The excitement was palpable as TCL announced a strategic expansion of their retail footprint, adding Makro and Game to their already impressive network that includes Pick n Pay, JD Group, and others. This move signifies TCL’s commitment to making their products even more accessible to South African consumers.

But the real stars of the show were undoubtedly the new TVs. TCL unveiled a range of models catering to various needs and budgets. And here are some of the highlights with our favourites:

The centerpiece of the event was the awe-inspiring 115″ X 955 Max QD-Mini LED TV. This behemoth boasts the title of the world’s biggest large-screen smart TV, offering an unparalleled viewing experience perfect for home theaters or wowing guests. Pricing for this masterpiece is set at a jaw dropping R399 999. Compared to what competitors have priced their large-screen TV’s at, it is a steal.

What is QD-Mini LED, you may ask. QD-Mini LED is technology that combines the brilliance of Quantum Dots (QDs) with the precision of Mini LEDs. Imagine tiny LEDs, even smaller than those found in traditional Mini-LED TVs, working together with Quantum Dots to deliver exceptional contrast, unmatched brightness, and incredibly vivid colours. The result? A viewing experience that rivals OLED TVs, but with the added benefit of potentially superior brightness and a longer lifespan.

For those seeking a more practical (and wallet-friendly) option, the C755 and C855 QD-Mini LED TVs offer stunning picture quality and cutting-edge features. These 4K models come equipped with TCL’s advanced backlight technology, delivering exceptional contrast and vibrant colours. Pricing for the C755 starts at R11 999 for the 55-inch model, R16 999 for the 65-inch, R29 999 for the 85-inch and R69 999 for the 95-inch model.

TCL didn’t forget about QLED fans. The C655PRO QLED TV and C655 QLED TV provide excellent picture quality with features like Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, ensuring a truly immersive viewing experience alongside ONKYO audio. Pricing starts at R7 999 for the 55-inch model, R9 999 for the 65-inch, R15 999 for the 75-inch, R22 999 for the 85-inch and R49 999 for the 98-inch model.

Rounding out the line-up is the P755 4K UHD Google TV. This model delivers stunning 4K resolution with the added convenience of the Google TV platform, offering a seamless smart TV experience. Pricing starts at R6 999 for the 43-inch P755 4K UHD Google TV model.

All these models are available to purchase right now with TCL’s very own Takealot store running a sale on majority of their items.

Beyond the impressive TVs, TCL also emphasized their commitment to smart home integration. Their vision is to create a connected ecosystem where your TCL TV acts as the central hub, seamlessly communicating with other TCL smart appliances and even those of competitor brands.

Airbnb

Explore accommodation around the world, with homes and apartments chosen for their style, location, or nearby activities. Whether you’re looking for a cabin with views or apartments by the beach, Airbnb Categories helps you find places to stay that are right for your trip. Narrow down your choices easily with filters that help you book homes that meet your needs.

Booking.com

Find great hotel or apartment deals and book in a few minutes. You can also book flights, rental cars, and more through the app. You can filter accommodation by price, review score, Wi-Fi quality, and other things important to you. Search cheap hotels by city, attraction, landmark, or hotel name.

Citymapper

Citymapper is a public transit app and mapping service, which shows all ways of getting around the city you’re visiting, including walking, cycling, driving and public transport.

Expedia

From trip planning to booking, the Expedia app is designed to enhance your travel experience and keep you one step ahead with real-time travel alerts and the ability to view your trip details anytime, anywhere. Book flights, hotels, activities and rental cars from one app.

GetYourGuide

Whether you’re planning a vacation or looking for last-minute things to do in any destination, this app makes booking tours, day trips, and activities easier than ever. Choose from culture, food, adventure, nature, and more experiences.

Google Translate

Use Google Translate to communicate in dozens of languages using text or voice. Just need to type, write, or speak into the app or point your smartphone’s camera at a sign or menu written in a foreign language for a live translation.

Hopper

Find millions of flights, hotels, homes and rental cars – all in one app. You can watch a trip in the app and get a notification when it’s the best time to buy — recommending you book now or maybe wait a little longer.

Hotels.com

You can choose from over 500,000 properties worldwide on this app. Easily find and compare hotels, luxury resorts, B&Bs, vacation rentals, and more.  Whether you’re planning a short stay, last minute getaway, long vacation, business trip, or anything in between, there is a property for every kind of travel.

PackPoint

PackPoint is a free travel packing list organiser and packing planner for serious travel pros. PackPoint will help you organise what you need to pack in your luggage and suitcase based on length of travel, weather at your destination, and any activities planned during your trip.

Viator

A marketplace for travel activities that offers 300,000+ experiences—everything from simple tours to extreme adventures. You can use the app to modify, edit, or cancel your bookings on the go.

1.      Amazon Kindle

One of the best ways to pass some time while you wait for the power to return is to snuggle up in bed with a good book. The Kindle app puts over 1.5 million books at your fingertips, plus a selection of comics and magazines.

