What you need to know
- A roadmap for TCL's future Android devices has been leaked.
- The TCL T1 should be announced at IFA and includes a "dotch" display with three rear cameras.
- Q3 2020 will see the release of the Flextab — a foldable tablet.
TCL-branded phones are pretty much non-existent in the United States, but in other parts of the world, the company offers compelling options in the low and mid-range space. Reliable tipster Evan Blass recently got his hands on a leaked roadmap for TCL's upcoming devices for 2019 and 2020, and the lineup looks quite interesting.
First on deck, the TCL T1 is scheduled to launch in Q3 2019 and should be announced during IFA next month. The phone has a modern design, including a 6.53-inch Full HD+ display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio. TCL is calling this a "dotch" display, which is a really ridiculous way to say there's a camera cutout in the upper-left corner.
Around back is a triple-camera setup, consisting of 48MP, 16MP, and 2MP sensors. There's also a 24MP selfie camera, Snapdragon 675 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 3,820 mAh battery.
We don't have nearly as much information on the other phones, but they include:
- T1 Pro — Edge AMOLED & Quad Camera (Q1 2020)
- T1 5G — 5G & Dual Camera (Q2 2020)
- T1 Pro 5G — 5G & Edge AMOLED & Quad Camera (Q2 2020)
- Flextab — Flexible AMOLED (Q3 2020)
The Flextab is particularly interesting, as it appears to mark TCL's first venture into the world of foldable devices. However, unlike Huawei and Samsung that are putting on their money on foldable phones, the Flextab looks to be a foldable tablet.
In fact, another leaked slide shows that TCL plans to make a big bet on foldables. As you can see in the picture above, TCL has at least four foldable designs in the works.
It's unlikely that any of these phones will make their way to the U.S., but considering that TCL also operates the Alcatel and BlackBerry brands that exist in this part of the world, it'll be interesting to see if any of this DNA makes its way to future devices from those arms of the company.
4 things foldable phones need to address before I buy into them
