After having more or less toured the television market, TCL is launching full of ambitions with its very first A1 video projector.
It is often said that there is nothing new under the sun, and probably even less under the light of video projectors. It must be said that at present, the very smart one is the one who manages to revolutionize a market where incremental innovation is king, and where design is often one of the only differentiating elements between brands.
However, TCL has made the (somewhat) daring bet of diving head first into this dark pool where the sharks BenQ, Epson, Samsung and other XGIMI have already nibbled away a good share of the market. And for this, the television manufacturer has just released its very first mini video projector, the A1with the aim of competing with the ogres in the sector.
But then, what are its arguments for finding a place in this very competitive segment? And above all, Does it offer real added value? compared to its announced rivals? We take stock.
The TCL A1: a basic mini projector among many others?
We didn't expect much before TCL presented its very first video projector called “A1”. And we weren't really surprised when we discovered that it was of a device with a generic designalmost without originality or great novelty compared to its competitors. Without even having to mention its RGB side lights, the height of kitsch in 2024…
However, it would be a shame to stop at first glance because this model is full of qualities compared to its rather reasonable launch price, advertised at $499. Indeed, it at least has the gift of being compact and very easy to transport thanks to its retractable handle and its weight of 2.5 kg. Practical for taking it on vacation.
As far as the image is concerned, there is also cause for satisfaction since it offers beautiful Full HD definition which can extend up to 120 inches (305 cm) diagonally. Even if the brightness of 360 lumens ISO – although sufficient for a dark environment – constitutes the main drawback of the TCL A1 because it makes it almost impossible to use in a lit room.
Furthermore, TCL thought of including a Google TV interface which offers access to several thousand applications entertainment such as Netflix, Prime Video or Spotify. Add to that its two 8 watt speakers (Dolby Audio compatible), and you get a multi-tasking device that can very well serve as a portable speaker.
And like most projectors in its price range, it also features a automatic image adjustments to save a little time during installation. Even if you shouldn't expect miracles on these entry-level models, and experienced users will have every interest in configure the image manually. As you will have understood, it will undoubtedly take much more than that for the TCL A1 to conquer an ever more demanding clientele.
The challenge of modesty when entering the video projector market?
As we saw previously, the TCL A1 does not boast of revolutionizing the market or completely upsetting the order established by the major manufacturers. It is rather an accessible model, perfect for “taking the temperature” and take advantage of customer feedback to improve over the years.
It now remains to be seen whether TCL will be able to venture into the high-end video projector segment, or whether this first “attempt” will only be a failure to be forgotten. And for good reason: the main competitors which are the Anker Nebula and the XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro have already been able to benefit from some experience from their manufacturers, and are therefore much more successful on paper. The task therefore promises to be tough to make up for this delay…
For the moment, TCL has not yet announced the marketing of its A1 in France. It is therefore a safe bet that the Chinese manufacturer is waiting to see if it meets the expected success in the United States, a first perilous test for this very first model of the brand.
In the meantime, the television manufacturer assures that this video projector will offer “the same high-quality visual experience that consumers expect from TCL. But be careful not to oversell this model, especially in a sector that the Asian brand is still far from mastering…
