Recently, TECNO launched the CAMON 50 Ultra in the Philippines, a mid-range phone that promises photography capabilities that can rival flagship (or near-flagship) phones.
Even though we’re not even halfway through 2026, we’ve already seen plenty of interesting smartphone releases, especially in the competitive mid-range segment. Among these is the CAMON 50 Ultra, a phone that, based on its specs, should be a great camera phone. This is thanks to the fact that it has a Sony LYT-700C 50MP main shooter, as well as a 50MP 3x telephoto camera. Yes, this phone has a dedicated telephoto shooter – a rarity in the mid-range segment. Typically, you’ll need to go to the upper mid-range or flagship segment to get a phone with a telephoto camera.
Along with the great cameras on paper, the CAMON 50 Ultra is also a promising daily driver when it comes to performance and battery life, thanks to its Mediatek Dimensity 7400 Ultimate chipset and 6,500mAh battery, respectively. Plus, it has a large 6.78-inch screen with a high resolution and a fast 144Hz refresh rate, not to mention an eye-catching design.
The phone is no doubt great on paper, but does it hold up in actual use? We tested it out, and here’s what we think.
Geek-sthetic
Before getting into its cameras and performance, let’s first look at the phone’s design. The unit that we got to test out was in the Misty Purple colorway, which looks great in photos and in person. While its color does have a certain pop to it, the CAMON 50 Ultra’s minimal branding balances that out, making for an elegant-looking phone. In that regard, the CAMON 50 Ultra looks more like a premium mid-ranger or a flagship, which is impressive given that its base model is priced at just below PHP 20k.
In-hand feel is also great, as the phone is slim and easy to hold. Even though it has curved edges, you should still get a solid grip, though it can be a bit slippery at times.
Speaking of caseless, we recommend using a case with this phone, but not just because it’ll keep the phone protected better, but because you get a better grip with it on. There’s also the fact that the CAMON 50 Ultra comes with a free case that’s a step above your typical smartphone freebie.
Most phones that have an included case only come with a basic clear case. This is fine for protection, but clear cases tend to turn yellow over time. For the CAMON 50 Ultra though, TECNO went with a case that has a matching color, as well as a unique printed back design. This design is reminiscent of a monogrammed luxury bag, though the design is quite subtle, as it only appears when you look at it from certain angles.
Moving to the front, you’ll see the phone’s large 6.78-inch screen. As mentioned above, this display has curved edges, though it should be sturdy as it’s protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i. Combining this with the slim top and bottom bezels, you get a phone that has an all-screen front, which should be great for games and movies/shows.
Overall, the CAMON 50 Ultra is quite a pretty phone that shouldn’t disappoint users who also prioritize design when it comes to choosing a new daily driver.
Binge-Watching Factor
For its display, TECNO packed the CAMON 50 Ultra with a 6.78-inch screen with a 1208 x 2644 resolution. It also has an AMOLED panel. Because of this, watching movies and shows is great on this phone, as it has a vibrant color output with deep blacks. Brightness is also good, as you can comfortably watch videos in bright rooms and outdoors (so long as it’s not under direct sunlight, but even then, you can still see the screen).
As for audio, the CAMON 50 Ultra has a stereo speaker setup with Dolby Atmos. In terms of quality, the audio sounds pretty good, even at max settings, though the low end doesn’t extend as much as speakers in actual flagship phones. Still, you can get a good experience when watching videos without headphones, though we still recommend getting wireless headphones or external speakers for the best binge-watching experience (this phone doesn’t have a headphone jack).
What we did notice was that the bottom speaker can be noticeably louder than the left speaker when playing audio. This is fairly common for most phones, though it is a bit more noticeable with the CAMON 50 Ultra. Thankfully, it shouldn’t be a big issue for most users.
Gaming Performance
The CAMON 50 Ultra is powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 7400 Ultimate SoC paired with up to 12GB of RAM, though the model we got to test was the 8GB variant, which is the most affordable version. For gaming, 8GB of RAM should be fine, at least for popular MOBAs and FPS titles. As such, we were curious to see how well it could run more demanding games.
For starters, popular multiplayer titles ran well at higher settings on this phone, as we expected. Honor of Kings, for instance, ran smoothly at High, and you can even crank up the graphics settings a bit more, though we preferred sticking to High (especially if you’re playing during the sweltering Philippine summer). Multiplayer shooters also run well on the phone, whether it’s battle royales like PUBG Mobile or FPSes like Call of Duty Mobile.
