The Tecno Camon CX Air was announced alongside the Camon CX early in March, and as is our usual practice, we compared it to the latest smartphones like that time including the Camon CX and Camon C9, and I didn’t think to compare it with smartphones from last year. This comparison between 2016’s Boom J8 and the Tecno Camon CX Air is prompted by one our readers, Dame who requested for the comparison in order to know which to buy for his wife.
The CX Air is a lower variant of the Tecno Camon CX (Camon C10), the 2017 flagship smartphone in the camera-focused Tecno Camon C series. It has many of its specs similar to those of the Camon CX and offers a decent camera experience for its users.
The Boom J8, on the other hand, is a smartphone made for music, as it’s contained in the Tecno Boom J series which is known for audio-centric smartphones.
In this article, I pit the Tecno Camon CX Air versus Tecno Boom J8 for the purpose of knowing which to choose between the two, based on your preferences and what you desire in a smartphone. The underlying question here is, which do you prefer; Music or Camera?
Tecno Camon CX Air versus Tecno Boom J8 – Comparison Table
| Tecno Camon CX Air | Tecno Boom J8 | |
| Design | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 152.8 * 75.8 * 7.75 mm | 153.3 * 76.84 * 7.35 mm |
| Build | Metal Unibody Design | Plastic with metal trimmings |
| Colour Variants | Pink, Blue & Gold | Super White, Space Grey & Champagne Gold |
| Display | ||
| Screen Size | 5.5 inches | 5.5 inches |
| Display Type | IPS Capacitive touchscreen | IPS Capacitive touchscreen |
| Resolution (Pixels) | 1280 * 720 pixels (HD) | 1280 * 720 pixels (HD) |
| Pixel Density | 267 ppi | 267 ppi |
| Display Protection | 2.5D Curved Glass | None |
| Camera | ||
| Primary | 13MP | 13MP |
| Features | PDAF, HDR & Panorama | Autofocus |
| Flash | Ring Flash (Quad LED Flash) | LED Flash |
| Secondary | 13MP | 5MP |
| Flash | LED Flash | LED Flash |
| Software | ||
| Operating System | Android 7.0 Nougat | Android 5.1 Lollipop |
| User Interface | Tecno HiOS version 2.0 | Tecno HiOS |
| Hardware | ||
| Chipset | 64-bit MediaTek MT6750T | 64-bit MediaTek MT6753 |
| CPU | Quad-core | Quad-core |
| Processor Speed | 1.25GHz | 1.3GHz |
| GPU | Mali-T720 MP2 | Mali-T720 |
| RAM | 2GB | 2GB |
| ROM | 16GB | 16GB |
| SD Card Slot | Yes, up to 128GB | Yes, up to 128GB |
| Fingerprint sensor | Yes | No |
| Connectivity | ||
| 4G | Yes, LTE | No |
| SIM Slot | Micro-SIM, Standard | Micro-SIM, Standard |
| Bluetooth | Yes, version 4.1 | Yes, version 4.0 |
| USB Typr | micro USB v2.0 | micro USB v2.0 |
| NFC | No | No |
| 3.5mm audio jack | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | ||
| Capacity | 3200mAh | 3000mAh |
| Technology | Li-Po | Li-ion |
| Placement | Non-removable | Non-removable |
| Quick Charging | No | No |
| Misc. | ||
| Availability | March 2017 | March 2016 |
| Comparison Score | 9/10 | 7.5/10 |
Tecno Camon CX Air versus Tecno Boom J8 – Device Comparison
Here is a table of contents to make it easier for you to breeze through the article. Click on any of them to jump to the content:
Display & Design
The Camon CX Air and the Boom J8 are very similar in the aspect of display, sporting the same display size (5.5 inches), pixel resolution (HD, 1280 * 720) and pixel density (267 ppi). The Camon CX Air’s screen would last longer than the Boom J8’s, thanks to its 2.5D curved glass protection.
Both smartphones also go head-to-head in the design department, sporting premium metal unibody builds. The Camon CX Air is slightly thicker (7.75mm) than the Boom J8 (7.35mm), probably due to the advanced specs and higher battery capacity it packs.
Both equally offer various colour options for the consumers to choose from.
Performance & Storage
The Tecno Camon CX Air is powered by a MediaTek MT6750T processor which is more powerful and modern than the MediaTek MT6753 powering the Tecno Boom J8. Same is the case for the GPU; the Mali-T720 MP2 GPU which is an advanced version of the Mali T720 in the Boom J8 powers the Camon CX Air’s graphics.
The speed of the Boom J8’s processor might be a little more than that of the Camon CX Air, but the difference is negligible in real-time usage. Both smartphones have the same memory (2GB RAM) and storage (16GB ROM, expandable up to 128GB) configurations.
Camera
The Camon CX Air is a camera-focused smartphone, so I’m stating this from the onset – it beats the Boom J8 hands-down in the photography department. The Tecno Camon CX Air comes with a 13MP rear camera like the Boom J8, but it has PDAF which allows the camera focus on images in just 0.5 seconds, allowing you to capture images in motion with clear outputs. PDAF is absent on the Boom J8’s rear camera, which has the normal Autofocus which is slower than PDAF.
The Camon CX Air also has a ring flash system at the back which sees four different LED flashlights brightening up your pictures. This is superior to the single LED flash present at the rear of the Boom J8.
Coming to the front, the Boom J8 goes old-school with a lone (without flash) 5MP camera, far in quality to the 13MP camera at the front of the CX Air, further garnished with a LED flash.
Battery & Charging
The Camon CX Air packs a 3200mAh Li-Polymer battery, 20mAh higher than the 3000mAh Li-ion battery present in the Boom J8. While this difference might seem small on paper, there are other factors like processor efficiency, battery technology and OS optimisation to take into consideration when determining battery life. In all these, the Camon CX Air comes out top.
Neither smartphone has fast charging feature, so you’re bound to charge them for upwards of two hours if you hope to get a full charge on them.
Connectivity
Here, the Camon CX Air gets the upper hand again. It comes with 4G LTE network connectivity, something that’s absent on the Boom J8. 4G LTE has come to be a deal breaker for many when getting a smartphone, and unless you would want to be stuck with a 2012 network speed when you have another option with 10 times faster speed, you’d go for the Boom J8.
Software & Hardware
The Tecno Camon CX Air runs on Android 7.0 Nougat, the latest version of the Android operating system out of the box. At the time the Boom J8 was launched, Android 6.0 Marshmallow was the latest version of Android available, prompting Tecno Mobile to include it on the smartphone.
The Camon CX Air also comes with the latest version of HiOS (v2.0), Tecno’s custom UI for its smartphones, compared to the Boom J8 which still runs the first version of HiOS. Speaking in modern terms, the Camon CX Air is more up to date than the Boom J8.
Lastly, the Camon CX Air gives you more security over your device with a fingerprint scanner present below the rear camera module. The Boom J8 lacks a fingerprint scanner.
Tecno Camon CX Air versus Tecno Boom J8 – Conclusion
The Tecno Camon CX Air was launched in 2024 while the Boom J8 is a 2016 product, so it’s no surprise that the former is better than the latter in most aspects. Though the Boom J8 is about N10,000 cheaper than the Camon CX Air, I’d advise anyone who wants to make a choice between the two to go for the Camon CX Air as it offers more value for money at this present time.
So, which do you think is the best between the Tecno Camon CX Air and Tecno Boom J8 based on our comparison above?
My camera techno boom j8 not woking