TCL 3S M3G comes with a Sharp 5-inch display and Snapdragon 615 at $156.99


tcl m3

There is plenty to choose from at the $160 price mark for us Chinese phone fans, but what about something from TCL? Well just take a look at the latest TCL 3S M3G.

Credit to finding this gem has to go to the great guys over at the Chinese Tech Fans Group on Facebook. The phone that they have found looks like a great deal to us at only $156.99 and boasts some impressive hardware features.

The TCL 3S M3G is a 5-inch device with a FHD resolution and screen supplied by Sharp, so expect some clear and sharp images. Also expect pretty good battery life from the 3000mAh battery which is the size that we are starting to expect from a phone of this calibre.

Performance might not be on par with some Mediatek phones of the day, but the use of a Snapdragon 615 chipset might pave the way to developers releasing their own ROMS for the device should the included Android Lollipop ROM isn’t to your taste.

Other details for the phone include 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, dual SIM support, micro SD card memory expansion, 8 mega-pixel front camera and 13 mega-pixel rear camera.

A good looking phone for sure, and a great low-cost choice at this competitive price.

[ Gizchina Tech Fans ]
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Previous ZTE Maven, Sonata 2 launch in the US
Next ZTE-backed Axon phone coming to the US 14th July

60 Comments

  1. realjjj
    June 26, 2015

    This is the TLC Meme da 3S that sells for 799CNY(127$) in China.http://www.tclmobile.com.cn/index.php/product/details/140
    One of the very well priced TCL devices, along with the Meme da 3N and Ono.

    Edit: JD eng has it at 139$ and the 3N at 190$.

    • Jan
      June 29, 2015

      Hi, do you think about this device? Is it a great value for the money? I am tired looking for the right phone in the market and honestly at 139$ there is no excuse for hesitation. I was planning to get first the Xiaomi MI4i which has a better Soc (snapdragon 615 2nd gen) but apart from that both phone have similar specs. Your help is welcome.

  2. balcobomber25
    June 26, 2015

    TCL makes some excellent devices but the design is always on the boring side, this one looks pretty good.

    • Muhammad Yasir
      June 27, 2015

      do they make TVs too ? some time ago there was alot of boom of the TCL Nobel Tv series ! dunno if people went for the brand and bought em… but there was alot of publicity !

      if only the same could be said of their phones here!

      • realjjj
        June 27, 2015

        TCL has been a top 5 TV maker for a while, last year they were 3rd after Samsung and LG with 16.57 million units shipped. They also make displays (they own CSOT- China Star Optoelectronics Technology) and a bunch of other things.
        Their smartphones are doing fine, some 40 millions last year and maybe 60 this year, they are less troubled than most phone makers.

        • Muhammad Yasir
          June 27, 2015

          i see … well next time im buying an LED tv or LED monitor , i might as well stick with these guys …

          and i really hope their phones go local here … i hear they are a good bang for the buck

          • balcobomber25
            June 29, 2015

            My favorite TV’s are LG and Sharp, but I had one TCL and it was very good.

            • Muhammad Yasir
              June 29, 2015

              do sharp sell under any rebrands ? i wonder if they exist here … i’d love one from them 😀 !

            • balcobomber25
              June 30, 2015

              Sharp is one of the largest manufacturers of LCD displays. They make displays for many smaller brands but I can’t tell you which ones. Their Aquos line though has some of the best looking displays I have seen.

        • balcobomber25
          June 29, 2015

          They have the added bonus of selling as Alcatel in many countries where Chinese phones have a bad reputation. Actually a smart business move you would think more companies would take advantage of. Gionee has had great success with it’s dozens of clone phone companies like Blu (Not quite the same as Gionee doesn’t own them outright but they do make a lot of money off of them).

      • balcobomber25
        June 27, 2015

        Yea TCL makes a variety of electronic devices. In some countries their phones are known as Alcatel.

  3. joe mont
    June 26, 2015

    What camera is it? That generic chinese branded 13mp or a Sony?

    • Sorin K
      July 2, 2015

      I am interested too.