As for more demanding games, the CAMON 50 Ultra still has enough power to run them. For instance, The Division Resurgence ran smoothly on the Medium graphics setting and at the Medium framerate. Other games like Wuthering Waves and Genshin Impact also run well, though you’ll need to turn down the graphics to low, especially if you’re playing for longer.
Geek Photoshoot Capabilities
While the phone has four cameras on the back, it’s not clear what the small one is on the side. So, we’re exploring the three main cameras, including the 50MP Sony LYT-700C main, the 50MP 3x telephoto, and the 8MP ultrawide. Plus, we tested the 50MP front camera to see if it does well in selfies.
To start, the phone’s main camera does not disappoint when it comes to daytime photography. Images taken outdoors in daytime are great, as they have good colors and retain plenty of detail. While colors are a bit on the more vibrant side, they should still look fairly natural overall.
At night, images are also quite good, especially when you use the dedicated Night Mode. While this mode punches up the vibrancy, the results are still good overall, given the better quality and brighter image that you get. So, the Sony camera that TECNO is touting lives up to the hype.
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What about the telephoto shooter? Well, the CAMON 50 Ultra’s second camera is great, not only at 3x zoom, but also at 10x zoom (at least in daytime). Shots taken outdoors are detailed and sharp, even at 10x, though this is thanks to some processing tricks. At night, 3x zoom shots still look pretty good, though you may want to stick with this zoom level at night, as if you zoom in more, you’ll get a fuzzier and noisier image. Still, for a sub-20k phone (for the base variant), the fact that it has a reliable telephoto shooter is great.
As for the 8MP ultrawide, images are fine for daytime, albeit the images are a bit on the softer side. At night, the images aren’t the best, but they’re not that bad, as the results in this case are as you’d expect for an ultrawide in the phone’s price class.
Selfies are pretty good though, as you can get good photos with the selfie shooter even at night. We also liked the wider angle that you get, which means you can fit in more people (and more of the background) in your selfies.
Also worth noting is the phone’s array of AI and creative shooting features. For instance, there’s a Traffic Flow option (along with other long exposure modes) that gives you some creative results. The phone also has some AI filters that transform your photos into various styles. While these AI options aren’t for everyone, they can be nice to have for users who like experimenting with them.
Everyday Reliability
As the phone performed well in gaming, it makes sense that the CAMON 50 Ultra also does well as a productivity and daily use partner. Whether it’s light photo/video editing, social media, or office apps, this new TECNO phone should have no issues. Plus, the 8GB RAM variant held up pretty well, even when there are many apps open in the background. Of course, if you use your phone quite heavily, it may be worth splurging on the 12GB RAM variant.
All configurations of this phone come with an extra “One-Tap Button” on the left side. This is an extra button that launches the phone’s AI assistant, Ella, by default. As Ella isn’t as “smart” as more advanced AI services, we didn’t use it much. So, it’s great that the extra button can be configured to open other apps. In the settings, you can configure it to open an app of your choice with a single tap or with a long press.
Finally, the battery life of the phone doesn’t disappoint. The large 6,500mAh battery means the phone can easily last for a day on a single charge. If you’re not using the phone heavily, 1-and-a-half on a single charge is doable.
For charging, the phone has a 45W wired fast charger. This might not be the fastest charging tech in the segment, but it still gets the job done, as you don’t need to wait too long for it to reach 100%.
Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict
The TECNO CAMON 50 Ultra had a lot of hype behind it when it was launched in the country. After testing it out, we can say that the phone does deliver on its promise.
This new mid-ranger has great cameras (including a dedicated telephoto shooter), a nice display, and an eye-catching design. These are further complemented by pretty good performance and long battery life. As such, the CAMON 50 Ultra is a worthy mid-range phone to consider, especially if your priority is good photography capabilities.
TECNO CAMON 50 Ultra specs:
- 6.78-inch (1208 x 2644 resolution) AMOLED display, 144Hz refresh rate
- Mediatek Dimensity 7400 Ultimate processor
- Mali-G615 MC2 GPU
- 8/12GB RAM
- 256/512GB storage
- Rear cameras: 50MP main camera + 50MP 3x telephoto + 8MP ultrawide
- Front camera: 50MP
- 5G, LTE, Dual SIM, eSIM
- Under-display Fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port
- IP68/IP69K dust and water resistance
- 6,500mAh battery with 45W wired Fast charging
- Android 16 with HIOS 16
- Price:
- 8GB/256GB – PHP 19,999
- 12GB/256GB – PHP 21,999
- 12GB/512GB – PHP 25,999