TCL 10 Pro and 10 L unboxing and first impressions By Neowin

Hey, everyone is drunk on schedule with me. Owen and today. I have a couple phones here from this year. If this young 10, now this young 10 Pro so place, phones were announced a couple of weeks ago during an online event, and they're, the inner part of the new, this young 10th series, which includes these two phones and then a TCM 10-5 G, which is coming later this year, and it's the first phone sort of smartphone lineup at the see how he's doing under their own brand. So if you don't know this year has been mostly responsible for uncle Town branded smartphones and then blackberry smartphones as well for a while I believe that particular video has expired now, but they never really made a lot of own branded smartphones before at least in the US and in the West in general. But last year they were only is that this young likes, and I was super interested in that phone, I reviewed it I really liked it.

I just think it was a great value for the price because it had a snapdragon 685 ships at 66, Gila gigabytes of RAM I. Didn't do anything about the storage and the very good display pretty decent cameras, good design too, so it was a very complete package for a320neo. I was very happy about it, and now they have this full lineup, there's more interesting in some ways, but also kind of questionable I have some questions about this, and I'll get to them in a bit, but it's mostly got to do it a fact that the DC antenna fax, was such a great value, and I'm looking at the specs and price for these funds. Furthermore, I have to wonder if you're getting the same kind of value that you are getting last year at the planks, so I'm gonna talk about ten now, first, just because I think that probably is more interesting, and I want to do- would do that one last, so we're gonna start with this on the inside and I think you can see some specs here. It actually doesn't talk about the internals on the inside.

This phone is a significant down way from the back, so you got a snapdragon 665 instead of the 675 off the bikes, and you have still six gigabytes of ram. So that's the same, and then the storage starts smaller at 64 gigabytes instead of 128, but it's eMMC storage. It's not your festive point. One like it was on the planks, so that's I believe a significant down way in terms of the speed that you're going to get from those from that storage, and then I'm, just holding apps, and all of that I think that's significant down away and this phone is about 50 euros. Cheaper in erupts.

It is gonna, be 279. I have only the planks launched at 329, and I feel, like that's a big difference in the hardware to justify a relatively small might say, price difference, but let's just go ahead, and they can look at it more directly. So, even though the model on the box is the pure white color, this one is actually not the permit. This yeah I know it's the Mariana moon, so you open the box. You get this little thing this as the manual and the case inside and I just sort of point out that the case is now soft plastic, that soft touch, plastics, and I'm really thankful for that, because MMM, probably my biggest don't wait or one of my biggest complaints is that they sometimes my point was that the case if dimwit was a hard plastic and it was so annoying to just try to put that on, take it off when necessary.

It was really tight and just really hard to put on because it doesn't move. It saw me right, so that was annoying, and I'm really glad that's not the case anymore. So then, the phone here just before you get to that real quick. We have the USB type-c charging cable there. It's type, a Type C of course, and then charger itself here, which is 18 watts.

It's not horrible. Furthermore, it is pretty standard for like mid-range phones, I guess and still going to be relatively fast charging. So that's fine, so I set that to the side get there get the phone itself, so they slide it out of here and let's start with the back here. So this is like I said the Mariana bloom, it's a very dark, or it's got a nice like refractive effect on a Linux actually kind of nice. It's not like the most amazing week.

New phone ever bring looks nice enough, and then you have coarse fingerprint reader there and the camera setup here. So this is the first big difference from the planks that are gonna on the outside, at least, so we got four cameras instead of three and the main camera is the same. So it's a forty-eight megapixel sensor, please go past pixel technology, and then it's just getting different very quickly, because then you have an ultra-wide camera but which you also add on the place. But the points have a 16 megapixel camera and this one is just 8 megapixels, and then you have two other cameras that are both 2 megapixels. One of them is a depth camera so for those portrait effects and now that stuff that some people, like particularly care, and then you have a macro camera, which is also 2 megapixels, and you know I still take.

