TCL 20 5G REVIEW: CONNECTIVITY AND HDR SCREEN UNDER 300 EUROS
The CES (Consumer Electronics Show) ended also in this 2021. The event saw the presentation of several interesting smartphones, among which we find the new TCL proposals. The model that stands out is certainly TCL 20 5G, a device that enters the new era of connectivity. The price? € 299.90 through TIM (the product is also in the Vodafone price list ). This is, therefore, an interesting figure, given that last year the "battle for the democratization of 5G" took place around 400 euros.
Given also the intriguing devices previously launched by
TCL, a brand that has been trying for some years to undermine the competition
also in this market as well as in that of televisions,the placement of the TCL
20 5G is interesting . Will the Chinese multinational have managed to create a
convincing product?
Sales packaging and design
Inside the sales pack there is a convenient transparent
cover , the pin for extracting the SIM compartment, a USB Type-C / USB Type-A
charging cable and a 10W charger. In short, TCL offers a complete equipment to
the user, even if the power supply makes you turn up your nose, since we would
have expected at least an 18W in this price range. We will deals with this in
detail later in the review.
Moving on to the design of TCL 20 5G, the stylistic choices
made by the Chinese brand convinced us. The Mist Gray coloringthat we have had
the opportunity to try in fact manages to properly highlight the "traffic
light" design of the rear camera module, also giving life to interesting
"plays of light". The color that will most appeal to those looking
for something more lively is the Placid Blue one. In any case, note the touch
of class represented by the thin line that divides the rear body, presenting
two different shades of the same color and highlighting the TCL logo. The
backcover is able to hide well the fingerprints left by the hands, a sign of a
good oleophobic treatment. A good job has also been done at the level of the
protrusion of the camera, since the latter is so thin that it is almost
non-existent.
However, you would be wrong to identify TCL 20 5G as a
compact smartphone, given that its dimensions are equal to 166.2 x 76.8 x 9.1
mm , for a weight of 206 grams. In short, we are on values that are not the
most contained, which make themselves felt as a device in hand but which are
now part of the norm. Trying several models we have often come across this
feeling and it has never been a real problem, but it is good to let you know
that if you come from more "compact" smartphones you may have to get
used to it initially.
In terms of build quality, the main material used is
plastic, which guarantees a good overall feel in any case.
On the left side we find the button for the Google
assistant, while on the right the volume rocker and the power button with
integrated fingerprint sensor peek out. The unlocking methods offered by TCL 20
5G, including facial recognition, always proved to be quick during our test.
For the rest, at the top of the smartphone there is an element that will surely
please a certain type of user. In fact, next to the microphone we find the 3.5
mm audio jack for headphones. The speakers and the USB Type-C 2.0 port located
at the bottom complete the circle. The OTG is there, but forget the video
output via Type-C. Summing up, the terms that best fit the TCL 20 5G design are
elegant and complete. Too bad only for weight and size.
Technical data sheet of TCL 20 5G
The era in which there was only a 5G processor for this
price range is now over and in fact the smartphone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon
690 octa-core SoC , with two cores operating at 2.0 GHz and six cores operating
at 1.7. GHz. Next to the processor we find an Adreno 619L GPU, 6GB of LPDDR4X
RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.1 internal memory (expandable via microSD up to 256GB).
In short, the configuration is not the best performing on the market, but it is
calibrated to give life to a low cost smartphone with 5G support. The
performance therefore does not compete with other devices in this price range,
but in the daily field it is possible to carry out all the classic operations
without too many problems.
TCL is a brand that has a lot of experience in the world of
televisions. The Chinese multinational has transposed its vision into the
smartphone field, creating a display that is difficult to find under 300 euros.
TCL 20 5G is equipped with a 6.67-inch IPS screen with Full HD + resolution
(2400 x 1080 pixels), 91% screen-to-body ratio, 20: 9 aspect ratio and a
centrally positioned camera hole. The characteristic elements of the panel,
however, reside in the presence of NXTVISION technology and support for HDR10.
We have already known NXTVISION with other TCL smartphones
and is able to improve sharpness, contrast and color, for example making the
image more vivid (you can change color and temperature). The HDR10, on the
other hand, goes to match the Widevine L1 DRMs, which guarantee a Full HD view
of the contents of streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
The multimedia sector is then assisted by Hi-Res Audio certified speakers, able
to guarantee higher sound quality and maximum volume than many other
smartphones in this price range.
The colors of the display are well calibrated and the
brightness of the panel is good for the price range. On the software side there
are various interesting features, from the Ambient Display to the ability to
set the refresh rate in an intelligent way to save battery. Do not get us
wrong: the refresh rate of the screen is equal to 60 Hz, unfortunately we do
not go further, but to increase the autonomy you can choose to rely on a smart
option that automatically adjusts the frequency .
Generally speaking, TCL has done a great job in terms of the
display. The smartphone comes with a film, which in our case was not applied in
the best way and we therefore decided to remove.
