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The TECNO CAMON 40 Pro 5G is a top contender for smartphones.
It looks great, runs well, and is a high performer. It also has a few nice tricks up its sleeve that makes this a compelling device to check out. TECNO AI is one, pushing the adoption of AI technologies to more hands. The second is the camera. Yes, yes, these days we talk a little less about the camera, because, let’s face it, nearly every smartphone out there has an excellent set of cameras. They all take lovely pictures. Even if they don’t, there’s a bunch of editing tools out there to smooth out all the edges. Also what else did we once hyper fixated on when it came with cameras? Portraits? Everyone and their mother talked about portraits. What else? Night photography. Yeah, so, we’re done with all that. In short, we’ve peaked when it comes to normal camera tech. Or so we thought. TECNO showed us there is a bit more to squeeze out, which we’ll get to in a bit.
Upon booting up the phone for the first time, it will walk you through the usual stuff when opening phones for the first time. One little change here is that Ella, TECNO’s little built-in AI is here to greet you, adding a touch of personality to your new device. It’s a small thing really but it did make things interesting. Even when choosing between gesture or on-screen buttons as your default, Ella makes a joke about its recommendation (gesture) as the perfect to go. It’s a simple touch, very wholesome in its approach.
If you long press the orange button on the left side of the device, you bring out Ella, which will answer all your queries. I’m impressed by how Ella was able to hear my words with accuracy. Ella can also connect to DeepSeek-R1, the AI contender that shook the industry awhile back.
The CAMON 40 Pro 5G is a gorgeous-looking phone. I got the Glacier White for my test unit and so far I am loving the bright wintry colors. The design is also interesting, which follows the camera bump, sliding down into a curve along the device. It’s not some massive design overhaul but it does give the 40 Pro a personality of its own.
In the curved display there is an edge panel where you can drop some apps in. This is something I’ve always questioned. If edge panels are meant to store your favorite apps, why not just put them in a folder somewhere in your main screen where you’d be able to access it no problem? Maybe you want a clean screen and just pull the apps you need from the side? I don’t know.
Aside from the design, of course the main thing we need to talk about here is the camera. Despite its design having three lenses, one of them is actually a Flicker Sensor, which adjusts exposure when flickers are detected. What we have in the rear are a duo of 50MP and 8MP lenses. The cameras of the CAMON 40 Pro 5G are impressive. Images are bright, clear, and colorful and come close to what you actually see. There are AI add-ons, of course, such as AI Eraser, AI Extender, and AI Sharp. It also comes with other AI features to help you write and translate. And yes, it also has Circle to Search, which makes going around looking for things so much easier.
It features a 144Hz refresh rate, which is quite crazy. You’d notice that immediately as soon as you try the phone. And I have to admit the look of a 144Hz screen is indeed very nice.
But the main show for the camera is TECNO’s FlashSnap–which captures moving objects with absolute clarity. This was demoed to us a few months ago at MWC 2025. FlashSnap will be able to capture flickering lights and the blades of fans as if they were not moving, when they actually are.
I have tried this with a dripping faucet and a fan. The difference here can be seen and this whole thing looks really cool. Observe:
The first photo uses TECNO's base AI Cam, which shows the water flowing normally as the eye would see. The second photo is after switching to FlashSnap, where the flow of water was turned to a series of droplets.
In this one. The first photo shows a fan with the base AI Cam. The second, you guessed it, FlashSnap. You can see the propellers as if it were still. If you look closer, there is very little blur to suggest the fan is indeed moving. FlashSnap even captured flickering lights, which is what those shadowed bars are.
For me, this makes the CAMON 40 Pro 5G a very nice travel companion as you take pictures of things that interest you.
You can bring out the camera by double pressing the orange button. This also launches the camera with FlashSnap ready. So you won’t have to fumble with the settings. And this was a great addition. Personally, too many times I’ve missed nice opportunities to take a picture of something because I fumbled around. At least with the CAMON 40 Pro, whip out your phone, double press, and it’s ready for action.
It should also be noted that for the next five years, TECNO will support three Android updates. That means, once Android 16 rolls out to all, no one is left behind.
The TECNO CAMON 40 Pro 5G is a device I do recommend with two thumbs up. You can pre-order the device now, for P12,999 for the 8GB RAM and P14,999 for the 12GB RAM, up until May 10. By the way, there's a P1,000 and P1,500 discount respectively, during the pre-order phase. Pre-order goodies come with a Bluetooth speaker and a powerbank for both versions of the CAMON 40 Pro. However, the pre-order bonus for the 12GB version comes with an extra "Boosted T-SPOT Points to 2,500," which is TECNO's own membership points system.
You can claim the devices starting May 11 to the 25th.
