The TCL 10 Pro Phone

Looking for a 4 camera phone for an affordable price? See the TCL 10 Pro is it with its stunning display and advanced features.

I first held the new TCL10Pro phone at CES, earlier this year. I was immediately impressed by its display, the pictures and videos were stunning.

The second thing that caught my eye were the four cameras on the back and how they take amazing crisp photos.

You’re probably aware of TCL. They make good quality affordable TV’s. They are the 2nd largest TV manufacturer in the world.

And in fact, as one of the world’s largest consumer brands, they also manufacturer home appliances, tablets, speakers, security devices, wearables, floor vacs, and more.

Because TCL manufactures nearly every component of their phones themselves, they dramatically cut down on costs to produce their phones.

This means they can offer their latest phones for much less than most mobile phone manufacturers, even their high-end phones.

Let’s jump into some of the main functions that make their top-of-the-line new TCL 10 Pro phone so impressive.

Display

The TCL 10 Pro has an impressive 6.47-inch FHD and AMOLED curved screen. This gives a higher contrast ratio of colors stemming from each display pixel, instead of being backlit.

In addition, TCL powers the phone with its proprietary NXTVISION chip, giving the display color, clarity, and contrast…resulting in an amazing accuracy in color.

TCL doesn’t stop there.

Their NXTVision can actually take Standard Definition Resolution (SDR) videos and converts them in real-time to High Definition Resolution (HDR-like quality), improving scenes with increased contrast and richer colors.

But there are times with having the brightest most contrasting colors is not the best for reading and everyday use.

TCL gives you more options…

Eye Comfort Mode

To help users decrease eyestrain, TCL offers TUV Rheinland Low Blue Light Certification to protect eyes from harmful blue light. It removes 66% of blue light emitted from the screen.

Eye comfort mode is built-in and users have the option to turn it on or off, or set it to go on each day for a customized schedule.

Adaptive Tone

When this is set, the display brightness and color temperature are automatically adjusted to provide the best viewing in any environment.

Dark Mode

Some prefer a dark mode, which is not as bright and taxing on one’s eyes. It also uses fewer battery resources.

Reading Mode

Gives a paper-like reading experience when reading documents, charts, ebooks, and more.

Users can even extend this feature in popular apps where this setting makes it easier to read.

Whether reading a book, looking at your pictures, or watching movies, you’ll instantly recognize and appreciate the stunning color and clarity presented by the TCL 10 Pro’s display.

Camera

Four rear cameras are all the rage these days and TCL does not disappoint. The TCL Pro 10 phone takes great pictures.

But first, let me clarify why having 4 cameras is beneficial and how they are used. All 4 cameras are not used at once.

Similar to a DSLR camera, if you want to get a close-up, a wide-angle shot, you need to add a different lens to the camera to capture the shot.

The same holds true for 4 cameras on the phone.

TCL 10 Pro’s 4 Rear Cameras:

64 MP AI high-resolution camera (primary camera)
Super Low-light Video camera with Bokeh effects
5 MP Macro camera (for super close-ups) take a picture from less than an inch away
16 MP super Wide-angle camera

And of course, there’s the 16 MP front selfie camera as well.

As you can see, there are many choices but typically, you’ll use the primary camera most of the time.

The TCL Pro 10 features Artificial Intelligence (AI) to recognize and enhance scenes and objects for the best possible picture.

I took this shot with the macro zoom camera. Amazing colors.

You can see the Bokeh effect on this picture. The camera automatically focused the apples.

I had fun one night trying out the Light Trace feature.

Useful features include:

automatic bright shots and video even in low lighting
video stabilization
ability to create stop motion video
more light for selfies
Bokeh effect to blur out the background and focus on the subject
super slow motion effect in videos
super-wide angle to capture more scenery and people

Audio

A brief note on the phone’s sound capabilities. The TCL 10 Pro has only one speaker, but it uses a dual mic with noise cancellation, which helps in crowded or windy places.

It supports HD voice and Bluetooth 5.0, which is the newest (and coolest) Bluetooth frequency. Also known as Super Bluetooth, it can connect up to 4 Bluetooth devices at a time (though only two when on a 2.4GHz WiFi network).

This means you can connect up to 4 wireless speakers or four headphones, delivering superior sounds to all 4 devices at the same time.

Perfect for long car trips or flights when kids can watch the same movie but with different headsets.

Also great for setting the mood with four speakers playing around the pool or during a movie or party.

And…it has a 3.5mm audio jack. Yay!

Navigation

Using the latest Android 10 OS, TCL has created several custom ways to navigate around the phone. In fact, they are very useful…if you remember they are there.

Smart Key

The smart key is a single button on the left side of the phone. In settings, you can customize what you’d like to pop up after pressing the Smart Key a certain way.

There are three ways to use the Smart Key:

Single press – pulls up whatever app you want to be launched. I use this to pull up my camera.
Double press – I use this to pull up Google Assistant.
Long press – I use this to create a split-screen between two apps.

