Not only did TCL bring a giant TV to CES, it also showed off its third-generation Nxtpaper display technology for smartphones and tablets. Nxtpaper is a type of LCD screen that looks a bit like paper – as the name suggests – because it has a very matte finish. A bit like Samsung’s The Frame TV, but for mobile devices. According to TCL, it’s more than just an anti-reflective layer on top, but the entire display assembly has been modified to achieve this effect. Additionally, these displays should emit less blue light than regular LCD displays. The result is a screen that should be nicer to look at thanks to a calmer picture.

Previous generations of Nxtpaper suffered from flickering, especially at low brightness, and were unable to achieve the high refresh rates common in today’s mobile devices. This issue has been resolved with this 3rd generation, TCL says, and I wasn’t able to notice any strange things when the displays dimmed. Brightness has also been greatly enhanced. For some time now we have had Nxtpaper 10S in our test lab and during our measurements it barely exceeded 100 cd/m². This new generation of displays should be able to handle 500 cd/m2, which is a huge improvement.

TCL is displaying two new devices equipped with these screens at CES: the TCL 40 phone and the Nxtpaper Pro 14 tablet. When I first picked up this tablet, it looked like a doll with a version of the Android interface stuck to it, and the effect was very convincing. This was further enhanced when I touched the touchscreen; The top layer of the LCD screen looks a bit like paper. Compared with normal touch screen, you will feel very smooth touch, but at the same time less resistance. It’s hard to describe, but overall it’s fun to work with him. What’s also striking is that fingerprints are much less noticeable than on a regular screen.

In addition to being very matte, the screen is also almost non-reflective. TCL had a demo of the Nxtpaper display next to a regular display, with an LED strip above it. You can see this reflected very clearly on a regular screen, but with the Nxtpaper screen, the reflection was smeared in a subtle spotlight. The devices also use an RGB sensor to measure the color temperature of ambient light, so the image can adapt accordingly.

TCL has provided an option in its Android version that makes the displays look more like paper. You can choose a full black and white mode or variable with heavily desaturated colors. A kind of e-reader mode. Right now, this has minimal impact on battery life, because the refresh rate remains set at 120Hz. However, TCL indicates that it is working on further optimization of this mode, for example with a much lower refresh rate, so that gains in battery life can actually be achieved.

A screen that is easier to read and looks nicer: what’s the point? In contrast: The glossy finish of a regular display makes colors appear more intense. So I expected video on this type of screen in particular to look mediocre, but in practice the difference wasn’t much. You can see it especially well if you display two screens side by side; Once you’ve watched a minute of video, you’re more interested in the content than the amount of contrast. Another downside is that although the reflections are less strong, this smeared reflection results in more contrast being lost, giving you a white haze on the screen.

The biggest problem for most people is that TCL only makes low-end devices. The most expensive TCL phone on Pricewatch costs just over €300 and the majority are under €200. The price of the TCL 40 that the company showed at CES is $180. Of course there’s nothing wrong with that, many people don’t want to spend a lot of money on a phone or tablet, but most drug addicts will shop at a higher priced segment and Nxtpaper is simply not an option there. When asked if TCL had plans to supply this technology to other manufacturers, who might be able to make more luxurious models with it, we were told a clear “no.”

That’s a shame, because the technology has clear advantages over the OLED displays we see in almost every smartphone nowadays, and as a consumer, it’s always nice to have something to choose from. So we hope that TCL will reconsider its option to sell panels to third parties. It already does this with regular (small) LED displays for TVs and monitors, so this is not a vain hope.