TCL 10 5G could be Verizon’s first sub-6 GHz 5G phone

The TCL 10 5G, which was announced earlier this year, finally seems primed for a US release.

Phone Scoop reports that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has cleared the phone with frequency bands that are unique to Verizon’s 4G and sub-6 GHz 5G networks. The carrier’s 5G network is mostly mmWave-based at the moment, and its sub-6 network will likely be launched in a few months.

mmWave 5G is currently not a useful technology despite the fact that it offers high theoretical speeds because of limited coverage. Sub-6 GHz 5G networks, on the other hand, offer better coverage.

mmWave antenna modules are also costly and that’s the reason why Verizon’s version of the OnePlus 8 and Samsung Galaxy A71 5G  are more expensive than the models that support sub-6GHz 5G only.

This is the first time TCL is selling phones using its own name and it needs to keep prices competitive to break into the market. The company had previously said that the TCL 10 5G would come to a US carrier by the end of the year and now we know it was referring to Verizon.

The manufacturer had also confirmed that the price would be below $500. The phone is already available in parts of Europe and costs £399 in the UK.

It is powered by the Snapdragon 765G and has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It sports a 6.53 inches IPS LCD display, and a quad-camera system with a 64MP main sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, a 5MP macro module, and a 2MP depth unit. The front camera is 16MP.

The TCL 10 5G also features a rear fingerprint scanner, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 4,500mAh battery.