The TECNO Phantom X is here and by now you must have already seen dozens of endorsement clips from the Chinese brand on its new ‘flagship’ smartphone described as the first of its kind. While the phone might look impressive, there is no doubt that Kenyans have been curious about how reliable it actually is when it comes to performance. This is especially clear to tech-savvy individuals including myself who’ve had multiple people asking about the device. So, what better way to know all this in theory other than by comparing it to a potential rival, Samsung Galaxy A72?

For a phone that currently retails for KES 49,999, it certainly wouldn’t be fair to place head-to-head with a traditional flagship device from another brand. The Galaxy A72 that retails between KES 49,000-KES 54,000 (based on storage/RAM variants) turns out to be the perfect nemesis. So, who outshines who and in what exactly?

Specifications

The best way to first start the battle would certainly be through on-paper specifications:

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Design & Display

Image courtesy TECNO Mobile

When it comes to the general look, there is no doubt that TECNO certainly outdid themselves all in a bid to up their game and stretch their range of devices a bit with the Phantom X. While the Galaxy A72 doesn’t look as hot as its opponent, one can really understand why the manufacturer chose to go for the simple look. The South Korean brand has a huge array of devices and the A72 is an effort by Samsung to occupy the mid-range spectrum. So, it might not be built to serve the looks but it definitely is there to appease consumers who do not go past this particular price range.

Just by looking at it, the Phantom X’s display looks pleasing with the new curved edges that have been associated with flagship devices for years. That is not to say that the brand that has dominated for years when it comes to screens didn’t build a display good enough for the Galaxy A72. They may both be quite similar but the nerds will certainly look deeper to see how exactly the devices live up to the 90Hz, Super AMOLED screens.

Samsung Galaxy A72. Image courtesy Techobig

Software & Performance

We might not have been lucky enough to physically test both these devices, but on-paper details absolutely have a lot to say. A Mediatek Helio G95 chipset would by no means be able to directly compete with a Snapdragon 720 G processor.

The Phantom X offers 256GB of internal storage space alongside 8GB of memory which is pretty much the same as that of Galaxy A72.

Image courtesy TECNO

Both devices might be running Android 11 but the brands’ proprietary skins contribute a lot to the comparison. TECNO’s HIOS isn’t especially popular for its clean aesthetic or flawless flow. Samsung’s OneUI may not the best of the rest but there definitely have been upgrades made to the software with every yearly update. This is particularly evident through the brand’s flagship smartphones that get to utilise the high refresh rates impressively.

So if you were to ask me what software to go for, I would certainly not hesitate to go OneUI’s way.

Cameras & Battery Life

It would be absolutely unfair to compare the camera quality by just looking at the specs list. This is mostly based on the many scenarios where we’ve seen smaller camera modules perform way better than bigger modules. The Galaxy A72 promises a range of lenses including the 5MP macro lens that professionals can use for close shots. Nevertheless, the Phantom X also offers a range of lenses including the 13Mp telephoto lens.

Selfie addicts who want to take wide shots would also be pleased by the Phantom X that packs an extra 8MP ultrawide front-facing lens.

Additionally, the 4700mAh battery on the TECNO Phantom X would also offer plenty of time on the device that seems to demand lots of power. The Galaxy A72 brings in a huge 5000mAh power brick that would pretty much be more than enough as a daily driver.

Verdict

From the specs list alone, you can see a lot of similarities between the TECNO Phantom X and the Samsung Galaxy A72. But it quite clear that the few differences would draw lots of people to either side. If you just prefer a cool design on a mid-range device, then the Phantom X would lure you. But if you really want to go for raw reliable performance on top of a sleek minimal look, then your KES 50k would be rather spent on the Galaxy A72.