Fancy a flagship as your next smartphone? Read this TCL 10 Pro review to get hints of how a high-quality smartphone should look like.
TCL 10 Pro smartphone was released in May 2020. This is a flagship-level phone with an incredible set of specs. By appearance alone, the phone already signals its status as a premium one.
The casing is made from a combination of glass and metal. Adorned with a 6.5-inch AMOLED screen, TCL 10 Pro also impresses potential buyers with its curved display design. The display also has a screen-to-body ratio of 98%.
This device keeps presenting flagship after flagship specs in other areas. TCL 10 Pro offers a quad-camera with the main camera having a resolution of 64MP. It also comes with a big battery.
More details are explained below in this TCL 10 Pro review. Get to know this phone from its specs, features, to its price.
Page Contents:
Key Specs
TCL 10 Pro specifications:
- Weight: 184g
- Dimensions: 158.5 x 72.4 x 9.1mm
- OS: Android 10
- Screen size: 6.5-inch
- Resolution: 2340 x 1080
- CPU: 2GHz Octa-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 675
- RAM: 6GB
- Storage: 128GB
- Battery: 4,550mAh, Non-removable
- Rear camera: 64MP + 16MP + 2MP + 5MP
- Front camera: 24MP
Design
With a dimension of 158.5 x 72.4 x 9.1mm, TCL 10 Pro is slightly bulky. It is a bit heavy as well, weighing 184g. This bulkiness is a result of the big battery the phone carries. Meanwhile, the fact it’s using metal is what contributes to the weightiness.
The extra grams and millimeters are worth it, though. TCL 10 Pro offers a smartphone design that makes it worth comparing with flagships from big brands. This phone is beautifully crafted with its glass black cover and metal frame.
The color is called ember gray. There’s only one option for the color. The back cover is made of real glass therefore it has a glossy and silvery finish. It projects luxury worth its price.
On the top side of the cover, you’ll see a horizontal frame housing the quad-camera. All of them, including two LED flashes, sit in one line orderly. You might wonder where the compulsory fingerprint reader is. It’s located on the screen instead of using the usual reader on the back cover.
The front area is occupied by the screen, leaving only a teeny tiny space for a chin at the bottom. The top part consists of only the notch, with the bezel as thin as it can be.
TCL 10 Pro is undoubtedly a good-looking premium phone. Although it is big, the form factor is ergonomic and easy to hold thanks to the curved design.
Read also: Alcatel TCL 10 Pro User Manual
Display
The AMOLED display TCL 10 Pro has is the best kind of screen you can get on a smartphone nowadays. The same goes for the size. At 6.5-inch, you can’t get bigger than that before the phone becomes a tablet.
TCL 10 Pro’s AMOLED display comes with a resolution of 2340 x 1080. The pixel density measures at 398ppi. With highly caliber specs like this, you can expect the best kind of viewing experience with TCL 10 Pro.
An AMOLED screen always impresses us with its performance. You get high-quality graphical output with no flaws whatsoever. The screen is super bright and holds up sunny days really well. You can still enjoy the crispness of the display under the blazing sun.
The display on TCL 10 Pro is also equipped with NXTVISION technology. The screen runs real-time HDR processing. When you’re playing a movie, for example, the screen will automatically adjust the video output with HDR. Therefore, you get sharper contrasts and richer colors.
We still haven’t mentioned the shape of the screen itself. The 6.5-inch display represents what a true full-screen is. The display is curved, allowing no bezels on the left and right sides. As a result, you’d get the most immersive viewing experience with TCL 10 Pro.
Camera
TCL 10 Pro has put a lot of thought into its cameras. We are impressed with its quad-camera, consisting of a 64MP main camera. The other cameras have solid specs as well, proving that the phone is not only offering a quad-camera for gimmicks.
The main camera is equipped with both PDAF and Laser autofocus, allowing picture-snapping in almost an instant. The narrow aperture size, F1.8, is the answer for noise-free night photos. At 64MP, the camera has among the highest resolution in the market.
The second camera has a 16MP ultra-wide lens with its own autofocus. The third camera is a 2MP depth camera with a narrow aperture size as well, allowing you to get a bokeh shot even at night. Lastly, there’s also a macro lens. At 5MP, the lens has autofocus too, which is incredible and rare to be found on other smartphones.
Video recording with TCL 10 Pro supports 4K UHD results. It’s going to take your home video game to the next level. You can play your videos on a TV/big screen like a studio-made movie. The recorder comes with image stabilization as well as a super slow-motion feature.
