Review of inexpensive smartphone CAMON 12 Air

As mentioned earlier, the equipment is really good. And this once again confirms that the comments of independent buyers are the best censor of advertising from different equipment manufacturers. In the glossy box of CAMON 12 Air you can find:

• microUSB cable
• wired headphones;
• Silicone Case;
• Power Supply;
• protective glass on the display;
• warranty card;
• clear instructions.

It’s worth mentioning right away that a medium-quality headset will not work for music lovers, but it’s nice to have one. In any case, you will be able to communicate, and also pleases the presence of a button for receiving calls. As for the cover, this is a definite plus. Few premium models have such a dense silicone bumper that fits perfectly on the phone. The cover is ribbed, pleasant to the touch. Well, I would like to add that there are stubs for microUSB and a 3.5 mm jack.

Assessing the appearance of equipment is not my favorite pastime. You understand that this is the subjective opinion of everyone. In my opinion, the glossy case looks quite stylish and bright: shimmers, glitters. The case does not spoil the appearance of the model at all. I suppose it’s worth saying that the device has an ergonomic design, it’s convenient to hold in your hand. The front of the smartphone is no different from most analogues: a cutout for the camera in the form of a hole, there are practically no frames. But there is one chip, though not remarkable - these are two front flashes, the zones of which are easily visible when the diodes are on.

What I didn’t like was the tray for 2 Sim cards. Personally, it seemed to me that this is a weak spot, it looks fragile. But there is another slot for a memory card, which, for example, Xiaomi smartphones are deprived of. When buying one of them, for me it was a real disappointment, because I use two SIM cards, and somehow I don’t want to sacrifice one place for a memory card.

At the back you can find a modest-sized module of three cameras and a large flash.

In general, the design is 4+, given the price and appearance of the model.

Let's start with the fact that the resolution of the 6.55-inch display is 720 by 1600 pixels with an aspect ratio of 20 by 9.Of course, not the flagship detailing, but it’s worth remembering how much this phone costs and the lack of grain, brightness and a good viewing angle immediately turn into the advantages of the screen. Add to this the presence of anti-glare properties. Regarding color gamut, the indicators are as close as possible to sRGB, but, as it seemed to me, cold shades prevail. However, these are trifles. It is more important that this smartphone has an excellent sensor: it does not freeze, it also did not find any mislations.

Honestly, I am fully satisfied with the quality of the screen after testing in various applications. Looking at the brightness characteristics, I expected a less rosy result. At the same time, the display is large, has optimal dynamic contrast and a decent oleophobic coating. If you forget for a second that the phone costs around 9000 rubles, then the only disadvantage is the high color temperature and low resolution.

Is there much to say about the power of a budget smartphone worth up to 10 thousand rubles? The model is based on the MediaTek Helio A22 processor with 4 cores, the frequency of which is 2.0 GHz. As in the case of TECNO POP 2S, there is enough performance to open several simple applications and surf the Internet quietly. Naturally, this is not a gaming smartphone and it will not pull 3D games, you can not talk about this, but just in case. Scrolling the content displayed in the browser is not accompanied by freezes, twitching of the picture - the state employee copes well with its tasks. For interest, we decided to check the power indicators in the Antutu test, but the phone could not be found in the benchmark database. A similar story was with the previous model, which came to our review. The resource gives a different name for the smartphone. It is worth adding that the model is not very hot. Last time I was convinced that the company does not save on thermal grease.

And since we are talking about the shell, then initially it installed various third-party applications, most of which, fortunately, can be deleted using standard smartphone tools. Among them are Yandex.Browser, Yandex, Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook, search lines from Google and Yandex, etc., but additional app stores and various proprietary software do not want to leave the firmware.

The operating system uses Android 9 with a proprietary HIOS V5.5 shell. After the first launch, you will find the presence of an extensive assortment of third-party applications. Fortunately, they can be removed using standard tools implemented in the CAMON 12 Air smartphone. It will not be possible to get rid of unless from proprietary software and additional application stores. The interface may also seem unusual for users of other Android smartphones. But you can figure it out in minutes:

• swipe to the left of the main screen - these are widgets;
• swipe down - a menu with applications where everything is sorted and ordered.

