TCL 20 R 5G Review: Cheap and very, very cheerful

By Kate Reynolds

Last updated 11 January 2022

TCL 20 R 5G review: The Verdict

You may be more familiar with TCL as a TV manufacturer, not a phone maker. But the TCL 20 R 5G certainly proves that TCL can whip out a great small screen just as well as it does big screens.

What we love

Great battery
Zippy and reliable
Affordable 5G connectivity

What could be improved

Average camera
Slow-ish charging

The essentials

Performance: Apps were zippy to open
Battery: Put through its Google Maps paces and it held up
Screen: Vibrant
Camera: It's only downfall. Not bad, but not great, either.

80/100

From $349

The TCL 20 R 5G is The Holiday of the smartphone world. You know, the Christmas movie starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet? On the surface, it seems like a cheap and cheerful flick - and it is - but it's also actually really, really good?

Thank goodness it doesn't feature a cameo from Jack Black...

The TCL 20 R 5G comes in Lazurite Blue or Granite Grey. The grey is nice; a dark, closer-to-black colour with a matte finish which miraculously doesn't seem to attract fingerprints. It's comfortable to hold in one hand; the 6.52-inch screen is big enough without being too big, and it feels slim without feeling fragile. It passes the tiny bag test, fitting snugly in my, well, tiny bag that I take everywhere these days.

It even survived a few bumps and falls (whoops) without a scratch, dent or crack. Clumsy people (I see you, I'm here for you) rejoice.

The camera lenses protrude gently on the back left-hand side without being too cumbersome, and the phone sits (mostly) flat when you put it down. The forward-facing camera is totally inconspicuous, hiding out in the middle of the top of the phone, hardly imposing on the screen at all.

There's a face and fingerprint unlock; fingerprint is always my go-to, and it sits on the back of the device. It was easy to set up, but a little bit inconsistent with recognising my finger. It would go days without an issue and then suddenly it wasn't recognised no matter how many fingerprint angles I tried, and I ended up manually unlocking with my security code quite a lot. Obviously wet and dirty hands will affect its ability to recognise your fingerprint - and the current climate of constant hand sanitiser possibly played a role in the phone's confusion.

TCL 20 R 5G camera

Look, for a budget smartphone, the camera is what you'd expect. There's a 13MP main camera, 2MP macro lens, 8MP front-facing camera and a 2MP depth camera. There's no wow factor, and photos come out okay. Portrait mode does a pretty good job of identifying where you end and the background starts, and for happy snaps to capture the moment, it'll suffice.

I found that most photos lacked crispness - whether they were selfies, landscape shots or zooming in on a random peacock I came across.

In great lighting, I managed to capture some really vibrant holiday snaps (though again, lacked the crispness and depth you find in more expensive cameras) but too much light tended to wash out photos. There are 'pro' settings where you can adjust white balance and iso, but are you seeeeeriously going to make me do all the work, TCL?

A Bangalow palm and the beach in the background — *Beach holiday snap. The colours look great*

And fast-moving objects? Not a chance. I have several photos of a blurry water dragon who kept moving its mouth when I tried to take its photo. (What a jerk!)

A water dragon with its mouth open — *This is 'Tiny', the water dragon*

There's a 4x zoom that totally blurs out images once you get there, removing any sharpness whatsoever.

There's no night mode, and lowlight photos can be a little hit and miss. If there's plenty of light around, like Christmas lights at night time (see end of article), then photos come out surprisingly well. I was impressed with how much (or how little) light that camera could work with, but the image quality is low.

Devil's ivy — *Devil's Ivy in my dark bathroom. The door was open slightly letting some light in, but the image is blurry*

devil's ivy in dark bathroom — *This is the same shot with the bathroom door almost fully closed. I'm surprised how much light came through, but the image isn't great*

Keen photography buffs will probably be disappointed in the camera, but if you're the kind of person who just wants to capture the moment (or more swayed by price point than photography chops) then this'll be right up your alley.

TCL 20 R 5G performance

This phone was put through its paces on a recent trip away; think constant Google Maps to get us to unfamiliar locations, stories being uploaded to Instagram showing off rainforest walks and cute cafes, and binging the entire season of Emily in Paris. It lasted each day with ease. There's always a fear - especially when travelling and relying on a maps app to get you to where you need to go - that your phone will simply conk out before the day is done, leaving you stranded on the side of a highway (no? Just me?) but the TCL 20 R 5G held its ground each day.

A caveat, this was all on 4G, and 5G does squeeze the juice out a little faster.

A 90Hz refresh rate kept things running smoothly, and typing out messages (and Instagram captions) was a breeze.

TCL 20 R 5G - Final Thoughts

The TCL 20 R 5G was a surprise, punching above its price category. Anyone who's looking for a cheap smartphone with 5G capabilities and doesn't need a camera with all the latest and greatest features should definitely consider it. This is a leading lady phone, not a best friend phone (sorry, I just REALLY love The Holiday).