Thumbprint Quick Launch Menu

If you set up a thumbprint to open your phone, if you keep pressing on it with your finger as your phone opens up, you have the option of having 3 quick launch apps available.

The three quick launch apps I have here are:

Camera
Email
Flashlight

Edge Bar Menu

Because of the curve on the display to extend the screen, TCL has created a visible thin line on the right edge of the phone. Pulling this out with a finger gives you another quick launch menu of apps.

I chose these 4 quick launch apps:

Google Assistant – use this quite often to pull up phone numbers, ask store hours, directions to somewhere, weather, etc.
Google Photos – one of my favorite apps – love to search for pictures or see my updated family pics.
Roku remote – I often don’t have the physical remote when using Roku, so I use the app often. The Edge menu is a fast way to find it.
IR Remote – can point the phone to TV’s, stereo systems, appliances, anything with an IR signal for remotes and you can control the item with your phone.
File Share – sends files from my phone to my PC wirelessly (LOVE this feature!). Or even to other phones.
Pandora – gotta listen to my tunes!
Google Home – I use it to control my smart devices and access my shopping list which I tell verbally to my Google Home Assistant in the kitchen.

You can add more and then scroll through the menu to see the apps you selected.

I like that TCL provides different methods to quickly launch your favorite apps, dependent upon how you are using your phone.

TCL 10 Pro Phone

FEATURES:

Beautiful 6.47-inch (1080 x 2340 pixels) FHD + NXTVISION curved AMOLED display with a contrast ratio: +2,000,000:1
4 Cameras, including the main 64MP (9280 x 6944 pixels) main camera with AI to automatically adjust exposure and color for fantastic shots
Other cameras include a 16MP Super Wide-Angle Camera, 5 MP macro camera, and super low-light camera
10X hybrid digital zoom
Dual LED flash with lights on both sides of cameras
Take Bokeh depth shots using the Portrait super low-light camera
Impressive Super Night Mode to give more light on the subject
Other camera features include Auto zoom, Google Lens, HDR, in-recording snapshots, Light Trace Mode, Panorama Mode, Portrait Mode, Pro Mode, photo filters, scene detection, Slow-Motion Video Mode, Stop-Motion Video Motion
Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 675 AI Engine and 6GB RAM +128GB memory
Supports up to a 256GB MicroSD card
4500mAhQuick Charge 3.0 battery can charge up to 50% within 35 minutes, 2 hours to charge fully
Supports reverse charging which means you can use this phone to charge other phones if needed
Super Bluetooth 5.0 to connect up to 4 speakers or headphones
3.5mm audio jack
Adaptive Tone and Reading Mode auto-adjusts display to suit easier viewing
Eye Comfort Mode reduces harmful blue light by 72.55%², to protect your vision and possible sleep

PROS:

The AMOLED display is truly stunning
Having 4 cameras is really handy, giving you more flexibility in the pictures you take
The camera takes nice pictures even in low light settings
The macro camera gives light to the smallest of details
There are several ways to customize menus to easily access your top apps
Bluetooth 5.0 which allows you to stream music to 4 different Bluetooth speakers or headphones
You can add space for pictures and movies by adding a micro SD card
The IR remote app works great for controlling TV’s
The blue light and adaptive lighting is helpful for your eyes
There is a private locker feature to store documents, videos, pictures in a protected space
The app menu automatically sorts your apps by category, making it easier to find a particular app
The phone is pretty lightweight
Lies down flat on a table as cameras are embedded in its casing

CONS:

The back of the phone looks like metal but is made from a type of plastic
Sometimes the night sight camera feature didn’t work as well
Doesn’t have Wireless charging or NCF
Opening the phone with your fingerprint takes longer and sometimes isn’t successful
Not waterproof

The TCL 10 Pro is available from Amazon and Best Buy for $449.99 with free shipping.

A Mom’s Perspective

The TCL 10 Pro has a lot of nice features that can be found on the top range phones by Apple and Samsung.

The four rear cameras give you lots of options on how you want to shoot your subject.

When taking a picture, you select the mode you are looking for, like wide-angle, portrait (Bokeh), or macro and the camera associated with those modes automatically engages.

I really enjoy the bright vibrant colors on the screen. Pictures come out vibrant as well with the 64 MP camera.

Many of my night sight pictures came out well, with all faces in my shots coming out.

I have great shots of family members eating dinner outside and playing in the pool.

But, I was disappointed that my pictures didn’t turn out better while my family and I visited Moonlight Beach in Encinitas to see the bioluminescent blue waves.

Although it was a bit foggy, the pictures were not as clear and vivid as I hoped for.

Overall, the TCL 10 Pro is a good phone for the money with lots of great features, many of which you can only get with phones that typically cost $1,000.

*I was given a TCL 10 Pro for purposes of review. All opinions are my own.

The TCL 10 Pro Phone – More Phone for Less