TCL 50 Smartphone Review – TCL announced the new TCL 50 smartphone in late February 2024, but the smartphone is not available as of yet. TCL announced that the smartphone will go on sale something in the 2nd quarter of 2024 and will be available globally. This is a modern smartphone with 5G connectivity designed for budget users.
So, it will have many technological advantages not found in this price range yet. The new smartphone also sports TCL’s iconic and flashy design that looks eye-catching. TCL is hoping to impress modern users with this. So, let’s begin with a detailed review of the TCL 50 smartphone and find out if this smartphone is worth purchasing.
Table of Contents
TCL 50 Smartphone Review
Highlights
- The TCL 50 smartphone features a 6.6-inch IPS display with support for 90Hz high refresh rate.
- The chipset inside the TCL 50 is the MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ 5G SoC, which is capable of reaching clock speeds of 2×2.2 GHz.
- The TCL 50 smartphone arrives with Android 14 out of the box with plans to provide Android 15 when it releases.
- The TCL 50 smartphone has a 50MP dual rear camera system, while the selfie camera has an 8MP sensor.
- The phone has a 5010mAh battery with 18W wired fast charging support.
Design and Display
The TCL 50 features TCL’s iconic design language that looks quite flashy and easily catches anyone’s attention when you take the smartphone out of your pocket. The design of the smartphone is a key selling point. The frame and the rear panel are flat but the edges are chamfered to provide a solid and comfortable grip, so it won’t slip out of your hands easily.
The smartphone is available in two colors, Dark Blue, and Space Grey. On the front, the smartphone has a 6.6-inch IPS display with support for 90Hz high refresh rate. This is an IPS HD+ panel that can get as bright as 480 nits under direct sunlight. The smartphone is also protected by IP54 dust and water splash resistance, so it should be fine in light rains. But don’t go taking a dip in the pool with this smartphone.
Memory and Internal
The TCL 50 features the MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ 5G chipset. This chipset has a relatively decent performance chipset and is capable of reaching clock speeds of 2×2.2 GHz. Running any apps or games won’t be an issue on this chipset, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and more. Also, since we are talking about performance, let’s not forget about gaming cause it’s quite capable.
The Mali-G57 MC2 GPU will allow you access to games such as PUBGm, Summoners War, and even CODm at relatively smooth framerates. Also, the smartphone is 5G-ready and can easily reach gigabit-level speeds. For memory and storage, the TCL 50 is available with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of fast internal storage.
The smartphone also comes with Android 14 out of the box which is certainly nice. But TCL goes one step forward with a promise to provide an Android 15 update as soon as it is released. The smartphone also comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSDXC slot as well for storage expansion later down the line.
Camera
TCL outfitted the TCL 50 with a 50MP dual rear camera setup. It has a 50MP sensor as the main camera and a 5MP sensor as the ultra-wide camera. The main camera manages to capture some decent shots with a good level of detail and accurate color tone. The camera performance is more than decent but we were expecting, especially considering the price of the smartphone.
The 5MP ultrawide is average at best. The detail levels are on the lower side but overall, the pictures looked decent enough for the price tag. The textures of the skin of subjects may look soft depending on the lighting and background but decent enough to be posted onto social media without needing significant editing work.
The photos taken at night are quite decent but certainly won’t win any beauty pageant contest. The selfie camera on the front has an 8MP sensor is also quite decent and manages to capture a few fine details with proper color tone. For video recording, both rear and selfie cameras can shoot videos at a maximum resolution of 1080P@30FPS.
Battery and Others
The TCL 50 has a 5010 mAh battery that can provide 1 – 2’s worth of battery life with light to medium usage, thanks to the high-capacity battery and efficient processor. This great battery life includes usage such as video streaming, instant messaging, Instagram, camera, and more. But playing games will drain the battery faster.
The smartphone also supports 18W wired fast charging. It can fully charge the smartphone in under 2 hours and 30 minutes. Apart from that, the smartphone has support for Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.3, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, NFC, and a USB Type-C connector for charging. The smartphone will start at $217 (Rs 17,999 in India) approx.
TCL 50 Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the TCL 50 smartphone.
| Specifications | TCL 50 |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | February 2024 |
| SIM | Dual SIM |
| Dimensions | 6.46 x 2.96 x 0.33 inches |
| Weight | 183.5 g |
| Size | 6.6 inches |
| Display | IPS LCD 90Hz 480 nits brightness 20:9 ratio ~267 PPI density |
| Protection/Others | IP54 dust and splash resistant |
| Resolution | 720 x 1612 pixels |
| OS | Android 14, planned upgrade to Android 15 |
| Chipset | 6nm – Mediatek Dimensity 6100+ |
| CPU | Octa-core 2×2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 |
| GPU | Mali-G57 MC2 |
| Card slot | microSDXC |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Internal | 128GB |
| Camera | 50 MP (wide), PDAF 5 MP (ultrawide) LED flash, HDR, panorama Max – 1080p@30fps |
| Selfie | 8 MP (wide) Max – 1080p@30fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes (stereo speakers) |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO |
| NFC | Yes |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0 |
| Sensors | Side-mounted fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Battery | 5010 mAh 18W wired |
| Colors | Dark Blue, Space Gray |
| Expected Price | $217 (Rs 17,999 in India) approx |
Conclusion
The TCL 50 is the newest 5G smartphone from TCL that was designed to impress and it has certainly achieved that. It not only has one of the best designs but also slays the competition in excellent 5G reception. The same goes for the performance as well and 5G’s lower latency certainly elevates the multiplayer gaming experience in PUBG and CODm.
The display is also excellent for the price tag and the camera was more than decent. The battery is so good that it will keep your gaming sessions for longer hours. On top of that, the smartphone has resistance against dust and water splashes, which is a good thing. That means it will be better protected against light rain. The list of pros just keeps on going.
Considering all that you get with this smartphone, that price seems like a steal deal. The only real con that this smartphone is the lack of super-fast charging. Don’t get us wrong. The charger you get with this smartphone is still better than the standard charger but a higher-wattage charger would have been better. But then again that would have increased the price tag a bit further.
The only decent alternative to this smartphone is the Xiaomi Redmi 13C 5G. It sports similar specs but comes with some extra goodies such as display protection and better software customization support. It also costs less. However, the final decision is up to you, so it is better to choose a smartphone based on your needs and requirements.
