In the world of pen phones, precision and convenience come together to offer smartphones with a unique experience. If you are thinking of buying a mobile with a pencil, The TCL Stylus 5G may be the model you were looking for.
This model has been on the market for more than 8 months, but you can still get it for approximately 200 euros. Its technical specifications and its most outstanding features bring you a mobile that could work for you to stay connected and be entertained.
However, in this article we show you all the information you need for a decision and buy this mobile phone. So read on and discover everything the TCL Stylus 5G has to offer.
TCL Stylus 5G Specifications
The TCL Stylus 5G is an affordable smartphone that includes a stylus, which will always be there when you need it. Below, you can see the technical specifications of the TCL Stylus 5G:
| Specification | TCL Stylus 5G |
| Dimensions and weight | 8,98mm, 213g |
| Screen | 6,81-inch LCD, FHD+ (1080 x 2460), 500 nits peak brightness |
| SoC | MediaTek Dimensity 700 5G, 2x ARM Cortex-A76 @ 2.2GHz, 6x ARM Cortex-A55 @ 2GHz, ARM Mali-G57 MC2 |
| RAM and storage | 4GB RAM, 128GB, microSD up to 2TB |
| battery and charging | 4.000 mAh, 18W wired charger included in the box |
| Fingerprint sensor | Side mounted |
| Rear camera | Main: 50MP, Ultra Wide: 5MP, 115° FoV, Macro: 2MP, Depth: 2MP |
| Sensor pixel size | 0,64μm (50MP) /1,28μm (4 in 1, 12,5MP), 1,12μm (5MP), 1,75μm (2MP), 1,75μm (2MP) |
| Frontal camera | 13MP |
| Maximum video capture (all cameras) | 1080p @ 30 fps |
| Port(s) | USB Type-C |
| Software | Android 12, one year operating system update. |
| Color | Lunar Black |
Device features
The main feature of this mobile is its stylus, with which you can interact in a completely different way. TCL made a somewhat controversial decision to go with a passive stylus, as it doesn't run on batteries or Bluetooth.
While this shatters your dreams of being able to use this stylus as a remote camera shutter, it is a fact that the stylus works flawlessly. The pen works well with minimal latency when writing and taking notes.
The TCL Stylus 5G does the same thing as the Samsung Galaxy, allowing you to write a quick note without unlocking your phone first. Additionally, TCL included Nebo technology in this model, which is a tool that converts handwriting into copyable text.
Nebo can be very useful if you want to write notes or phone numbers. MyScript Calculator 2 another technology that takes your handwritten calculations and calculates them instantly. You just have to write 16 + 43 and MyScript will write the result, which is 59.
You can then drag that number to the next line and continue with another calculation. What you won't find on the TCL Stylus is the aforementioned Bluetooth functionality, or any attempt to use your fingers.
The TCL Stylus 5G allows you to activate if you want to reject palm, although this doesn't work very well. This phone is very nice to have when you need it, and unsurprisingly, it's not as good as Samsung's.
Another specification of this mobile phone is the screen touch 6,81 inches. As in previous generations, TCL has optimized the screen with its technology nxtvision, which optimizes the colors and clarity of the screen.
It's an LCD panel. so you don't get as dark blacks as you'll see on AMOLED panels, nor will you be able to see the always-on display feature. The display tops out at 500 nits, making the display difficult to read in bright sunlight at times.
You can disable optimization nxtvisionalthough it is not recommended. There are many improvements that you can activate on this mobile, including video, image and game improvements. It also has a reading mode, blue light filter, and a dark screen mode for reading at night.
Finally, you can adjust the screen temperature to be vivid, natural, or you can use a color wheel to adjust the screen exactly how you want it. It's always nice to have that versatility to set up this device.
Hardware, performance and battery performance
The TCL Stylus 5G is powered by a Mediatek Dimensity SoC 700 and 4 GB of RAM. It has 128 GB of internal storage and a 4.000 mAh battery. Performance-wise, the phone is just passable.
