TECNO Camon 12 lineup for 2019 looks overwhelmingly crowded. The threesome aims to serve different market segments but their price difference just creates a whole lot of confusion on which device to settle for.

At the peak, we have the TECNO Camon 12 Pro, which is believed to be just another Phantom 9 clad in the Camon attire, this is followed by the standard Camon 12, which presumably should be the one to buy since ideally should meet all the necessary requirement and then there’s the Camon 12 Air which is the lite version for those who want a budget device with “premium” branding.

In this comparison, we pit the three siblings against each other to understand which device is for who and whether any of them is actually worth a buy but first, the specification differences (the differences are in bold):

Start off your week with tech news recap and trending conversations in your inbox

Enter valid email-id

Subscribe

I prefer it on Telegram

	TECNO Camon 12 Air	TECNO Camon 12	TECNO Camon 12 Pro
Display	6.55" 720P	6.52" 720P	6.4" AMOLED 720P
Software	Android 9.0 Pie	Android 9.0 Pie	Android 9.0 Pie
Network	4G	4G	4G
Processor	Quad-core	Octa-core	Octa-core
RAM	3GB	4GB	6GB
Internal Storage	32GB	64GB	64GB
Main Camera	Triple 16MP + 2MP + 5MP	Triple 16MP + 2MP + 8MP	Triple 16MP + 2MP + 8MP
Selfie Camera	16MP	16MP	16MP
Battery	4000mAh	4000mAh	3500mAh
Price	Kes.13,500	Kes.15,000	Kes.19,500

The Better Phone To Buy

It’s obvious that the best phone to buy from the trio is the high-end one, the Camon 12 Pro. Not only is the device packed with better specifications that the rest of the lineup, but its list of features gets close to what we got on the TECNO Phantom 9 (without the bugs).

The Camon 12 Pro has an AMOLED display, where the rest get LCDs. There’s an in-display fingerprint scanner for the cool-factor, the cameras hold up great and it maintains a similar design across the board.

Oh, did I mention that there’s 6GB RAM like a proper flagship? The processor is also quite capable, actually the only real let down with the Camon 12 Pro is the 64GB storage that’s more amateur than professional as the name suggests.

All things considered, spending your money on the Camon 12 Pro will probably make you happier than any of the other devices in the lineup.

If You Fancy Premium-Looking Phones, Get This One

The irony of having the best-designed display on the cheapest phone in the Camon 12 series did not go unnoticed. The Camon 12 Air has a punch-hole display or as TECNO calls it, Dot-in display.

The display might not be as crisp as the one on the Camon 12 Air but it sure does stand out from the pack of waterdrop notches that make it hard to tell devices apart.

With that punch-hole, the phone looks a lot more premium than it really is. Top that up with a low price and you have a recipe for a budget phone to outsell the competition.

The rest of the device is just okay, despite having 3GB of RAM, the Camon 12 Air struggles a bit in performance, however, the battery life is superb. The camera is also slightly inferior compared to the rest but those thousands you save have to count for something.

So which one should you buy?

The decision is far much easier than we started out. Yes, there are three phones but you may have noticed that the middle-child has been lost in between. That’s not by chance, but the TECNO Camon 12 just isn’t that much of a good phone.

It does strike a good balance between the high-end device and the budget option but that is the cause of the problem. See, in its efforts to stay balanced, the Camon 12 misses a lot of points. There’s nothing unique or outstanding about it – it’s just there like a poorly caption thirst-trap selfie.

If you’ve got the money and you don’t mind going for the best in the lineup, just buy the Camon 12 Pro, don’t even think about it. But, if you are on a slightly tight budget and don’t wish to spend that much on a phone, get the Camon 12 Air and enjoy the attention of everyone thinking you have a really expensive phone.