Review: TCL 10 Pro Review – Simply Put: Premium & Awesome!

TCL 10 Pro feels solid and premium. It has a sturdy metal frame and some nice weight to it, giving that build quality greatness. It has an In-display Fingerprint Sensor that works fast and is completely undetectable when not in use. The curvature of the glass screen is flawless and meets perfectly to the phones body, so you never feel a change in textures or an edge lip while swiping left to right with your thumb. TCL has done an amazing job compressing all their knowledge from the world of TV’s and beautiful screens into this new dual-sided 3D curved glass mobile phone. The FHD+ curved AMOLED HDR Display looks flawless and gives truly the most beautiful visual experience on a 6.47” screen. I can see why Netflix had no problem certifying this display based on the color and contrast it supports watching HDR10 video.

The tiny notch around the top front facing camera seems to fade into the back seamlessly when watching any full screen movies, TV shows or even playing games because I forget it’s even there. On the reverse side, the 4 cameras are flat with 2 led’s which do poke out a little bit, but when using the case provided or any other case everything sits flush. The sim tray is not in the usual side or top spot but at the bottom and is made with a seal, so its very easy to install and remove your SIM card without it falling through an opening like so many other phones. The TCL 10 Pro includes a wide range of easily configurable connectivity which includes bluetooth, WIFI, NFC, and also IR (infrared) to control other home appliances that may not use current wireless communication.

The Battery in this phone is a 4500mAH which means you should be able to use it all day and all night with no worries of needing a charge. What I’ve found under normal use is exactly that. I purposefully did not install extras that run the battery for looks alone like Walloop or Muzei. These are beautiful apps and make the screen visuals so much more unique and fun, but honestly drain the battery slowly. So in my experience using this phone as it is, has been an amazing experience. The reverse battery charging is also a nice add-on feature to quickly distribute power to another device in need.

Camera & Video

The laser auto-focus grabs the focal length quickly and accurately in less than a blink of an eye. The images are sharp and almost perfectly colored every time, without the needed fixes or adjustments we are all accustomed to doing. Testing in low light situations has resulted in better than expected videos and images. I believe the manual controls included in the camera’s UI definitely enhances the experience, especially for those of you who are very particular on getting the quality this phone can achieve. One of my personal favorite usages of the camera system is the 960 fps slow-motion. Although as of now it only allows 10 second clips using this high of a frame rate, it definitely makes anything moving around you look super impressive and intense. The only small complication I found, that may possibly be fixed in a future update is the use of Face ID detection. The front facing camera takes amazing photos, detecting depth and creating a nice blur effect behind the subject, but when unlocking the phone using Face ID in a shady place or in the evening, this didn’t seem to work. Honestly this hasn’t effect my use, since the fingerprint ID worked every time. Baseline, you can capture incredible video and images with the NXTVISION Ultra High-Resolution 64MP quad-camera system.

UI & Speed/Gaming

This phone exceeds all expectations and gives the meaning of low budget phones a whole new name. Like most android phones the UI is similar and looks identical to one another. Lower budget phones usually prove they are flawed and low cost within 1 min of usage. They are sluggish, stuttering when swiping around on the phone and sometimes don’t even load apps correctly or at all. The Phone information will say one thing on the box, but prove to be way less than promised. This phone runs and feels as high end as they come. It flows through in and out of apps with no delays or hiccups. It launches the camera fast and takes photos and videos quickly and effortlessly. It also gives the option to gently lowers the blue light illumination for those times you need to get to sleep, but want a little more time on your phone. (Low Blue Light Certification)

The included Smart Key button is an added touch of genius because it gives a physical button that can be adjusted to our liking with multiple uses. For example this button can be used to turn on and off the NXTVISION with a (single press) – turning on the LEDs to use as a FlashLight (long press), and (double pressing) the same button to turn on dual screen mode. Of course this is how I have it setup, but the options are pretty limitless. To make the changes, you simply go to the Settings/Advanced features/Smart Key and make your changes to each of the 3 press types. The phones UI also includes an Edge Bar side menu that swipes out and can load apps, contacts, and a nice little handy ruler.

What can you expect with high performance games?

Instead of loading a simplified game with minimal requirements, I decided to install and load my call of duty mobile account to this phone and see how it would handle it. The game loaded fast and ran smoother than expected. Not only did it look beautiful with the larger screen, extra contrast and coloring, but it ran just as fast as on my iPhone 11. No extra delays, no problems loading, no conflicting speed issues or multiplayer problems. It handled the game wonderfully.

Final Thoughts

The TCL 10 Pro might be considered a flagship phone innovator. It has everything you need and want, but doesn’t have the hefty price tag that other companies add, offering nothing more than a name brand. Every company that manufactures mobile phones need to compare to the TCL 10 Pro as a starting point moving forward. If these other companies cannot bring what TCL has brought to the table, then might as well start over from scratch. This company has proven that in 2020 a coveted smart phone that is highly advanced can be produced and sold for under $450. It has all the power and performance that other big name companies are providing but at half the price, so why go anywhere else? TCL 10 Pro is amazing!

The TCL 10 Pro retails for $449 and is available for purchase at Amazon