I like the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper, but it’s not a phone I could use all the time. The handset’s Nxtpaper display feels nice, and I love looking at it, especially when I’m using the device at night, but it’s not something I’m 100 per cent sold on.
Because of the phone industry, we’re all so used to how typical LCD and OLED panels feel that it feels unnatural when it’s a handset with NxtPaper technology, especially as a primary handset. Don’t get me wrong, with a 1080 x 2460-pixel resolution, watching videos looks good, Marvel Snap is fine too, and reading is fantastic, but still, not what I want to use all the time.
Part of why I disliked using the phone could be blamed on the bland user interface. It’s pretty stock Android, but I wish it had some identity or felt more like Pixel UI. The haptics feel bad, typical for a mid-range handset, another thing that’s pushing me away from the smartphone.
However, one thing going for the handset is the battery life; when I was using the device full time, it could easily get me through the day. And now that I’m using the device to read before bed, its standby time has lasted me a week.
Speaking of using the device before bed, I like to get in several rounds of Marvel Snap at night. Sometimes, I also want to read manga or a novel, and I find most smartphone screens all right for this experience, but I enjoy using the 60 XE more. It doesn’t hurt my eyes when all my lights are off, and changing it into e-ink mode feels the best for my eyes when I’m reading.
Design-wise, the handset has a comically large camera bump, and the device has noticeably big bezels and is pretty thick. But it has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is really nice to see.
Despite some reservations, the 60XE is $325 in Canada, which is fantastic for the solid display, 6GB of RAM, and the excellent battery life.
Future of Nxtpaper on mobile
I think Nxtpaper on mobile isn’t meant for Candybar-designed phones. I’m calling it now, TCL should make a foldable with a standard OLED display on the outside and bring the Nxtpaper technology to the inner display.
Picture this: a phone that looks like the OnePlus Open or the Pixel 9 Pro Fold on the outside, and then when you open it up, you have an 8-inch NxtPaper display screen. It’d be the ultimate e-reader replacement because you get a paper-like experience inside, perfect for reading books and watching content. Pair a stylus with this, and it’s great for taking notes. This way, users are not always using the Nxtpaper display, and they often deal with a regular screen and switch to the Nxtpaper screen only when it’s needed.
It could also be the most affordable foldable on the market, pair it with the same battery as the 60XE, and it’s great. You don’t need to put great cameras on it; it’s just a standard primary shooter with a budget-friendly ultrawide.
TCL could market the device as a foldable e-reader or the most affordable folding smartphone.
Technically, I don’t know if it’s possible to make NxtPaper foldable, but I’d even enjoy a Microsoft Surface Duo-like experience with a break between two displays, as long as you can get continuous content on both displays when you’re watching YouTube. That might even be a better reading-like experience because it’s like both sides of a book. I tend to read a lot on my 9 Pro Fold, and many book apps allow a two-column, book-like experience, so this could be applied to the TCL NxtPaper foldable or NxtPaper Duo.
TCL, if you’re reading this, please make this phone come true and let me review it first. Thank you.
If you’re looking for an affordable device, don’t mind the NxtPaper technology display, want a handset with a solid battery and love reading, look no further than the TCL NxtPaper 60 XE.
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