Meanwhile, TCL 10 Pro also has an impressive front-facing camera at 24MP. This may seem like overkill, as you don’t need that much for selfies. However, it means you can use the front camera to record high-definition videos.
Read also:
Storage
TCL 10 Pro comes with 128GB internal storage. Another flagship sign is to have a gigantic amount of storage space, but TCL 10 Pro takes it to the next level. This phone uses UFS 2.1 for faster file writing and reading. Therefore, storage can also contribute to the overall performance of the phone.
With an available space of 103GB to use, you may not need additional external storage. TCL 10 Pro still provides that option just in case. Users can insert an SD card with a maximum capacity of 256GB. Many cheaper phones offer up to 2 Terabytes. So in this case, TCL 10 Pro comes out a bit disappointing.
Performance
The 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 chipset is the core of TCL 10 Pro’s performance. This Octa-core, 2GHz CPU works with 6GB RAM. Together, they offer blazingly fast performance, efficient energy consumption, and peak capabilities cheaper phones don’t have.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 comes with Adreno 612 GPU, which powers outstanding gaming performance. This is a phone that will be powerful enough to run 3D games in high settings. The performance is claimed to be 50% faster than the previous generation.
There is a wide range of activities you can do with TCL 10 Pro. There’s no question about everyday apps. The combo of fast CPU and big RAM means you can do multitasking with many apps at once. You don’t need to clear the RAM regularly for the device to keep its performance. The CPU efficiently disperses the workload among its 8 cores.
Applications launch in a blink of an eye. It’s very fast and smooth, with no delays in between. Running on Android 10, this phone combines the powerful CPU and the efficient OS for an unbeaten performance level. The software itself is easy to use, functional and uncluttered. There’s a hope that the phone will get an upgrade to Android 11 too.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 is an AI-centric CPU, so it’s no surprise that TCL 10 Pro makes use of its AI capabilities. Enjoy enhanced biometrics technology for the Face Unlock feature. On top of that, TCL 10 Pro also has an in-screen fingerprint reader.
TCL 10 Pro has Accelerometer, Gyroscope, and Compass to help with apps’ functions. There’s also the Hall sensor for flip covers. It supports text dictation by voice, screen reader voice assistant, and hearing aids.
All in all, TCL 10 Pro review for performance shows a highly dependable device. If its design and camera are luxurious, so is the phone at its core level. It’s a definition of a phone that’s beautiful on the outside, and powerful on the inside.
Connectivity
TCL 10 Pro supports the better version of 4G called advanced LTE. Unfortunately, this phone doesn’t support 5G, which is a shame for a flagship with an expensive price tag.
This LTE-A network can reach a maximum download speed of 400Mbps. It supports VoLTE and HD Voice. The Snapdragon X12 LTE modem is the one responsible for networks on this phone. This particular modem has a remarkable ability to catch the strongest signal even during busy hours.
Furthermore, TCL 10 Pro also provides Wi-Fi as an alternative. The Wi-Fi comes with Wi-Fi-related features such as Wi-Fi calling and a Mobile Wi-Fi hotspot.
TCL 10 Pro introduces the Ultra-Bluetooth feature which can support four active pairings at once. This phone also has NFC and infrared technology, as we have expected. The USB port is the latest USB Type-C with quick charging and OTG.
Battery
Users of TCL 10 Pro will enjoy hours of phone time with a 4,550mAh battery. The lithium-polymer battery is not only gigantic, but it also comes with fast charging. This phone utilizes Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology that came with the processor. It has an 18W charger that can boost the phone in a short time.
Although the battery is big, be aware that TCL 10 Pro uses a lot of energy to run. Its AMOLED screen is the biggest battery consumer. In general, you can use TCL 10 Pro for a full day before it needs charging. However, continuous use of the phone results will still drain the battery quicker.
Is the TCL 10 Pro a good phone?
TCL 10 Pro is definitely an interesting and capable phone to have. It’s a flagship and has a lot of next-level specs. From the 64MP camera, AMOLED screen, to its CPU and RAM, there’s no reason to not consider this device. Perhaps, except for the lack of 5G support.
Furthermore, the thing that holds you back would be the price. TCL 10 Pro is not cheap at all. At $700, this phone also comes with an expensive flagship price. The good news is, you can buy this product in installments. You can own this phone by paying $15 per month for two years (Terms and conditions apply.)
TCL 10 Pro Pros
- Metal and glass design
- Incredible camera
- AMOLED display
- Great performance
- Overall flagship quality
TCL 10 Pro Cons
- Expensive price
- No 5G
- External storage is too small