TCL launches ultra-affordable TCL 20 R 5G smartphone with sub-£180 sticker price
Powered by MediaTek’s efficient, yet powerful, Dimensity 700 5G chipset, the latest addition to the TCL family makes 5G accessible to all.
The £179 price no longer makes 5G a feature worth foregoing in order to save money. It’s an essential feature for future-proofing, but shouldn’t mean having to pay more unnecessarily – especially if your other day-to-day needs for a smartphone are fairly modest.
The TCL 20 R 5G is not attempting to compete with higher-end models (TCL has plenty of other models in its own range to satisfy those who want higher-resolution displays or cameras, including the flagship TCL 20 Pro 5G). It is designed to offer a good balance of features and performance, and keep to TCL’s vision of bringing ‘5G for All’.
While the display may only be 720p, it still has a 90Hz refresh rate, as well as a large 6.52-inch size that makes it perfect for media consumption. It offers a very respectable 500 nits of brightness, as well as NXTVISION technology to enhance still images and video, while reducing eye strain at the same time.
The battery is a generous 4,500mAh in capacity (further boosted by the more power-efficient Dimensity 700 SoC) so it should easily last a full day of heavy usage, or two or three days of its more likely level of usage.
The primary camera is 13-megapixels with a second 2-megapixel camera to aid portrait shots. An additional 2-megapixel macro camera is pretty forgettable, but the primary camera should suffice for most users. On the front, within the V-notch cut out, is a 8-megapixel selfie camera.
Clearly the big benefit here, over most other sub-£200 phones, is the support of 5G – both standalone (for future use) and non-standalone (for now). This isn’t just about giving faster speeds, but ensuring a more reliable connection in congested areas by giving access to more spectrum.
Pricing & Availability
The TCL 20 R 5G will go on sale in late October in a choice of two colours (blue or grey), starting at £179 for the 4+64GB model.
Another variant will be available with 4+128GB (price £TBC), and both come with a microSDXC card slot to add further storage.