TCL 30+ deals

The TCL 30+ is a 2022 budget phone that put an unusually good screen into a cheap body, and four years on that screen is still its main appeal. The 6.7-inch Full HD+ AMOLED panel runs at 60Hz, but Tech Advisor found it clear, colourful and easy to read in bright sunshine, and the phone is slim at 7.7mm and 184g. Twin speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD expansion make it a practical package, and the 5,010mAh battery managed 9 hours 40 minutes in Tech Advisor's PCMark test. The problem is the MediaTek Helio G37 chip paired with 4GB of RAM. Tech Advisor reported constant stutters, slow-loading apps and a sluggish camera, and concluded it was hard to recommend even when new. The 50MP main camera is fine in daylight but hit and miss in low light, and video has no stabilisation. Software is the bigger concern today: it launched on Android 12, TCL promised one Android update and two years of security patches, and Tech Advisor listed security support ending in December 2023. It only makes sense as a cheap spare for light use.