You know, up-close pictures of things I don't like when phones have a wide-angle camera and the micro camera as separate ones is it feels like a waste of space I've seen more than one phone that puts the micro function into the wide-angle, camera and I think that's when more efficient. So whenever I see a macro camera separate from the remaining ones and that's basically the only Edition here I just feel like it's not doing anything for me, and it's not really a good justification for a price increase or anything like that, but either way. So then you have two sets of flashes. There I believe they're both turned on at the same time when you use them, so it kind of helped somehow make this thing a little more. It looks fine either that it does up.

We want my charts and going around the phone when you have sim card slot. This is what this young Kong is a smart key. So it's pretty much. It expects that you can summon the Google Assistant, but you can actually do anything you want with it there are three activation modes for this. You can press once press twice or press and hold, and each of those presses room, there's something different I think it's really useful.

If it doesn't force you to use the Google Assistant, then it's great because there's a lot of the things you can do with this now. You can do much more quickly now, because you have this key. Just for that. So I think that's a good addition there, and this was also on the points, and we appreciated it there, and I'm sure to appreciate it here as well, and then at the top here, I have a headphone jack. A microphone I come here with a microphone, and then you can kinda see that this speaker grille here the earpiece, is almost facing upwards.

It's no! My interesting I don't know if that's visible on camera, but it's kind of like right on the edge of the phone, which is not something I've ever I, believe so. That's interesting, anyways here on the side, phone and record part, but nothing special about that speaker grandma's here there is another microphone, a hole in the speaker, grille and then the USB type-c charging, and then here you have the display of course turned on it does have a notch. There one show cutout for the front facing camera, which is another downgrade from the banks by the way, because this is a 16 megapixel camera one of the pranks has a 24 megapixel camera I. Don't know for sure that this one supports that quad pick something now much and all the parts did I would assume this one does as well, but I haven't I haven't actually remember if it does and then this point like I said 6.53 inches from which the LCD looks fine, like I'm look at it, I don't really have a lot of complaints. The viewing angles are pretty darn good I think you feel good from down.

It doesn't it's nice, but from the sides it's fine and from the top as well. Well, it looks. Ok. I'm already had an update waiting nice, so this is shipping with Android 10 now so the points to spend time with Android 9 with this comes with Android 10. However, this young skin, on top of Android, is exactly the same, almost exactly the same, so that yeah, the Notification Center here, looks very, very similar.

Settings app works very, very similar to the can see the biggest change right now is that there's a dark theme, because that's part of Android than itself and now, thankfully, manufacturers are also putting it in their own skins, which I really appreciate. Well, a section that looks almost exactly the same. The Settings app feels very familiar. If you have even a pure Android experience. Usually it isn't looks not that different user brightness you from this place and I kind of like that.

I, don't really like this young skin. Well enough didn't only have major complaints about it, so it is not bad. The fact that it hasn't changed I would say I kind of see some sort of jewelry animation here when I opened the menu, it feels a little jewelry, but everything else feelings were like fine enough scrolling. Oh my god feels fine. It's just that initial animation is weird one change that I've noticed this young made here.

That I really like is that now, when you swipe to the left, most phones have something that you know films it in this space here and to be clear: I, don't really find any of them amazingly useful aside from Microsoft launcher, but on the TC on Plex. They had this young, like this small assistant thing that did basically nothing. It had I think the weather, maybe a step counter. I, don't exactly remember everything, but it was the most useless thing it could have been if they're, not the only ones to do that, but it was super useless. So now that's just a Google feed which I think a lot more people won't find a lot more useful.

I got news. You got the weather. Still you get access to your Google Assistant stuff can just type the Micro from there and search, so I definitely think this is better for the vast majority of people. I still don't care about it. That much I usually just use Microsoft launcher, but this is definitely an improvement aside from that everything else, pretty much the same, you got a bunch of TCM apps.

Of course, you also have the Google Maps vision apps, like smart manager, browser fan, manager, yeah, music, video and then a bunch of pre-installed stuff that fights Microsoft news. There was booking. com for whatever reason action we do that, and so there is a little of long tour, but not too much, and I think you can delete almost everything that Springs down here. So it's totally fine I know some manufacturers on, even when let you uninstall the priests and stuff. So this is an improvement, and then you have you know to see on things like next vision.

