TCL Foldable Phone | Samsung is still king

TCL is one of the few companies that offers affordable yet quality tech products. This year was no different for TCL. They set out to produce their first ever Foldable phone but due to various circumstances, they were unable to.

This proves just how challenging the Foldable market is to enter. Their main goal was to produce a cheaper alternative to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3. But to everyone’s surprise, Samsung managed to lower the price of the Z Flip 3 while still maintaining high quality materials and flagship level performance.

As stated earlier, the TCL Foldable phone (Project Chicago) was set to be released before the end of the year. But due to the Global chip shortage and high cost of production, the release of this device was postponed indefinitely. Below are the specs that this device was set to feature;

Specs.

• Main Display – 6.67-inch AMOLED
• Resolution – 2400 x 1080
• Front Display – 1.1-inch AMOLED
• Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
• RAM – 6GB
• Storage – 128GB
• Front Camera – 44MP
• Rear Cameras – 48MP Sony IMX582 (main) / 16MP (ultrawide)
• Battery – 3,545mAh w/ 18W Quick Charge 3.0 and 10W wireless charging
• Extra features – Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Selfie Gesture Control, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC

Let’s talk specs for a bit……..

For a $800 phone, these specs are a mere joke. For the same price point you could get an Iphone 13 or even the Samsung Galaxy S21 which are just but a few of the premium segment smartphones. Moreover, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G is a letdown for a device of this price range. But since this is a foldable phone, we will let it slide.

Fortunately, it comes with a gorgeous, 6.67” AMOLED display. Nowadays, AMOLED screens are a must for any premium phone and TCL nailed it on this one. At the back, we have a 1.1-inch AMOLED display, similar to the one found on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3. The only difference between the two is that the one found in this TCL phone is mounted vertically instead of horizontally. These rear mounted screens come in handy when you want to view notifications, shuffle your music and even take some selfies in some phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.

The RAM and Storage options are fixed at 6GB and 128GB respectively. This is quite sufficient for a device of this caliber but it would be better if they offered more options. The cameras on this device seem decent enough although we never got our hands on it. Nonetheless, it comes with a whooping 44MP front facing camera and a rear 48MP main camera and a 16 MP ultra-wide camera.

Since we never got to play with these cameras, I will not dwell on them for long. But it is worth noting that camera systems have gotten so sophisticated and complex such that megapixel count should not be a defining factor. There are other factors like the size of the lens, the type of image processing done after the image is taken etc.

The battery capacity of this device is adequate at just 3545MAh. As compared with the Z Flip 3’s which is just 3300MAh you can expect about 6 to 7 hours of moderate usage. If you are a heavy user the battery life will of course decrease. One of my favorite unlocking features is a side mounted fingerprint sensor which this device has. Aside from Face Id, this is easiest and the most secure way to unlock your phone. TCL deserves a pat on the back for this.

Final thoughts.

If the TCL Foldable Phone was released, I think it would have been a great device. Despite the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, this device checks almost all boxes for the perfect Foldable Phone. Since it was not released, TCL is giving Samsung more room to expand especially on this new Foldable territory. But hopefully TCL will release their First Foldable next year.

Despite all this talk on specs and everything, it all boils down to the consumer. Foldable phones are still in their early stages and people have not yet fully tapped into this oasis. I really believe in this Foldable market and I can’t wait for TCL to join the competition. If you are looking for a Foldable phone to buy, I highly suggest you read our article on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.