Unboxing the phone is your pretty standard experience as with most phones these days. You get the phone, a USB-C charging cable with a power brick, a SIM ejector tool and some basic documents. No headphones or case, unfortunately. The box itself shows a picture of the phone along with the TCL branding and notable specifications and features of the phone.
The TCL itself is made of a sturdy matte plastic along the sides and back with a flat glass screen. The side buttons are also made of plastic. It’s no bargain considering the price and should be stable enough to satisfy most users. Along the top of the device is a microphone and headphone jack, a very welcome addition in my opinion. At the bottom, you’ll find another microphone, a speaker, and the USB-C port for charging and data transfer.
The sim tray on the left includes a sim card slot and an SD card slot that supports up to a 512GB card, something I personally wish flagship devices would continue to incorporate. On the back you will find the triple camera setup along with a handy and accurate fingerprint reader. On the front you’ll find a teardrop notch for the unique selfie camera, earpiece speaker and the pleasantly smooth 90Hz 720p display.
“Using the TCL 30 XE 5G as my everyday device lately has been an interesting experience.”
When booting up and setting up the phone for the first time, you’re greeted with one of your first noticeable surprises, a near-stock version of Android 11. TCL claims to offer two years of security and software upgrades, so it’ll be interesting to see if they follow it to a budget device. Most of the stock apps included are made by Google, although the TCL includes its own camera and music player apps, along with a few others like a compass app, notes, and even an FM tuner app! That said, those who want to use the FM tuner will need to plug in a set of headphones to use it.
Using the TCL 30 XE 5G as my everyday device lately has been an interesting experience. Derived from my current flagship Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5g, the TCL 30 XE 5G was able to fit comfortably into my lifestyle and daily use without many compromises. The ample 64GB built-in storage allowed me to download all my apps without any hassle. Any files I needed on the go I saved to an SD card.
The built-in 4500 mah battery was able to easily get me through a day and a half of relatively heavy use with multi-photo taking tasks, texting/calling, GPS usage and even moderate gaming usage. I always went to bed with over 40% battery life and over 5 hours of screen on, all while having the Bluetooth and 5G antennas on.
“The built-in 4500 mah battery was able to easily get me through a day and a half of fairly heavy use with multi-photo taking tasks, texting/calling, GPS usage and even moderate gaming.”
All apps launched quickly and ran smoothly without any noticeable issues, thanks in part to the 4GB of built-in RAM. This means that browsing the web and endlessly scrolling through social media feeds will generally be seamless. Videos looked sharp and crisp, even though it was only a 720p display. Watching video on the 6.52″ screen meant I didn’t have to squint to see what I was watching like on smaller phones of the past.
The 90Hz screen made the device feel much more premium than competitors in this class of devices. Many other devices still only offer a 60Hz display. TCL’s included NXTVision software shines in this regard, helping to enhance the media I was watching. Even under bright sunlight, the display was completely legible and clear, which those who are constantly outdoors will appreciate.
Charging the phone when the battery was low was a respectable 18W, far from the slowest on the market, but certainly not as fast as much more expensive phones. I found that it generally took about two hours to fully recharge the phone, perfectly acceptable for those who charge the phone at night or in the office, not so much for the on-the-go user.
“TCL have done an overall great job with the TCL 30 XE 5G, they’ve certainly created a great value phone for the price.”
With all the great things TCL managed to pack into the TCL 30 XE 5G, there are bound to be some negatives, right? Unfortunately, this is all too true as a less expensive phone. Many times, I found myself wishing I had the Samsung for its photo quality. The included TCL rear camera array performs normally in well-lit environments, but indoors in less-than-optimal lighting, images were often blurry, grainy, and didn’t produce an image I’d want to share with others.
The same can be said for the selfie camera. In bright light, images look acceptably sharp but not overly flattering. Additionally, while the single-firing speaker may be loud enough for a quiet room, I found it to be rather “tinny” at higher volumes. I also found myself missing the stereo speakers in other previous tier devices that I’m used to.
All that said, it’s important to remember that the TCL 30 XE 5G smartphone wasn’t built to impress high-end users like me. While I’d love to sit back and tell you I wish it had features like wireless charging or an IP rating, it’s made for the user who doesn’t want to spend a small fortune on a device. Someone looking for a device that can do everyday tasks without breaking the bank, but still wants modern conveniences with some of yesterday’s technology.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the TCL 30 XE 5G smartphone. It really goes to show that you don’t need a high-end flagship to do a lot of regular work these days. Smartphones have come a long way in recent years, and even the budget market has stepped up their game considerably. TCL has done an overall great job with the 30 XE 5G, they’ve certainly created a great value phone for the price.
