TCL 20S

Finding a phone that does a little bit of everything well is rare when it comes to budget phones. They almost always have one or two significant weaknesses. But the TCL 20S claims to have struck the perfect balance. What’s there and what’s missing? Let’s find out.

Design

The TCL 20S is on the larger side of mid-range phones. It’s hefty, but not overly so. The power button is extra wide and further down on the side of the phone as it doubles as the fingerprint scanner.

Reviewers said the fingerprint sensor was wicked fast during testing. The phone’s rear cameras are arranged in a vertical line down the upper left side. A dedicated Google Assistant button on the opposite side of the phone that reviewers wished was re-programmable worked well nonetheless.

Display

Screens are a strong point on most TCL phones. The TCL 20S’ 6.67-inch Full HD LCD panel is no exception. Reviewers stated it was as clear and detailed as some of the top phones out there. While there’s a notch for the selfie camera, it’s not distracting or intrusive, a problem that reviewers argued TCL faced on previous phones.

The refresh rate was the only shortcoming. As more phones shift to 90Hz (or higher) displays, the phone’s 60Hz panel is unfortunate.

Performance

This phone has the same specs one might expect from a mid-range budget phone with a slightly lesser chipset than those in the higher tier options. However, reviewers said that performance was still perfect for anything the average user might need. Netflix, social media and even some gaming worked just fine.

Software & Storage

The TCL 20S ships with Android 11. TCL has added a few screen adjustment features but leaves Android mostly stock. There’s a 128GB model with 4GB of RAM and a 256GB version with 6GB of RAM. Both have expandable storage with MicroSD card slots.

Cameras

Reviewers stated that the cameras were adequate but not exceptional. In particular, the night mode for photography was really disappointing. Blotchy, pixelated and unclear images took what could’ve been considered a really decent set of cameras down to just being mediocre.

Battery Life

Battery life is where the TCL 20S comes out on top. Having a larger battery isn’t that big of a deal for higher-priced phones but is relatively rare still for budget-minded models.

Reviewers stated the phone would easily get a good solid full day out of a single charge before needing to hunt down a power source. The included charger isn’t the fastest, though.

Audio

While phone speakers only get so good, reviewers found audio quality on the TCL 20 particularly disappointing. Along with non-existent bass and odd default equalization, many reviewers complained about a constant faint buzz. Thankfully, the phone comes with a headphone jack.

Specs at a Glance

• Plastic chassis
• 6.67-inch FHD LCD panel
• Qualcomm SM6125 Snapdragon 665 processor
• 4 or 6GB of RAM
• Android 11
• 128 or 256GB of storage with expandable MicroSD slot
• 64MP camera
• 5,000mAh battery

Bottom Line

The TCL 20S does a pretty good job of ticking all of the boxes for the average phone. There are some instances where it falls short, like the buzzing speakers and the less-than-stellar performance with heavy games.

However, when it comes to watching Netflix, using social media, and all the little tasks you probably bounce between on your phone throughout the day, it does well enough to be a compelling reason to consider budget-friendly phones over their pricier competition.

Tech Radar says, “The TCL 20S is an impressive budget phone for its price, with a crisp Full HD Plus display, decent camera suite, big 5,000mAh battery, and other features that are more in line with a mid-range handset. While nothing particularly stands out about the phone (besides the display), it isn’t lacking in any category either, making it a strong all-rounder.”

PC Magazine states, “As long as you don’t need 5G, the TCL 20S is a powerful budget phone with an immersive display, excellent speakers, and a long-lasting battery.”