Pros & Cons
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- Bright, versatile display
- Quick 5G and Wi-Fi speeds
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- Lackluster performance
- Below-average battery life
- Limited software support
TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G Specs
| Battery Life (As Tested) | 10 hours, 41 minutes |
| Camera Resolution (Rear; Front-Facing) | 50MP, 5MP, 2MP; 32MP |
| CPU | MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ |
| Dimensions | 6.6 by 2.97 by 0.32 inches |
| Operating System | Android 15 |
| Screen Resolution | 2,460 by 1,080 pixels |
| Screen Size | 6.78 |
The Nxtpaper display of the TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G ($249.99) is the star of the show. It’s bright and crisp, and can switch to an eye-friendly, black-and-white reading mode at the flick of a switch. Other highlights include a premium design and a surprisingly good macro camera, but I wish its performance were faster and that its battery lasted longer. Ultimately, the Samsung Galaxy A16 5G ($199.99) is a better buy, thanks to its lower price, quicker processor, longer battery life, and sharper camera, all of which make it our Editors' Choice for cheap phones.
Design: A Sleek Slab
The TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G looks like most modern smartphones in that it's a thin, rectangular slab with rounded corners. Small black bezels surround the display, though they get slightly thicker around the bottom. The phone measures 6.60 by 2.97 by 0.32 inches (HWD) and weighs 6.90 ounces. These are the same dimensions and weight as its predecessor, the $199.99 50 XL Nxtpaper 5G. The Galaxy A16 (6.47 by 3.07 by 0.31 inches, 7.06 ounces) is shorter, wider, and slightly heavier, while the $299.99 Samsung Galaxy A25 (6.34 by 3.01 by 0.33 inches, 7.05 ounces) is the shortest of the bunch.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)The power button with embedded fingerprint sensor, volume rocker, and Nxtpaper switch are positioned on the right side. The left side has a combined SIM/microSD card slot, while the bottom edge has a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C port, and speaker grille. The back is plastic and slippery, so you’ll want to put a case on it. Space Blue is the only color available.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)A round camera module covers a significant section of the rear panel. The array's color matches the phone's, and it sparkles when it catches light, giving the whole thing a more colorful appearance.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)The 60 XE, like the 50 XL, does not have an IP rating for dust and water protection, which is unsurprising given its low price. The Galaxy A25 also lacks waterproofing, though the Galaxy A16's IP54 rating means it can handle dust and moderate splashing.
Biometric security options include the aforementioned fingerprint sensor and Face Unlock. Both are fine, though Face Unlock is faster and doesn’t require me to hold the correct finger to a sensor. However, the Face Unlock tool is not secure enough for financial apps, while the fingerprint sensor is.
Display: Nxtpaper Is Lit
TCL’s Nxtpaper tech is the phone's most compelling feature. The display has a matte finish and is virtually glare-free. I could easily read the display even in direct sunlight. The 6.78-inch screen has a resolution of 2,460 by 1,080 pixels, the same as the 50 XL, with colors and brightness that dazzle. TCL doesn’t say exactly how bright the display gets, but I found it more than sufficient for most circumstances. There are definitely brighter screens available, but the only ones in this price range that produce such vivid colors are those with Nxtpaper technology.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)The screen's refresh rate seamlessly switches between 60Hz and 120Hz. It also has a 240Hz touch sampling rate, which would make it a decent phone for gaming if the processor were powerful enough to keep up (spoiler alert: it isn't).
The Nxtpaper switch lets you cycle between the different screen modes. Max Ink Mode turns the display black and white, delivering the longest battery life by limiting app functionality. Ink Paper Mode turns the display black and white, but maintains full app functionality and therefore doesn’t extend battery life. Lastly, Color Paper Mode eliminates blue light, muting the screen’s colors and giving it a similar feel to a color E Ink display.
All three modes are designed to reduce glare and eye strain, making it easier to read. Each is fantastic for relieving eye strain, although they aren’t as effective as actual E Ink for extended reading sessions. You can choose which mode cycles on first when you flick the switch, or you can pick from the pop-up menu.
The Galaxy A16 has a 6.7-inch screen with a similar resolution to the 60 XE (2,340 by 1,080 pixels), but a lower refresh rate of 90Hz. It gets bright, topping out at 800 nits.
Performance: Could Be Better
The 60 XE has the same MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ chip as the 50 XL, though the 60 has 8GB of RAM instead of the 50's 6GB. You can buy it with 128GB ($249.99) or 256GB ($284.99) of storage, and you can expand the storage capacity to up to 2TB via a microSD card.
Although the phone starts up a bit slowly when powered on, it runs multiple apps without any problems.
(Credit: Geekbench/GFXBench/PCMag)I measure CPU performance via Geekbench 6, where the phone scored 725 on the single-core test and 1,913 on the multi-core test. This is better than the 50 XL (669 and 1,789) but not as good as either the Galaxy A16 and its Exynos 1330 processor (883 and 2,020) or the Galaxy A25 and the Exynos 1280 that powers it (964 and 2,058).
GPU performance isn’t much better. I ran the GFXBench testing suite to determine GPU power, and the processor pushed through the 1,440p Aztecs Ruins test at 6.4 frames per second (fps), which is worse than the Galaxy A25 (10fps), but better than both the Galaxy A16 (5.6fps) and the 50 XL (5.7fps).
