an introduction

Buying a smartphone for nothing? Yes, this is possible. The cost of the TCL 30 Plus is only 180 euros. Is this a huge deal or are you buying a pig in a poke? We tested the device and see what you get for the money.

TCL is one of the largest electronics companies in the world. It works in many countries with smartphones, but it is also a major force in the TV market. In telephony, the company is focusing on the lower end of the market with the brand names TCL and Alcatel. This device is also placed there.

For 180 euros you get a phone with Android 12 and a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen. The latter is amazing, because many cheap phones opt for an IPS-based panel that often delivers less beautiful images than this somewhat more luxurious technology. The panel has 2400 x 1080 pixels. You can see from the refresh rate that this is not a great model; It stays at 60Hz and this makes scrolling less smooth than on expensive phones. TCL promises that the screen will offer a brightness of 650 nits. We measure 780 nits of brightness, so that’s a decent degree.

Working memory is modest with 4 GB, and 128 GB built-in storage. If the latter is not enough, you can expand it by inserting a microSD card. Storage is connected to soc via a relatively fast UFS 3.1 interface. The TCL 30 Plus weighs 184 grams, which is relatively small. The plastic housing doesn’t feel luxurious, but it’s basically functional. The device is sold in black and blue.