TCL is bringing another cheap 5G phone to the U.S market today, launching the TCL V30 5G for Verizon for just $300. It’s not a flagship or even flagship-adjacent smartphone, it’s a phone that exists to bring 5G access more cheaply — along with some extra niceties.
Specs-wise, it’s what you expect on a phone from this price range. This is a pretty large phone that comes with the close standard 6.67-inch display that you’ll find on so many budget Android phones right now. It has a FullHD+ display, but there’s no smooth 90Hz refresh display so users will have to make do with a 60Hz refresh.
It’s not the most powerful phone you can buy, in case its price tag didn’t clue you in. There’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 chip powering this backed by 4GB of RAM, and there’s 128GB of expandable storage onboard. While the 480 isn’t that powerful, it is necessary to bring 5G 5G support, and the company highlights support for Verizon’s Ultra Wideband 5G as well as nationwide 5G and C-Band 5G.
Camera-wise, there’s a 50-megapixel main camera, a 5MP ultrawide, and a 2MP macro lens with a 16MP front-facing camera for selfies and video calling. These should be good in daylight, though nighttime may present a problem. You won’t have a problem reaching nighttime on a single charge though, as the company offers a 4,500 mAh battery with fast charging that lets you to it up in under three hours. Finally, TCL has added face unlock and a rear fingerprint sensor for authentication.
The 30V isn’t the best budget smartphone around, especially when you compare it to the slightly more expensive Pixel 5a. However, if you can’t spare a little more, then it looks like a pretty good choice for buyers cross-shopping with HMD and Samsung’s slate of cheap 5G phones.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.