Life really is a circle. Sometimes what we once left behind comes back with nostalgia and new purpose. Flip phones, for example, were nearly erased by the touchscreen revolution where smartphones offered more pixels, more apps, and more of everything a phone would normally give you. With the flip phones making a comeback, the TCL Flip 4 5G is another reminder that sometimes looking back is a way forward. Here's all what the phone introduces and its availability.
TCL’s new flip phone gives you simplicity
The TCL Flip 4 5G is not anything like Samsung's Z Flip or Motorola's Razr phones, but more of a classic flip phone. On the outside is a 1.77 inch touch screen you can use to check notifications, caller ID, and more without flipping it open. The build itself has a soft matte texture that's only available in the Stone Grey colour variant. There's the subtle TCL logo in front with a slightly raised section around the camera module.
When you flip the phone open, there's a 3.2inch internal QVGA display waiting inside where you can see your texts, calls, as well as navigate through apps. Particularly, it's 320 x 240 pixels and one-quarter the resolution of a full VGA screen, which is very common for cheap phones. There's a T9 keypad with satisfyingly tactile buttons.
The phone runs KaiOS 4.0, a lightweight operating system that still gives you YouTube, Google Maps, WhatsApp, Google Assistant, and all the bare necessities. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 215 processor, paired with either 2GB or 3GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of internal storage. Storage is expandable up to 1TB with a memory card.
There’s a 5MP rear camera that shoots 720p videos at 30fps, but no selfie camera. It makes total sense, given that this isn’t the kind of phone you reach for when you're trying to take the perfect angle or capture your brunch in portrait mode. It's primarily built for communication and unplugging from the usual distractions smarter phones come with.
Related: See the new TCL 60 series smartphones with NXTPAPER displays
Flip to the affordable side of phones
Among its other features, the TCL Flip 4 5G provides a loud speaker and support for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, VoLTE, HD Voice, with Wi-Fi calling. Battery life is held together by a 3000mAh battery rated for up to 40 hours of talk time and around 15 days of standby. Charging takes under 2 hours, and it uses a USB-C port.
You’d expect a Micro-USB, but that's becoming outdated. In fact, if it weren’t for my console controller cable, I doubt I’ve seen one around in a long time. TCL choosing USB-C here is a pro-modern move and it plays nice with the chargers you probably already use for your other devices.
It supports 5G, 4G LTE, GSM, and UMTS, with broad band support that should work in most regions. It also supports hearing aid compatibility (HAC) that makes it accessible to more people.
The phone costs $80, but you can get it for free when you bring your number to Metro by T-Mobile as a new customer or receive a new line from them. If you're not a fan of foldables, TCL has also launched the affordable K32 5G touchscreen smartphone.
