Alcatel TCL Plex smartphone - advantages and disadvantages

In September 2019, TCL Multimedia Technology announced the launch of the new TCL PLEX smartphone. The novelty differs from the competition by the use of TCL NXTVISION ™ technology, which gives sharpness and contrast to the image and brings it to life, making the smartphone one of the best devices for gaming and watching videos. This same technology contributes to the better functioning of the device's cameras, and affects how the smartphone takes pictures at night.

About the brand

TCL Multimedia Technology Holding is one of the largest Chinese associations engaged in the production of electronics. The organization has been operating since 1981 and until the 90s was unknown on the world market.

The company quickly gained fame thanks to the introduction of innovative technologies. In 2004, the company bought shares in the French brand Alcatel and merged it with its subsidiaries. The newly formed organization was named TCL & Alcatel Mobile Phones Limited, and has become one of the best electronics companies.

Despite the widespread belief that phone manufacturing is the main activity of the Alcatel brand, this statement is erroneous, since the company pays the lion's share of attention to the development of telecommunications equipment, and focuses on this area in the first place. If the Chinese firm hadn't bought out Alcatel's mobile device shares, it is possible that the brand itself would have ceased to exist.

Alcatel smartphones are known for being reliable, easy to use, and inexpensive. The advantages of the devices of this brand also include good performance, suitable for active and not "heavy" games, high-quality sound and contrasting image on the screen that does not glare in the sun, a strict design without unnecessary details. The popularity of models of this brand is due not only to the budget price, but also to the good functionality. The Android operating system allows you to install most of the popular applications.

According to customer reviews, the general disadvantages of gadgets of this brand include short-lived operation, rare, but still noted system freezes, as well as inconvenient SIM card slots.

In order to avoid the "glory" of Alcatel (as many associate this company with budget and problem smartphones), the manufacturer decided to create smartphones under the TCL brand. In doing so, he plans to avoid the mistakes made by Alcatel - in particular, the company plans to focus its attention on a small number of devices, making each of them unique and worthy of users' attention.

General information

The phone uses a simple and user-friendly interface that allows you to easily switch between applications.

The TCL PLEX phone has collected all the best that this manufacturer has:

• use of a screen with an IPS-matrix, which does not distort color reproduction;
• NXTVISION chip, which allows converting video from SDR to HDR, as well as improving the sharpness and contrast of the image;
• the phone has an RGB sensor;
• the presence of a triple camera with a main module from a well-known Japanese manufacturer Sony, which takes pictures of good quality at night, in contrast to the way phones of other manufacturers take pictures;
• 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory is a good supply for a smartphone of this level;
• smart, productive and reliable Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor;
• glass case with unusual engraving.

Phone Specifications:

It is planned that the gadget will be available in two colors: pearl white and black. Both colors will have an unusual shimmer. The expected start of sales is scheduled for the 4th quarter of 2019, the average price will be 330 euros. The device will be delivered to the Russian Federation in October 2019. How much it will cost in Russia is still unknown.

Body material and appearance

One of the main "chips" of the device is its unusual appearance. As previously mentioned, the body of the device is made of glass, which shimmers depending on the angle at which the light falls on it. The pattern on the panel is under the glass, so it won't deteriorate from accidental damage or minor scratches. The frame is made of metal (aluminum), the gadget fits comfortably in the hand. Despite the fact that the body of the smartphone is made of glass, fingerprints are clearly visible on it. Moreover, this effect appears on both white and black cases.

On the back of the device, a non-standard camera unit is allocated (it is placed horizontally, on the sides of the camera modules there are two LED flashes that can work both in tandem and separately). There is also a fingerprint scanner for unlocking the phone. Not many users will like the horizontal arrangement of the cameras, since when holding the device, one of the fingers will definitely hit a camera.

Outwardly, the device resembles Huawei Mate 10. Many users will appreciate the Smart Key button located on the left side of the device - you can set its purpose at your discretion. On the opposite side is the on / off button and volume rocker. At the top of the device there is a 3.5 mm audio jack; the phone is charged through the Type-C input located at the bottom of the gadget.

Screen

Since the main activity of TCL is the development and manufacture of TVs, monitors and matrices for them, you expect a lot from the smartphone screen of this company.

In accordance with the latest fashion trends, the front camera is located directly in the screen, while its location is non-standard - near the left edge.

As mentioned earlier, NXTVISION technology delivers true-to-life image and video reproduction while processing real-time SDR in HDR. The same technology also optimizes the image, increasing the detail and contrast of small details, as well as brightening dark areas.

