[CES 2020] TCL Unveiled New Foldable Smartphone At Much Cheaper Price

TCL's foldable phone is definitely not ready to launch, but this is likely to be the most important phone concept at the CES 2020 event because it clearly reflects the company's strategy.

"This is TCL" - Stefan Streit, TCL's global marketing manager proudly said when introducing three smartphones with beautiful design for a price of less than $500 (around Rs. 36,000). Streit reminded that, among the three models with this attractive price, one model supports 5G connectivity.

The TCL 10 5G, a 5G phone that costs less than Rs. 36,000, sounds surprising, but it is actually not - it follows the strategy that TCL is applying to its TV products. The popular TCL Roku 6 Series TV is a high-end 4K model, competing well with much-higher-priced TVs from LG, Sony, and Samsung. TCL has forced rivals to lower their TVs’ prices or create cheaper TV models to compete.

And that is exactly what TCL's foldable smartphone can do: bring competition in the market. TCL's products may offer consumers a new choice besides Moto Razr, Huawei Mate X, and Samsung Galaxy Fold, but it can also put Samsung and other rivals under pressure in the price competition.

Yes, the TCL foldable smartphone concept (which you can see on the image below) is not yet ready to hit the market soon. Its hinges and creases on the folding screen feel like they need a lot of extra works, the software is full of bugs, and even the device does not even have a front camera (and also no notch or punch-hole). One thing many people would like is the diamond pattern on the back of the device.

The hardware specifications of this foldable phone include the old Snapdragon 660 SoC and Android 9 Pie. With these specs, the device is surely not as powerful as the aforementioned TCL 10 series, which uses the Snapdragon 700 chipset. It will also not as thin as the Mate X because the screen bezels quite thick, and the screen itself is smaller than that of the Galaxy Fold. But, don't forget that this is just a concept smartphone, so its configuration and design can be changed and refined.

The presence of this device at CES 2020 means something else: it will push the entire mobile industry into the era of good-priced foldable phones much earlier than expected. TCL's concept addresses one of the biggest consumer complaints about previous foldable phones: the price is too high. It will force the entire market to compete, and that's what every consumer wants when the current Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X have respective hefty prices of Rs. 1,64,999 and $2,400 (around Rs. 1,72,400).