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Have you heard about the Ghetto Kids of Uganda? Hang on, this is still a phone review…Yes, Ghetto Kids, the famous drama, music and dance group that was born out of street kids from Uganda’s largest slum Kitwe.
The group became an internet sensation after being featured in Eddy Kenzo’s ‘Sitya Loss’ music video. The video ended up being one of the East African songs with the most views on Youtube ( 51 Million views ).
Ghetto Kids have also provoked the admiration of American artists P. Diddy and Nicki Minaj, and in 2017, the group featured in the clip of French Montana’s Unforgettable, launching their success abroad. The group has performed in Chicago and Paris, where they performed during halftime of Paris Saint-Germain’s home game against Reims at the Parc des Princes, where they also met PSG players such as Kylian Mbappé prior to the match. They also performed at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
A few days ago, they performed at Britain Got Talent ( BTG) where they broke the show’s golden buzzer record by earning Bruno’s Golden Buzzer before the end of their performance. It was quite a thrilling and emotional performance at the same time and I watched it with my daughter on the Tecno Spark 10.
Over the weekend, we also enjoyed watching Netflix cartoons and movies from the device and it proved very comfortable to the eye even after a long viewing experience.
Display
I’m impressed with its 6.6-inch FHD+ screen. With a top and bottom bezel, the screen-to-body ratio is around 84.7%, making it feel like you have a large display in your hands. The 712×1612 resolution and 20:9 aspect ratio are also worth mentioning, as they result in a pixel density of 267 PPI.
The 90 Hertz refresh rate is the cherry on top, making for a vivid and clear display that’s a joy to look at. The phone even comes with a screen protector in the box, but if you’re someone who tends to drop your phone often, I recommend investing in a more durable aftermarket screen protector.
For a budget device, the Tecno Spark 10 is quite an immersive entertainment experience delivered through the high-definition display and sound from the powerful speakers located at the bottom right side of the phone. (You can also separately purchase the Hi-Pods H3 earbuds).
The wired earphones though not very comfortable to the ear deliver quite awesome audio, whether it’s from phone calls or Zoom and Teams work meetings.
Performance
The Spark 10 runs on a HiOS 12.6 interface based on Android 13 which is a cool feature. However, it comes with pre-installed bloatware that I usually disable or uninstall. I find these apps unnecessary, and they consume valuable storage space and memory when running in the background.
The phone is powered by a MediaTek Helio G37 chipset, which can handle everyday tasks without any hiccups, but I don’t consider it ideal for heavy tasks. In our case though, it handled Netflix, YouTube and light gaming pretty well. Its bigger sister (if I may call it so) the Spark 10 Pr, however, boasts a more advanced Helio G88 chipset that outperforms its sibling in every way.
One thing I appreciate about the Spark 10 is its 128GB internal storage and 8GB RAM. Additionally, it comes with Android’s latest memory fusion technology, which lets you extend the RAM by up to 8GB by using some of the storage space. It’s a nifty feature that comes in handy when you’re multitasking or using memory-intensive apps.
Camera
Let’s talk about the camera now. At the front for selfies, it packs an 8 MP selfie camera which I found to be quite underwhelming, especially for indoor selfies or in not well-lit environments.
I however liked the AR shot mode for selfies which I think it’s something teens will really love. Just like Snapchat’s Bitmoji, it allows you to create your character and use it as a substitute for your face when taking selfies. (The Tecno Spark 10 Pro has a 32 MP selfie camera)
At the back, it packs a 50 MP camera which is capable of taking decent photos in good lighting conditions as shown in the photos below. Other camera modes include slow motion, AI CAM, beauty shot and portrait. Unfortunately, it does not have a pro mode.
Overall, I think this is a decent entertainment device that is ideal for people who are not heavy users. Your teenage kids or even parents back in the village can really appreciate this as a gift. You can also use it as a secondary device because of its large 5000 mAh battery which can last up to three days on a single charge.
The devices in the Spark 10 series currently retail between Ksh 15,000 and Ksh 21,000 from Tecno branded outlets, Safaricom shops and online on Kilimall.