Arriving at the photographic sector, we find onetriple rear
camera , flanked by an LED flash. The main sensor is from 48MP with opening f /
1.8, while in support we find an 8MP wide angle (f / 2.2, 118 degrees) and a
third 2MP lens (f / 2.4) for macros. On the other hand, an 8MP sensor with f /
2.0 aperture peeps out. The rear cameras record videos up to 4K / 30 fps
resolution, while the front sensor reaches 1080p / 30 fps. The videos are well
stabilized at the latter resolution, which is also the one set by default, even
if the quality at night leaves something to be desired.
The Camera application is the one we have come to know with
TCL: the features range from Pro to Super Night, through Portrait, Panorama,
Stop Motion, Long Exposure, Super Macro, Slow Motion and High Pixels.
There is also Google Lens, accessible using the appropriate
button on the left with respect to the shutter. The macros all in all come out
well, even if the resolution is always a bit too low for our tastes. The
wide-angle lens instead takes average photos, which are however easily usable
on the social side. All in all, the selfies are good, which will convince the
average user if carried out in the classic contexts.
TCL 20 5G defends itself well in contexts with good light ,
the true limits of the photographic sector come to the surface at night, where
even using the night mode it is not possible to obtain satisfactory shots. In
any case, the maximum zoom that can be reached digitally is 10x, although to
publish the photos on social networks we would not go beyond 2x.
In short, the photographic department of the smartphone is
without infamy or praise: it manages to please the average user, but it does
not reach what we have seen with other devices. If you wants to learn more, you
can find uncompressed photos in our Drive folder dedicated to TCL 20 5G .
For many users, a particularly important aspect is autonomy.
The device is equipped with a 4500 mAh battery, which allows you to arrive in
the evening without too many problems. Taking advantage of the smart refresh
rate option, it is also possible to remain with a good residual charge. Too bad
for the 10W charger in the box, which completes a full charge in several hours.
Thankfully, the TCL 20 5G itself supports 18W charging , so you can use another
power supply to get results closer to those offered by other devices. On the
connectivity front there is no lack of 5G, Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac,
Bluetooth 5.1 and NFC. The SIM slot is hybrid: two nanoSIMs or one nanoSIM and
a microSD card.
TIM software and "branding"
The operating system is Android 10 with TCL UI v.2.0.1A.1.Z
customization. At the time of writing, the security patches are those of 5
October 2020. The features implemented by the brand are mainly those we have
already learned about in the past, from NXTVISION to Smart Manager, passing
through the smart refresh rate functionality. In general, the TCL UI is
comfortable to use and, in our view, introduces appreciable features. For the
rest, our test sample has a TIM "branding". This means that on
switching on and off there is a short animation linked to the well-known
telephone operator. Furthermore, the default background shows the TIM logo in
plain sight. There are also some pre-installed operator applications, namely
TIMMUSIC, TIMVISION, TIMpersonal, MyTIM and TIM Smart Kid.
For the less experienced, you should know that it is also
allowed to use SIM cards from other operators without problems. In short, the
only aspect that remains is the animation on switching on and off: the
"branding" is essentially negligible in the case of TIM.
Performance, benchmarks and user experience during the review
TCL 20 5G is a smartphone that by its nature does not aim at
brute force, but to guarantee the user the performance that allows you to use
the device without too many problems during the daily context. The choices made
by the brand seem to focus mainly on multimedia, autonomy and connectivity.
The feeling that we had smartphones in hand is also confirmed
by the benchmarks, which scored 287202 points on AnTuTu and 608 points in
single-core and 1830 points in multi-core on GeekBench. These are good numbers,
which, however, cannot compete with other solutions in this price range.
The main thought goes to the recent Redmi Note 9T, which on
AnTuTu reaches almost 350,000 points. However, we are not even face with a
result to be discarded, as, for example, the Motorola Moto G 5G Plus scored
273469 points on AnTuTu during our review. In short, the performance will not
disappoint the average user, but we are not at the top of the market. Too bad
for the absence of an increased refresh rate, which would have guaranteed that
extra touch of fluidity, even if it could have impacted on autonomy.
Gaming
While performance isn't exactly TCL 20 5G's strong point,
the smartphone can actually be used for some casual gaming as well . Call of
Duty Mobile, in fact, runs well with graphics quality and FPS set to "Very
High". You can also set the FPS to "Max", but going down to
"High" in terms of details. The merit is, in addition to the
optimization of the title, of the "Turbo Game" option, which can be
activated from the settings and can be combined with gaming mode features such
as blocking notifications and constant brightness. Don't expect an advanced
game mode like that offered by other devices, but some basic functionality is
there.
Moving on to other more expensive titles in terms of
resources, however, the limits of the smartphone hardware sector emerge. For
example, ARK: Survival Evolved struggles to appear fluid already from the main
menu and even setting the preset to "Low" there are significant drops
in framerate. As for Dead by Daylight Mobile, the latter runs as it should only
with the "Medium" preset. In short, TCL 20 5G is not the best device
for gaming, but it still manages to guarantee some good satisfaction for less
demanding users .