On Geekbench, its scores of 548/1727 line up with flagship phones from previous years. Using Call of Duty: Mobile as a benchmark for performance, this mobile opens the game with difficulty, plus it runs very slow.
The TCL technical service is of the opinion that they are aware that the smartphone is affected by a software error, which limits the use of mobile applications that require a lot of memory.
Therefore, TCL engineers have identified the problem and will release a software update soon. In the meantime, a factory reset of the device will fix the problem.
Some users comment that after doing the factory reset, the game loaded correctly. As for everyday tasks like loading apps and moving between them, there's also some lag.
Other games like Sudoku, Knotwords, and Flow Free work quite well. If you are a puzzle player, this phone can work for you. Now, if you're more of an Asphalt 9 type, you may be in trouble.
The battery life of this mobile is acceptable but not great. If you work from home, this phone will definitely last you one day and a bit the next. But if you commute to work or spend the day away from Wi-Fi, your autonomy will vary.
TCL Stylus 5G software
One advantage of the TCL is the ability to scroll through its folders. The apps are arranged in vertical columns, though you can also scroll from side to side to move between folders. This is useful if you accidentally open the wrong folder.
Another striking thing about this phone is its quick toggles in the notification shade, as they have a great tech vibe. It's definitely Android 12, but with a boxier execution. The Brightness and Medium quick toggles are sliders that can be adjusted.
One last perk that TCL offers is called Smart App Recommend. When you connect headphones to the phone, a small window appears recommending your music or podcast player. That feature works more reliably than on models like the TCL 20 Pro.
TCL's software has always been flashy for good. However, this model has disadvantages in terms of software. The TCL Stylus comes with Android 12, with the promise of one year of OS updates and two years of security updates.
Now, the other problem is relatively minor, since creating folders on the TCL Stylus 5G is a task that can become tedious, according to the opinions of some users.
All about the Stylus camera
The TCL Stylus 5G is a phone that it comes with a camera setup according to its cheap price. It comes with four sensors at the rear and one at the front.
At the rear, you get a 50MP PDAF sensor, a 5MP wide-angle sensor (at 114.9 degrees), a 2MP macro sensor, and a 2MP depth sensor. The main sensor is arguably the most notable on this phone.
With the camera's main sensor, you can capture still images in good lighting. The camera is good enough for your photos and videos for social media, helping you build trust if you're going to post your photos.
Likewise, you can achieve amazing photos taken in burst mode. We don't recommend using these poster-size photos and printing them, but for posting on Instagram, they're pretty decent.
At night, you can get acceptable results. This is a good thing because for a $200 phone, the cameras are usually pretty terrible. In the case of the TCL Stylus, as long as whoever you're taking photos stays still, you can achieve decent results.
When it comes to video performance at night, what you get leaves a lot to be desired. During the day, video capture is average, while the selfie camera is capable of surprisingly smooth shots, especially if you take it while walking.
When it comes to the rear camera, videos while walking are pretty good. and the transition from bright to dark areas is smooth and fast. Thus, the camera maxes out at 1080p/30fps.
And we are at a point where almost all phones have a camera that works well in direct sunlight. However, finding a camera that works decently at night in this price range is rare, so kudos to TCL for that.
Should you buy the TCL Stylus?
This is one of the public's favorite cheap mobiles at the moment. It's not particularly powerful, so for a user who wants to play Call of Duty: Mobile without hiccups, this mobile phone simply won't cut it.
This device is geared towards a specific subset of people: those who want to use a stylus, those who are on a tight budget to buy a phone, or if you are a person who is averse to more complex technologies.
Also, the mobile comes with a stylus, which is coming back into fashion. It's an awesome way to control and type on your smartphone.
With smartphones taking up more and more of the processing power you need these days, a stylus is a great addition for taking notes and signing documents. For school purposes, you can use the stylus to help your kids with their homework.
The closest competition you can find is the Moto G Stylus 5G, which costs almost twice the price. When you put together everything the TCL Stylus 5G has to offer, you're going to get more benefits than drawbacks.