TCL R625 and S525 are two 4K UHD TV models introduced by TCL as part of their 2019 TV lineup. TCL R625 is TCL’s 2019 6-Series model while TCL S525 is TCL’s 2019 5-Series model. TCL R625 comes with two screen size options : 65-Inch (65R625) and 55-Inch (55R625) while TCL S525 comes with 4 screen size options : 65-Inch (65S525), 55-Inch (55S525), 50-Inch (50S525) and 43-Inch (43S525). What are their key differences? We will talk about the key differences between TCL R625 and S525 to help you decide which of those two TCL’s 4K LED TV is the one that you should choose.
TCL R625 Review
TCL R625 comes with Quantum Dot Technology (QLED display) in 4K UHD Resolution. Quantum Dot Technology is able to deliver rich color details with wide color spectrum and vibrant contrast. The color and contrast of TCL R625 is also improved by iPQ Engine and Contrast Control Zones that integrated with this TV. iPQ Engine can deliver more accurate color reproduction and Optimize DCI-P3 Color Space Coverage while Contrast Control Zones can optimize the zones on the LED screen for better contrast vibrancy between the bright and dark area. TCL R625 supports HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision so that we can enjoy enhanced details and expanded contrast from wide range of HDR content sources. The refresh rate technology of TCL R625 is Natural Motion 240 that completed with Auto Game Mode. It can deliver fluid motion images for our favorite action movies and sports while we can also enjoy responsive gaming scenes with Auto Game Mode. TCL R625 is powered by Quad-Core CPU/Dual-Core GPU. It can deliver smooth processing for multi-tasking process and optimize the color, clarity and contrast of the picture delivered on the screen of this TV. Roku TV comes as the smart TV platform of TCL R625. It can brings wide range of premium contents from our favorite content providers with fast internet connection from 802.11ac dual band wireless that attached to this TV. RC580 Voice Remote control is included with TCL R625 to help you control this TV conveniently with your voice. We can also control this TV using Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa since they are both already supported. The speaker system of TCL R625 is quite basic 2Ch 16W speaker. Although it’s quite basic, we can still enjoy good sound quality from this TV since it’s already completed with Dolby Atmos Passthrough and Processing. If you have higher audio taste, then it’s a good idea to attach your soundbar to get more powerful surround sound from this TV that can meet your audio expectation.
The key specs and features of TCL R625 can be summarized with the table below.
| TCL R625 | |||
| Brand | TCL | ||
| Introduced | 2019 | ||
| Screen Size |
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| Resolution | 4K UHD | ||
| Display Technology | LED | ||
| Color Technology |
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| Contrast Technology |
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| HDR Support |
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| Processor | Quad-Core CPU/Dual-Core GPU | ||
| Refresh Rate Technology | Natural Motion 240 | ||
| Smart TV Platform | Roku TV | ||
| Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa | Supported | ||
| Remote Control | RC580 | ||
| Built-in Wifi | 802.11ac dual band | ||
| Speaker Output | 2Ch 16W | ||
| Dolby Atmos | YES | ||
| HDMI/USB | 4/1 | ||
| Price |
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TCL S525 Review
TCL S525 is introduced by TCL as its 2019 5-Series. TCL S525 is affordable 4K LED TV that support Dolby Vision from TCL’s 2019 TV lineup. TCL S525 comes with TCL’s NBP Photon Technology that combined with iPQ Engine as its color technology. While TCL’s NBP Photon Technology is able to deliver rich color details with wide color spectrum, iPQ Engine can deliver more accurate color reproduction and optimized DCI-P3 color space coverage. The contrast technology of TCL S525 is HDR Dynamic Contrast that completed with HDR Pro Gamma. We can enjoy vibrant brightness between the bright and dark area of the screen with HDR Dynamic Contrast while HDR Pro Gamma is able to adapt the screen brightness according to the environment. HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision are already supported by TCL S525 so that we can enjoy enhanced details and expanded contrast from wide range of HDR content sources. 120Hz CMI is integrated as the refresh rate technology of this TV. It’s quite basic refresh rate technology of TCL but It still can deliver smooth motion images for most movies and sports scenes. Auto Game Mode is also integrated with this TV to deliver more responsive gaming experience when we use this TV as our gaming monitor. Dual-Core CPU/GPU comes as the processor of this TV. It can optimizes the color, clarity and contrast of the picture delivered on the screen of this TV while also prevents processing lag. The Smart TV platform of TCL S525 is Roku TV that can brings wide range of premium entertainment from our favorite content providers. 802.11ac dual band wireless is also attached to this TV to provide fast and stable internet connection. TCL S525 only comes with standard RC280 remote control, but we can control this TV conveniently with our voice using Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa since they are already supported by this TV. 2Ch 16W speaker system is integrated as the internal speaker system of this TV. Although 2Ch 16W speaker system is only basic speaker system, but we can still experience good sound quality from this TV with Dolby Audio integrated with it. It’s a good idea to attach your favorite soundbar to this TV if you are looking for more powerful surround sound from this TV.
