It’s been over two weeks since the Apple iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max hit the shelves. And after daily real-world testing, the hype around the new variable aperture camera is only half the story.

In this iPhone 18 Pro review, we go beyond the spec sheet to test the massive battery life upgrades. More so, the A20 Pro chip’s improved thermal cooling and the game-changing iOS 27 Pro camera controls.

While others are obsessing over the new black titanium and the mechanical six-blade aperture that creates real starbursts, the actual reason your photos will look better is much simpler.

We put the new lens to the test in low light, bright sun, and high-motion video using Cinematic Mode and the new Focus Lock.

Should you upgrade from the iPhone 17 Pro, wait for the rumored spring iPhone 18, or save up for the foldable iPhone Duo?

We’ll help you decide if the iPhone 18 Pro is your GadgetMatch.

I came into ACE Combat 8: Wings of Theve completely blind.

I knew very little about the franchise outside of the fact that it’s a fighter plane game. My entire exposure was limited to a handful of press releases from Bandai Namco and, of course, the noise the pink-haired character made on social media when she was first revealed.

So, I had no idea what to expect when I climbed into the cockpit.

What surprised me most wasn’t the flying. It was everything that happened outside of it.

A surprisingly beautiful presentation

I was floored by the story segments of the game, particularly the visuals and presentation.

A lot of these scenes are presented from a first-person perspective. The characters and environments you interact with are beautifully rendered, and there’s an impressive level of detail to the world around you.

It looks like a AAA game. It just doesn’t move like your typical AAA action game or RPG. That threw me off a bit.

There’s something intentionally different about how ACE Combat 8 presents its story and world. You’re not controlling a character running around a beautifully rendered environment. Instead, you’re mostly observing the world from a grounded first-person perspective before getting back into the cockpit.

It’s an unusual approach, but one I found myself appreciating.

Learning how to fly

The bigger adjustment was actually flying the plane.

I had trouble getting used to the controls and the structure of the missions. I failed the first one quite a few times because I couldn’t fully understand the radar or the environment I was flying in.

It took plenty of getting used to on my part.

Even after a few hours of play, I can’t say I got fully used to it.

The game offers STANDARD and EXPERT control schemes. STANDARD is designed to be more intuitive, while EXPERT gives you more control over the aircraft through traditional roll-and-pitch inputs.

I still had plenty to learn regardless of the control scheme. There’s a lot of information to process at once: your aircraft’s position, altitude, speed, radar, targets, incoming missiles, objectives, and everything happening around you.

It takes time to develop a feel for how everything moves.

Missions aren’t just about shooting everything

The mission structure is quite specific.

You have to do things a certain way in each mission. It’s not just “blast everything in your path.”

That offered a lot of variety and made the game more engaging.

Some missions asked you to maintain a certain altitude to avoid detection. Others demanded expert flying. Some also felt like full-on aerial combat.

Objectives can range from destroying targets and protecting allies to earning a certain number of points, with some missions changing objectives while you’re already in the air.

That keeps the campaign from feeling like a series of identical dogfights.

There’s also a progression system built around different aircraft types, including fighters, attackers, multirole aircraft, and electronic warfare planes. More than 30 aircraft are available, with new planes, upgrades, and special weapons unlocked through the Aircraft Tree.

Your choice of aircraft and weapons can also change how you approach a mission. A fighter makes sense when the skies are packed with enemies, while an attacker can be better suited to ground targets. Multirole aircraft offer a middle ground when you’re unsure what you’ll encounter.

Wingman commands add another layer to combat. You can order your pilots to attack, spread out, provide support, or use their special weapons.

The result is a game that asks you to pay attention to what’s happening instead of simply holding down the trigger.

A story worth sticking with

The story I’ve encountered so far isn’t something to write home about.

Its presentation, however, is engaging enough that I feel a lot of people can easily soldier on to see it through to the end.

The first-person story segments, radio chatter, briefings, and events that unfold during missions give the campaign more personality than simply jumping from one dogfight to another.

There’s clearly a larger conflict unfolding, and the game does a good job of making its missions feel like part of something bigger.

The presentation does a lot of the heavy lifting here.

Is ACE COMBAT 8: Wings of Theve your Play Match?

