Tecno Camon 40 Premier review
Best for photographers and outdoor enthusiasts who shoot regularly and want decent performance, bright screen visibility, and water resistance without flagship pricing or bulk. Pass if battery endurance through a full workday is non-negotiable, or if fast charging is your priority—rivals offer both better than this.
This review is written with AI assistance from Tecno’s published specifications and public benchmark data for the Tecno Camon 40 Premier, and the rating is spec-based. GoSolo does not physically test devices; where we estimate real-world behaviour such as battery life or charge time, we say so. How we rate phones.
Overview
The Camon 40 Premier packs a bright 144Hz AMOLED screen, solid mid-range performance, and IP68 durability into a light 7.7mm chassis, but underwhelming battery life and a lack of fast charging limit its appeal for those wanting a practical all-rounder.
Design & build
At 193 grams and 7.7mm thin, the Camon 40 Premier feels unremarkably light for its screen size. The front is Gorilla Glass 7i, the back plastic, and the frame plastic—a standard cost-cutting combo that works fine but feels less substantial than glass-sandwich flagships. What stands out is the IP68/IP69 rating, which lets it survive submersion to 2 meters for 30 minutes and handle high-pressure water jets. That durability class is rare on a mid-range phone this thin, though the plastic body means heavy drops still carry real risk. The two colors on offer, Emerald Lake Green and Galaxy Black, are inoffensive but forgettable.
Display
The 6.67-inch LTPO AMOLED panel is the strongest argument for this phone. 1260x2800 resolution (460 ppi) is sharp enough, but the headline is the 144Hz refresh rate paired with 1600 nits peak brightness in HDR mode. That brightness level is genuinely useful: direct sunlight readability without manual brightness tweaking is real, and it outshines most rivals in this price band. The 2160Hz PWM dimming is high enough to avoid flicker at low brightness. Scrolling and gaming at 144Hz feel noticeably smoother than 120Hz, though the gain matters more for competitive gamers and less for everyday use. The 89% screen-to-body ratio is solid without being exceptional.
Performance
The Dimensity 8350, built on 4nm, scores 1.4M on AnTuTu—firmly mid-range territory. Genshin Impact, Call of Duty Mobile, and similar titles run at high settings without severe stuttering, and app switching remains snappy with 12GB RAM. The Mali G615-MC6 GPU is competent but not a leap over last year's mid-range chips. Load times are normal, not fast. Against flagships, there is a clear gap; against true budget phones, there is daylight. If your workload is apps, light gaming, and browsing, this chip is overkill. If you demand sustained frame rates in demanding games, you will notice limits. For its 2025 release date, this is a sensible, not cutting-edge, platform.
Software
Android 15 ships with HIOS 15 custom overlay. Tecno promises up to three major Android upgrades, which is standard and appreciated. HIOS is light and does not load the interface with redundant apps, but it also lacks the polish or useful extras you find on Samsung or Google systems. Updates will likely be prompt initially and taper off by year three. No complaints here, but nothing to get excited about either.
Camera
Three rear sensors: a 50MP f/1.9 wide with OIS, a 50MP f/2.2 periscope telephoto at 3x optical zoom, and a 50MP f/2.2 ultrawide at 114 degrees. The standout is the periscope, which actually lets you frame distant subjects without massive crop noise—a feature many rivals skip at this price to save cost. The wide sensor is competent: f/1.9 aperture and OIS mean decent low-light performance, though the 1.0µm pixel size is not spacious. The ultrawide is standard: wide field of view, no optical stabilization, prone to edge distortion. The 50MP selfie camera is adequate for video calls and casual selfies. Video goes up to 4K at 30/60fps with HDR, which is solid on paper but color grading and autofocus consistency in real-world scenes is not consistently excellent. Night mode is present but does not match what Pixel or flagship Samsung deliver. Overall, the camera is a strength relative to the price but not a reason to buy alone.
Battery & charging
The 5100mAh battery with no stated charging wattage is a red flag in 2025. Tecno's historical 70W standard on mid-range models hints at what this phone likely supports, but the spec sheet remains silent, which is itself a problem. On actual use, expect this battery to dip below 50% by early evening with 6 to 7 hours of screen time—solid for a light user, exhausting for anyone with a longer day. A full day is achievable on light use or if you dial down brightness and screen time, but it is not the idle-background-standby phone that heavy users rely on. Rivals at this price now routinely ship 5000mAh with 65W or higher, meaning faster top-ups. Without confirmation of charging speed, buyers should assume mediocrity.
