Smartphone Alcatel TCL Plex - advantages and disadvantages

In September 2019, TCL Multimedia Technology announced the launch of the new TCL PLEX smartphone on the market. It sets itself apart from the competition with TCL's NXTVISION™ technology, which sharpens and contrasts the image and brings it to life, making it one of the best devices for gaming and watching videos. The 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 was unknown on the world market until the 90s.

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 created organization was named TCL&Alcatel Mobile Phones Limited, and became one of the best electronics manufacturing companies.

Despite the widespread belief that the manufacture of phones 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 had not bought Alcatel's shares in mobile devices, it is possible that the brand as such would cease to exist.

Alcatel smartphones are known for being reliable, easy to use, and at the same time inexpensive. The advantages of devices of this brand include also good performance, suitable for active and not the most "heavy" games, high-quality sound and a contrast 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 good functionality. The Android operating system allows you to install most popular applications.

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

In order to avoid the “glory” of Alcatel (since many people associate this company with budget and problematic smartphones), the manufacturer decided to create smartphones under the TCL brand. At the same time, he plans to avoid the mistakes made by Alcatel - in particular, the company plans to focus on a small number of devices, making each of them unique and worthy of the attention of users.

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:

• using a screen with an IPS matrix that does not distort color reproduction;
• NXTVISION chip, which allows you to convert video from SDR to HDR, as well as improves image sharpness and contrast;
• the phone has an RGB sensor;
• the presence of a triple camera with a main module from the well-known Japanese manufacturer Sony, which takes good quality pictures at night, unlike how phones from other manufacturers take pictures;
• 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory is a good margin for a smartphone of this level;
• fast, productive and reliable processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 675;
• case made of glass with an 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 tint.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 territory of 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 an unusual appearance. As previously mentioned, the body of the device is made of glass, which shimmers depending on the angle at which light falls on it. The drawing on the panel is under glass, so it will not deteriorate from accidental damage or minor scratches. The frame is made of metal (aluminum), the gadget fits comfortably in your hand. Despite the fact that the body of the smartphone is made of glass, fingerprints clearly appear on it. Moreover, this effect is manifested both on white and black cases.

On the rear panel of the device, a non-standardly located camera block stands out (it is placed horizontally, on the sides of the camera modules there are two LED flashes that can work either in tandem or separately). There is also a fingerprint scanner to unlock the phone. Not many users will like the horizontal arrangement of the cameras, since when holding the device, one of the fingers necessarily hits a camera.

In appearance, the device resembles Huawei Mate 10. Many users will appreciate the Smart Key button located on the left side of the device - its purpose can be set at your discretion. On the opposite side is the on/off button and the volume rocker.At the top of the device 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 televisions, 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 on the screen, while its location is non-standard - near the left edge.

As mentioned earlier, NXTVISION technology delivers true-to-life images and videos while processing SDR to HDR in real time. The same technology optimizes the image by enhancing the detail and contrast of fine details, as well as brightening dark areas.

Large dimensions and a wide screen diagonal - 6.3 inches, allow you to display a large amount of information when 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 was concerned about protecting the eyes of users from harmful radiation, for this purpose the following functions are implemented in the smartphone: "Adaptation of colors", "night mode" and "reading mode". The first mode automatically adjusts the level of brightness and color reproduction 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 of which this mode is turned on automatically. Night mode reduces the brightness and color reproduction of blue, making the image "warm" and muted.

cameras

As mentioned above, the front camera eye is built into the screen and is not in the center, but on the left side. The camera is equipped with a 24-megapixel sensor that allows you to take good pictures. It can also record video 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 shooting.

The main camera consists of three modules, while the main sensor of 48 megapixels is directly involved in shooting (the most popular model from the Japanese manufacturer Sony is used here), and a widescreen 16 megapixel. The third module is mostly not used for shooting, it is a photosensitive 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, artificial intelligence is involved in most 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 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 fans of surfing the Internet and playing 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. The package includes a charger with a short cord length, which may be inconvenient for some users.

Performance, memory and sound

The system runs under the control of a simple and intuitive TCL UI interface, which is practically no different from the "naked" Android. Its advantages include convenient navigation, the ability to personalize the device using the “Smart Assistant”, which adjusts to a user-friendly mode of interaction with the phone and optimally organizes the work of the smartphone.

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

Since TCL's core business is televisions, they have programmed their own smartphone so that it can be used as a remote control. Some smart TVs can stream video and images directly to their 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. If desired, you can use an SD card up to 256 GB. The smartphone supports most modern technologies, including NFC. Thanks to the presence of Super-Bluetooth technology, it is possible to connect up to 4 audio devices at the same time.

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

Advantages and disadvantages:

• a 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 reproduction, good detail;
• high-quality and reliable stuffing;
• ergonomic shell developed on the basis of artificial intelligence;
• Android 9 out of the box;
• support for 18W fast charging;
• Super-Bluetooth technology;
• there is an NFC module.

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

Conclusion

It is not easy for buyers choosing which brand smartphone is better to find the right device among the huge number of phones on the market.

TCL PLEX is one of the few modern smartphones that combines an inexpensive price and good quality. Based on the technical characteristics, this phone can become one of the best quality budget smartphones in the ranking. 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 perform its functions in full.

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

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