We subjected the TCL 406 to our rigorous SBMARK Battery test suite to measure its performance in terms of range, charging and efficiency. In these test results, we’ll analyze how it performed in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key Specifications:
- Battery Capacity: 5000mAh
- 10W charger (not included)
- 6.6-inch, 720 x 1612, 60Hz LCD display
- Mediatek Helio P22 (12nm)
- ROM / RAM combination tested: 32GB + 3GB
Pros
- Good autonomy with almost 2.5 days in moderate use
- Fair autonomy when using the camera
- Low nocturnal consumption
Against
- Very long charging time, taking more than 3 hours for a full charge
- Low range recovered after a 5 minute boost
- Poor battery life when streaming videos and music and playing games
- Poor battery life on the go when scrolling through social apps, making calls and using GPS navigation
- Extremely high discharge currents when streaming videos, playing games and scrolling through social apps
The overall battery score of the TCL 406 places the smartphone at the bottom of our entire database.
With moderate use, its large 5000mAh battery lasted a good almost 2.5 days, mainly due to very low consumption when the device was idle with the screen off (nights). Conversely, testing individual uses showed poor range performance. Battery life was particularly low when streaming video and music, scrolling through social apps and playing games, but decent when using the camera.
As for charging, the experience was extremely poor. The TCL 406, with its low 10W charge, took 2 hours to reach 80% battery capacity and 3 hours 13 minutes for a full charge, which was a very long time. Additionally, a 5-minute boost averaged just 1 hour and 19 minutes of runtime, nearly the weakest runtime gain we’ve measured to date.
In terms of efficiency, the device used very little energy in idle mode and the screen turned off, indicating almost no background activity. The discharge currents of all tested usages were high overall, especially when streaming video, playing games and scrolling through social apps, meaning the device is not well optimized.
Compared to other devices in the Essential segment (<$200), the TCL 406 was the worst device we have tested so far. Its poor range and efficiency scores were the worst in this segment, and its weak charging experience wasn't enough to save the day.
Trial summary
Learn about SBMARK battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, SBMARK engineers conduct a series of objective tests over a one-week period both indoors and outdoors. (See our introduction and how we test articles for more details on our smartphone’s battery protocol.)
The following section compiles the key elements of our extensive testing and analysis performed in the SBMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations in the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.
| Drums | Battery charger | wireless | Screen | Processor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL 406 | 5000mAh | 10W (included) |
– | LCDs 720×1612 |
MediaTek Helio P22 |
| Samsung Galaxy A14 5G | 5000mAh | 15W (not included) |
– | LCDs 1080 x 2408 |
MediaTek Size 700 |
| TCL40R 5G | 5000mAh | 15W (included) |
– | LCDs 720×1612 |
MediaTek Size 700 |
How the Autonomy score is composed
The Battery Life Score is composed of three performance sub-scores: Home/Office, On the Go, and Calibrated Use Cases. Each subscore includes results from a full range of tests to measure range in all kinds of real-life scenarios.
90 hours
Light use
Active: 2h30/day
59 hours
Moderate use
Active: 4h/day
35 hours
Intensive use
Active: 7h/day
Home office
A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a series of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical usage scenario” (TUS) — making calls, streaming video, etc. — 4 hours of active use over the course of a 16 hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep”. The robot repeats this series of actions every day until the device runs out.
In movement
106
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
Using a smartphone on the go has a negative impact on range due to additional “hidden” demands, such as continuous signaling associated with cellular network selection. SBMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a series of precisely defined activities following the same three-hour travel itinerary (walking, taking the bus, the subway…) for each device
Calibrated
95
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and to ours bots repeatedly perform actions related to a specific use case (like gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting with an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have used at least 5% battery power.
Reload
74
Realme GTNeo 3
Realme GTNeo 3
How the recharge score is composed
Charging is fully part of the overall battery experience. In some situations where range is at its lowest, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a concern. The SBMARK Battery Charging Score consists of two subscores, (1) Full Charge and (2) Fast Boost.
Charge complete
70
Black Shark 5Pro
Black Shark 5Pro
The full charge tests evaluate the reliability of the battery charge indicator; measure how long and how much energy it takes for the battery to charge from zero to 80% capacity, from 80 to 100% as shown by the user interface, and to an actual full charge.
The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) showing the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.
The time to full charge graph breaks down the time required to reach 80%, 100% and full charge.
Quick push
78
Realme GTNeo 3
Realme GTNeo 3
With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), the Quick Boost tests measure how much charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes. The graph here compares the average range gain with a 5-minute quick charge.
Efficiency
83
Oppo Reno6 5G
Oppo Reno6 5G
How the efficiency score is composed
The SBMARK Energy Efficiency Score consists of two subscores, charge rate and discharge rate, which combine both data obtained during a typical robot-based usage scenario, calibrated testing and charge rating, taking into consideration battery capacity of the device. SBMARK calculates the product’s annual energy consumption, shown in the graph below, which is representative of overall efficiency during a charge and when in use.
Charge Up
108
Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
The secondary charge score is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, relating to the amount of energy required to recharge the battery compared to the energy the battery can supply; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to your phone; the remaining consumption when the phone is fully charged and still connected to the charger; and the residual consumption of the charger itself, when the smartphone is disconnected from it. The graph below shows the overall efficiency of a full charge in %.
Discharge
73
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
The sub-discharge score evaluates how quickly a battery discharges during a test, which is independent of battery capacity. It is the ratio between the capacity of a battery and its autonomy. A small capacity battery may have the same run time as a large capacity battery, indicating that the device is well optimized, with a low discharge rate.
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