TCL pulled out all the stops for CES, announcing new smartphones, tablets, AR glasses, and connected devices. What may be its most exciting announcement, however, is its NXTPaper tablet, a full-color alternative to E Ink.
Just months after previewing a prototype at IFA, the Chinese manufacturer showed off its first NXTPaper slate this morning. From all outward appearances, it looks like your typical Android tablet, but there’s nothing ordinary about it.
NXTPaper uses a new paper-like display technology that’s 36% thinner than traditional LCDs and uses about 65% less power. The full-color display relies on a highly reflective surface that reuses natural light and offers 25% higher contrast than your average LCD. It also has the most advanced eye protection available in a color display, with a TUV Rhineland safety certification and no blue light emission.
With a 60Hz refresh rate and zero flicker, NXTPaper alleviates many of the pain points typically associated with E Ink displays. Comics and magazines render in vivid color, and video streaming is seamless with no dropped frames.
TCL’s NXTPaper sports an 8.8-inch 1,440-by-1,080 display and runs Android 10. The MediaTek 8768E chipset is paired with 4GB of RAM. There’s 64GB of storage on board, and you can add an additional 256GB with a microSD card. Its 5,500mAh battery will easily get users through a day, if not days, between charges.
The 8MP rear camera should be fine for reference shots or document scans. On the front you’ll find a 5MP sensor that has been interpolated to 13MP for video calls.
It’s unlikely NXTPaper will provide the same user experience as an entry-level iPad or expensive Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, but it’s not meant to. Stefan Streit, TCL’s general manager of global marketing, told PCMag the tablet was designed to fit the growing need for hardware that is both versatile and safe for extended viewing. It’s perfectly suited to online education, reading, and other basic online tasks.
Unfortunately, TCL has not announced plans to bring NXTPaper to the US just yet, though we’re optimistic it will announce something in the near future. NXTPaper will be available in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America in April, and will sell for 349 Euros.