None of these scores is particularly impressive, but the TCL 60 XE is nonetheless on the lower end compared with its competition.
Graphically intensive games, such as Genshin Impact, are playable, but stutter and lag during moments of intense action. Less graphically demanding games, such as Alto’s Odyssey, play perfectly.
Battery Life: Not Ideal
The 60 XE has a 5,010mAh battery, the same capacity as the 50 XL. I test battery life by streaming a 1,080p video over Wi-Fi with screen brightness set to 100%. The phone ran for 10 hours and 41 minutes on a single charge. This is longer than the 50 XL (9 hours and 4 minutes), but way shorter than the A16 (13 hours and 46 minutes) or the A25 (13 hours and 10 minutes). The 60 XE struggles to last through a day of even moderate use. Nxtpaper displays are not energy efficient like E Ink screens are.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)The phone can charge at 18W through a wire; it doesn't support wireless charging. It took 2 hours and 8 minutes to fully recharge with an 18W adapter.
The Galaxy A16 and A25 can charge up to 25W via wire, and they also don't support wireless charging. They require 2 hours and 10 minutes and 1 hour and 25 minutes to fully recharge, respectively.
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Connections: Your Basic 5G
The 60 XE supports sub-6GHz 5G, including C-band, but it's not compatible with faster mmWave technology. The phone comes unlocked and can be used on most US carriers. I tested the phone using T-Mobile’s network.
I ran speed tests outside in an area that provided five bars of service as measured by the phone. I recorded top speeds of 115Mbps down and 24.1Mbps up. My iPhone 14 Pro managed to get 100Mbps down and 15.2Mbps up when tested in the same location.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)The phone only supports Wi-Fi 5, not the newer and faster Wi-Fi 6, 6E, or 7 protocols. The phone managed 257Mbps down and 22.2Mbps up when I ran a speed test near my Wi-Fi 6 router. The iPhone 14 Pro, tested with the same router, registered 221Mbps down and 22.6Mbps up. These numbers dropped at the edge of the Wi-Fi network, where the 60 XE recorded a speed of 6.69Mbps down and 12.3Mbps up. The iPhone 14 Pro couldn’t connect at the network's edge at all.
There's a 3.5mm headphone jack for connecting wired headphones and Bluetooth 5.3 support for connecting wireless speakers or headphones. There's also an NFC chip for mobile payments.
Audio: Sufficient for Calls, Problematic for Media
I had no problems hearing callers or being heard. But there's a caveat: The volume of both the earpiece and the speaker doesn't get particularly loud, meaning you might have a difficult time hearing callers in noisy environments.
The earpiece reaches 78.2dB, which can't compete with the sound of honking horns and passing vehicles. At 66.3dB, the speakerphone is barely audible. I struggled to hear a conversation with a fan blowing on low speed in the background.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)The speaker’s anemic power is more obvious when listening to media. The bass at the beginning of our test track, “Silent Shout” by The Knife, was difficult to hear over the fan, although I could make out the synths at the high end of the frequency range.
If you plan on watching videos or playing music, you’ll want to plug in some headphones or use a Bluetooth speaker.
Camera: Surprisingly Decent Macro Shots
Cameras include a 50MP main shooter that doubles as a macro lens, a 5MP ultra-wide lens, and 2MP depth camera for measuring distance. After automatic pixel binning, your snaps are 12.5MP. The phone does let you take photos at the full resolution, but you have to dig through the settings to disable pixel binning. A 32MP front camera is located above the screen.
Despite its decent specifications, the main camera doesn’t do particularly well with fine detail, even in bright lighting conditions. Zooming into the tree below reveals intense pixelation, resulting in the leaves appearing as a green blob.
The camera has four zoom modes: macro, 0.6x, 1x, and 2x. Here is a progression of photos taken at the various zoom levels.
While most of the photos taken from the main camera are underwhelming, the macro photos really stand out.
I was able to get a good close-up of this flower's stamen. Zooming in reveals even more detail of the pollen lining the flower’s anther. I wish other photos from the camera were as clear and detailed as this one.
The camera records 1080p video at 30fps, and the video quality is the same as the photo quality. Low-light video is particularly grainy. It’s fine for capturing everyday moments, but that's it.
Low-light selfies are about what you would expect. My dog looks cute, but I wouldn't put this pic on his doggy dating profile.
Software: Not Much Support
The 60 XE ships with Android 15, and it's unclear when or if it will receive an update to Android 16. The 50 XL only received one OS update and will get security support until 2027, so we don’t expect much more from the 60 XE. TCL has not yet said.
Samsung’s commitment to the Galaxy A16, which offers six years of OS and security support, is dramatically superior. The A25 gets only four OS upgrades and five years of security, but that's still much better than the 60 XE.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)The phone lacks a lot of the AI features baked into many new phones. It has access to Google Magic Editor, which you can use to remove unwanted objects, as well as Google Unblur to sharpen blurry photos. Otherwise, it's missing advanced AI photo capabilities, although Google Gemini is available if you need to conduct some research.
TCL has its own TCL AI app, but it’s not very robust. It can help you write an email, summary, event plan, outline, invitation, or meeting notification. But if you need help with anything other than writing, you’re out of luck.