If we summarize the key specs and features of TCL S525, we can create the table as follow.
| TCL S525 | |||||
| Brand | TCL | ||||
| Introduced | 2019 | ||||
| Screen Size |
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| Resolution | 4K UHD | ||||
| Display Technology | LED | ||||
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| Contrast Technology |
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| HDR Support |
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| Processor | Dual-Core CPU/GPU | ||||
| Refresh Rate Technology | 120Hz CMI | ||||
| Smart TV Platform | Roku TV | ||||
| Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa | Supported | ||||
| Remote Control | RC280 | ||||
| Built-in Wifi | 802.11ac dual band | ||||
| Speaker Output | 2Ch 16W | ||||
| Dolby Atmos | NO | ||||
| HDMI/USB | 4/1 (Except 43S525, 3/1) | ||||
| Price |
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The Key Differences of TCL R625 and S525
There are few differences between TCL R625 and S525 after we look at their specs & features table above. The first key difference between those two TV models comes from Quantum Dot Technology that installed on TCL R625. Quantum Dot Technology is able to deliver rich color details with Wide Color Spectrum. TCL S525 only comes with TCL’s NBP Photon Technology. Although TCL’s NBP Photon Technology is able to deliver rich color details, but Quantum Dot Technology is still able to deliver better result. The second key difference comes from the contrast technology of those two TVs. TCL R625 comes with Contrast Control Zones on top of QLED Display while TCL S525 only comes with HDR Dynamic Contrast. While HDR Dynamic Contrast can deliver vibrant contrast on the screen of TCL S525, but Contrast Control Zones on top of QLED can bring better contrast vibrancy on the screen of TCL R625. We can also find the third difference on the refresh rate technology of TCL R625 and S525. TCL R625 comes with Natural Motion 240 while TCL S525 comes with 120Hz CMI. Natural Motion 240 is more advanced refresh rate technology that can deliver more fluid motion images than 120Hz CMI especially when we use the TV as our gaming monitor. There’s also another key difference in the CPU of those two TVs. TCL R625 comes with Quad-Core processor while TCL S525 only comes with Dual-Core Processor. Quad-Core Processor is more powerful CPU that can deliver better multi-tasking processing for TCL R625. The remote control that included with TCL R625 and S525 are different. TCL R625 comes with RC580 Voice remote control while TCL S525 comes with RC280 standard remote. With RC580 remote control, we can control TCL R625 conveniently with our voice. Although the speaker system of TCL R625 and S525, we can find that TCL R625 is able to deliver more astonishing sound since It’s already completed with Dolby Atmos.
We can find that TCL R625 is usually offered at the higher price than TCL S525 for similar screen size options. Since TV prices often change from time to time, it’s recommended that we check the price of TCL R625 and S525 before we can find their latest price difference.
The key differences of TCL R625 and S525 can be summarized with the table below
| TCL R625 | TCL S525 | |
| Color Technology | Quantum Dot (QLED) | TCL’s NBP Photon Technology |
| Contrast Technology | Contrast Control Zones | HDR Dynamic Contrast |
| Refresh Rate Technology | Natural Motion 240 | 120Hz CMI |
| Processor | Quad-Core CPU/Dual-Core GPU | Dual-Core CPU/Dual-Core GPU |
| Remote Control | RC580 | RC280 |
| Dolby Atmos | YES | NO |
| Price | Higher | Lower |
Should You Choose TCL R625?
After we talk about the key differences between TCL R625 and S525, we can find that TCL R625 is the model that positioned higher than TCL S525. Should You choose TCL R625? If you are looking for better picture quality (color, contrast and motion images), more powerful CPU, voice remote control and Dolby Atmos sound quality then TCL R625 is the model that you should as long as you don’t mind to spend higher for that.
| TCL R625 Price | |
| 65-Inch (65R625) | 55-Inch (55R625) |
| Check Today’s Price (Best Buy) | Check Today’s Price (Best Buy) |
TCL S525 comes as the model that positioned lower than TCL R625 so that It’s also usually offered at the lower price for similar screen size option. Although It doesn’t come with Quantum Dot Technology and Contrast Control Zones, TCL S525 is still able to deliver rich color and vibrant contrast with TCL’s NBP Photon Technology and HDR Dynamic Contrast. 120Hz CMI is also basically still can deliver smooth motion images for most scenes. We can also control TCL S525 with our voice using Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa since they are both already supported. If we are not satisfied with the sound delivered by TCL S525, we can also easily attach our favorite soundbar to enjoy better sound quality that can satisfy our audio taste. So if we have more limited budget, then TCL S525 is the model that we should consider.
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TCL S525 Price |
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65-Inch (65S525) |
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55-Inch (55S525) |
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50-Inch (50S525) |
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43-Inch (43S525) |
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