Back in April, TCL introduced a trio of new TCL-branded smartphones, including the TCL 10 5G. While the TCL 10L and 10 Pro have already gone on sale in the U.S. (we even reviewed both of them), we never got a release date for the TCL 10 5G, but now that’s changed. TCL on Tuesday announced the smartphone will be available through Verizon in the U.S. starting October 29 for $399, making it the carrier's most affordable 5G smartphone. The new smartphone will, of course, support the carrier's 5G Ultrawide Band (mmWave) and 5G Nationwide (sub-6GHz) networks.
The TCL 10 5G UW isn’t quite at the tip-top of the high-end smartphone market, but it can still hold its own, featuring a 6.53-inch FHD+ LCD, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765G chipset paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, and a 4,500mAh battery. It also supports Qualcomm's 18W Quick Charge 3.0, which means you can get up to a 50% charge in just 35 minutes. The phone has both a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD card expansion slot.
Unlike the European TCL 10 5G which features a quad-camera setup, though, the TCL 10 5G UW for Verizon features a triple-camera setup. The three cameras on the rear include a primary 48MP sensor, an 8MP ultra wide-angle sensor, and a 5MP macro sensor. The front-facing camera features a 16MP image sensor, with a single hole-punch design that's fairly small.
The TCL 10 5G UW features a rear-facing fingerprint sensor, in contrast to the under-display fingerprint scanner on the higher-end TCL 10 Pro. Some might prefer the more futuristic under-display fingerprint sensor, but the cost-cutting inclusion of an LCD panel precluded its use.
In terms of software, the TCL 10 5G UW runs TCL UI based on Android 10, and TCL is committing to delivering an update to Android 11 at a minimum as well as 2 years of security patch updates released on a quarterly basis. TCL's aim with the software is to keep it as close to a stock look and feel as possible while still adding in features here and there, such as a Smart Manager to optimize background app use and Super Bluetooth for playback on multiple simultaneously connected Bluetooth sinks. One feature that is missing on the Verizon model compared to the European model is the Smart Key, which is a dedicated button found on the side of TCL's other devices to launch Google Assistant. That's not a huge deal, but it does make using Google Assistant a bit less convenient compared to TCL's other 10 Series handsets.
Over the last few months, we’ve seen a number of exciting 5G smartphones announced for the U.S. market, including the recent Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5. Even Apple has jumped on the 5G market with its new iPhone 12 lineup. For what you get, the TCL 10 5G UW is a decent budget phone, and you can get it for just $399 in Diamond Gray from Verizon on October 29. At its base price, the TCL 10 5G UW undercuts just about every other mmWave-laden 5G phone on Verizon, including the Pixel 4a 5G ($599) and the Galaxy A51 5G ($549). You can knock the price down even further by getting $360 in credit if you open a new line on a Verizon Unlimited plan and trade-in an eligible phone; alternatively, existing customers can sign-up for a Do More, Play More, or Get More Unlimited plan to get up to $250 of trade-in credit.
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Specifications |
TCL 10 5G UW |
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Dimensions & Weight |
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Display |
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SoC |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G:
Adreno 620 |
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RAM & Storage |
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Battery & Charging |
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Rear Cameras |
Photo:
Video:
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Front Cameras |
16MP, f/2.2, Single Hole Punch |
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Security |
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Connectivity |
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Audio |
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Android Version |
TCL UI based on Android 10 |
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Price &Availability |
$399 on October 29 |