TCL’s entry-level Stylus 5G is sensible for somebody on a strict funds who completely will need to have 5G and a built-in stylus. That’s fairly a selected demographic, and I’m unsure many individuals meet all of that standards.

The TCL Stylus 5G is obtainable for $258 from T-Mobile or $269 from Metro by T-Mobile — they’re the very same mannequin — and for now, these are the one methods to buy it within the US. The Stylus 5G can also be the third notable funds stylus cellphone to reach on retailer cabinets within the US this 12 months, alongside the 2022 variations of Motorola’s Moto G Stylus and Moto G Stylus 5G. Got all these product names straight? Good, there’s a quiz later.

TCL’s stylus cellphone is the least costly of the three, and its specs mirror that. It doesn’t supply fairly as a lot RAM because the Motorola choices or the $282 non-stylus OnePlus Nord N20, its 4,000mAh battery is on the small aspect for the category, and its 6.81-inch LCD provides neither a quicker refresh charge nor the richness of an OLED — choices its equally priced opponents supply.

This all leaves the TCL Stylus in awkward territory. It’s cheap, to make certain, but additionally completely unremarkable. Even below $300, a cellphone can supply one thing that stands out, and the TCL’s mixture of a low value, 5G, and a stylus doesn’t add as much as a priceless proposition.

The cellphone’s efficiency is suitable, although there’s a noticeable stutter and hesitation right here and there as I leap between apps, kind emails, and scroll timelines. The Stylus’ MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset and 4GB of RAM are sufficient to get by means of day by day duties, however I wouldn’t count on much more from them. Battery stamina isn’t best-in-class, however it should final by means of a day of reasonable use.

The Stylus’ 6.8-inch display screen is an space the place it looks as if TCL may have performed higher, given its major enterprise making TVs. It’s a 1080p LCD, so decision is sufficient, and the display screen will get shiny sufficient to make use of in direct daylight. But fairly than supply a quicker refresh charge, TCL continues to lean on its NXTVISION expertise as its standout characteristic, and it’s simply not spectacular.

In concept, this characteristic enhances photos on display screen to spice up coloration and distinction. In actuality, it’s exhausting to identify the distinction with the characteristic turned on or off, and the colours typically look oversaturated even in “natural” mode (it’s set to vivid by default). There’s nothing basically improper with this display screen, and taking into account the sub-$300 value, it’s okay for the worth. It’s simply that TCL may do some extra on this division, and it most likely ought to, given its pedigree.

The cellphone’s headline characteristic works because it ought to: pop the stylus out of its silo, and also you’ll see a customizable display screen of shortcuts to stylus-friendly apps. In addition to a inventory notes app, TCL has partnered with Nebo to supply a model of its existing notes app that’s constructed round handwriting recognition. It doesn’t fairly have all of the sturdy options of the paid model of the app, however it does embrace some options not obtainable on the standard notes app. For instance, you possibly can underline a handwritten phrase to transform it to daring textual content or add spacing by drawing traces by means of handwriting. It’s additionally extra conducive to mixing handwriting and keyboard-typed textual content.

Individual notes are formatted both as dominated pages for textual content or grid-lined freeform pages higher suited to doodling. As a outcome, the divisions between notes are extra inflexible than Motorola’s tabbed interface. You can add a freeform part to a text-based web page, however you possibly can’t simply add textual content or convert handwriting on a freeform web page. There’s not a lot you are able to do to type your word web page with totally different background colours, both — for that, you’ll have to go to TCL’s customary notes app.

There’s additionally a handwriting-friendly calculator app called MyScript 2, additionally made by the identical firm as Nebo. It takes written equations, turns them into textual content, solves them, and saves the ends in the app’s historical past for later reference. It’s a pleasant addition that’s not included on Motorola’s stylus telephones — however it’s additionally a $3 app that anybody can obtain, so it shouldn’t be a deal maker or breaker. Outside of these two apps, there are a number of different helpful objects on the stylus shortcut menu, like a display screen magnifier and GIF maker — nothing that’s revolutionary and even essentially requires a stylus however mimic a few of the pen choices Samsung gives on its premium S22 Ultra stylus cellphone.

The Stylus 5G ships with Android 12, because it ought to, as a result of Android 13 is nigh. TCL’s advertising director, Stefan Streit, says that the cellphone will get Android 13, however that would be the solely OS improve that it sees. It’s solely scheduled to obtain two years of safety updates, which isn’t a lot. Both Motorola and OnePlus supply three years of safety updates for equally priced telephones, so TCL’s two-year coverage is on the low finish, even amongst funds gadgets.

The Stylus 5G consists of three rear cameras — there are 4 lenses, however one in every of them homes a 2-megapixel depth sensor you possibly can disregard. There’s a 50-megapixel primary digicam, a 5-megapixel ultrawide, and a 2-megapixel macro. Around entrance, there’s a 13-megapixel selfie digicam.

Grid View

It’s a really comparable configuration to the TCL 30 V 5G, and efficiency is analogous. The digicam does far more face-smoothing than I choose, and it’s susceptible to some unusual lens flare — delicate however noticeable. Otherwise, pictures in good and even reasonably low mild look nice, with vibrant (if a tad cool) colours. In dim mild, the mixture of face-smoothing and low shutter speeds imply you’ll get quite a lot of blurry individuals pictures. Video recording tops out at 1080p, and clips look fairly shaky even with the system’s digital picture stabilization enabled.

The TCL Stylus 5G is basically unremarkable, and even contemplating its very affordable value, it’s exhausting to advocate. The stylus works nicely, and its pre-downloaded handwriting apps do some greater than the usual choices from Motorola. But as a complete package deal, it falls nicely wanting Motorola’s 5G and non-5G stylus telephones with a lackluster display screen, middling efficiency, and one much less 12 months of software program help.

If a stylus is a must have and there’s some flexibility in your funds, then the 2022 Moto G Stylus 5G is nicely price the additional cash. The model that T-Mobile sells has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is lower than the 8GB / 256GB unlocked model we reviewed, however it prices $300 fairly than $500. For $40 extra, it’s a good bit pricier than the TCL Stylus 5G, however it’s a a lot better system with an additional 12 months of safety updates promised.

If a stylus isn’t essential, the OnePlus N20 is a superb choice for these on T-Mobile. It provides one of many nicest screens within the class and quick wired charging — and at $282, it’s inside putting distance of the $260(ish) Stylus 5G.

Realistically, TCL might be making an attempt to scoop up a few of the funds stylus cellphone market that LG left behind when it took its Stylo telephones and exited the smartphone enterprise. Fittingly, the final Stylo cellphone (nicely, the primary, too) I reviewed included good stylus options however was finally too gradual to advocate. TCL appears to put on LG’s sneakers slightly too comfortably right here.

Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge