Electronics giant TCL has been selling Alcatel smartphones in the Netherlands for years and is now also introducing devices under its own name. In this TCL 20 SE review, we test the first model, which is very competitively priced at 149 euros. But is the phone also a good buy?
TCL 20 SE
MSRP € 149, –
Colors Black and green
OS Android 11
Screen 6.82 inch LCD (1640 x 720, 60 Hz)
Processor 1.8 GHz octacore (Snapdragon 460)
RAM 4 GB
Storage 64 GB
Battery 5,000 mAh, charging with 10 Watt (usb-c), optional 18 Watt
Camera 16, 5, 13, 2 and 2 megapixels (rear), 8 megapixels (front)
Connectivity 4G, Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 4, GPS, NFC
Format 17.2 x 7.7 x 0.91 cm
Weight 206 grams
Website www.tcl.com 6.5 Score 65 
- Pros
- Battery life
- Nfc chip for contactless payment
- Large screen looks clear …
- Negatives
- … but nothing special
- Ungainly design
- No 5 GHz WiFi and fast charger
- Update policy could be better
TCL starts its Dutch smartphone sales with the 20 SE and 20 5G, which costs 299 euros. More models will be released in the course of the year. The TCL devices will be an addition to the Alcatel range, which consists of smartphones up to 150 euros. TCL models start at 150 euros. The brand does not get in the way, but of course faces fierce competition from Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola and many more brands. In this TCL 20 SE review you can read whether those brands should already be concerned.
Ungainly design
Let me get straight to the point: the TCL 20 SE is a huge smartphone. It measures 17.2 by 7.7 centimeters and is 9 millimeters thick. The substantial dimensions are due to the enormous 6.82-inch screen. There are more 6.8-inch smartphones, but they feel more handy because they have a rounded design. The TCL 20 SE is more rectangular. With 206 grams, it is also one of the heaviest devices of the moment. You will notice this especially if you hold the smartphone with one hand for a longer period of time.
I am not much of a fan of the plastic back because it is very smooth and shows fingerprints. The fingerprint scanner on the back is difficult to find by touch because it is 1) quite high and 2) barely recessed in the housing. A design choice that in my opinion does not benefit the user-friendliness. The device does come across as sturdy, has a USB-C port and decent buttons.
Big screen
As mentioned, the screen of the 20 SE with 6.82 inches is very large. That is a downside because it is difficult to operate the phone with one hand and at the same time a plus because the screen shows a lot of information. Especially useful if you use a larger font.
TCL is one of the largest screen manufacturers in the world and claims to put very good screens in its smartphones. A separate app called NXTVISION offers five obvious techniques to improve image rendering. In short: TCL’s ‘Display Greatness’ marketing suggests that the 20 SE has a beautiful screen, but in practice I notice little of this. The TCL 20 SE’s screen is no worse than the competition, but no better either. The display seems to be quite recessed under the glass plate, the LCD panel shows ‘just fine’ colors and the maximum brightness is average. Due to the relatively low HD resolution, the image also looks less sharp than the full HD screens of some competing smartphones. And the refresh rate is just 60Hz, which means the screen refreshes itself 60 times per second. Some models do that 90 times, which gives a smoother picture.
Hardware: mixed impression
You cannot expect powerful specifications from a 150 euro smartphone. This is reflected in the TCL 20 SE. The Snapdragon 460 processor used is smooth enough for WhatsApp and other popular apps, but not intended for gaming. Slightly more expensive smartphones with a Snapdragon processor from the 600 series are noticeably faster, which is also nice for the long term. TCL does deserve a compliment by putting more than enough working and storage memory (4 GB and 64 GB) in the 20 SE. Although many competing devices have the same memory combination, there are also models with less working and / or storage memory. You can increase the storage memory of the TCL 20 SE with a micro-SD card of up to 256 GB.
It is nice that the smartphone has an NFC chip, certainly not standard in this price segment. Thanks to the nfc chip, you can hold the TCL 20 SE against an ATM to pay contactless in the store. On the other hand, support for WiFi on the 5 GHz frequency is lacking, so you can only use the internet via the slower 2.4 GHz frequency. Unfortunately.
Large battery charges slowly
The TCL 20 SE contains a large 5000 mAh battery. You see that battery capacity in enough other smartphones, but they often have a screen with full HD resolution. The HD screen of the TCL phone consumes less power, which improves battery life. I can use the 20 SE effortlessly for two long days. If you take it easier, I expect the battery to last three to four days. You can also use the TCL 20 SE as a power bank by connecting it to another device via a USB cable.
Charging the large battery takes a very long time and is ideal to do at night. With the included 10 Watt charger, the TCL 20 SE takes more than three hours to fully charge. The fact that TCL puts a 10 Watt charger in the box is striking because the smartphone supports charging with a maximum of 18 Watt. If you want to charge the device as quickly as possible, you have to arrange such an adapter yourself.
Lots of (mediocre) cameras
The back of the TCL 20 SE has no fewer than four camera lenses. That’s quite a bit on such a cheap smartphone. Unfortunately, quantity outweighs quality, because the cameras are limited. Most useful is the 16 megapixel main camera, which shoots gray pictures, however. Even with enough daylight. In the dark, the results are really disappointing. The 5 megapixel wide-angle camera has a wider field of view, but takes photos in a relatively low resolution. The pictures also show a considerable bulge, especially on the sides. They are known defects in this price segment, but they remain unfortunate. The 2 megapixel macro camera also suffers from it. The photos from very close are not colourfast and quickly grainy due to the low resolution. This camera cannot be used in the dark. The 2 megapixel depth sensor blurs the background when you shoot a portrait photo with the main camera. It works fine.
The selfie camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels and shoots simple pictures where there is a lot to notice. Faces look less sharp than the resolution suggests and are easily bothered by dark accents, making a chin or neck look strange. Colors are also paler than reality.
Software and update policy
TCL supplies the 20 SE with Android 11 and adjusts the software little. The changes made by the manufacturer leave a mixed impression. The (optional) custom lock screen is not an improvement for me and the translation of functions is sometimes crooked. For example, when setting the phone, the phone asks what my dominant hand is, where I would ask myself with which hand I hold my device the most. The software also includes a number of pre-installed apps from parties such as Facebook and OfficeSuite. Fortunately, you can remove these apps if you don’t need them.
TCL’s update policy is nothing special. The 20 SE will receive an update to Android 12, which will be released later this year. TCL has been selling smartphones abroad for longer and took longer than average to update them to Android 11. I am therefore curious at what time the TCL 20 SE will receive its first and only Android update. The device can also count on one security update per quarter for a period of two years. That is the bare minimum. Many brands are doing better. For example, Nokia models receive a security update every month for three years and Samsung guarantees an update every quarter for four years. The longer a smartphone gets security updates, the longer you can use it more securely.
Conclusion: buy TCL 20 SE?
The TCL 20 SE is TCL’s first smartphone in the Netherlands and interesting for a select audience. Are you looking for a device with a large screen and / or a long battery life? Then it is certainly worth considering. The smartphone makes less impression on other points. The cameras are disappointing, TCL’s update policy cannot compete with major competitors and in this price range there are smartphones with a nicer screen, faster charger and more comfortable design. With its suggested retail price of 149 euros, the TCL 20 SE is not a bad choice, but there is a good chance that you will have just as much or more pleasure from an alternative smartphone. The Poco M3, Motorola Moto G9 Power and Xiaomi Redmi 9T in particular are worth a look. Nokia’s upcoming G20 is also an interesting alternative on paper.
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