TCL 10 Pro Review – A surprising entry to the mid-range Android phone market with premium display

TCL 10 Pro Review – I was quite surprised seeing the TCL 10 Pro for the first time. TCL is a well-known company for their TVs (we’ve just bought the TCL 55P715 for our main bedroom last month) and I wasn’t aware they actually make smartphones as well. I had my doubts about the phone (TCL is not exactly a smartphone player) but after using it for a couple of weeks, I’m completely sold!

TCL 10 Pro display and performance are on par with high-end, premium phones, but retails for only AU$749. With the price, I’d probably place the phone at the high-tier, mid-range phone.

Packaging & Unboxing

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Packaging includes a silicone, “almost”-see-through case that offers better, tighter grip. I’m not a fan of the embedded print at the back however, but eh, you can always grab a better case if you like. Plus you don’t really see it while you are holding the phone.

Design & Feature

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TCL 10 Pro features a sleek 6.47-inch FHD+ curved AMOLED panel and I was taken by surprise when I turned it on for the first time. This is the best AMOLED display on all the mid range phones I’ve ever reviewed so far (especially compared to OPPO A91‘s). The screen is pretty sharp with vibrant colour, and we have to thank the dedicated display engine with NXTVISION technology for it. It can automatically adjust contrast, sharpness, and saturation for richer detail and experience.

The curved AMOLED display also makes it look very sleek though it doesn’t really give any added usability in a sense. But it’s really cool, so I can’t complain.

Design wise, the phone also looks and feels premium with a smooth, matte finish. I like that the back of the phone is quite resistant to fingerprint, unlike most other mid-range phones. The single row of rear camera lens might surprise some as it is very rarely seen in other phones you’ve seen or had.

Performance is also quite surprising, considering this is supposed to be a mid-range phone with that price. Normally things will run smooth enough but not that smooth. TCL 10 Pro took me by surprise as I can scroll through my social media feed without feeling sluggish. Specification wise, the phone is powered by the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ AI Engine 6GB RAM +128GB memory & UFS 2.1 storage.

It is quite close to experiencing a vanilla Android experience, with TCL UI touch on top – similar to Motorola’s approach on the moto g8. They are not a full-blown skin like OPPO’s ColorOS or Huawei’s EMUI, but enough to put icing on the top. I personally like the lock screen’s touch.

The fingerprint sensor is on the display and works well. There is no wireless charging, and no water-resistant rating as far as I know.

TCL 10 Pro Review – Camera

Camera wise, TCL 10 Pro comes with four rear cameras including a 64MP high-res camera, 2.9?m big pixel low-light video cam, 123-degree super wide-angle camera and macro camera, as well as a 24MP front-facing camera. If you are a videographer, you may appreciate the phone’s capabilities to record videos in low light and super-wide-angle (but of course, don’t expect the low light performance to be on par with a high-end phone like the HUAWEI P40 Pro).

For photography, the camera isn’t bad overall, but low light photos are not my favourites as they tend to lose lots of details and I can see the phone struggling to get good results. It’s not bad for viewing purpose, but not great for sharing or content creation.

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Outdoor photos with plenty of light look great though and the post-processing definitely helps in making the photos more exciting. Some mid-range phones I’ve reviewed usually produce rather dull-looking photos, but not the TCL 10 Pro. Portrait shots aren’t bad either but sometimes can produce a fake bokeh, depending on the composition.

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However, there were one or two occasions where colourful photos were probably being post-proceessed a bit too much like this flower photo here. In real life, they are not as saturated as the photo (see the difference from on the left vs right photo).

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Macro photos are pretty good as well.

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TCL 10 Pro Review Conclusion

TCL 10 Pro is an exciting entry to the mid-range Android smartphone market. If you are looking for one of the best display on a mid-range phone, TCL 10 Pro definitely fits the bill. TCL must have used all their knowledge from making high-end televisions and placed them inside this phone’s display technology.

The display is bright (even in broad daylight), vivid, clear, and sharp. Performance isn’t bad either and I find the phone to be pretty fast compared to most mid-range phones I’ve ever reviewed here (Google Pixel 4a being the exception).

It looks and feels premium, and worthy to be a TCL’s flagship phone without the $1,000 price mark.

Cameras aren’t bad either, especially outdoor with plenty of light. Low light photography isn’t great, but we’ve never expected any mid-range phone to be excellent in this area anyway.

If you are looking for an Android phone with an awesome display and premium look-and-feel, make sure to grab the TCL 10 Pro and you won’t be disappointed for sure.

TCL 10 Pro retails for AU$749 and available at JB Hi-Fi Australia, and Amazon.

Disclosure: TCL 10 Pro review sample was supplied for reviewing. Photos taken with FUJIFILM X-Pro3 & XF 16mm F1.4 R WR lens.