TCL sub-brand FFALCON releases Thunderbird FF1 5G smartphone co-developed with Huawei

Remember FFALCON, the TCL sub-brand that makes budget TVs? The brand has just released a smartphone called Thunderbird FF1 co-developed with Huawei.

Front and back design of the Thunderbird FF1 

A TCL sub-brand phone co-developed with Huawei

Yes, that's the interesting part. It is co-developed by Huawei.

There is no mention of why Huawei is involved here. But likely, the tech giant is looking for other means to still be involved in making 5G smartphones by sharing its technologies with other brands to bypass US restrictions.

Highlights of the device

Anyway, the device is reminiscent of several Huawei smartphones in the past and it is far from the design of current TCL smartphones.

At the back, the Thunderbird FF1 has a curved back design with a large square camera hump in Black and Green colors on top reminding us of the 2018 Mate 20 flagship. In front, it is similar to the nova 8i with a 6.67-inch LCD with super-slim bezels at a 94.7 percent screen-to-body ratio. What's new here is it now has a smoother 120Hz refresh rate.

Under the hood, it is packed with the 2.4GHz 6nm MediaTek's Dimensity 900 octa-core processor with Mali-G68 MC4 GPU.

The device is paired with 8GB RAM, 128GB or 256GB internal storage and a 4,300mAh battery.

The other familiar Huawei technology found on the device is the speedy USB-C 66W charging that can fill its entire battery in just 40 minutes.

For cameras, it is using a 64MP primary cam + 8MP ultra-wide-angle shooter + 2MP depth sensor. For selfies, it has a 16MP snapper found on the phone's pill-shaped cutout.

It also has a side-mounted fingerprint reader that doubles as the power key, dual-band WiFi, 4G LTE (apart from 5G), and an unspecified version of Android.

FFALCON: The Thunderbird FF1 smartphone was not co-developed with Huawei

China price with direct to PHP conversion (no taxes and duties yet):

FFALCON Thunderbird FF1 8GB/128GB - CNY 2,499 (around PHP 19.2K)

FFALCON Thunderbird FF1 8GB/256GB - CNY 2,799 (around PHP 21.5K)

The pre-order in China will start on September 6. Actual sales will happen on September 10.

There is no info if it will be available outside of China.

Via: GSMArena