TECNO Camon 40 Premier 5G review: A premier experience for less

The TECNO Camon 40 Premier is one of the latest phones from a company you may not have heard of. It's the result of the company's relentless pursuit to bring high-end experiences to lower price points and markets, and it seems to hit the mark.

The phone uses a newer MediaTek chip primed for AI performance, which is smart because the Camon 40 Premier comes with a host of AI features to take advantage of. Beyond the software, the phone has a very capable camera system that incorporates the company's latest imaging advancements, and the battery life and charging specs far surpass those of many flagship phones in North America.

The TECNO Camon 40 Premier 5G feels like a full package despite some shortcomings and questionable (yet understandable) decisions.

TECNO Camon 40 Premier: Price, availability, and specs

The TECNO Camon 40 Premier was announced alongside the rest of the Camon 40 series during MWC 2025 on March 4, 2025.

The phone features a single configuration with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It also comes in black and green colorways.

As for pricing and availability, TECNO hasn't revealed too much at the moment, but the phone is not sold in North America. However, it will be available in other regions, including Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Europe.

The Camon 30 Premier started at a price of around ₹29,499, which is just under $350, so it stands to reason the Camon 40 Premier could cost somewhere in the same ballpark and maybe a bit more.

TECNO Camon 40 Premier: What I like

For a phone that costs less than $600, the TECNO Camon 40 Premier has a lot going for it. It sits in a weird but compelling space of phones that come with flagship features and performance but sub-flagship prices. This is a space occupied by phones like the Pixel 9 and OnePlus 13R, and the Camon 40 Premier emulates this fairly well.

The hardware is a big part of what makes this a great phone. The display is a 6.67-inch AMOLED that looks great, although it doesn't blow me away. It's plenty bright, the color profile is nicely tuned so that it's not oversaturated, and the 144Hz refresh rate makes scrolling and animations smooth as butter.

Part of this has to do with the MediaTek Dimensity 8530 chip powering the phone. While it's an upper-midrange chipset, I have no complaints about performance. Nearly everything you do on this phone is executed quickly and effortlessly, which should come as no surprise for a chip that falls just under the flagship 9000-series chips.

This extends to gaming as well. One of my favorite games to play Honkai: Star Rail, which can be pretty taxing on a phone when played at the higher settings. Usually a phone will default to the settings it thinks it can handle, and the Camon 40 Premier was already set to "High" when I started up the game.

I decided that wasn't enough, so I turned things up to the highest graphics settings and at 60fps instead of the default 30fps. Surprisingly (or not), the phone is able to keep up just fine, and I did not notice much in the way of stuttering or massive frame rate drops.

The software experience overall is pretty solid, even if HiOS isn't my favorite Android skin. It runs Android 15 out of the box, and you'll get some of the more common Android flourishes that we see in phones these days, such as the separated notification shade and quick panel.

The smart panel is great for multitasking, while the Dynamic Port gives you a Dynamic Island-like (albeit fairly limited) experience.

However, I can't really talk about a new phone in 2025 without mentioning AI, especially as it's a big focus for this phone. TECNO recently announced its grand plans for TECNO AI, its suite of features that it's bringing to its smartphone portfolio to help bridge the gap between the $1000 phones of the world and the more affordable and accessible phones. What's great is that TECNO makes its AI very present for people who want to use it.

When you first turn on the Camon 40 Premier, you're taken through the setup process via TECNO's AI assistant, Ella. It's an early introduction to the phone's relationship with AI and gets you prepared for what's to come.

Once set up, swiping to the left of the home screen will unveil an AI hub of sorts called Zero Screen, where you can access a suite of TECNO AI features. Up top is Ella Briefing. Not to be confused with Samsung's Now Brief (although at least part of the idea is similar), it's a helpful "brief" up top to summarize and remind you of calendar events, notifications, and more.

There's also quite an abundance of AI tools you have access to, and while you'll easily find a lot of them throughout the UI, like AI Studio in the Gallery app, the Zero Screen puts them all pretty much at your fingertips and makes it easy for you to find use cases for them.

This includes creating AI-generated art using texts or drawings, translating from images or while in a conversation, summarizing documents or creating them from photos, and more.

For the most part, these features are pretty well-baked, and TECNO's AI feels like a pretty mature offering. Accessing the settings for TECNO AI feels very comparable to Galaxy AI on a Samsung phone, and many features are quite similar.

Going back to the idea of easy access, TECNO has implemented an Action Button of sorts called the One-Tap Button. Interestingly, tapping it once doesn't actually do anything, but you can customize the double-tap to open any app or perform certain functions like muting the ringer.

A long press of the button will evoke the Ella assistant, which is a nice alternative to using the power button, something that other Android OEMs (looking at you, Samsung) have defaulted to. I love the added functionality of the button, and I hope to see something more like this on other Android phones.

