TCL 20 Pro 5G evaluate: beauty aren’t every part

The TCL 20 Pro 5G is a handsome finances telephone that works out among the first-gen kinks we encountered within the 10 Pro, however it isn’t fairly able to tackle the class heavyweights.

Much like its predecessor, the 20 Pro 5G combines a high-end look with a finances price ticket — $499 for 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage on this case. That’s $50 greater than the ten Pro’s beginning worth, however this time you get extra storage and 5G, too.

It’s value stating once more: this can be a very handsome telephone for simply $500. Its large curved-edge show boasts very slim bezels, and construct high quality is top-notch with an aluminum body and glass on the back and front. The rear-facing cameras are neatly organized underneath a vertical strip that sits flush with the rear panel. It’s tidy, and form of retro cool.

Good appears apart, I wouldn’t advocate the 20 Pro 5G to most individuals. There are just a few usability quirks that make it really feel just like the second-gen machine that it’s. But extra importantly, the 20 Pro 5G’s community compatibility and safety help coverage simply aren’t as robust because the Pixels and Galaxy A-series telephones within the class. It’s slated for 2 OS upgrades (respectable for a midrange telephone) however solely two years of safety patches (much less good).

It additionally lacks compatibility with AT&T’s 5G community and isn’t licensed to make use of C-band frequencies that can probably make Verizon and AT&T’s 5G networks significantly better over the subsequent couple of years. It’s one more machine that could be finest fitted to T-Mobile prospects who will get full 4G and 5G connectivity and don’t want to fret about C-band as a lot.

There’s quite a bit to love in regards to the 20 Pro 5G, and TCL has made some steps in the fitting path with this machine, however it nonetheless comes up quick.

TCL 20 Pro 5G display screen, efficiency, and battery

A number of the credit score for the 20 Pro 5G’s premium look goes to its curved 6.67-inch 1080p OLED display screen with slim bezels — you simply gained’t discover one other display screen prefer it on this class. It provides a normal 60Hz refresh price, bucking the development towards quicker 90Hz and 120Hz shows, so that you gained’t get that smooth-scrolling goodness right here. I seen a bit bugginess within the display screen’s coloration temperature leaping between heat and funky, notably after leaving the digicam app, however total it’s a pleasure to have a look at. And fortunately, it appears a lot much less susceptible to registering touches by chance on the curved sides than within the earlier era.

TCL has included its second-generation Nxtvision 2 know-how right here, which goals to make normal photographs and video look extra like excessive dynamic vary content material, with deeper blacks and brighter whites. You can select from just a few totally different profiles, with “vivid” because the default, or flip it off fully.

We thought the primary era of this tech was a bit heavy-handed, and I can’t say I’m impressed this time round both. The impact is commonly so delicate that I’m positive I wouldn’t discover it if I didn’t realize it was there. When I might see a noticeable distinction with it turned on versus off, it made photographs look too unnaturally processed for my style. That mentioned, I don’t suppose it should negatively affect anybody’s expertise utilizing this telephone, it’s simply not the spectacular function that TCL makes it out to be.

The firm appears to be doubling down on this SDR-to-HDR conversion tech fairly than becoming a member of the remainder of the trade in embracing quicker refresh charges, and it’s beginning to really feel like a bizarre alternative. A quicker refresh price display screen is an apparent profit that many extra customers will see and admire. The benefits of viewing HDR content material on an HDR display screen are actual, however the impact is tough to imitate.

TCL has outfitted the 20 Pro 5G with a Snapdragon 750G 5G processor and 6GB of RAM. It’s definitely as much as day-to-day duties, and stutters solely often with heavier duties. The customizable good key from final yr’s mannequin makes an look once more right here, and there are a ton of capabilities you may map it to, from opening a selected app to launching the digicam in a selected mode, like night time or portrait.

It’s actually helpful, however sadly, it’s nonetheless simple to bump unintentionally. It’s positioned out of the way in which in order that I don’t hit it whereas I’m utilizing the telephone; it’s simply once I choose up the machine or my hand brushes towards it that I press it by chance. This is how you find yourself with a number of images of your sofa cushions in your digicam roll, which no person wants.

Moving alongside to the highest fringe of the machine, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is nice! The telephone’s mono speaker isn’t superb, however I wouldn’t count on it to be at this worth, and anyway: headphone jack! The optical in-display fingerprint sensor can also be good — one of many quicker and extra correct I’ve encountered within the midrange class. I can’t stress sufficient how a lot I admire this after fighting some finicky fingerprint sensors in lower-end gadgets.

