Looking at the TECNO Spark 3 Vs TECNO Spark 2 comparison brings out a touch of two big budget-friendly releases unveiled at different moments in time. The Spark 2 being he first entrant to the market than the Spark 3, Its features cant be neglected in a first moving lane that now has foldable releases and multi-camera devices on the market. But then, how about the Spark 3 is it a reliable upgrade beating the predecessor by a good margin, let’s find out!
If you’re to bring the TECNO spark 2 and Spark 3 closer on the same desk, you might think these are two different manufacturer devices cruising with close to the same size.
In fact, the Spark 3 ships a lot more modifications to its model to a point that it’s just a Spark 2 dressed with a top-notch, solid gradient back plate a tale of dual cameras to its back. Additionally, the operating system difference between these two releases is highly notable with performance and AI tweaks taking shape on the May 2019 release.
From the blue corner, believe it or not, the Spark 2 still poses a good competitive craze to its successor amidst the design and performance stunts. This is because the Spark 3 uses the same chipset MEDIATEK MT6580WP as the Spark 2 in addition to sharing the same Internal Storage size. However, the Spark 3 Pro version doesn’t fit in this comparison league since its a notch higher than the initial Spark 3 and has a bunch of features beyond the Spark 2.
Spark 3 Vs Spark 2 Perfomance test
We received a Tecno Spark 3 review unit from TECNO Mobile Uganda a few weeks back, had fair unboxing impressions feel of it and luckily we also bumped into a months old TECNO Spark 2.
On comparing the response times to the performance modes of the two phones, you can easily fail to notice which is the newer version of the other since the performance is almost the same with the Spark 2 taking advantage of having a faster-operating system of Android 9 pie. Except for the operating system upgrade that gives the Spark 3 a boost ahead, we think the smartphones are on the same level as per our experience with the Spark lineage duo.
Both the Spark 3 and Spark 2 ship on-screen navigation buttons easily accessible by flipping a figure from the bottom non-touch screen. However, the Spark 3 ships an in-screen accessibility widget as an added advantage to utilizing more phone features in a flip of a button. Think of the feature as an assistive touch pod but with more features to its menu.
Camera perfomance
The Spark 3 ships a dual rear camera threat (13Mp+2MP)to its back and the Spark 2 has a single wide-angle lens(13MP) filled with zoom capabilities to its rear end. TO the front, both phones have a single selfie camera powered by a soft LED flash as the camera modes are totally different for the two phones.
The Spark 3 ships AI and quick editing tools to its camera view finder as the Spark 2 has minimal shooting options available on the other hand. So, the Spark 3 produces more quality rear taken pictures as the two phones have close to the same quality for selfie shots since the two carry 8MP front cameras.
Spark 3 vs Spark 2: The Differences against the device similarities
By first Impressions, the TECNO Spark 3 appears like a bidget friendly iPhone X without powering on the screen. Though the story changes when you realise its yet another mid range release powered by Android 9, the Spark 2 doesn’t hide its mid range looks making it a straight forward budget friendly entrant compared to its successor dressed in a top tier fashion.
To the design, both smartphones pose a 6.0-inch screen with the Spark 2 only missing a top-notch display to match its successor screen wise. The Spark 3 charging and headphone jack sit on alternate sides with the fire port occupying the bottom craze and its listening drother taking the top igniting signs that TECNO Mobile is planning to trash headphone jacks just like the high-end warners.
New Charging/headphone Jack design
On the other hand, the TECNO Spark 2 has its Charging and headphone jacks situated on the same bottom plate with the Smartphone speakers well finishing the design of the centerpiece entrants. Unlike the Spark 3 which ships the external speakers to the back, the Spark 2 has its duo pack sharing sides with the accessibility ports.
Either way, the Spark 3 ships approximately 9 by 9 padding pixels between its Volume and power buttons as the Spark 2 has a single volume button with ends meeting as up and down ignitions. So, TECNO Mobile decided to bring a new design to life in the Spark 3 with different up and low volume buttons in mind for easy navigation. Except for the padding between the navigation buttons, both phones ship them to the same side cutting out the Spark 3 pro that has a SIM cards plate to the opposite lane.
TECNO Spark 3 Vs Spark 3 pro Specifications sheet
| TECNO SPARK 2 | TECNO SPARK 3 |
| Network: 3G | 3G / 4G LTE Support(Pro) |
| Camera: 13MP Rear, 8MP Front | 13MP + 2MP Rear, 8MP Front |
| Storage:16GB Upgradable to 128GB Via Micro SD | 16GB & 32GB(Pro) expandable to 128GB Via Micro SD |
| Memory: 1GB RAM | 2GB RAM and 32GB For the Pro Version |
| Operating System: Android 8.1 | Android 9 Pie |
| Battery: 3500 mAh | 3500 mAh |
| Price: UGX 350,000 | UGX 429,000 and UGX 489,000(Pro) |
The Cost difference
In Uganda, a brand new TENO Spark 2 now costs UGX 350,000 ($90)as the price will go lower than that as future releases pop into play. On the other hand, a TECNO Spark 3 goes for UGX 429,000 ($120) as it’s Pro version retails for UGX 489,000 ($138) closing a margin of 79,000/= between the two devices. So, with a slight margin, an upgrade from the TECNO Spark 2 to its successor can easily pay off?
Our Verdict: Is the TECNO Spark 3 worth to upgrade to?
First of all, the TECNO Spark 3 is simply an upgraded Spark 2 with more RAM, more cameras, a new operating system and elegant looks riding on a top-notch display. So, if you’re a person who loves lighting fast performance riding on the latest operating system available on the market, then upgrading from the TECNO Spark or Spark 2 becomes a must consider move since the predecessor ships Android 8.1 and 1GB RAM to its model line.
Either way, you can sacrifice a difference of UGX 120,000 and have yourself the TECNO Spark 3 pro which is more of a phablet with more upgrades compared to the regular version. Nonetheless, depending on the picture quality of the two light up smartphones and performance, ignoring the upgrade will only cost you the top tier looks of the TECNO Spark 3.