The TCL 50 XL goes on sale as the most affordable 5G phone at Metro by T-Mobile
Have you ever heard of TCL? If you live in the US and generally favor low-cost smartphone purchases from prepaid carriers over their high-end counterparts available at Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T, we're fairly certain the answer to that question is yes.
After selling millions of dirt-cheap Alcatel-branded handsets stateside, the company has shifted its focus in recent years towards its own name, which is now slapped on some of the most affordable devices you can get at the likes of Metro by T-Mobile, Boost Mobile, Tracfone, Verizon Prepaid, and T-Mobile.
The TCL 50 XL 5G is the latest such product to go on sale in the US following an international announcement back in February. As the name suggests, this is a massive 5G-enabled smartphone you can somehow buy for a measly $159.99 from Metro by T-Mobile.
In fact, we seem to be looking at Metro's cheapest 5G handset here, undercutting the far humbler Moto G 5G (2024), Nokia G310, and TCL's own 30 XE in addition to the 4G LTE-only Samsung Galaxy A03s. Even better, you can get the TCL 50 XL 5G for free right off the bat with little to no effort. We're talking a number port-in and no other strings attached or special requirements of any kind.
Whether you end up buying this thing for 160 bucks or... $0, it's hard to overstate the phone's incredible appeal and towering value for your money with not just a huge 6.78-inch display in tow but a more than respectable 6GB RAM paired with 128 gigs of internal storage space and a fittingly large 5,010mAh battery with decent 18W charging capabilities as well.
That TCL-made NXTVISION screen, by the way, is equipped with both a Full HD+ resolution of 2460 x 1080 pixels and 120Hz refresh rate technology, which is absolutely mind-blowing for a budget 5G phone in 2024. Then you have a triple rear-facing camera system headlined by a 50MP AI-assisted primary snapper, a not-too-bad 5MP front camera, dual DTS-enhanced speakers, and an octa-core MediaTek processor to round out a simply unbeatable spec sheet for that aforementioned price point.
Could TCL become America's new affordable smartphone champion? Absolutely, but only if the TCL 50 family rapidly expands to more operators than just Metro by T-Mobile at similar prices, which unfortunately seems unlikely to happen anytime soon.
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