AI also makes its way into the camera, and the 50MP triple camera system is surprisingly good. TECNO has tuned the camera so that it can take better images in low-light conditions and also better reproduce more skin tones. In my experience, I've been able to take plenty of respectable photos. It's not the best, but it's quite good for this price range, and I doubt anyone would be disappointed in the camera.

I love that the Camon 40 Premier has a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, something I feel is still pretty uncommon at this price point. It does well during the day, with photos taken at 6x coming out pretty crisp, although the sensor struggles a bit at night.

You can also take images at a moment's notice with FlashSnap, which can capture photos with a very high shutter speed while keeping the image crisp with reduced noise. So not only can it keep you from missing a moment, but it can also capture moments automatically based on the scene, which is pretty useful.

Image 1 of 10

Finally, you'll be happy to know that battery life is superb. The 5,100mAh battery keeps the phone going all day, and I've been able to average about 7 hours or more of screen-on time. The 70W charging can also top up the phone in no time at all, with the phone going from 1-100% in just over 30 minutes. Take that, Samsung!

TECNO Camon 40 Premier: What I don't like

The TECNO Camon 40 Premier is a pretty solid phone, thanks to its IP68 and IP69 water and dust resistance ratings. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel as solid as it is. The back panel, which has a fairly uninspired design despite the brightly colored green, feels pretty cheap in hand. I often just stick to the included case, which is much grippier and still features the same color.

I also found myself a bit put off by the amount of bloatware on the phone after setting it up. You'll likely spend quite a bit of time uninstalling various apps you may or may not have heard of or just don't want on your phone.

And speaking of things you may not want on your phone, TECNO's AI is mostly pretty well-rounded, but Ella feels like a lesser version of Gemini. Don't get me wrong, I think it's commendable that Ella even exists, as one of the biggest benefits of using Ella over other assistants is that it uses more local languages for better accessibility among developing and developed regions.

That said, despite Ella being integrated with Gemini, it just feels slower and doesn't display information in the same coherent way I would get with Gemini. For example, I asked Ella and Gemini about measles symptoms and if I should be concerned about contracting it due to the recent outbreak. Ella slowly spat out the information at me while Gemini relayed the information in a very clean manner, even creating clear lists within the app.

Also, TECNO has decided to integrate DeepSeek R1 into Ella, which is a curious decision. As a Chinese-based company, it makes sense to use the newest AI model, especially after it recently went pretty viral. However, given the privacy concerns, anyone outside of China may want to refrain from using it.

Fortunately, TECNO lets you choose when to use DeepSeek R1. When opening Ella, there's a very prominent DeepSeek R1 button that you can press to toggle the model on or off. It's nice that the option is there, even if I don't plan to use it.

Even better, you still have the option to use Gemini instead of Ella if you prefer. Unfortunately, that doesn't apply to the Ella One-Tap Button shortcut, but you can still set Gemini as the double-tap option to open the app (although it doesn't automatically enable voice input).

A more minor issue I have with the TECNO Camon 40 Premier is the lack of wireless charging. It's not a particularly big deal, as wireless charging is still not commonly found on midrange phones. Plus, the 70W charging more than makes up for its absence, but it is always nice to have the option.

Lastly, the in-display fingerprint sensor works quickly, but like the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 and Honor 200 Pro it's just way too low on the display, making it a bit awkward to use unless you're holding the phone in a specific way. Not a deal breaker, but definitely an annoyance.

TECNO Camon 40 Premier: Competition

For a phone at this price point, there are a number of similarly-priced cheap Android phones. The Pixel 9a is still very much new and only $499 despite its flagship-level Tensor G4 chipset. It is capable of many of the same AI features as the flagship Pixel 9 series, just at a fraction of the cost. That said, its hardware specs aren't nearly as robust, with slower charging, less RAM, and a lower refresh rate display. Plus, as of writing, the phone isn't on store shelves yet after it was delayed.

The Moto G Power 2025 is another contender in a similar price bracket as the Camon 40 Premier. It offers great value for the price and is a beautifully designed phone that features a vegan leather finish, great battery life, wireless charging, and an IP68/69 rating for protection. However, it has a less impressive MediaTek chip and is lacking int he AI department, making this a much less exciting phone than the Camon.

TECNO Camon 40 Premier: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if...

• You're looking for an affordable phone.
• You want a phone with fast charging.
• You want a good camera that can quickly capture moments.

You shouldn't buy this if...

• You live in North America.
• You need wireless charging.
• You don't want to deal with bloatware.

The Camon 40 Premier 5G is feels like it's TECNO's version of a Pixel. It's a fantastic midrange phone that has all the makings of a good flagship. The MediaTek chip is more than enough for what the phone is trying to accomplish, and the AI suite feels very comprehensive, even if some of its implementation could be improved.

Despite the lack of wireless charging and questionable choices with fingerprint sensor placement and selection of AI models, battery life and great camera quality make up for any shortcomings the phone may have, of which there are few. And while it's not sold in North America, the TECNO Camon 40 Premier 5G is a phone you should consider buying if it's in your market.