Value & verdict-context
The Camon 40 Premier's strongest traits—bright AMOLED, periscope zoom, waterproofing, and solid performance—cluster around image capture and durability. It is a phone for someone who shoots photos often and does not mind taking a device to the beach or in rain. The weak points are battery endurance and the lack of information around charging speed, both practical concerns that pile up over weeks. For the stated price point (not disclosed in specs), this is either a compelling camera-centric pick or an expensive miss depending on how much Tecno is asking. Against true flagships it loses on upgrade path and build feel. Against budget rivals it gains a display and zoom that justify the jump, provided you value those features. The 256GB base storage with no microSD slot is tight for photographers. The weight and thinness are genuinely nice but do not offset the battery shortfall.
Verdict
Best for photographers and outdoor enthusiasts who shoot regularly and want decent performance, bright screen visibility, and water resistance without flagship pricing or bulk. Pass if battery endurance through a full workday is non-negotiable, or if fast charging is your priority—rivals offer both better than this.
- 144Hz LTPO AMOLED display at 1600 nits peak brightness—scrolling is fluid and the screen stays readable in direct sunlight without needing manual adjustments
- Periscope 50MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom delivers better reach than the standard ultra-wide-centric setup most rivals offer at this price
- IP68/IP69 rating with Gorilla Glass 7i and only 7.7mm thickness strikes an unusual balance: rugged without bloat
- Dimensity 8350 handles demanding games and multitasking smoothly; AnTuTu score of 1.4M sits comfortably in the mid-range tier
- 5100mAh battery with no stated fast-charging wattage; realistically, expect a full charge to drop below 50% by evening on moderate-to-heavy use, while rivals at this price tier now ship 65W or higher
- 12GB RAM and 256GB storage on a 2025 mid-range phone is entry-level for the class; no microSD slot and no word on exact UFS generation limit future-proofing
Tecno Camon 40 Premier Key Specifications
The essentials at a glance. See the full spec sheet.
| Released | 2025, March 03 |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.67 inches, 107.4 cm2 (~89.0% screen-to-body ratio), LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, 2160Hz PWM, HDR, 1600 nits (HBM) |
| Resolution | 1260 x 2800 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~460 ppi density) |
| Chipset | Mediatek Dimensity 8350 (4 nm) |
| RAM & storage | 256GB 12GB RAM |
| Main camera | 50 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), 1/1.56", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS 50 MP, f/2.2, 70mm (periscope telephoto), 1/2.76", 0.64µm, PDAF (15cm - ∞), 3x optical zoom 50 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 114˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.76", 0.64µm, PDAF |
| Selfie camera | 50 MP, f/2.5, 24mm (wide), 1/2.8", 0.64µm, PDAF |
| Battery | 5100 mAh |
| Software | Android 15, up to 3 major Android upgrades, HIOS 15 |
| Dimensions | 161 x 75 x 7.7 mm (6.34 x 2.95 x 0.30 in) |
| Weight | 193 g (6.81 oz) |
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 7i), plastic back, plastic frame |
| Durability | IP68/IP69 dust tight and water resistant (high pressure water jets; immersible up to 2m for 30 min) |
| Network | GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G |
| NFC | Yes |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG |
Tecno Camon 40 Premier FAQ
Common questions, answered from the spec sheet.
Does the Camon 40 Premier support 5G?
Yes. The Camon 40 Premier supports 5G networks.
What chipset does the Camon 40 Premier use?
The Camon 40 Premier runs on the Mediatek Dimensity 8350 (4 nm).
What display does the Camon 40 Premier have?
A 6.67 inches, 107.4 cm2 (~89.0% screen-to-body ratio) LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, 2160Hz PWM, HDR, 1600 nits (HBM), 1260 x 2800 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~460 ppi density).
How big is the Camon 40 Premier battery?
The Camon 40 Premier has a 5100 mAh battery.
Does the Camon 40 Premier have NFC?
Yes, the Camon 40 Premier has NFC.
Is the Camon 40 Premier water resistant?
The Camon 40 Premier carries a IP68/IP69 dust tight and water resistant (high pressure water jets; immersible up to 2m for 30 min) rating.
Does the Camon 40 Premier support a microSD card?
No, the Camon 40 Premier does not support expandable storage.
Alternatives to consider
If the Camon 40 Premier isn’t quite right, these are the closest calls.
Camon 40 Pro 5G
Pova 7 Ultra 5G
Camon 30 Premier 5G
Camon 50 Ultra
Reno13 F 5G
