Tecno Pova Curve 2: specs, price and full review

The Tecno Pova Curve 2 is a mid-range 5G smartphone that squeezes an 8,000 mAh battery into a 7.42 mm chassis, under a handsome 144 Hz curved AMOLED screen. It is meant for people who want two days away from a socket and watch a lot of video, not for keen photographers or demanding gamers. Its Dimensity 7100 chip is middling, its second camera is a basic macro and its IP64 rating only covers splashes. Launched in India in February 2026 at around 258 euros, roughly 170,000 FCFA, it is not officially sold in West and Central Africa.

Introduction: a marathon battery in a slim body

At Tecno, the Pova range is where the big-battery phones live. The first Pova Curve, released in May 2025, added a curved screen to the formula. Its successor was announced in India on 13 February 2026 and went on sale on Flipkart from 20 February, before being shown at MWC in Barcelona and then reaching the Philippines in May, as well as Kenya.

Its pitch fits in one line: 8,000 mAh in 7.42 mm, without resorting to the silicon-carbon chemistry used by Chinese rivals, according to GSMArena. In India it costs 27,999 rupees with 8 + 128 GB and 29,999 rupees with 8 + 256 GB, or about 258 and 276 euros. It sits below the Tecno Pova 8 Pro, released in August and much more expensive, and alongside the standard Pova 8, which is technically very close.

It targets the student, the sales rep or the ride-hailing driver who spends the day on WhatsApp, Maps and YouTube and is tired of power cuts. Our team has not had the phone in hand: this review is based on official specifications, published reviews and our own analysis of everyday use.

Verdict at a glance

Three figures sum this phone up. First, 8,000 mAh in 7.42 mm and 195 g, a capacity-to-thickness ratio few rivals can match in 2026. Next, 4,500 nits: that is the claimed peak brightness of the screen, a marketing number, but published measurements of around 2,790 nits confirm it stays very readable in direct sunlight. Finally, 2 MP: the resolution of the second rear camera, a token macro that shows where Tecno cut costs.

Design: slim, light and curved, but only IP64

Both the front and back curve at the edges, which slims the silhouette and improves grip. On the back, the camera block takes a triangular shape. The phone measures 162.7 x 77.2 x 7.42 mm and weighs 195 g according to GSMArena, or 192 g according to other Indian sources. For a 6.78-inch screen and a battery this size, that is remarkably light.

India got the Mystic Purple, Melting Silver and Storm Titanium colours, and Tecno’s official Kenyan page adds Neon Cyan, Magic Silver and Geek Black. The fingerprint reader sits under the screen. There is no headphone jack, but there is an infrared blaster for controlling a TV or an air conditioner.

Durability is the weak spot. The screen is covered by Gorilla Glass 7i, rated to survive drops of around 1.5 m, and Tecno highlights an SGS shock-resistance certification. But the IP64 rating protects against dust and splashes, not immersion. That falls short of the Tecno Camon 50 Pro, which is certified IP68 and IP69K. For rain or dry-season dust it is enough; for a drop into a bucket of water, it is not. A curved screen is also more expensive to replace, so get a case with raised edges from day one.

Display: the best argument after the battery

The 6.78-inch AMOLED panel has a resolution of 1080 x 2364 pixels, around 429 pixels per inch. Some sites mention 1.5K, but the official spec sheet clearly states 2364 x 1080: this is Full HD+, which is plenty at this size. The refresh rate goes up to 144 Hz.

Tecno quotes 1,600 nits in high-brightness mode and 4,500 nits at peak. MySmartPrice’s lab measured about 2,790 nits at maximum, a very good result. Under the sun in Douala, Lagos or Abidjan, on a motorbike or at the market, that matters more than a higher resolution.

Published reviews praise vivid colours and good viewing angles. PWM dimming at 2,304 Hz limits flicker at low brightness. The downside of curved edges is well known: some reflections along the sides and the occasional accidental touch. If you prefer a flat screen, look at the Camon 50 Pro instead.

Performance: a decent Dimensity 7100, not a gaming phone

The Pova Curve 2 runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 7100, built on a 6 nm process (four Cortex-A78 cores at 2.4 GHz, four Cortex-A55 cores at 2 GHz, Mali-G610 MC2 GPU). It comes with 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, 12 GB on the Kenyan version, and 128 or 256 GB of non-expandable UFS 2.2 storage.

Published scores place the chip firmly in the mid-range. According to 91mobiles, the phone scores 740,056 points on AnTuTu, and 997 single-core and 2,899 multi-core on Geekbench 6. MySmartPrice’s lab recorded 729,928 points on AnTuTu, and 971 and 2,828 on Geekbench 6. That is clearly below some Indian rivals at the same price, such as the Realme P4 Power.

For everyday use it is more than enough: HiOS 16 runs smoothly and storage reads at around 1,095 MB/s. In games, BGMI, the Indian version of PUBG Mobile, holds about 59.5 frames per second on the smooth setting, and Genshin Impact around 40 on high quality. Very heavy titles such as Wuthering Waves drop to about 20 frames per second.

Reports on heat differ. 91mobiles measured a rise of less than 5 °C after an hour of gaming, but a clear drop in processor speed in a stress test. MySmartPrice recorded up to 45 °C at the top of the screen during demanding games. In a hot room, expect a warm phone during long sessions.

Network and audio: strong 5G, questionable speaker

Tecno claims a world first: 20 5G bands in SA and NSA mode, with two chips dedicated to signal, G1 for mobile and SE1 for Wi-Fi. That is an asset in Africa, where 5G is rolling out gradually depending on the operator and 4G remains patchy outside cities. You also get two nano-SIM slots, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4 and dual-band Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 5 according to GSMArena or Wi-Fi 6 according to a Kenyan retailer.

