TCL 10 Pro first look: Gorgeous $450 Android smartphone focused on advanced display techonology

TCL has been making smartphones for years, including the latest BlackBerry and Alcatel phones. With the TCL 10 series we see the first TCL-branded phones launching for North American customers. After just a day with the stunning Ember Gray TCL 10 Pro it is clear that TCL is offering a compelling choice for less than $500.

Lately, I've been testing the low cost Apple iPhone SE and lowest priced 5G phone, the OnePlus 8, and the new TCL 10 Pro offers something in between these two at a $450 price. The design is lovely, the display is wonderful, and there are advanced camera features in this new phone.

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Since I've only spent a day with the new TCL 10 Pro, please leave comments for what you want tested as I put it through its paces over the next week. I plan to test out the TCL UI elements, battery life, camera performance, call quality, reception strength, and application performance. First impressions are great and we'll see if it holds up over the next week.

Specifications

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 675

Display: 6.47 inch 2340 x 1080 pixels resolution AMOLED

Operating system: Android 10 with TCL UI

RAM: 6GB

Storage: 128GB internal with microSD card support

Cameras: 64MP main camera, 16MP ultra-wide lens with 123 degree field-of-view, 5MP macro lens, and 2MP super low light video camera. 24MP front facing camera.

Wireless technology: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPS

Battery: 4,500 mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support and charger

Dimensions: 158.5 x 72.4 x 8.6 mm and 187 grams

Colors: Ember Gray

The TCL 10 Pro also still has a 3.5mm headset jack and even an IR port to control your local infrared-enabled devices.

First impressions

The TCL 10 Pro offers a lot for $450 with a focus on demonstrating TCL's display technology. This means you get a stunning AMOLED screen that incorporates a dedicated display engine with NXTVISION technology. Since our displays are vital to the smartphone experience, a focus on the display is very interesting and something that is great to see from smartphone manufacturers.

HDR10 is supported for Netflix high resolution content and with the small center notch for the front-facing camera the massive screen-to-body ratio is a feast for the eyes. TCL also understands the impact of displays on your eyes so it incorporates adaptive tone, reading mode, and eye comfort mode in order to help maintain the health of your eyes and support your sleep cycle.

My expectations are high after unboxing the lovely TCL 10 Pro. It launches only in Ember Gray, but it is a very professional color with a matte glass back finish. The large display, high capacity battery, and multiple rear camera array have serious potential so stay tuned for more testing.

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