  4. realjjj
    June 26, 2015

    This is the TLC Meme da 3S that sells for 799CNY(127$) in China.http://www.tclmobile.com.cn/index.php/product/details/140
    One of the very well priced TCL devices, along with the Meme da 3N and Ono.

    Edit: JD eng has it at 139$ and the 3N at 190$.

    • Guest
      June 29, 2015

      Hi, do you think about this device? Is it a great value for the money? I am tired looking for the right phone in the market and honestly at 139$ there is no excuse for hesitation. I was planning to get first the Xiaomi MI4i which has a better Soc (snapdragon 615 2nd gen) but apart from that both phone have similar specs. Your help is welcome.

  5. balcobomber25
    June 26, 2015

    TCL makes some excellent devices but the design is always on the boring side, this one looks pretty good.

    • Guest
      June 27, 2015

      do they make TVs too ? some time ago there was alot of boom of the TCL Nobel Tv series ! dunno if people went for the brand and bought em… but there was alot of publicity !

      if only the same could be said of their phones here!

    • realjjj
      June 27, 2015

      TCL has been a top 5 TV maker for a while, last year they were 3rd after Samsung and LG with 16.57 million units shipped. They also make displays (they own CSOT- China Star Optoelectronics Technology) and a bunch of other things.
      Their smartphones are doing fine, some 40 millions last year and maybe 60 this year, they are less troubled than most phone makers.

    • balcobomber25
      June 27, 2015

      Yea TCL makes a variety of electronic devices. In some countries their phones are known as Alcatel.

    • Guest
      June 27, 2015

      i see … well next time im buying an LED tv or LED monitor , i might as well stick with these guys …

      and i really hope their phones go local here … i hear they are a good bang for the buck

    • balcobomber25
      June 29, 2015

      They have the added bonus of selling as Alcatel in many countries where Chinese phones have a bad reputation. Actually a smart business move you would think more companies would take advantage of. Gionee has had great success with it’s dozens of clone phone companies like Blu (Not quite the same as Gionee doesn’t own them outright but they do make a lot of money off of them).

    • balcobomber25
      June 29, 2015

      My favorite TV’s are LG and Sharp, but I had one TCL and it was very good.

    • Guest
      June 29, 2015

      do sharp sell under any rebrands ? i wonder if they exist here … i’d love one from them 😀 !

    • balcobomber25
      June 30, 2015

      Sharp is one of the largest manufacturers of LCD displays. They make displays for many smaller brands but I can’t tell you which ones. Their Aquos line though has some of the best looking displays I have seen.

  6. Xalis
    June 27, 2015

    The problem with TLC is the focused chinese market software with no support for western apps, and the castrated 2G and 3G bands, hell they have some nice cheap phones that only come with 2G bands.

  7. joe mont
    June 27, 2015

    What camera is it? That generic chinese branded 13mp or a Sony?

    • Sorin K
      July 2, 2015

      I am interested too.

  8. elmoel
    June 27, 2015

    I use tcl brand twice.. First m2u and 2 weeks ago tcl 3s m3g

    Good brand
    Lot of custom rom

    3s i think same hardware with mi4i.
    Different camera.. But 3s antutu 28-29k.. Mi4i 39k
    Official rom not good… Lag
    But custom cm12.1 smooth but antutu down under 26k
    Camera good. Front camera great
    Band have evdo rev a.. I can use for cdma here
    1 sim is hybrid for evdo or LTE/wcdma
    2 sim only GPRS/2g but maybe new cm 12.1 rom can make it switch 4g
    I got 900 yuan before shipping
    Now drop tp 845 yuan
    Feel bit hot than mtk 6752 after use 30 minutes..
    I use for 3 or 4 days.. Before i sell again hehehehe (not because bad phone. but my bad habbit… this month i change 4 phones already) and mtk 64bit much better for me than SD64

    link cm12.1 :http://bbs.tclmobile.com.cn/thread-22785-1-6.html

    • lordsbm
      June 27, 2015

      Hi. How’s the camera on 3n m2u compared to the 3s m3g? Thanks 🙂

      • elmoel
        July 3, 2015

        better m2u with custom rom

  9. saor
    June 27, 2015

    Yios 5.1.1 rom available for this I think. It’s based on cm12

  10. Guest
    June 27, 2015

    The problem with TLC is the focused chinese market software with no support for western apps, and the castrated 2G and 3G bands, hell they have some nice cheap phones that only come with 2G bands.

