The 5,010-MAH battery feels like it should last longer – I usually use it before bedtime around 30% to 25% of the average usage time, although you can scale with the Max Ink mode. There is no wireless charging, but this phone has all the assembly you want, with expandable storage and NFC from the MicroSD card slot for contactless payments for the headphone jack. The phone feels a little slippery and highly heavy, so I suggest you find a safe case, although I’ve dropped it a few times and luckily I don’t see any scratches on the glass screen.
It will be used with every major carrier in the U.S. and will be unlocked exclusively on Amazon, which is a great break with many other TCL phones locked in U.S. carriers. Speaking of which, I have no problem with 5G connectivity, but I do have some comments on call quality. I didn’t hear other people’s troubles, and although I expected the call volume to be loud, there were several people trying to listen to me through the speaker mode of the phone. I tested this with some friends who have no problems, so it’s hard to say whether it’s a network issue or the caller’s hardware.
That leaves the camera, which isn’t bad for a $250 phone. Quality depends heavily on lighting, and even indoors during the day, you may need to turn on night mode to avoid taking blurry photos. The subject of 50-MP may struggle in high contrast scenarios and the colors look inaccurate, but the results can be passed. At least there is no problem when scanning the QR code.
The biggest drawback is software updates. The phone runs Android 15, and TCL has only one Android upgrade to Android 16 at some point in the future. There will be no Android features since then, although it will receive a security update for a total of two years. It’s not much less expensive than other phones, but Motorola now offers two Android upgrades for its Moto G phones. TCL should do better.
I’d buy the CMF Phone 2 Pro ($279) on the TCL 60 XE NXT Paper 5G because it looks better, performs better, and has a better camera. But the pleasant matte screen has this calm quality of the past week and if I read, I like the ability to switch to less saturation or monochromatic. If you’ve been watching something like Boox Palma 2 for a while, I think your TCL experience will be better.