I want to get to the update later. This is the HDR upscaling technology that makes things on our own, but no tomato pattern. Supposedly, it's definitely noticeable in this preview that they have here. I feel like at home a lot harder time, seeing a difference in actual real life examples, but it's that only visible there and yeah I don't know software. It's mostly the same.

The smart managers don't do that thing which scans your phone for its health apps are running in the background and down with that, and it still does that thing or your. So up with two fingers, you have a private space where you can just store secret files that you might have, but it's really about it in terms of software I, don't want to mention that the file manager I, don't think this was the case before, but now it can connect to your PC and you can just manage your phone files from your PC. It does that through Wi-Fi I haven't really had a chance to test that yet, but that does seem like a good addition. So I will be looking forward to that, but yeah in terms of software, it's the same I mean so is what I was saying about the price. So the first Africa is not as good.

The chipset is not as good and I thought. The camera setup is not as good, because the ultra-wide camera is more resolution and then the two additional cameras here are just not as useful, because the pucks had that thing where it had a two megapixel camera with very large pixels and the gamma that was just recording, more white video and that felt like it at purpose it was, it was unique, I, don't think any other phone does that, and it really had added something different that no other phone, and it would now hear we have still this macro means that should really be built in into the wide angle, and then this depth lens that I really don't care about that much either, and this is only 50 euro cheaper than the planks. So I, don't know. If you have those extra 50 bucks, I would, I personally think I would go for that. One.

The points, because I don't know if this is a better deal, but then again the Plex is not available in the United States. So if you're there- and this only costs 249 in the US, so that could be a pretty good deal in that sense. I think it might be a better deal for US customers, but I, don't know, I'd have to review it. So now we're going to move on to let this yeah damn bro. Now this is definitely more interesting as it ?, but it's also equally concerning so look at the specs you, and it's got a snapdragon 675.

So it's the same of the pipe as the points 6 MHz, Ram and radiated by the storage, exactly the same as the blacks right. So it's looking a lot similar on the inside and this thing costs 499 heroes or $449. So that's almost, but this is the big difference: engine 70 or more in Europe, and then the Plex was, and I don't know exactly how you can justify that I mean this is an explanation that comes out mostly to the design and the display. We just changed significantly and they're gonna. Take a look at that.

I. Just I still have some doubts, but we're going to take a look at the phone and see just how different it is. So we're going to take it out of the box. Can you see right away that the end box is also different, so the phone takes like sensors, and it has its own sort of pocket under there it was just on top of the charger and the cable? So now it has this thing just for the phone, and it's there and then, of course you still have the manual the same kind of soft plastic case. I, don't need to show you that again, the same concert and, of course, charging cable and charging and charging break.

So all the same here I this given might actually be a little longer, I'm, not sure, and the big difference here by the way I before I forget to mention it. The both phones charge at 18 watts, but the 10 pro can also charge other devices at 7.5 watts, I believe so, if you need to charge your headphones or something like that, you can use this as a battery. That's also partly because it is this a bigger battery inside this is for you, 4500 in the N powers of 10. L only has four thousand William hours and so yeah in terms of the battery. That is a big improvement over the 10 a.

m. and the planks, which was even smaller, but now, let's take a look at the phone itself, so I have to give this a credit here. They say the design is a big justification for the price and, oh, my lord, is this phone beautiful. The camera is not done it justice from what I can tell, but this thing is gorgeous the green, the gradient that's going on here from the top to the bottom. The weight changes in the light, this green is beautiful.

So this kind of mist, forest, green I believe the other one is Emperor gray, not sure what that looks like I, don't really care, because I asked for this one specifically, and it's beautiful, I love it. It's just a nice effect, and it's super soft to the touch here. So I see that the Edit on the cameras- they actually are the more traditional sort of glossy finish. But here it's this serve matte finish it's so soft I love this and then also around the edge of the frame it's aluminum like most phones are, but it's not that classy aluminum that you usually see this is seems to have some sort of matte coating. It is so nice to the touch, and it just goes well.

