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
-
- NTE Graphic Settings by default
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- ZZZ Graphic Settings by default
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
|
8:51PM
|
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.
Apple’s smallest tablet just got its biggest upgrade after two long years!
The 2026 iPad mini now features a brighter than ever OLED display, a more powerful A20 Pro chip, improved (and almost non-existent) speakers.Plus, ever durable with its IP67 water and dust resistance rating.
In this video, THE Michael Josh takes a closer look at everything that’s new, what he loves, what’s still missing, and whether the new iPad mini is worth upgrading to.
Here’s our in-depth review of the all-new 2026 iPad mini OLED.
Gaming
ROG G700 review: The best prebuilt PC you can get off the shelf
This PC will make you stop worrying about specs.
The last time I touched a PC was 2014.
At the time, I’d just finished moving houses. While my old house had space for a desk and a fairly decent PC for its time, I opted for a smaller workstation because I was confident that laptops were the future.
Now, more than ten years later, I wish I didn’t dismiss PCs so readily. Thanks to AI, the price of a new PC has reached new levels of absurdity today. It’s not easy to stock up on components anymore.
So, it was like a very heavy blessing falling down from heaven and crash-landing on my lap when the ROG G700 arrived on my doorstep. It’s my first PC in over a decade, and, wow, what a return.
A box with everything you need
The art of building a PC takes a lot of effort these days. You’ll need a command over every little detail that every single component can do. Obviously, you also need to time the market for better prices.
That said, the ROG G700 is not for the minmaxers. It’s a fully built tower you can — gingerly — pick up from the shelf and play on just as soon as you get home.
It’s perfect for people like me. Now, if I had the time and the money, I’d definitely make a little more effort to explore every single detail. However, as someone returning to the PC world after a decade, this prebuilt PC is more than enough to dip my toes back into it.
It is quite the package, though. The tower is 9.45 inches wide by 20.05 inches long. It’s also 18.88 inches tall. If you have a small space, you might struggle to find a space for this behemoth.
Plus, it weighs 40.39 pounds. If you live up a flight of stairs, you’d better not skip leg day. Even then, it was scary to handle this tower, knowing how much hardware I was holding up a few feet from the ground.
A clean design for gamers
Usually, I’m not a fan of heavy gamer aesthetics. As much as I identify as a gamer, I prefer keeping that part of my identity lowkey from how I look. I don’t go for all the edgy angles and the RGB lighting.
But the ROG G700 is one exception to my rule. Even then, it’s not that huge of an exception.
The ROG G700 exudes that gamer aesthetic, but it’s still pretty clean. The chassis has subtle grilles that ease cooling. The main panel is transparent that peeks into a cleanly organized system with heavy ROG visuals. The brand’s logo is peppered throughout the system. The RGB lighting, though bright at times, was easy to get used to.
Personally, I liked how clean the internals are organized. It always hits the right part of my brain when I see something well put together.
Additionally, though it could use a tiny bit more, the G700 has an ample number of ports well situated at the back and up top. When I was setting everything up, I had enough space to make sure I didn’t end up with wire clutter. My workstation was clean at all times.
The 2026 machine
Now, let’s get into the performance. With the highest configuration, the ROG G700 goes up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, up to a 16GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 GPU, 32GB RAM, and 2TB of SSD storage. All thing considered, this is a very powerful machine for today’s world.
If you’re not down on particulars and just want something off the rack, this is more than enough. I tested the G700 on this year’s games like 007 First Light and Forza Horizon 6. Both games performed without a hitch. In fact, I appreciated both games a lot more than when I played them on older laptops. The graphics were absurdly crisp without sacrificing a smooth performance.
Also, as a hard multitasker, I love alt-tabbing even while I’m playing. While other setups usually complain, the G700 doesn’t really care. You can run a Twitch stream, play a YouTube video, or have Spotify open in the background, all while playing an intensive game. This is a machine that tells you to leave your worries at the front door because it can handle everything.
If anything, it can get too powerful. Despite the cooling system with a tri-fan intake, the tower still gets hot with heavy loads. After an hour on 007 First Light, my room started getting much warmer. Though you won’t get performance dips, all that heat is coming your way.
Is the ROG G700 your GadgetMatch?
As someone getting back into PCs, the ROG G700 is a powerful off-the-shelf prebuilt PC. Now, do you need all this hardware for day-to-day gaming? Probably not. But if you don’t want to worry if your rig can do certain things, get the ROG G700.
If you have the money, that is.
Being a powerful machine, the G700 comes with a hefty price tag. When it was launched, the machine started at PhP 179,995. Now, with prices of RAM steadily climbing, prices are likely higher today. Plus, you need good peripherals to maximize this PC, so expect to spend a lot more. Overall, it’s very expensive, but at least you’re getting your money’s worth on the investment.
For that, the ROG G700 gets a Swipe Right and a Super Swipe for being a powerful machine you can get today. It is, however, a Swipe Left if you’re looking for cheaper options that won’t break your bank.
