TCL isn’t a huge name in phones, but if you’re hoping to get a 5G handset on a budget then it could be one to pay attention to, as it has just announced the TCL 10 5G, a 5G phone that only costs £399.
This is the company’s first 5G phone and it significantly undercuts the most affordable 5G phones that are currently available. For example, Samsung’s cheapest 5G handset is the Samsung Galaxy A90, and that has an RRP of £669.
As such, the TCL 10 5G has the potential to be the cheapest 5G phone yet, but that will somewhat depend on when it goes on sale and what the competition looks like at that point. At the moment it’s simply hitting stores “later this year”, and with the likes of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite also on the way for a similarly low price, it could have some competition.
Either way though, the TCL 10 5G should be among the cheapest 5G phones, and you get quite lot for your money beyond just 5G speeds.
As the video above shows, there’s a lot of impressive tech here, including a quad-lens rear camera with a 64MP main lens, a 118-degree ultra-wide one, a macro one for extreme close-ups, and a depth camera for authentic bokeh effects.
The TCL 10 5G also has a 6.53-inch FHD+ display with a 91% screen-to-body ratio, an upper mid-range Snapdragon 765 chipset, a 16MP front-facing camera (with 4-in-1 big pixel technology for improved low light shots), and an apparently large battery, with both fast charging and reverse charging, so you can use the phone as a power bank to juice up other devices.
The design also seems fairly premium, barring the bezel below the screen. All in all it’s an impressive assortment of specs for a phone with a mid-range price, even before you factor in the inclusion of 5G. But with 5G too this could be the most exciting TCL phone in years.
James has been writing for us for over 10 years. Currently, he is Editorial Manager for our group of companies ( 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk) and sub-editor at TechRadar. He specialises in smartphones, mobile networks/ technology, tablets, and wearables.
In the past, James has also written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media, Smart TV Radar, and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV. He has a film studies degree from the University of Kent, Canterbury, and has over a decade’s worth of professional writing experience.
