Camera dedicated to low light for video

As one of the largest TV manufacturers in the world, TCL is a fairly common name in some parts of the world. The company also manufactures hardware for a number of smartphone brands, including Blackberry and Alcatel, but this year the IFA executives were eager to launch TCL under its own smartphone brand, as well as to present the news smartphone technologies such as foldable screens. TCL enters the market with its first device, the TCL Plex, very soon, and we had the chance to see the equipment in action.

Brand recognition: TCL, a smartphone company

That's why I'll be honest, being a British citizen living in London means that TCL is not part of my ecosystem so often. It's not so much a brand here, at least on its own products. However, every time I visit the United States, at least a dozen times a year, TCL is in full swing. The two brands of TCL that I recognize at home are Blackberry, for its keyboard devices, and Alcatel is popular on the continent for its smartphones input very cheap and good value for money. However, TCL wants to play more in these markets and offer competitive mid-range (and potentially high-end) hardware to the mass market under its own name.

TCL representatives described the process as using its prowess in display technology and its application to the smartphone market. They want to be a competitive player – they do not need to be at the forefront of high-end markets, they are happy that others do it and take the risk, but they also understand that "we're not doing it." at some prices, they want to be definitely better than the average bid. Through this, they will develop the brand and grow globally, by examining the reception and the reaction of the market. This process begins with the TCL Plex.

TCL Plex Hands-On

The first thing to note about the TCL Plex, is that it looks like a high quality smartphone when first inspected. In particular, the Opal White color is distinguished by a polished finish, combined with a reflective S design that moves through the light. The rear is also inspired by the design of the Huawei P20, with this unified camera strip at the rear, but TCL has implemented a symmetrical configuration with two three-camera flashes that is very aesthetically pleasing . TCL has designed the back side of the Plex well, which is an excellent result for a first branded product.

The front of the Plex shows the 6.53-inch LCD screen with the front camera in front of pinholes in the corner. The display is a 1080×2340 resolution, compliant with the 19.5: 9 standard, with a 90% screen-to-screen ratio. We are told that the display is calibrated to be very accurate, with a deltaE less than one (we are still waiting to know which standard it is calibrated). TCL has also integrated a Pixelworks-based processor into the hardware, which acts on the display output to convert all (most) SDR content to HDR for display. This parameter is adjustable in the options, but the idea is to improve the visual fidelity of the majority of the content (video, games, images) of the smartphone. The exact wording was "to be more faithful to life". We've already seen it in tablets, but this may be the first time we've seen Pixelworks hardware in a smartphone – certainly the first in this price range.

For the camera system, the front camera is an Omnivision OV24B 24MP with 0.9 micron pixels and f / 2.0 aperture. It has a 78.2 degree field of view, supports 1080p30 video and integrates Portrait mode.

The rear camera system is much more interesting. The main hardware is a 48MP Sony IMX582 that supports 960 FPS (1 second) slow motion video with f / 1.8 aperture and 0.8 micron pixels. A secondary wide-angle lens is provided by a Samsung S5K3P9 16MP, with a 123-degree field of view, f / 2.4 aperture, and 1.0 micron pixels. The third camera is a dedicated night vision camera, capable of night vision video. The 2MP Omnivision OV02K does this with 2.9 micron pixels, allowing more light per pixel. On either side of the rear camera, single-tone LED flashes are designed to illuminate scenes not covered by the night vision camera.

Other hardware components inside include Qualcomm Snapdragon 675, Adreno 612, 6GB DRAM, 128GB UFS 2.1 and support microSD cards up to 256GB. The battery is rated at 3820 mAh , with support for Quick Charge 3.0 and 32 minutes at 50%. It has a USB 2.0 type C, a headphone jack and Android Pie. Support for the LTE tape includes 1/3/5/7/8/20/28/38/40, and the modem is capable of downloading Cat 6 (400 Mbps). The device supports dual nano-SIM, with a point also supporting the microSD.

One of the nice features is the Bluetooth. It comes standard with Bluetooth 5.0, but TCL has a Tempo technology license, which has manipulated the stack of drivers so that BT hardware can support four simultaneous connections to Bluetooth headsets and speakers . This technology must be more than just a time-division multiplex, with probably proprietary algorithms to ensure consistent audio latencies.

TCL mentioned that the version of Android they have is very close to the stored experience of Android. They have a TCL & # 39; user interface, which has modified some of the basic apps to fit a TCL aesthetic, but the ultimate goal is to create common apps on all its platforms (TV, smartphone, etc. .), which all have the same interaction for its users.

The TCL Plex will only be a limited launch – four European countries and Australia. The idea here is that TCL first finds its own brand, then examines the scaling between regions as well as the number of devices. The goal of TCL is to further develop a vertically integrated stack for its own-brand smartphone business.

The TCL Plex will soon be available in "Obsidian Black" and "Opal White" in some areas, with a 6/128 configuration, priced at $ 329. Honestly, it's a good price for a smartphone of this caliber.