Move over Samsung, new phone rival has massive battery capacity – and I want one

I always find the annual Mobile World Congress show – MWC 2024 as it naturally is called this year – to be a fascinating melting pot of the new, the weird and the wonderful. Unlike major brand launches, which can be rather predictable year on year (when you've been doing this as long as I have anyway), this show gives access to lesser-known brands, including newcomer Tecno. 

In addition to showing off its original rolling phone concept, the Phantom Ultimate, as revealed last year, MWC 2024 was the launch platform for the mega-battery-toting Tecno Pova 6 Pro – with its 6,000mAh cell one of the largest I've ever seen specified in a phone. 

Indeed, that's a full 20% more capacity than you'll find in the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, for example, which ought to go some way in offsetting users' number one bugbear: longevity per charge. Not that I'm saying Samsung can't accommodate larger capacities: in its non-flagship F series there are also 6000mAh models available. 

The Pova 6 Pro comes with fast charging for quick top-ups, too, at 70W – not the fastest ever, mind, as it was at the last MWC when Xiaomi revealed a (frankly absurd) 300W charging accomplishment. Samsung, on the other hand, has been notably cautious about boosting its speedy charging technology, leaning to side of caution these days. 

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Stylistically, the above photos make clear that Tecno is a brand that wants to shout "futuristic" from the rooftops. But I rather like the Bladerunner-esque visuals (or maybe more The Fifth Element?), and the Pova 6 Pro looks smart in its Comet Green and Meteorite Grey finishes. It's a distinctive look, not alien to many of the best gaming phones these days.

Interestingly that fast-charging technology is able to withstand extreme temperatures too. The "-20°C Extreme Cold Charging ... ensures charging efficiency even when it’s well below freezing," reads Tecno's official press release. Not that you'll often find me camping in the mountains. At the other end of extremes it's fine up to 60°C too, so able to withstand desert heat too. I'm already predicting Tecno's target markets for this phone. 

Elsewhere the Pova 6 Pro brings together a 6.78in AMOLED display (with 120Hz refresh), MediaTek Dimensity 6080 processor (we're increasingly seeing more of MediaTek breaking through – including in the upcoming Nothing Phone (2a)), and 108MP main camera in among its triplet of rear lenses. 

I look forward to seeing the Tecno Pova 6 Pro in person, albeit looking altogether less futuristic than the phone and promotional images (unless being old counts?), as part of MWC's most notable reveals. Whether it'll ever go on sale in wider regions, such as the UK/EU, isn't yet known – so this big-battery phone could be one you may never get to buy...