The TCL 20 Pro 5G is supplied with a 4,500mAh battery. It will get you thru a day of average use, however total battery life doesn’t appear fairly as strong because it could possibly be. If you’re a heavy person, chances are you’ll be pushing your luck by the tip of an extended day of use. There’s one other premium function on board right here, too: wi-fi charging at as much as 15W. That’s one thing that’s nonetheless exhausting to come back by within the $500-and-under class, and it’s solely a bit slower than the telephone’s 18W wired charging.

On the software program aspect, the 20 Pro 5G ships with Android 11 and TCL has promised it two OS upgrades. One (or god forbid, none) is frequent on this class, in order that’s nice to see. However, it should get simply two years of safety updates, which lags behind Samsung and Google’s four- and three-year insurance policies, respectively. You ought to get greater than a few years of help out of a $500 telephone.

Otherwise, TCL’s tackle Android is an effective one. It’s extremely customizable however doesn’t really feel overly busy, with useful options like a tray for often used apps tucked away on the right-hand aspect of the display screen, and the choice to rearrange the order of system navigation buttons throughout setup. It’s quite a bit, however it seems like helpful stuff fairly than customization overkill.

TCL 20 Pro 5G digicam

The 20 Pro 5G features a 48-megapixel f/1.8 principal digicam with optical picture stabilization, which isn’t assured at this worth and is an actual profit in dim lighting circumstances. There’s additionally a 16-megapixel ultrawide, 2-megapixel macro, and 2-megapixel depth sensor in addition to a 32-megapixel selfie digicam round entrance.

The digicam {hardware} is clearly able to good issues. I used to be pleasantly stunned by the extent of element in images I took exterior in good mild — there’s some aggressive sharpening occurring, however it’s not too distracting. However, there’s nonetheless room for enchancment. Colors like greens and blues look a bit unnatural and shiny. Photos can look flat and washed out, and I noticed extra lens flare in my photographs than I’d count on to see. It’s attainable that that is an impact from the cameras’ recessed place fairly than on a protruding bump, which might be an actual disgrace — I’ll gladly take an uglier digicam bump than flare in my images.

Grid View

Portrait mode does a convincing sufficient job of separating topics from a blurred background, although a disappointing variety of my images confirmed a bit topic blur even with OIS aiding. “Super Night” mode is a little bit of a miss. It appears to retain extra element in very low-light photographs in comparison with normal auto mode, however it additionally employs some heavy noise-reduction. Images present some unnatural smoothing and might skew a bit too heat — personally I’d follow auto mode for low-light pictures.

All in all, the 20 Pro 5G’s digicam capabilities are underwhelming. There are some actual positives — OIS helps you get extra regular pictures and element retention is nice — however as a complete package deal it’s not fairly on par with the likes of the Pixel 4A 5G and Galaxy A52 5G.

There’s a complete lot to love in regards to the TCL 20 Pro 5G, however it nonetheless seems like a tool that’s nonetheless shaking off some early-generation quirks. While it does provide some options and {hardware} you’d be hard-pressed to seek out on some other $500 telephone, it’s not fairly the whole package deal that it ought to be for that worth.

There have been some necessary enhancements over the primary era. The curved sides of the display screen are much less susceptible to unintentional touches, and there have been some good additions just like the inclusion of wi-fi charging. Yet some points stay the place TCL continues to be discovering its footing with this second-generation machine: the Smart Key continues to be simple to press by chance, the digicam is fundamental, and Nxtvision is underwhelming.

And then there’s community compatibility — within the US, it’s form of a jigsaw puzzle to which solely the established gamers have the entire items. Thanks to a few of these lacking items, Verizon and AT&T prospects gained’t get probably the most out of this machine and its 5G capabilities. And with solely two years of safety updates promised, it lags behind the competitors when it comes to longevity.

If you’re on T-Mobile and also you’d actually like a finances machine with a flagship feel and appear, then the 20 Pro 5G is an effective possibility, with a powerful caveat that you simply’ll be placing up with some points that opponents have already discovered. Most others would do finest to contemplate a kind of $500 midrange heavyweights. The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G provides a quick refresh price display screen, higher community compatibility, and a strong four-year safety help coverage. The Google Pixel 4A 5G is an effective possibility, too, with a greater digicam — if you could find it nonetheless in inventory. You gained’t get a flowery curved show or the high-end construct high quality with both of these alternate options, however relying in your priorities, they might serve you higher in the long term.

Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge