The TCL brand planned to launch an affordable foldable smartphone soon but has apparently changed its mind mainly because of too high production costs, among other factors. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3, Galaxy Z Flip3, Motorola Razr and Huawei Mate Xs still have a bit of open space.
The next big revolution in the world of smartphones is undoubtedly the mass arrival of folding devices. For the moment, even if Samsung has managed to lower the bill to be able to afford a Galaxy Z Flip3, it must be recognized that these devices, as few as they are still on the market, are still very expensive. TCL, which has also been working on the subject for several years now, would like to change the situation and was considering produce a folding cell phone that is affordable. a prototype with the name of code Chicago had even been entrusted to some people to assess the general ergonomics, according to several sources. But the group has just confirmed the pausing of the project for an indefinite period.
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The project is suspended
Reasons for rising production costs were therefore put forward to justify this decision, explaining: “Although the foldable market is growing every year, it is still a high-end product category. In combination with recent component shortages, the COVID-19 pandemic, and rising foldable production costs, TCL has made the difficult decision to suspend the launch of its first commercially available foldable smartphone until the ‘company can produce and market it at a price accessible to the greatest number of consumers ”.
What technical characteristics for the TCL Chicago?
Technically, the téléphone portable pliant TCL Chicago was animated by a puce Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage space. It was equipped with a 1.1 inch AMOLED outer screen and a 6.67 inch main screen AMOLED 1080×2400 pixels therefore unfolding like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip3 and Motorola Razr. Compatible 5G et Wi-Fi 6, it is also Bluetooth and NFC, all managed by Android 11. Its battery had a capacity of 3545 mAh with wireless charging support.
For the photos, he could count on a 48-megapixel Sony IMX582 sensor accompanied by a 16-megapixel sensor for shooting in wide-angle mode and a 44-megapixel sensor for taking a selfie. Unfolded, it measured 165×78.1×7.35 mm and folded had dimensions of 86.5×78.1×17.9 mm for a weight of 205 grams.
Several rumors believe that TCL was considering offering its Chicago smartphone at a price of between $ 700 and $ 900, well below the € 1,059 requested for the current Galaxy Z Flip3, for example. Regarding a suspension of development, there is no doubt that the manufacturer will come back to it when he has estimated that the situation will be better for him and the market.
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