In any case, the 1X is actually pretty impressive considering it's meant to cost around $120 when it launches in early 2019. There's a 5.5-inch, 18:9 FullView LCD display here, and it's honestly one of the nicer screens I've seen on a cheap phone -- colors were bright and plenty vivid, and its ample viewing angles mean you get a solid sense of the action even when you're looking in from off-angle. Then again, TCL's whole thing lately is using its TV-making expertise to craft better smartphone displays, so maybe this shouldn't be a surprise.

The 13MP/2MP dual camera around back isn't bad either, though you'll definitely want to keep those expectations in check. The handful of portraits we shot were better than passable, but in general, our photo results were pretty middling. At the very least, though, there's enough horsepower here to let you change the level of bokeh in your portraits after you've already taken them. And that 5MP front-facing camera? Again, it takes some serviceable selfies, but don't hope for much more than that.

If you live in the right markets, you'll also find that your 1X has a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, though you might not be using it that often thanks to the phone's Face Key unlock method. TCL says it's pretty secure since it tracks more than 100 data points on your face before letting you in, but let's be honest -- at this point, you can't expect face unlocking on devices this inexpensive to be absolutely hack-proof. Throw in 16GB of storage, a microSD slot that takes cards up to 128GB and a noticeable lack of bloatware and you're left with feels like a remarkably solid choice for smartphone shoppers on a budget.