TCL heads into MWC with its latest budget-conscious smartphones

TCL starts things off with a pair of forgettable smartphones.

What you need to know

• The Alcatel 1 and 1L Pro are the latest budget offerings from TCL.
• Both smartphones run Android 11 Go Edition out of the box.
• The Alcatel 1 and 1L Pro launch in August and September, respectively, starting at €59.

MWC kicks off next week, but companies are already getting a headstart on product announcements, including TCL. Among its latest launches are the new budget-friendly Alcatel 1-series smartphones.

The new Alcatel 1L Pro is the “higher-end” model of the new smartphones. It offers a 6.1-inch HD+ display with a notch and a fairly sizeable chin. On the back is a dual-camera setup with a 13MP main sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. There’s a rear fingerprint sensor, and TCL also highlights the gradient color scheme on the rear to help make the device stand out.

Powering the device is an unnamed octa-core processor and just 2GB of RAM. It’s not the most powerful by any means, but it should be sufficient to run Android 11 (Go Edition), which is Google’s lightweight version of Android. TCL highlights that this will allow the device to “launch applications 20 percent faster than with the previous version.”

Internal storage sits at 32GB, but users can pop in a memory card for an additional 128GB. And while the Alcatel 1L Pro may not have incredible specs, these are pretty par-for-the-course when you’re looking at the best Android phones under $200 like the Moto G Fast.

On the lower end, TCL is also launching the new Alcatel 1. This device waters down the specs quite a bit with a compact 5-inch display and big bezels. It’s powered by a quad-core processor and also runs Android 11 (Go Edition). There’s a single camera on the front and back.

TCL says the Smart Manager should keep performance smooth “through intelligent app management, memory optimization, and battery saving modes.” The company was mum on any additional specs for the device.

The Alcatel 1 will be available this August in Europe and Latin America for just €59. The Alcatel 1L Pro will reach Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa in September for 2699MXN or roughly $127USD, give or take.