The campaign has 30 missions that run at around 15 minutes each, give or take. Your mileage, naturally, will vary.

For me, those first few hours took longer because I was still trying to figure out how to move, where to look, and what the game actually wanted me to do.

ACE Combat 8 isn’t immediately intuitive if you’re coming into it completely blind like I did. The game does give you training options for practicing flight controls and special weapons, which can help you get comfortable before throwing yourself into tougher missions.

Once things start clicking, though, the experience becomes quite distinct from the type of game most people gravitate towards.

Overall, ACE Combat 8: Wings of Theve feels like a nice break from the usual games where you control a single character and go through linear levels or an open world.

It’s the perfect palette cleanser.

I didn’t expect to spend my first few hours struggling with radar, movement, altitude, and mission objectives. Those struggles also made the moments when I finally understood what I was supposed to do feel more rewarding.

I’m still not fully comfortable in the cockpit.

I’m also ready for another sortie.

Verdict: Swipe Right.

As of publishing, the POVA 8 Pro launched more than a month ago. And, much like the company’s “Stop At Nothing” ethos, nothing is stopping them from announcing another model.

The special Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition I possess is a living testament that a midrange-grade smartphone, with its exotic yet exquisite aesthetics, can still exist in the 2026 smartphone race track.

Rare, even when bare

From my perspective as a multimedia creative, the very mouthful TECNO POVA 8 Pro Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition is one hell of a great-looking smartphone.

When bare, this supercar-coded smartphone flaunts its striking design in every millimeter.

Looking closely, the pattern reminds me of vent grilles found in modern-day supercars.

Its back design elements slowly reveal their deep red hues, even when hit by the faintest of light.

That pulse line in the middle is reminiscent of an engine valve with a flowing fuel in it.

Even the iconic triangular cutout, ever since its existence on the POVA 7 series, wasn’t forgotten at all.

It might sound like I’m exaggerating but, truth be told, this has got to be one of, if not, the best smartphone designs I have ever seen IRL.

Material-wise, it has a plastic back and frame, making it a complete departure from the full-metal unibody build I’ve personally witnessed in MWC 2026.

I don’t have an issue if this was used to keep overall costs down. However, my huge gripe about this is how its back attracts not just smudges, but even dust almost instantly.

That plastic frame might even scratch and chip when exposed wholly.

I then had a full sigh of relief when I found its bundled case in the box.

This not only gives utmost protection and adds grip when held, it further shows its premium touch with a finish closely resembling carbon fiber.

While I’m more than grateful if TECNO bundled it with a regular clear case to showcase its true beauty, they didn’t stop just there and stepped it up even further.

And with protection mentioned, it’s one less worry that it boasts IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K water and dust resistance ratings.

The Limited Edition ambition

The Tonino Lamborghini partnership doesn’t end there just yet.

From the moment I fired up the phone, it boots up with its Tonino Lamborghini boot animation and immediately shows its stealthy interface.

While Light Mode is activated by default, switching to Dark Mode suits its custom widgets and icons more than ever.

I just wish the icon support was extended to other third-party apps as well. The colorful icons of other apps ruin the overall vibe. This also meant I cannot be fully carefree with my home screen arrangement.

Soft UI rants aside, turning to its right side reveals the POVA branding alongside the usual power and volume buttons.

Notice that extra button? That’s TECNO’s One-Tap Button.

As a refresher, that particular button is placed at the left side and mainly acts as a one-stop AI button. Weirdly, it was situated at the lower right side of the POVA 8 Pro.

And the irony of it all? “One tap” is actually disabled.

While I believe their decision was right in order to avoid accidental triggers, I wish they would have still kept it as an option for users who want it.

Fortunately, double-pressing that button is user-customizable and not restricted to Ella AI or TECNO’s system apps. Even a game can be launched the moment you trigger it.

On my end, I love how it easily doubles as a fast camera shutter button.

Speaking of cameras, remember that triangle camera cutout at its back? It’s where the Alive Matrix Display also sits.

That small circular LED display is both a form and function. Not only it displays current time or timer countdown, it can also show charging percentage, calls and message notifications, even a song visualizer.

Personally, I just love how it displays the signature cursive “L” in the Lamborghini wordmark.

