TCL 505 review – Brand new budget beater

Most South Africans know TCL as a television manufacturer, but the brand also sells tablets and, now, smartphones in the country. The TCL 505 is one of the first to land on our somewhat volatile shores. To that end, it’s a seriously budget smartphone. Originally, it was supposed to feature a recommended retail price of R2,000, but we’ve only been able to track it down at a R2,600 price point.

Being one of the first devices to come to SA, it has a couple of tasks. It has to make an impression on the market but without risking too much if the brand fails to find a following. The tried-and-tested method, used by the likes of Oppo and Vivo, is to target the budget market, hard, and introduce pricier devices as the following goes. Does the TCL 505 have what it takes to carve out a niche in the crowded budget smartphone market?

Taking a shine to TCL

It looks like it does if that’s any indication. From a moderate distance, and even close up, the TCL 505 shows an understanding of premium aesthetics, even if it doesn’t have the materials to follow them through. This 6.7in smartphone is a touch thicker through the middle than you’d get from a heftier smartphone — there’s loads of plastic in the construction — but the lightweight rectangle feels sturdy enough.

The back panel does an excellent job of mimicking brushed metal. An excellent reflection and a rainbow hue are visible on the 505’s rear, with a subtle circular pattern faking metal machining processes. Tap it with a fingernail and the illusion is quickly dispelled if the weight hasn’t already given it away. The plastic sheet is even more of a fingerprint magnet than a metal back would be, so there’s that too.

The keys and ports embedded in the plastic edge section are all in the conventional positions, with the 3.5mm jack occupying the TCL 505’s base alongside the USB-C charge port. The dual camera at the rear is fashionably arranged, out of keeping with the sensor quality (you’ll see), and the obligatory front camera is centrally located in a teardrop notch.

WYSIWYG

Inside the phone is an impressive-sounding lot of specs. MediaTek’s Helio G36 handles processor things and there’s ostensibly 8GB of RAM to play with. This, it turns out, is 4GB of hardware and a 4GB swap file. The resulting combination isn’t as smooth as we’d like. In a pricier smartphone — say, in the R7,000 to R9,000 bracket — the performance would be unacceptable but here it’s about what we’d expect to see.

Other internal aspects make up for it. The 6.75in IPS LCD features a 720 x 1,600 resolution and a slightly cool colour profile. It will handle media consumption well enough, provided you’re not sharing with too many folks. The screen dims when viewed from an acute enough angle but brightness (the TCL 505 caps out at 400 nits) is plenty enough for indoor use by the owner, with perhaps an onlooker on each shoulder. The 128GB of space in our review model was nice to have, too.

The battery here is also a highlight. A 5,000mAh lithium-ion does the job, and does it well. In conjunction with the lower power requirements from the screen and processor (compared to a full HD and a beefier chipset), battery life is extensive. Sure, you can knock it down by playing videos all day but it’ll still take longer than the average flagship device to hit the wall. That’s just as well — there’s only 10W wired charging to play with. But, again, it’ll only cost about two-and-a-half grand to slip one into your pocket.

The bloatware and TCL’s attempt at custom services are items we could do without but, thankfully, these annoyances can be uninstalled or ignored.

Snap to it

We were a little dismissive of the dual camera arrangement above and you’re about to find out why. Oh, it looks the part, with a main sensor and a secondary in support, along with the LED flash, but that second one doesn’t have to be there. No, really.

The 50MP main sensor generates decent enough images if you’re patient. The processor/sensor combination means that you need to wait a beat longer than you might otherwise to be sure you’ve captured your shot. The processing lag is noticeable and moving prematurely off target can wreck your shot. The secondary sensor is a mere 2MP but it’s enough to add some depth to pictures. The function isn’t as elegant as you’d see in a pricier phone but it is noticeable.

There’s some software post-processing happening inside the TCL 505. It’s relatively rare that we can see this taking place but that’s one of the perks of a slower smartphone. As long as you’re rocking decent enough light you’ll take decent enough snaps, but low-light performance leaves something to be desired. R2,600 doesn’t buy much nocturnal skill.

The front-facer is similarly budget. It’s just 5MP and it’ll do for video calls and the like. Bumping up your social media profile is a use we’d rather not trust it with.

TCL 505 verdict

We’ve seen less attractive phones at this price point and there’s plenty to like here for the outright purchase price of less than three grand. On paper, the specs are well worth your money. In practice, the box’s major selling point of 8GB of RAM proves less truthful. TCL is making an effort here, though, and the resulting package justifies the cost you’re asked to fork over. The camera and screen are highlights and as a value proposition, you’ll find it stacks up favourably against Samsung’s latest budget offerings.

Everything you need lives in the box, including a soft clear cover. We’d ditch the plastic wired headphones for something a touch more premium but you’ve still got the option to use a 3.5mm jack with the TCL 505. That’s handy in a way that big-budget smartphones just don’t understand. If all you have in your pocket is R2,500 (okay, R2,600), you’ll find value for money here.