Audio raises questions: the official spec sheet lists Dolby Atmos and GSMArena mentions stereo speakers, but 91mobiles and MySmartPrice describe a single speaker, loud but muffled. There is no settling it for now: if sound matters to you, check in store.

Camera: fine by day, limited as soon as the light drops

The camera module is the main compromise. On the back, a 50 MP f/1.8 main sensor with PDAF autofocus and no optical stabilisation is paired with a 2 MP sensor. Reviews describe it as a macro, while an early GSMArena listing called it a depth sensor: either way, it adds little. There is no ultra-wide or telephoto lens, and the 3x zoom is simply a digital crop.

In daylight, reviews note natural colours, textures that are sometimes smoothed over and an HDR that struggles against a white midday sky. Portrait mode handles faces and skin tones well. For family photos or shots of products to sell on WhatsApp, it does the job.

At night, 91mobiles finds the phone struggles to hold on to detail, well behind the Realme P4 Power. Video tops out at 1440p at 30 frames per second, with no 4K and no optical stabilisation, so footage shot while walking is shaky. The 13 MP selfie camera, which records in 1080p, produces detailed self-portraits in daylight and softer ones indoors in dim light. If photography really matters to you, a Camon will do far better.

Battery and charging: two days without hunting for a socket

This is where the Pova Curve 2 earns its place. The PCMark battery test reached 15.2 hours at 91mobiles and 20 hours 28 minutes at MySmartPrice, depending on the protocol and brightness used. Both outlets conclude it lasts about two days in real use, with four hours of screen time a day in 91mobiles’ case. Tecno promises up to three days.

In Yaoundé, Lagos or Nairobi, the upshot is simple: one charge during the hours when power is available easily covers the next day, even with plenty of video and hotspot use. A full day of load-shedding is not a problem.

The 45 W charging is more debatable. Tecno claims 50% in 36 minutes; 91mobiles measured 1 hour 5 minutes from 20 to 100%, and MySmartPrice about 1 hour 30 minutes for a full charge. That is slow next to 80 or 90 W models, but logical given the capacity. The charger is in the box, and bypass charging powers the phone directly without drawing on the battery while it stays plugged in.

Software: HiOS 16 packed with AI, but cluttered and short-lived

The Pova Curve 2 runs Android 16 with the HiOS 16 skin, which reviewers find responsive, with a new visual style called Glow Space that is still applied unevenly across Tecno’s own apps. Customisation options are extensive.

On the AI side, reviews mention removal of reflections, shadows and glare from photos, a writing assistant and chapter-by-chapter summaries of YouTube videos, handy for a lecture or a tutorial. Which of them are available in English remains to be checked hands-on.

Two flaws weigh on the score. First, the preinstalled apps: 91mobiles counted 43, and MySmartPrice mentions third-party apps that border on adware. Second, support: two major Android updates and three years of security patches, according to 91mobiles, when several rivals promise four to six years. We found no confirmation from Tecno for models sold in Africa.

Price and availability: mainly an Indian and Asian model

As of 1 October 2026, we found no official launch in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire or Senegal. In India, the Pova Curve 2 costs 27,999 rupees with 8 + 128 GB and 29,999 rupees with 8 + 256 GB, about 258 and 276 euros (170,000 and 181,000 FCFA). In the Philippines, it went on sale on 23 May 2026 at 16,999 pesos, about 255 euros (167,000 FCFA), in a configuration listed as 8 + 256 GB or as 8 GB of RAM plus 8 GB of virtual memory, depending on the source.

In Africa, Tecno has an official Kenyan page for a 12 + 256 GB version, which a Nairobi retailer lists at 56,000 shillings, which works out, as a rough guide, at about 370 euros (243,000 FCFA). In Nigeria, it only circulates as a grey import, at around 540,000 naira according to Mobility Nigeria. That is the likely scenario across West and Central Africa: imported units sold by independent shops.

A phone imported outside official channels may not be covered by the local Carlcare warranty, Transsion’s after-sales service. Ask for an invoice, check the IMEI and contact a Carlcare centre before you pay. In France, the phone is not sold on Amazon.fr, at Fnac, Darty or Cdiscount at the time of writing.

Pros and cons

Pros

• About two days of battery life thanks to 8,000 mAh
• Slim 7.42 mm chassis, light for its battery
• Curved 144 Hz AMOLED screen, very bright outdoors
• 5G with 20 bands, dual SIM, NFC and infrared
• Bypass charging and 45 W charger in the box

Cons

• No ultra-wide, pointless 2 MP macro sensor
• Disappointing night shots and video without optical stabilisation
• Only IP64, no immersion protection
• Two Android updates and lots of preinstalled apps
• No official distribution in West and Central Africa

On a tighter budget? The Tecno Spark 50 Pro costs about 190 to 220 euros based on the converted Bangladeshi price, survives immersion (IP68 and IP69) and charges at 60 W, but sticks to 4G with 6,000 mAh. For photography, the Camon 50 Pro offers a more versatile camera module and a flat screen, with less battery life. For power, the Pova 8 Pro moves up to the Dimensity 7400 Ultimate and adds optical stabilisation, an ultra-wide camera and IP69K, but drops to 6,500 mAh and costs considerably more.

Conclusion: should you buy the Tecno Pova Curve 2?

Yes, if battery life is your top priority. The Pova Curve 2 lasts two days of heavy use while staying slim and light, with one of the brightest screens in its class and well-equipped 5G. For video, social media, GPS and work on the road, it is an excellent companion.

No, if you expect an all-rounder. The camera is the weak link, the chip hits its ceiling in demanding games, IP64 will not forgive a drop in water and software support is short. In West and Central Africa, the lack of an official launch also complicates the warranty. At around 180,000 FCFA, it is a good deal from a reputable retailer that provides after-sales service.

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