If you’re THAT creative, you can even formulate and draw your own styles.

#NowPlaying: Four Hands, Two Sonatas

One of the hottest K-Dramas right now is none other than Song Kang and Lee Jun-young’s 포핸즈 (po-haen-jeu), or “Four Hands, Two Sonatas“ internationally.

The two piano prodigies grew up in very different backgrounds and had very different upbringings. More so, they share a confusing and undefined relationship.

While it’s hard to say what the director and screenwriter’s goal at the very end of the series, what’s clear is that they both wanted to have fun while playing several piano pieces alongside one another.

Much comparable to the maestro duo, its 6.78-inch 1.5K HyperLux AMOLED display is bright and immersive, yet still sharp.

Matching their fast-playing fingers, the POVA 8 Pro Tonino Lamborghini also boasts a fast 144Hz refresh rate, very ideal for games that support it (more on that later).

On Queue: H2H, Chungha, D.O

The audiovisual goodness continues when I played these latest K-Pop releases.

H2H’s (Hearts2Hearts) stunning visuals in Moonride is very much equal to the visuals offered by the TECNO POVA 8 Pro.

More so, the diva-tastic performance of Chungha (I.O.I) with her latest titled “México.”

A Korean female idol showing her powerful dance moves alongside her language duality by singing Mexican Spanish and American English in one single song is such a power move. That’s much like the powerful dual speakers of the TECNO POVA 8 Pro.

How can I even forget the rhythmic “Guitarist“ comeback track by my long-time male idol bias since January 30, 2012 a.k.a EXO’s D.O.

This is where I think its sound superiority is purely felt.

Unlike the CAMON 50 Ultra I held months ago, POVA 8 Pro’s speakers honestly sound fuller and more powerful. And by that, it’s loud without being too flat and has the right amount of deep bass.

The guitar strums in the song can be heard even in a spacious room.

Exotic ain’t chaotic

TECNO’s POVA 8 Pro runs Dimensity 7400 Ultimate SoC. While this isn’t the most powerful midrange chip by MediaTek, it’s still a very capable processor in today’s standards.

Right off the bat. I installed the graphics-intensive mobile games I usually play.

Racing Master plays smoothly. That’s as long as you set the graphics at medium paired with 30fps frame rate and low resolution. Pushing it to its extremes is still playable yet guarantees you unavoidable frame drops.

Meanwhile, the smooth graphic settings of NTE (Neverness to Everness) clearly lives up to its name. Roaming around Hethereau and fighting unexpected encounters were a breeze

Surprisingly, Zenless Zone Zero is set to Medium post-installation. Going around New Eridu was desirable.

Albeit, Combat Mode truly tests out every bit of power of this chip — most especially when switching between agents, toggling Assist Counters, and even activating their special attacks.

To be very frank, the POVA 8 Pro performed faster, snappier, and even less laggy in contrast to the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 phone I’ve reviewed just recently.

Mind you, that Qualcomm SoC is only 4 months old. While it isn’t the direct rival of the aforementioned Dimensity chip, it still proves that real-world experiences matter more than just benchmarks and hearsays.

Clearly, these brand biases and stereotypes should be forgotten for good.

To outlast is a must

Similar to the CAMON 50 Ultra, the TECNO POVA 8 Pro Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition also packs a 6500mAh battery.

While the vanilla POVA 8 and POVA Curve 2 both rock the biggest battery in any TECNO smartphone so far at 8000mAh, this is still beyond the 5000mAh mark.

My time with it made the phone last until the end of night as long as it’s used moderately.

By that, doomscrolling on social media, streaming K-Pop songs, binging K-Dramas, taking some photos.

As expected, severe battery depletion can be felt when playing games for hours. For instance, a 2-hour Racing Master gameplay reduced my battery level from 90% to 74%.

During standby mode where the phone lays flat and untouched (due to a very busy TechTember workload), its battery efficiency shocked me. Even after being unplugged for more than 150 hours, the POVA 8 Pro still has 33% left in its tank.

Now, one of the best battery drain tests in a smartphone is none other than making it as your personal hotspot.

I went out of our house as early as 4AM. When I got back around 11PM, it was still able to preserve 11%. More surprising is that, it kept that same percentage after I slept for 12 hours.

