TCL Rolls Out Latest Mini LED TVs, 85-Inch Displays, 299-Euro 5G Smartphone
TCL is continuing to grow its U.S. TV presence, said Tiago Abreu, head of design innovation at TCL’s X-Lab, on the company’s prerecorded CES 2021 news conference Monday. The company unveiled the third generation of its Mini LED TV technology, called OD Zero, plus next-generation display technologies and competitively priced smartphones.
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The company followed on its debut last year of Mini LED TV with what it calls OD Zero, representing the optical distance between the Mini LED backlight layer and the LCD display layer, now 0 mm, enabling an ultra-thin backlight module and thin overall design. Thousands of local dimming zones allow brightness to be adjusted in real-time alongside the corresponding backlight areas for precise contrast control, said Abreu.
TCL will roll out its first Google TVs in LED, 8K and QLED TVs this year, starting in the U.S., said Abreu. It wasn’t clear how that affects the company’s plans for Roku TV long term, though Roku announced last week (see 2101080028) TCL will be the first brand to launch a Roku wireless sound bar; TCL’s 6-Series 8K TVs will be Roku TV models. The 8K Roku TVs are due at later in the year; TCL’s existing 4K Roku TV models will continue in the line. Google Assistant will be integrated in the Google TVs, which can also be voice-controlled by Amazon Alexa for customers with an Amazon Echo product, said Abreu.
Additional non-wireless sound bars with Roku TV Ready will also be available later in the year, TCL said. The Alto 82i -- with Dolby Atmos, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple AirPlay -- will launch in Q3 with dual built-in subwoofers, it said. Two additional sound bars will round out the 2021 Alto lineup: a premium model with Dolby Atmos and the Alto 8e with a 3.2.1 configuration, Dolby Atmos, Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple AirPlay and Spotify compatibility, along with a wireless subwoofer and up-firing speakers.
The TCL XL Collection debuts in 2021, marking TCL’s first 85-inch displays. The trio includes a 4K HDR streaming model, a 4K HDR Roku QLED TV and an 85-inch Mini LED-powered 8K TCL QLED TV, said the company. The XL models will be available in North America this year, starting with the 4-Series 85R435 TCL Roku TV due to launch this quarter at $1,599. The QLED 85R745 and Mini LED powered 8K TV will arrive later, it said.
TCL is taking the price of a 5G smartphone down to 299 euros in the TCL 20 5G, which is selling in some European markets before a broader rollout. The 6.67-inch phone has a 48-megapixel triple camera and 4,500 milliamp-hour battery. The 20 SE is TCL’s least expensive phone, a 6.82-inch 4G model with quad camera and high-res audio capability, at 149 euros. It will introduce three more phones, including another 5G model, later in the year.
TCL unveiled two tablets targeted to education, remote learning and productivity applications. The higher end model is the first to use the company’s Nxtpaper display technology, whose reflective screen was designed to provide a “colorful, paperlike experience.”
In its audio line, TCL bowed Moveaudio S600 true wireless earbuds. Features include active noise-canceling, transparency mode and Google Assistant.
From its TCL CSOT (China Star Optoelectronics Technology) division, TCL presented a 17-inch printed OLED scrolling display and 6.7-inch AMOLED rollable display. The printed OLED scrolling display, 0.18mm thick, can fit anywhere, “like a scroll painting,” and is applicable to flexible TVs, curved and foldable displays and transparent commercial displays, said Abreu. The OLED scrolling displays are inkjet-printed, without the need for metal masks, resulting in 20% lower cost than traditional technologies. TCL is positioning them for large displays and mass production, he said.
The 6.7-inch rollable AMOLED display can extend from 6.7 to 7.8 inches with a finger tap, allowing the device to grow from a smartphone into a tablet, offering a different user experience, said Abreu. The 10mm-thick phone is “significantly thinner” than a foldable smartphone, he said. Sliding life is said to be 100,000 times. The software interface can be adapted for single-hand use or multitasking.