Gaming
HP OMEN Max 16 review: Gamer-maxxing in deep black
Peripherals deemed necessary to max this out
It’s not every day that you come across a machine that looks good and plays even better. Oftentimes, subtle aesthetics take a back seat to sheer performance and power. Whenever a gaming machine looks sleeker, it seems to lack the power to push it forward. Simply put, you can’t have the best of both worlds these days.
But what if you could have it all? Not just money, fame, and other fortunes, but also a machine with everything you’re looking for! Gone are the days of wanting only power to keep you playing all day or wanting to look good while playing. On paper, this is what the HP OMEN Max 16 promises: the best of both worlds.
Unboxing a beast inside
When you first take it out of the box, the HP OMEN Max 16 looks unassuming in its overall design. It’s bulky yet sleek in its Shadow Black colorway, with nothing too fancy or flashy while powered down. From the outside, the machine screams premium, even though its dark color can attract more visible dirt than lighter finishes.
Opening it up reveals a 16-inch OLED display with a peak refresh rate of 240Hz, seamlessly connected to a base with a full-sized keyboard and a large trackpad. The bright, seemingly anti-glare display makes colors pop when watching or editing videos on the go.
Furthermore, HP places the ports in convenient spots along the rear and sides of the laptop. This makes it incredibly easy to set up and manage external peripherals while providing more room for ventilation under heavy loads.
Of course, the device’s biggest features lie in the hardware powering it from within. An Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, 32GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA RTX 5090 Laptop GPU should give you an idea of how well this machine can perform. It’s also a great combination for demanding productivity tasks and creative work!
Power that AI can only hope to replicate
The HP OMEN Max 16 lived up to many of our expectations in terms of performance. From startup to shutdown, it delivered on what its hardware promised. You can watch videos for longer, edit photos and videos to your heart’s content, and enjoy casual gaming without slowing down. Furthermore, the wide display gives you plenty of space to accommodate all these activities.
When you step up to more competitive gaming, the machine doesn’t miss a beat. Most titles deliver high frame rates regardless of the quality or performance settings you choose. With more advanced visual settings enabled, the RTX 5090 does a fantastic job of keeping supported games within a solid 40–50 FPS range. Pair it with a high-refresh-rate OLED display, and you get crisp details and faster input response to help you get ahead in ranked games all day long.
If there’s one thing to complain about, it’s the extra optimization required through the OMEN Gaming Hub. Features such as network prioritization, automatic power-mode switching, and system optimization are useful, but you’ll need to spend time configuring them during initial setup. The laptop also comes with OMEN AI, which promises to maximize FPS with a single click. However, it was only okay at best.
Runs longer, cools off smoother
Surely, a gaming laptop this bulky and powerful can’t last that long on battery, right? Well, the HP OMEN Max 16 averages around three hours of battery life during intensive gaming, which gives you a decent amount of playing time. For general use, battery life extends to around five and a half hours with Balanced power settings. It holds up reasonably well if you forget to bring your charger.
When you do have the massive 330W charger with you, charging doesn’t take too long either. During our tests, a full charge took two hours, with charging progressing slightly faster when we left the laptop idle. Charging the battery to 50% took around 20 minutes, giving you enough juice to squeeze in another game!
Another factor in prolonged use is how the device expels hot air through its sides and rear. We touched on this earlier, but it bears repeating: the laptop provides plenty of ventilation through its vapor chamber and multiple external vents. Instead of directing heat toward the keyboard, it pushes hot air through the vents, where it can hit your hands or peripherals. At least the keyboard stays cooler, right?
Is this your GadgetMatch?
At PHP 229,990, the HP OMEN Max 16 is a sleek-looking machine with incredible power under the hood. Despite its initial bulk, it delivers impressive performance for both casual and competitive gamers. Inside and out, it packs plenty of hardware and features to let you tailor the experience to your needs.
If you’re looking for a gaming laptop with decent battery life, this is a solid choice, but don’t expect it to last half a day. Of course, you wouldn’t use this machine entirely on its own, even if the unboxing experience might suggest otherwise.
Peripherals such as the HyperX Cloud Alpha Air and Solocast 2 Pro can further enhance the experience.
Overall, this is a Swipe Right for its features, performance, and premium design. However, if you don’t have an infinite money glitch to buy it right now, you’re better off saving up for this beast of a machine!
Apple iPad mini OLED review
Has the mini gone PRO?!
ROG G700 review: The best prebuilt PC you can get off the shelf
This PC will make you stop worrying about specs.
HP OMEN Max 16 review: Gamer-maxxing in deep black
Peripherals deemed necessary to max this out
Sony revives classic Walkman headphones with USB-C MDR-3R
IKEA, Xbox launch nine-piece YXSTABY gaming collection
Smart Infinity launches PureVoice
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Apple iPad mini OLED review
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