There are more and more entry-level devices that more than meet the needs of most users, and more brands are joining in to launch products with these types of features.
One of the brands offering the best value for money in this field is TCL, and its new TCL 50 5G, which was unveiled some time ago and which I have had the opportunity to test for a few weeks, is proof of this.
It is priced at only $149, and in addition to 5G, an increasingly important feature today, it has a delightful screen for its price range and a great battery.
Design: sleek and lightweight
The TCL 50 5G features the Chinese company’s classic design, with a sleek and elegant back that feels very pleasant to the touch and doesn’t leave fingerprints, and stands out for its camera module housed in the upper left corner.
I really liked its grip and size, as despite being 8.3 mm thick, it fits perfectly in your hand. This is probably helped by its weight of just over 180 grams, which makes the device feel like a feather, and its size of 164 x 75 mm, which makes it very easy to handle.
Added to all this is a fingerprint reader on the side, which responds quite well, a mini headphone jack on the bottom accompanied by the classic USB-C for charging and the SIM slot and memory expansion in the upper left corner.
Screen: a delight that surprises for its price
This is what I liked most about the device, without a doubt.
Looking at the specs, it may not seem that impressive—after all, it’s a 6.6-inch IPS panel with HD+ resolution and a 90 Hz refresh rate—but the magic lies in the proprietary NXTVISION technology.
It’s a screen with its own unique touch, giving it a different color tone with very good color balance.
It also has a reading mode, which transforms the screen to a black and white tone similar to an e-reader, which not only saves a lot of battery life, but also makes the reading experience much better.
Add to this a maximum brightness of 480 nits, which, although still not enough in outdoor situations, looks pretty good, and an automatic brightness feature that I found excellent in how it adapts to the situation.
Honestly, considering the price of the device, I think the screen is an absolute joy.
Performance and software: somewhat lacking, but sufficient for the average user
Inside, it has a MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ processor with 4 GB of RAM, which is just about enough. I would have put a little more effort into this aspect, as I did experience some lag in some animations and apps were a little slow to open, but honestly, for this price, I’m not looking for anything more.
Obviously, don’t expect to play demanding games, but for social media and everyday tasks, it’s more than enough.
Ultimately, it performs similarly to its peers, but it does lag behind in certain aspects.
As for the operating system, I was pleasantly surprised to find Android 14 in fairly polished software, albeit with a lot of bloatware. The best part? TCL promises two years of updates and five years of security support, so it will be compatible with Android 15.
It’s true that many of the apps are TCL’s own, which allow you to take advantage of certain elements of the software, such as the NTXVISION technology I mentioned earlier, but it also comes with a few apps that you might not want to have. In the end, you can just delete them, but it’s annoying to have to go through this process.
Camera: more than adequate and with a very interesting super macro
The camera doesn’t have high aspirations, but the truth is that it doesn’t need to.
It has a main camera that delivers very good results, a decent wide angle and a perfect 2x zoom to enlarge the image a little more when you need to.
Add to this a super macro that I really liked and that is perfect for capturing small details. Obviously, I don’t expect much innovation in a camera at this price point, so finding a bonus like this mode is always welcome.
The app is quite good and very intuitive, with several options that are always at your fingertips and make it very clear what they do, and the shooting speed is excellent, so there’s little else to add.
As for the image quality, I think it’s adequate. It’s not that you’re going to get excellent image quality in terms of colors and contrast, but it’s more than enough.
Battery: huge and long-lasting
The battery is another of the great strengths of this TCL 50 5G thanks to its 5010 mAh capacity, as I’ve managed to get almost 2 days out of it and by using the screen in black and white, I’ve managed to get 3 days without any problems.
It is true that fast charging is a bit lacking, with only 18 W of power. A little more would have been better, since these days, no one likes to spend more than an hour charging their phone.
I haven’t been able to test it, as there was no charger in the box, although according to the brand it does come inside the package, but in my case it didn’t.
is the TCL 50 5G worth it?
The TCL 50 5G is a really affordable phone that has two strong points: a large screen and a huge battery.
It’s true that its performance and camera are a bit lacking depending on the type of user you are, but it makes up for it with a very balanced, lightweight, and comfortable design, as well as two years of updates and five years of security support, so you’ll have a phone for a while.
What’s more, it only costs $149, making it a real bargain. If you don’t want to spend much at all and those two features are your priority, the TCL 50 5G will suit you down to a T.