  11. elmoel
    June 27, 2015

    I use tcl brand twice.. First m2u and 2 weeks ago tcl 3s m3g

    Good brand
    Lot of custom rom

    3s i think same hardware with mi4i.
    Different camera.. But 3s antutu 28-29k.. Mi4i 39k
    Official rom not good… Lag
    But custom cm12.1 smooth but antutu down under 26k
    Camera good. Front camera great
    Band have evdo rev a.. I can use for cdma here
    1 sim is hybrid for evdo or LTE/wcdma
    2 sim only GPRS/2g but maybe new cm 12.1 rom can make it switch 4g
    I got 900 yuan before shipping
    Now drop tp 845 yuan
    Feel bit hot than mtk 6752 after use 30 minutes..
    I use for 3 or 4 days.. Before i sell again hehehehe (not because bad phone. but my bad habbit… this month i change 4 phones already) and mtk 64bit much better for me than SD64

    link cm12.1 :http://bbs.tclmobile.com.cn/thread-22785-1-6.html

    • Guest
      June 27, 2015

      Hi. How’s the camera on 3n m2u compared to the 3s m3g? Thanks 🙂

    • elmoel
      July 3, 2015

      better m2u with custom rom

  12. Yury
    June 27, 2015

    Will buy 2pcs on next week for my mom and sister. Excellent price/hardware ratio.

  13. Muhammad Yasir
    June 27, 2015

    looks fantastic but colorful renders and on-paper specs can’t beat REAL-TIME benchmarks and stress-intensive performance tests !

    FOR a potential killa budget phone , i expect Andi to review this asap !

  14. slartiblart
    June 27, 2015

    Where’s Muhammad Yasir. Oh there he is.

    • DAque
      June 29, 2015

      Bwahahahahaha….. the standard comments … benchmarks …. try using this phone for 3 months and see will it be still your primary phone!

    • Creazydea
      June 29, 2015

      And where is balcobomer25

      • balcobomber25
        June 29, 2015

        Did someone miss me?

  15. saor
    June 27, 2015

    Yios 5.1.1 rom available for this I think. It’s based on cm12

  16. Mesterio
    June 27, 2015

    Hey Guys make up your minds already! Do you want TLC : Tender Love & Care or TCL: Tender Care & Love. ?

  17. Yury
    June 27, 2015

    Will buy 2pcs on next week for my mom and sister. Excellent price/hardware ratio.

  18. Guest
    June 27, 2015

    looks fantastic but colorful renders and on-paper specs can’t beat REAL-TIME benchmarks and stress-intensive performance tests !

    FOR a potential killa budget phone , i expect Andi to review this asap !

  19. slartiblart
    June 27, 2015

    Where’s Muhammad Yasir. Oh there he is.

    • Guest
      June 29, 2015

      Bwahahahahaha….. the standard comments … benchmarks …. try using this phone for 3 months and see will it be still your primary phone!

    • Creazydea
      June 29, 2015

      And where is balcobomer25

    • balcobomber25
      June 29, 2015

      Did someone miss me?

  20. Mesterio
    June 27, 2015

    Hey Guys make up your minds already! Do you want TLC : Tender Love & Care or TCL: Tender Care & Love. 😳

  21. Max
    June 29, 2015

    finally someone mentions it… been asking for some info on it nearly a week ago! you are getting slow here… ;P

  22. Max
    June 29, 2015

    finally someone mentions it… been asking for some info on it nearly a week ago! you are getting slow here… ;P

  23. marijan stojcevski
    July 2, 2015

    Hi, is this an IPS display? please answer!

  24. marijan stojcevski
    July 2, 2015

    Hi, is this an IPS display? please answer!

  25. Uddhav RUS
    October 4, 2015

    Please do a review on the phone… is the screen protected by Gorilla glass?

  26. Uddhav RUS
    October 4, 2015

    Please do a review on the phone… is the screen protected by Gorilla glass?