In a world where budget and mid-range smartphones continue to impress, TCL is becoming one of the biggest players in the space. At CES 2022, the company has unveiled two new options that are worthy of your consideration if you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg.
Starting off with the TCL 30 XE 5G, this is going to be the phone for those who don’t want a massive screen. That’s because the 30 XE 5G uses a 6.52-inch HD+ display, complete with a 90Hz refresh rate. Keeping with the trend of recent releases, the TCL 30 XE offers a V-notch display, which is used to house the 8MP selfie camera.
Under the hood, the 30 XE 5G is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 700 chipset and is paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. While that may not seem like a lot of storage, especially in 2022, TCL is including a microSD card slot that can house up to a 512GB card.
Moving to the back of the phone, we have a triple camera setup housed in a traditional rectangular bump. There’s a 13MP main camera, along with the over-used 2MP depth sensor and 2MP macro lens.
Luckily, TCL isn’t ready to adopt the under-display fingerprint scanner, instead providing a more-traditional rear-mounted sensor instead. The 30 XE 5G also offers Face Unlock for those who want to add another layer of biometric security, albeit a less-secure option.
Battery life should be an absolute beast thanks to the combination of the HD+ resolution and 4,500mAh battery. You won’t find super-fast wired charging, and there isn’t any wireless charging anywhere. But TCL is still including 18W charging speeds to get you juiced back up in less than 2.5 hours.
The TCL 30 XE 5G isn’t the only phone making its debut from the company at CES, as the TCL 30 V 5G is also being announced. This phone offers a slightly-larger display, coming in at 6.67-inches and sporting an FHD+ resolution. Unlike the 30 XE, the 30 V does not come equipped with faster refresh rates, instead, sticking with the standard 60Hz that is found on many entry-level devices.
Powering the 30 V 5G is the Snapdragon 480 5G, paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Not only does the 30 V offer more base storage, but you can also enjoy up to an additional 1TB thanks to the microSD card slot.
On the front, we have an upgraded 16MP selfie camera, found in the hole-punch cutout at the top. On the back, TCL is including another triple camera setup, but this time we have a main 50MP camera. This is accompanied by a 5MP “super-wide” lens along with a 2MP macro sensor.
Biometrics are handled by a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, along with the ability to use Face Unlock if you see fit. Thanks to the 4,500mAh cell and 18W charging speeds, TCL claims the 30 V 5G will be able to easily last through the entire day. But there’s also “On-The-Go reverse charging” if you need to juice up your headphones or fitness tracker.
Surprisingly, the availability of these two devices is a bit weird. Both the TCL 30 XE 5G and 30 V 5G will launch “in the coming weeks”. But the former will first be available through T-Mobile for a limited time, while the latter is coming to Verizon. Both of these devices are expected to arrive on more carriers later in the year.
Pricing for these new devices has not yet been shared, but we’ll be sure to provide that information once it becomes available.