TCL 20 A 5G / 4X 5G
Hands On with the TCL 20 XE and TCL 20 A 5G
TCL has two new affordable phones for the US market: the entry-level TCL 20 XE, and the $200, 5G-enabled TCL 20 A 5G. While the price is certainly right, are they truly a good value, or just cheap? US carriers have trusted TCL's affordable phones for many years (often under the Alcatel brand), so the company should know what it's doing. Read on for our hands-on report and first impressions, to find out how these models turned out.
TCL Intros Two New Affordable 5G and 4G Phones for US
TCL today announced the TCL 20 A 5G, a 5G phone for under $200 coming to Visible next month. The company also announced the TCL 20 XE, an entry-level 4G phone coming to Metro by T-Mobile tomorrow, and Boost next month.
- The TCL 20 A 5G is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 chip, paired with 4 GB RAM, and 64 GB storage (expandable). It supports sub-6 5G, including C-Band (band 77). The 6.52-inch display has HD+ resolution. The battery is rated 4,500 mAh and the phone supports 18-watt fast charging. The 16-megapixel main camera is joined by a 5 megapixel wide camera and 2 megapixel macro camera. A 13 megapixel selfie camera sits in the display notch on the front. It ships with Android 11 and also features a fingerprint reader, Bluetooth 5.1, dual-band Wi-Fi, a dedicated Google Assistant button, headset jack, and USB-C with OTG. It has a matte gray finish.
- The TCL 20 XE is a similar size, with the same 6.52-inch HD+ display, rear fingerprint reader, fast charging, headset jack, dual-band Wi-Fi, and Android 11. However, it's powered by a MediaTek Helio P22 chip with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage (also expandable). The battery is 5,000 mAh. The main camera is 13 megapixel, with a 2 megapixel macro camera, depth camera, and 5 megapixel front camera. It also has a matte gray finish. Metro is selling it for $160, while Boost will sell it for $120.
