TCL to Launch First Self-Branded Smartphone at IFA 2019

Chinese electronics company TCL, known for their budget TVs and for being the company behind modern-day Alcatel and BlackBerry phones, will release its first ever TCL-branded smartphone at IFA 2019 in Berlin next week.

By launching a TCL-branded smartphone for global markets, the company is joining the global smartphone frenzy against major players in the industry including Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi for a share of the market. TCL offers its own branded phones in China, but generally sticks to the Alcatel and BlackBerry brand for Western releases.

“We see our new line of TCL mobile products as the hub of our growing portfolio of consumer electronics, creating more engaging experiences for our customers in and out of home. By continuing to leverage TCL’s vertical integration and product ecosystem, we’re able to focus on innovating and creating a true flagship mobile brand under TCL, while at the same time delivering the accessibility and quality our customers around the world have come to expect from us,” said Shane Lee, TCL’s General Manager for Global Product Center.

A leaked TCL roadmap from Twitter’s @evleaks gave a sneak peak of some of the company’s upcoming devices, including a couple of 5G phones and a foldable tablet.

According to the leak, the TCL-branded phone will be called the TCL T1 and might offer a 6.53-inch FHD+ “Dotch” display. “Dotch” is presumably a play on the words ‘dot’ and ‘notch’ to denote some form of punch-hole design. It will most likely be powered by the mid-range Snapdragon 675 mobile platform, and come with a 3,820mAh battery and a triple camera setup.

TCL will officially unveil the new phone on September 5, and while the company has said that the handset is being made for “global markets”, it remains unclear exactly where it will be released.