HDR according to the shot, so that the dynamic range is good. The camera can focus quickly. The portrait mode has good edge detection. The 8MP ultra-wide camera does a decent job. There is an ultra-wide macro option, but the 2x macro with the main camera is better since it offers better details. It has up to 15x zoom, but beyond 8x you will start to lose details.
Low-light images are decent, and the night mode is useful, thanks to the optimization. The 13MP front camera also does a good job. Even though these cameras are good, the phone lacks a telephoto camera, which is a must-have in the price range.
Check out some camera samples below.
It can record videos at 4K resolution at up to 30 fps from the rear and the front cameras. There is also OIS support, which does a good job. The phone has portrait video recording at 1080p, 30 fps, which is a good addition.
Software, UI, and Apps
Coming to the software, the phone runs on Android 16 with HiOS 16 on top. It has the Android security patch for July 2026. The POVA 8 Pro will get 2 major Android updates and 3 years of security updates, which is less than several phones in the price range.
The smartphone includes the complete TECNO AI suite, which introduces several tools intended to streamline media creation and daily smartphone interactions, such as an upgraded Ella smart assistant, an AI Image-to-Video generator, 3D PhotoSpace, and AI LightMaster 2.0.
There is also AI Call Assistant that provides real-time translations, transcriptions, and summaries for calls, including WhatsApp. Other features include AI Auto Answer, AI Voiceprint Noise Suppression, AI Writing & Document Assistant, and AI Screen Awareness. The Gallery app has AI Eraser 2.0 & Image Extender, AI Sharpness Plus, and there is also AI Wallpaper Generator, Vogue Portraits & Artboard. There is also all-scenario AI noise reduction, keeping your voice crystal clear in WhatsApp chats and Zoom meetings and other apps.
The one-tap button on the right lets you mute quickly, perform an action or launch a particular app.
Out of 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM, about 7.45GB is usable, out of which 3GB is free when the default apps are running in the background. There is an additional 8GB RAM expansion feature. Out of 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage, 221.81GB is free out of the box.
Since the phone has an IR blaster, it comes with an IR remote feature that you can use from the quick settings. Apart from the usual set of utility and Google apps, it comes preloaded with Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, and PhonePe apps and some games. These can be uninstalled.
Fingerprint sensor and Face unlock
The phone has an optical in-display fingerprint sensor which immediately unlocks the phone just by keeping your finger on the sensor. You can add up to 5 fingerprints. There are different animation styles that display when you unlock, which you can disable. The phone also has face unlock that can unlock the phone in seconds, but it is not as secure as fingerprint.
Music and Multimedia
YouTube Music is the default music player, and there is Dolby Atmos. There is no FM radio. Audio through the stereo speaker is loud. Audio through the headphones is good.
This has Widevine L1 so that you can play HD content on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and other streaming apps. It also supports HDR playback on YouTube, but not on Netflix.
Dual SIM and Connectivity
It has the usual set of connectivity features, such as 5G with several 5G bands, and supports Airtel and Jio 5G out of the box. There is also 5G CA, dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6 802.11 ax (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.2, and GPS + GLONASS, and it also has NFC.
It also has USB OTG support, and it has USB 2.0. We did not face any call drops, and the earpiece volume is good. It uses the company’s own dialer, and there is call recording.
The POVA 8 Pro 5G’s body SAR is 0.802 W/kg, and the head SAR is 1.332 W/kg, which is under the limit in India, which is 1.6 W/kg (over 1 g).
Performance and Benchmarks
It is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Ultimate SoC. It has 4X Arm Cortex-A78 cores at up to 2.6GHz, paired with 4X Arm Cortex-A55 cores at 2GHz. This uses TSMC’s 4nm process.
The new Arm Mali-G615 GPU does a good job in games. The Dimensity 7400 is a minor upgrade over the 7300. You can play graphic-intensive games like COD, BGMI, and Genshin Impact, but you can’t expect sustained peak performance in high graphics mode. In BGMI HDR Extreme works.
In a 3D Mark wildlife stress test, it scored 99.6% which is good. The temperature increased from 32 to 38 degrees, which is decent. That said, check out some synthetic benchmark scores below.
As you can see, there are several phones that offer better performance in the price range.
Battery life
Coming to the battery life, the phone packs a 6500 mAh (typical) battery. It can easily last for over a day with heavy use and 2 days with typical use, thanks to the optimization. I got over 8 hours of screen-on time with 2 days of use, mostly on Wi-Fi, and occasional 5G use with a smart refresh rate.
Since the phone has support for 45W fast charging, it can charge up to 50% in about 25 minutes and up to 100% in slightly over an hour, which is decent since the phone packs a large battery. There is reverse wired charging and bypass charging as well when gaming, so the charging current bypasses the battery to go straight to the motherboard, so it doesn’t affect the battery.
Conclusion
The POVA 8 Pro 5G stands out with its distinctive sci-fi aesthetics, ultra-slim 7.39mm profile, and robust durability ratings, including IP69K and MIL-STD-810 certification. The 144Hz 1.5K AMOLED display is vivid, the 6500mAh battery delivers class-leading endurance, and the rear Alive Matrix Display adds a functional, eye-catching touch. The 50MP primary camera with OIS and 4K-capable selfie camera handle everyday photography reliably.
However, the MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Ultimate chipset and UFS 2.2 storage deliver mid-range performance that struggles to justify the 50K price tag. The absence of a dedicated telephoto camera and a modest update policy of just 2 major Android OS upgrades also hold it back against fierce competition in this segment. If battery life, ruggedness, and unique styling are your top priorities, it delivers on those fronts, but performance-focused buyers will find better value elsewhere.
Pricing and availability
The POVA 8 Pro 5G is priced at Rs. 49,999 for the 8GB + 256GB model, and the 12GB + 512GB model costs Rs. 54,999. It is available for purchase via Flipkart and offline retail channels across India.
Alternatives
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, even after the price hike, is a good alternative in the price range offering better performance and also comes with a telephoto camera. POCO X8 Pro Max is also a good alternative with even better performance and a bigger battery.
Pros
- 144Hz 1.5K AMOLED display is good
- Good design and solid build with IP69K ratings, military-grade durability
- HiOS 16 is packed with several AI features
- Alive Matrix Display is useful
- 6500mAh battery offers excellent battery life
Cons
- No telephoto camera
- Performance is average for the steep price