I can’t decide if Tecno’s Pova 6 Pro gaming phone is gaudy or great

I saw a lot of phones at this year’s Mobile world Congress show – but none of ’em were quite as head turning as the Tecno Pova 6 Pro. This emerald green metallic slab of a mid-range smartphone demands your attention with Gundam-style graphics and an LED light show, which all but shout “I’M GREAT FOR GAMING”.

It’s the latest in Tecno’s affordable yet potent Pova series, which is destined for Asian and Middle Eastern markets later this year. Tecno phones aren’t a common sight in the UK, so I was intrigued to try it out. I walked away impressed with how much handset you get for your cash – but not entirely convinced I could rock such a bling-tastic blower in public.

Officially called Comet Green, the Pova 6 Pro’s super-reflective rear panel and matching metal-effect frame are even more distinctive than the polarising ROG Phones of old, before Asus decided to smarten up on the styling front. Then there’s the three-lens camera array, which lights up in a bunch of different animations. It only uses white LEDs, which I thought was actually quite reserved; RGB would’ve been properly OTT.

There’s also a Meteorite Grey version which is a teensy bit subtler – but is still equally reflective and has the same dynamic animations around the camera bump. This isn’t the phone for shrinking violets. I also thought it was a bit of a fingerprint magnet, picking up plenty of smudges during my short demo session.

It’s a hefty thing, on account of the sizable 6.78in screen and 6000mAh battery. Short of rugged rivals with ridiculously oversized cells, that’s about as big as you can hope for from a mainstream mobile. Expect more than 11 hours of gaming, 14 hours of video playback, or 1.5 days of typical mixed use between charges, and speedy top-ups courtesy of a 70W power brick included in the box.

I thought it was impressively thin, given the battery capacity, at a hair less than 7.9mm thick everywhere apart from the protruding camera lenses. IP53 dust and water resistance is nice to have in such an affordable model, too.

Up front you get an AMOLED display with 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 1300 nits peak brightness. There’s an in-display fingerprint sensor for security, and a 3.5mm headphone port at the bottom edge in case the Atmos-approved stereo speakers aren’t cutting it.

On the rear, those three rear cameras are headlined by a 108MP main snapper; the other two are merely there to provide assistance for things like portrait modes. There’s also a 32MP selfie cam up front, punched through the display.

Underneath, the Pova 6 Pro is packing a MediaTek Dimensity 6080 , with either 8GB or 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. That’s a 5G-ready chipset, and one that should be perfectly potent enough for most 3D games, albeit at sensible detail settings. It’s running Android 14, with Tecno’s HiOS interface sat on top.

The Pova 6 Pro is heading to Techno’s usual markets first, including India, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. Other territories may follow later down the line.

Pricing is still a bit of an unknown right now, but I’m expecting the 8GB/256GB model to kick off around the equivalent of $250/£230. There’ll also be a 12GB/256GB model for a little extra cash.

• Related: Tecno Phantom V Flip takes on the clamshell competition