An unusual and unexpected collaboration has just taken place in the smartphone market. Being introduced in China, the FFalcon Thunderbird FF1 5G is TCL’s newest mid-range smartphone , featuring good specs, 120 Hz screen and battery that fully recharges in 40 minutes. But here comes the curious part: it was made in partnership with Huawei .
Known as a subsidiary brand of TCL in China, FFalcon until now bet on audio and video products in home entertainment category, the chinese brand has now partnered to enter the smartphone market once and for all with the new Thunderbird FF1.
Huawei, on the other hand, which has lost it grounds in the global market due to sanctions imposed by the United States, had already started to produce smartphones in partnership with Chinese operators, offering devices with small changes in design, and it seems that the same is happening now with the partnership with TCL.
The Thunderbird FF1 features a design reminiscent of Huawei devices, with a 2.5D glass screen and pill-shaped notch to house the two front sensors, in addition to betting on a large rear camera module with three sensors with up to 64 MP.
The Thunderbird FF1 main highlights are the 6.67-inch screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate and the 4,300 mAh battery with 66 W fast charging support, which recharges the device up to 60% in 17 minutes, taking just 40 minutes for a full charge.
The model is equipped with a Mediatek Dimensity 900 processor, one of MediaTek’s most powerful mid-range chipset , and comes with 8GB of RAM memory with 128GB and 256GB of internal storage options. And, in case you’re wondering, the FFalcon Thunderbird FF1 should have no problems using Google services, however like every model sold in China it doesn’t come with factory installed operating system.
FFalcon Thunderbird FF1 5G: Specification
- Screen : 6.67 inches with Full HD resolution and 120 Hz rate
- Chipset : MediaTek Dimensity 900 chipset
- RAM memory : 8 GB
- Internal storage : 128 and 256 GB
- Rear camera : 64MP (main) + 8MP (ultrawide) + 2MP (depth)
- Front camera : 16 MP (main) + 2 MP (depth)
- Battery : 4,300 mAh with 66W recharge
- Extras : support for 5G networks, side mounted fingerprint reader integrated with the power button
- Available colors : blue and black
- YOU : Android (Unspecified)
Prices and availability
The new FFalcon Thunderbird FF1 will be officially launched on September 6th exclusively in the Chinese market in two color options: blue and black. The 8GB RAM version with 128GB of storage has a suggested retail price of 2,499 yuan (about Rs 45,755), while the 8GB, 256GB version will sell for 2,799 yuan (about Rs 51,245).
Pre-order starts on September 6th, with launch scheduled for September 10th. The launch of the smartphone in markets outside China is unlikely.