More well-known for their TVs rather than their mobile division, TCL is aggressively entering the mid-range smartphone market with the TCL PLEX. Packing a 6.53-inch 2340 x 1080 display and a 48MP main shooter, it’s serious in making TCL brand name in smartphones.
TCL has its roots in displays so it’s safe to say that they have focused on making the TCL PLEX’s display of top-notch quality. It comes with a 6.53-inch LCD Dotch screen, which is their fancy way of saying that the smartphone comes with a punch-hole for its 24MP f/2.0 front-facing lens.
Thanks to a dedicated display engine, the TCL PLEX can boast better color accuracy that mirrors the performance of their TVs. In addition, a 6-axis color enhancement has been applied to get more radiant images from the display.
The TCL PLEX will also sport a dedicated display engine and real-time SDR to HDR video enhancement that can help you while viewing videos on the smartphone. Long standard options such Adaptive Tone and Eye Comfort Mode are thrown in for good measure.
At the rear is a triple camera setup composed of a 48MP f/1.8 main lens, a 16MP f/2.4 ultrawide shooter, and a 2MP f/1.8 portrait camera. Its main camera is powered by a Sony IMX582 sensor that allows it to take high resolution photos, Super Night Mode Photos, 4K30fps, and 720p960fps videos.
Inside its chassis is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 chip with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage. Those who need more storage can expand its internal storage via its MicroSD slot up to 256GB.
The smartphone is powered by a 3,820mAh non-removable battery. It will be charged via a USB Type-C port at the bottom that’s also compatible with Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 to alleviate the wait.
The smartphone will ship with Android 9.0 Pie with TCL UI. TCL’s OS will feature relatively standard features such as a Smart Key, smooth folder browsing, automatic app organization, and a bit of customization. TCL has also promised that an Android 10 update will be coming via FOTA.
| TCL PLEX | |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 |
| Screen | 6.53 LCD Dotch, 19.5:9, 90% Screen-to-Body ratio, 2340 x 1080 |
| RAM | 6GB |
| OS | Android 9.0 Pie with TCL UI, Expected Android 10 update via FOTA |
| Rear Camera | 48MP f/1.8 6P, 16MP f/2.4 5P, 2MP f/1.8 5P, IMX582, S5K3P0, OV02K Image Sensors |
| Front Camera | 24MP f/2.0 5P Lens, Beautification |
| Video | 4K30fps, 1080p120fps, 720p240fps, 720p960fps |
| Storage | 128GB UFS 2.1 expandable up to 256GB via MicroSD Slot |
| Network | Dual Nano-SIM, 4G LTE |
| Connectivity | Dual-Band Wifi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, 3.5mm Audio Jack, USB Type-C |
| Battery | 3,820mAh, QuickCharge 3.0 |
| Others | Rear-mounted Fingerprint Sensor, 4 Bluetooth Devices Simultaneously |
| Colors | Obsidian Black, Opal White |
The TCL PLEX will be available in stores starting November 15, 2019 for PhP 15,990. Those who are interested can choose from two colors: Obsidian Black and Opal White.
Select stores will also be offering a free TCL 24.0-inch TV worth PhP 7,999 with every purchase of a TCL PLEX. This offer will run until December 1, 2019.