Large dimensions and wide screen diagonal - 6.3 inches, allow you to display a large amount of information while surfing the Internet. The display supports FULLHD + resolution.

Since the front camera is embedded in the display, it occupies more than 90% of the entire area of ​​the device.

The manufacturer is concerned about protecting the eyes of users from harmful radiation, for this purpose the smartphone has the following functions: "Color gamma adaptation", "night mode" and "reading mode". The first mode automatically adjusts the level of brightness and color rendition depending on the lighting. Reading Mode adjusts the backlight, brightness, and contrast of the screen so that the image on the screen is as close as possible to the paper sheet. The user can select a list of applications, upon loading which this mode is automatically enabled. Night mode reduces the brightness and color rendering of blue, makes the image "warm" and subdued.

Cameras

As mentioned above, the peephole of the front camera is built into the screen and is located not in the center, but on the left side. The camera is equipped with a 24-megapixel sensor, allowing you to take good pictures. It can also record videos at 1080 * 120 or 720 * 240FPS. The software allows you to take pictures with this camera using a variety of filters and modes, including portrait photography.

The main camera consists of three modules, while the main sensor of 48 megapixels (the most popular model from the Japanese manufacturer Sony is used here) and a widescreen 16 megapixel are directly involved in shooting. The third module is mostly not used for shooting; it is a light-sensitive element with a 2 megapixel sensor. Basically, it is used when recording videos in low light conditions.

The cameras have focusing, night and manual modes, and artificial intelligence is involved in most of the processes. The video camera can record videos in 4K. There is no optical stabilization, it is replaced by electronic.

Based on the photo examples, we can conclude that both cameras have good detail and color reproduction. In the night mode, details are clearly visible, all bright colors are reproduced realistically.

Battery

With such a large screen, it is expected that the autonomy of the device is unlikely to exceed more than a day of active work. The manufacturer decided not to spend money on a battery with a large capacity (the battery in the gadget holds only 3,820 mAh), so those who like to surf the Internet and play heavy games will have to carry a power bank with them. Here the manufacturer made a mistake, since the battery capacity is one of the important selection criteria.

The phone supports fast charging function. The package includes a charger with a short cord length, which may be inconvenient for some users.

Performance, memory and sound

The system operates under the control of a simple and intuitive TCL UI interface, which practically does not differ from the "bare" Android. Among its advantages are convenient navigation, the ability to personalize the device using the “Smart Assistant”, which adjusts to the user-friendly mode of interaction with the phone and optimally organizes the smartphone.

The smart button on the left of the device allows you to call a preset application or function with a single short, long or double press.

Since TCL's main business is TV production, they programmed their own smartphone so that it could be used as a remote control. Some TVs with SmartTV function can broadcast video and image directly to its screen.

The smartphone uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 hardware platform, the processor has 8 cores. By default, the gadget has 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory. Optionally, you can use an SD card up to 256 GB. The smartphone supports most modern technologies, including NFC. Thanks to the Super-Bluetooth technology, it is possible to connect up to 4 audio devices simultaneously.

The 3.5mm audio jack is conveniently located on top of the device. 2 microphones are provided for noise suppression.

Advantages and disadvantages:

• large display that allows you to display a significant amount of information on the screen;
• almost the entire area of ​​the front panel is occupied by the display, which saves space and does not make the gadget too massive;
• realistic color rendition, good detail;
• high quality and reliable filling;
• an ergonomic shell based on artificial intelligence;
• Android 9 out of the box;
• support for fast charging with a power of 18 W;
• Super-Bluetooth technology;
• there is an NFC module.

• small battery capacity;
• IPS-matrix is ​​inferior to SuperAmoled.

Conclusion

For buyers choosing which smartphone is the best, it is not easy to find the right device among the huge number of phones on the market.

TCL PLEX is one of the few modern smartphones that combine an inexpensive price and good quality. Based on the technical specifications, this phone could become one of the best in the ranking of quality budget smartphones. It will suit both fans of mobile games and those who are fond of photography. The display of the device, due to its size and the use of proprietary image transmission technology, allows you to view videos in excellent quality.

Despite the fact that the phone is made in China, the first impression hints that it should fulfill its functions in full.

Before choosing which phone model is better to buy, we recommend that you decide on the requirements that the device must fulfill. We believe that TCL PLEX will satisfy the needs of almost every customer, and is suitable for both young people and middle-aged people.

Since the phone will be officially sold in Russia, potential buyers may have doubts about where to buy it - at home, or in China. We recommend buying sophisticated electronics only in Russia, as devices supplied from abroad lose warranty and service. The average price of the device is expected to be 330 euros.