2.      Battery Guru

There are few things worse than running out of power on your smartphone with two hours of load shedding to go. Battery Guru gives you detailed information about your battery usage, helps you monitor its health, and offers tips on how to extend its lifespan.

3.      Comixology

Comixology lets you explore over 200,000 digital comics, manga, and graphic novels from Marvel, DC, Viz, Kodansha, Dark Horse, Image, and more. Comixology titles span every genre, including superheroes, sci-fi, crime, horror, and slice-of-life.

4.      Coursera

If you want to use load shedding hours to better yourself, Coursera is the app for you. It helps you build job-relevant, in-demand skills by learning with experts from world-class companies and universities.

5.      DStv

Don’t have a battery and inverter setup to power your TV during load shedding? There’s no reason to miss the big match just because the power is out. As a DStv customer you can enjoy the shows, movies and sport you love with the DStv streaming app on your Android phone.

6.      Duolingo

If you’ve always dreamed of learning Chinese or French, why not use the hours without power to do so? Duolingo is the fun, free app for learning 35+ languages through quick, bite-sized lessons. Practice speaking, reading, listening, and writing to build your vocabulary and grammar skills.

7.      ESP EskomSePush

This app monitors loadshedding status and sends Push notifications when you’re going to be impacted. It’s makes it easy to see your slot without having to read a complicated schedule and reminds you to get ready for load shedding with 55-minute and 15-minute warnings.

8.      Google Podcasts

With Google Podcasts, you can play the latest episodes from your favourite shows, explore podcast recommendations just for you, and manage your listening activity.

9.      Mr D

Tired of firing up the braai or eating leftovers every night when the power’s out? Treat yourself to a fresh, hot meal from your favourite neighbourhood restaurant or takeaway chain. Mr D delivers hot food as well as groceries if you prefer not to brave dark streets and load shedding traffic.

10.  Tiny Flashlight

Tiny Flashlight + LED is a simple, free, torch app with LED light and several screen modes. It can come in handy when you’re looking for something in the dark.

“We’re excited to announce that our TVs are now available at 21 Pick n Pay Hypermarket stores around the country,” says TCL South Africa’s Sales Manager, Muhammed Ebrahim. “The growth of the brand in South Africa has exceeded all expectations and this can clearly be seen by the additional physical retail outlets required.”

Available as from today, the newly launched products, the C835, C735, P735 and P635 together with other models will be rolled out to the PnP stores.

“We are excited to bring this new Google TV to our customers through our nationwide Hypermarket network and popular online shop,” says Ansgar Pabst, Head of GMD Omnichannel at Pick n Pay.

TCL launched the C Collection back in 2021, as a range of models targeting those who wanted maximum size in their living rooms. Whereas the company’s sets had previously topped out at 65-inches, this addition certainly pushes the boundaries.

The new TLC C735 isn’t just large, however, but features cutting-edge display tech. It uses HDR10+ which offers a wide palette of rich, bold, and vivid colours with frame-by-frame adaptive control. They can be adjusted for better brightness and contrast; IMAX Enhanced, meanwhile, brings cinema viewing standards right inside your home.

The panel itself supports maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, plus Dolby Vision. There’s Variable Refresh Rate and an Auto Game Mode, while inputs include four HDMI of which two are HDMI 2.1 and one supports eARC. For audio, there are Onkyo-tuned drivers and Dolby Atmos 3D processing.

As for software the C735 will run Google TV. That means there’ll be Google Assistant-powered voice control, streaming apps, and Google Play store support.

Unsurprisingly, this new 2022 flagship TV doesn’t come cheap. TCL says the C735 98″ 4K Google TV is already on sale, priced at R99 999.

The new TV TCL is introducing today, the C725, output in 4K resolution and support Dolby Vision HDR. It also uses TCL’s own AiPQ engine to bolster HDR, 4K upscaling, and contrast.

The C725 supports both Motion Estimation and Motion Compensation (MEMC) as well as HDMI 2.1 to deliver the best possible image resolution and audio for both TV and multimedia. Enhanced with TCL’s proprietary software algorithm, these technologies ensure images are always smooth, even for sports and fast-moving action scenes.

The TV supports premium built-in ONKYO sound as well. The C725 is launching as of 22 November, with a total of two model sizes in the line-up: 55 inches or 65 inches from R10 999 in time for Black Friday. General pricing starts at R12999 for the QLED 55 inch.

As an introductory product, TCL will be launching its line with a 4K Google TV, the P725, which comes baked with voice activation alongside the budget friendly P615 4K HDR Android TV, and that will be followed up by the C725 4K QLED Google TV with quantum dot display technology later in November.

TCL is a company that’s been aboard the Roku TV train since the very start and it will be interesting to see whether any of those features will be launching in Mzansi soon.

“South Africa has always been on our radar as a next expansion point, and we’re thrilled to officially be in the market. We will be utilising South African resources as much as possible on the ground and that includes a local South African assembly partner with plans for expansion in the near future,” says Robin YI, General Manager of TCL South Africa.