It’s been 4 years since TCL released the first devices with its NXTPaper display technology. And now with the release of NXTPaper 4.0, it’s clear that the company is doubling down on its eye-friendly screens.
Having seen some of the newest NXTPaper devices at MWC 2025, and the advancements 4.0 has to offer, I’m reminded about just how impressive the screens really are.
While TCL didn’t announce any new NXTPaper devices for North America at MWC, CES did reveal that the TCL 60 XE NXTPaper 5G would be coming to the region later this year.
Prices are set to start at $199. Meanwhile the TCL 60 SE NXTPaper 5G will be coming to Europe and the U.K. with prices from £180.
It's not just that TCL’s phones can switch between full color and e-paper modes with the flick of a switch, but also with the fact TCL’s offering a color e-paper option to give users a mix of eye-friendly features without sapping all the color away.
Color e-paper for people who don’t want monochrome screens
Given how we spend almost every waking hour in front of some sort of screen, be it a phone or TV, it makes sense to worry about the impact it’ll have. NXTPaper is TCL’s answer to people with those concerns, offering a display that is easier on the eyes.
These screens filter out blue light, reduce glare from ambient light sources, and allow users to switch to an e-reader-like display that promises the best ocular benefits.
The ink-paper modes, as TCL calls them, are all well and good if you don’t mind staring at a black and white display all day.
It is still a smartphone (or tablet) display, meaning NXTPaper can do a lot of the things a traditional e-ink display would struggle with. But as beneficial as that can be to both your visual health and the phone’s battery life (TCL promises a 50% boost in battery life in the highest Max Ink mode), I would find myself missing color.
NXTPaper 4.0 has 3 distinct ink-paper modes, which can be toggled on and off with the flick of a switch.
- Max Ink is the closest you’ll get to a proper e-reader display, and is built for reading with limited app functionality.
- Ink Paper is a black and white version of your traditional smartphone display,
- Color Ink is half way between Ink Paper and your standard color phone screen.
The display is nowhere near as vibrant as you’d find on a standard OLED phone screen. The colors are washed out, and everything is a lot more muted as a result of Color Paper mode being switched on.
But color is color, and I know I’d be a lot happier using this mode in the long term compared to its monochrome counterparts. Especially if the impact on both my eyes and the device’s battery life is as low as TCL seems to suggest.
Anti-glare screens are underrated
I have my phone resting on my leg as I write this, shaking slightly in the process. Because the screen is off, and the shiny black mirror that smartphones are known for is in full effect, it’s redirecting a stream of light poking through the blinds and straight into my face. Needless to say, it's pretty annoying.
One of the features TCL has emphasized with NXTPaper is the anti-glare feature. In the past this gave NXTPaper phones a very matte and textured feel, and while NXTPaper 4.0 isn’t quite like the smooth glossy glass screens you’ll find on other devices, it’s still significantly more traditional than its predecessors.
Crucially though, it seems to retain all the same qualities of previous NXTPaper iterations in the process.
In my limited time with the phones at MWC 2025, I did notice that the amount of light reflecting off the phone was significantly lower than my own handset: a Pixel 9 Pro.
While some glare could be seen, it was a lot dimmer and harder to see. To the point where I doubt one of these screens would accidentally dazzle me on a bright summer’s day - even in the Barcelona sun.
On top of that the NXTPaper design is supposed to help reduce fingerprint smudges, which is something I know is particularly irritating to spot. Especially when they’re highlighted by bright lighting.
TCL emphasized the effects of all this at the show with a display, featuring a NXTPaper phone as part of a wider image inspired by Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”. In it the NXTPaper display blended into the wider image fairly well, and the only thing that really gives it away is that the phone screen is brighter than the surrounding image - rather than because it’s extra-reflective.
I just wish we could see more work being done to bring similar anti-reflective properties to other phones. TCL's tech is better than the anti-glare coatings that may eventually wear out and interfere with the rest of the screen.
The NXTPaper switch is still the best part
All the benefits of TCL’s paper modes would be rendered more or less moot if they weren’t easy to switch on. The fact that TCL has included a physical switch to switch between standard and e-paper modes means that all the benefits of the technology are a lot easier to access.
There’s something incredibly satisfying about flicking that switch and seeing the screen change.
Sure, switching between different paper modes is more difficult — and requires a trip to the settings menu. But if there’s a particular paper mode that you would want to use the most, then you can flick back and forth in just a few seconds. Better still, you can watch the whole display transform in front of your eyes.
There’s something incredibly satisfying about flicking that switch and seeing the screen change. TCL’s NXTPaper tablets use a button instead, and frankly, it’s just not the same. Even if the button does offer multiple different options, depending on whether you press it once or hold it down.
Maybe TCL will switch to a button on future generations of NXTPaper phones, much like how Apple swapped the iPhone mute switch out for the Action Button. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, as long as you can switch between full color and e-paper modes quickly, but it wouldn’t be the same.
Bottom line
These days, it’s pretty rare to see smartphone technology changing in any meaningful way.
The display is probably the only thing that’s really evolved over an extended period of time, with various upgrades and features happening over the past decade. There's been everything from edge-to-edge displays and hole-punch cameras to higher refresh rates and better brightness.
Aside from maybe the switch to full-screen displays back in 2017, things have changed so gradually that a lot of people probably didn’t even notice. While NXTPaper isn’t exactly new anymore, it’s really great to see interesting displays being used as a unique selling point — especially considering how affordable TCL’s phones are. The fact that TCL seems to be refining NXTPaper each year is just an added bonus.
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