Now, when the tank completely runs out, the POVA 8 Pro comes with its own charger and cable set.

The Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition I have is quite different though. Instead of the typical white, it has a black charging adapter alongside a braided USB-C to USB-A cable.

 

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That said, here are my GadgetMatch Charge Test results using its bundled accessories:

	45W HyperCharge Max	45W Smart Charge
START TIME (from 0%)	5:00AM	7:25PM
3 minutes	5%	3%
5 minutes	8%	5%
10 minutes	19%	13%
15 minutes	27%	17%
30 minutes	53%	45%
45 minutes	78%	56%
1 hour	97%	71%
1 hour 15 minutes	–	88%
END TIME (100%)	6:04AM 1 hour 4 minutes	8:51PM 1 hour 26 minutes

Needless to say, activating its HyperCharge Max charging speed can fully fill the phone in around an hour.

Visionary vision

The TECNO POVA 8 Pro (regardless if it’s the regular or Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition) boasts a 50MP main camera based from Sony’s LYT-700C.

For added context, that’s also the same image sensor placed inside the CAMON 50 Ultra.

If you happened to read that particular review, I praised it a lot for its overall image quality.

Without an ounce of doubt, the same can be said here.

Even if this is a performance-focused smartphone, TECNO didn’t actually compromise its regular 1x main camera.

While its 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide shooter isn’t anything grand. Still, it gets the job done.

After all, it’s the good ol’ sensor frequently used by TECNO among most (if not all) of their phones.

With this price to hardware ratio, caveats are expected.

First and foremost, the lack of a telephoto module found on its CAMON cousin slash contender.

Notice the contrast and saturation shifting when switching between 1x and 2x? The lack of a dedicated telephoto module is the culprit.

Although to be quite frank, I still liked how well it performed even by just relying on 2x digital zoom — or even way past it!

The front camera is smaller too at 13MP (as opposed to 50MP).

Even so, all the nuances such as CAMON’s triple color profiles and the handy-dandy FlashSnap are all missing in this POVA.

Still, it’s safe to say that the POVA 8 Pro can deliver post-worthy and social media-ready photos whenever, wherever. I mean Just look at how sharp these furry friends look.

Although there’s no FlashSnap feat, that split-second gap still produced such picture-purrfect moments.

The food you devour with your family, friends, or just yourself (no judgments made) weren’t even spared from that luscious output.

Even the places you go where there’s little to no presence of natural light, the POVA 8 Pro did not disappoint at all.

These results look more than just good — especially considering the overall worth of this midranger.

Honestly, I’m not expecting anything extravagant. But, the POVA 8 Pro’s camera snappiness is such a delightful sight.

That’s a stark contrast to the most recent REDMI-dranger Pro Max I’ve handled where there were camera stutters and lags when trying to capture subjects in split-second.

Both of them also prove that chipset alone can affect a smartphone’s imaging performance and actual output.

Is the TECNO POVA 8 Pro your GadgetMatch?

In a year where countless slabs are quite indistinguishable from one another, it’s pretty rare to see a smartphone with such impact.

Not only does this phone pack a powerful punch both in core and camera performance, but its added feats, capabilities, and even “gimmicks” are worthier than other smartphones in the same league.

More so, TECNO thoughtfully and carefully executed its design aesthetics with a prestigious designer brand. That’s despite a smartphone belonging in the midrange league.

Even if the exact pricing is still not revealed at the time of this writing, the starting price of the regular POVA 8 Pro (INR 49,999) already gives us a glimpse that the phone’s price to performance ratio is justifiable.

As we (try to) embrace the “new normal” with smartphone brands launching higher price tags alongside lower specs due to the continuous components crisis, TECNO focused on what matters more.

While newer mid-class phones focus heavily on battery capacity and utmost durability while compromising hardware and full-on performance, the POVA 8 Pro dared to defy those odds. The unstoppable AI crisis and inevitable price increase don’t stop TECNO from launching and selling a smartphone beyond expectations.

The TECNO POVA 8 Pro Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition is a solid Swipe Right, a Super Swipe, and a worthy recipient of the GadgetMatch Seal of Approval.