It goes really well with the color that they chose you it's its beautiful. Furthermore, it's really beautiful, I'm, um I! Don't understand doing this fun if you can't tell anyway, is going around it. The very similar buttons here baby seem a little more clunky here. So that's power, button volume, rocker, that's phone jack microphone. This seems to be an IR blaster, which is not something you see very often.

But if you have DCL home appliances, you can use this as a remote for those things like your air conditioner stuff like that, and so you can control your home these at home appliances using the infrared blaster here. It's pretty cool, then, of course this thing has a smart key there on the bottom, only one set of speaker holes because they have the SIM card tray on the other side, so yeah, the speakers, they're microphone, USB, type-c, again and, of course, a SIM card tray and then, of course, on the front you have in this way, don't have to turn this on, and this is the second big upgrade from that. This young pipes' editor now. This is an AMOLED display. It's still using this young next vision technology.

So it's got all those HDR upscaling things. All of that addition. To being a moment, it is slightly curved. Less is slightly because a lot of phones that I see with curved edges not a lot a few curved very significantly. So then you look at it straight on I get the very edges at this point.

You can see that the collars are shifting just a little. That doesn't happen here, though this display looks amazing, I, just looking at it like this. It looks perfect that and looks really, really good. That comes in great I love. The way the background looks here same software, really nothing new here in terms of software, but the display just think is real.

Perfect and I am, I assume obvious, like that, does contribute to the added cost of this phone compared to the plights. So what I can't say that it's completely unjustified the disappoints, I love it I have another display. It's not anything! Fancy like high refresh rates, nothing like that HD either it's still 4 HD points, but it's perfect, probably because it's ammonites tonight at the CL next vision, stuff here and putting it side by side with the 10 L I, think you can kind of tell I missed I can in person that the feel like the 10 ounce display as more of a tint to it. That's not supposed to be there and the ammo I just looks a little purer I'm, gonna tractor enough that maybe that makes it easier to see. But if you look at the screens here, I feel like there's a bit of a tint to the 10 ounce play compared to the 10 Pro right now, they're, both at max brightness, and you can tell also that the 10 Pro seems a little brighter, but I feel like the temple doesn't turn right on brother.

Maybe that's again just me, but you'd expect that someone more expensive phone, so that makes sense and of course there are other things that are different from the 10 Pike's antenna. So the camera is now in a notch, more traditional notch there you can barely tell because the background of the form is very cleverly made to disguise that, but you go, there is a notch, still 24 megapixels exactly same as Plex, not a big upgrade in that regard, and then the back as the cameras and those are a significant upgrade in some ways. So you have a 64 main camera. Now it says: 48, megapixel and you'll have the same ultra-wide 16, megapixel camera, but now I'm home. So I have that macro lens.

That's new two megapixels or five. That's five megapixel action in this film again same thing: we did not being built into the wide-angle I. Don't like that. I feel like that's useless, but I don't know. Maybe that's just me and of course you still have in this one.

You still have that long right, video camera, so 2 megapixels, 2.9, micron pixel size. So it's huge, pixels, 8 I tested this on the points, and it actually made it very, very difference for the recording quality of the videos. All my three users were so much more visible because of that, so that's very useful, but again almost exactly the same as the planks. If you're really just making a better main sensor and adding in a useless macro lens I would say so. I have somehow a hard time here, thinking about how that justifies.170 euro price increase over the planks. With that being said, I cannot give enough credit to this young.

For this look, it looks so good. I'm really excited to just use this one and look at it, because it's its beautiful, it just is and yes and like I said in terms of software, it's the same sense. No, no use going over that again. I am excited to review, especially this one. I won't do this one first, there's a review.

The tenon will come later and, of course they let you know if it is worth the pricing reason for the planks or not, but yeah I'm interested in reviewing both of these, and I will be doing that in the coming weeks. So thanks for watching I hope you guys liked that video, and I'll see you guys in the next one.

Source : Neowin