The downside is that the firmware includes a lot of advertising, but most of it can be turned off. Widgets are not too customizable. And the manufacturer did everything to meet the needs of his target audience.

The HiOS shell has a lot of useful functions, including gesture control, displaying the speed of Internet connection. You can hide the drop-shaped cut-out of the selfie camera by adding a black strip - not useful, but interesting, in my opinion. It can be seen that the company is developing and trying to delight users with interesting buns. As for the set of sensors, everything is classic here:

1. Gyroscope;
2. Magnetometer;
3. Support USB OTG.

There is no NFC for contactless payments, which, in fact, is not surprising. This is a smartphone for those people who want maximum with a minimum of investment. There is a fingerprint scanner that works in less than half a second.

Battery is definitely the strong point of the TECNO CAMON 12 Air smartphone. The battery capacity is 4000 mAh, which is enough for 2-3 days of intensive use.However, given that the maximum screen brightness is 150 cd / m², and the chip is inferior in power to the Snapdragon 430, it is not surprising that this smartphone can work up to 400 hours in standby mode. I charged it only 40%, and with Wi-Fi turned on, I left it in the nightstands for 3 days. After that, I found another 13% of the charge. In addition, such a high battery life is due to optimized firmware. The balance is excellent, so you can safely set the battery to 5. Therefore, this parameter perfectly answers the question of who the smartphone might suit. A practical and energy-efficient device is not intended for you to flaunt your friends, but to have the opportunity to constantly be in touch without worrying that the battery will be discharged at the most inopportune moment.

In total, the main camera includes three sensors at 16, 2 and 5 megapixels. Aperture of the main f / 1.8 module, supplemented by 4 flashes with a brightness of 150 lux. The lighting distance in this case reaches 1 meter. Given that this is an inexpensive smartphone, we decided to confine ourselves to banal test schemes: we checked under poor artificial lighting at home, in the afternoon on the street, recorded twilight and bright flowers.

With daytime shooting, of course, no problem. And even if you look at the computer - the photos are well detailed. At dusk in natural light, everything is also good ... Of course, it feels like there is not enough aperture, but you see the photos yourself. But with artificial lighting, everything is worse. However, here even smartphones of thousands for 30-40 do a poor job well, and our "handsome" in the world of the budget segment is all the more an exception. The photos are bad, but this is not surprising. Only flagships can shoot such scenes, in my subjective opinion. In general, the camera is worthy of its price, for 9000 rubles you get not embarrassing pictures that can compete with smartphones up to 20 thousand (with the exception of Redmi note 7, 8 Pro and a number of other analogues).

I won’t say much, for 9 thousand you get a phone right away with a case, a film and headphones with autonomy of several days, a normal camera and a modern design (with gradient color) that even looks fresh and stylish at the flagship level. The speaker is average, the sound is not clear, at maximum, if you listen, it wheezes, the sound is not obvious for music lovers, if you listen to music it is not higher than 80% of the volume, but the total volume is very high, do not miss a call or alarm clock.

Give the phone to your grandmother, child or mother, and they will tell you: “damn, what a cool one”, probably it costs a lot ... Seriously, this is the third smartphone from this company and we give it to relatives, and first believe the question, what is it for the company, it’s probably Chinese and weak, and it will break, and after a couple of days satisfied relatives say that it’s a good camera and a convenient device. Nothing freezes and works for a long time without charging. Young people like me and many of our readers, of course, will say: "cheap and weak." And even if they don’t play, they often buy gaming flagships in order to just stay in trend.

This is a smartphone that will work out every penny and the owner will not feel absolutely any discomfort with it. For a reasonable price, you get a device that definitely will not cause you disappointment. With a clear conscience, starting from the price tag, we recommend this unit! And for fans of used smartphones for this money, we remind you that smartphones on Android do not usually live longer than 2-3 years. In the designated budget you will find a new one, either dead or old, and you have a large number of problems with it, 100% will appear. It is better to buy a new smartphone, although not a well-known company, but you can forget about the problems. In addition, you will know that he will work for at least a couple of years!