Compared to a decade ago, today’s smartphones tend to look a lot alike. Most of them have eerily similar designs, use the same chipsets, cost the same obnoxious prices (and that’s only getting worse), and most of them use displays that are obscenely bright, vibrant, and generally not great for your eyes.
That’s where TCL’s NXTPAPER line of phones comes in. Last year, I was impressed with the NXTPAPER 60 Ultra, but North American users never got a chance to try it, and that phone was the size of a tablet. Thankfully, TCL is bringing the same excellent NXTPAPAPER 4.0 technology to North America in a phone that’s also a little bit smaller, and it’s a real treat for anyone looking for something different to try.
NXTPAPER makes the difference
TCL puts NXTPAPER in the name for a reason. It’s one of the most unique types of displays you can find on any phone, and it’s absolutely worth buying a phone for if you fall into a few categories of people. If you enjoy reading, are looking for a display with less flicker than an OLED, want something that’s anti-reflective and textured, or just enjoy the soft glow of an LCD (vs the harshness of OLED), this is a display you’re going to love.
If you’ve never used an NXTPAPER display, know that it’s not an E Ink replacement, but it is more eye-friendly in general than standard LCD or OLED. Part of this is the addition of several layers between the pixels and the glass, including light diffusion, a circular polarizer, a textured matte layer, and a special set of software algorithms.
The result is a unique look that’s neither E Ink nor LCD, but it often embodies some of the best qualities of both. It’s my favorite type of display to use inside, on a plane or train, or anywhere that’s not explicitly in direct sunlight. You’re going to be blown away by how good things look, and that’s a direct result of the engineering that went into making this a non-reflective display.
There are two main differences between NXTPAPER and E Ink: refresh rate and reflectivity. Both NXTPAPER and E Ink use matte layers to eliminate reflections, but E Ink actually reflects light off the “ink” pigments, giving it superior sunlight visibility versus any other type of display. NXTPAPER still needs a traditional backlight to shine through its LCD pixels, and since it can’t reflect light like E Ink (and doesn’t have a very bright backlight), sunlight visibility isn’t great.
But NXTPAPER has a 120Hz refresh rate, something E Ink will likely never have. Companies like Bigme have pushed E Ink to the next level with 42Hz displays (and soon, 52Hz), but because E Ink relies on magnetism to refresh the screen, this technology will eventually hit a ceiling. NXTPAPER is smoother than any E Ink display is today, and that makes it better for videos and games, plus generally more pleasant to use for scrolling and anything with motion.
The lone problem with this display is its use of temporal dithering, a display technique that increases color output but can cause problems for some flicker-sensitive users. I’m sensitive to PWM dimming but not dithering, so I had no problems here, but lots of people online have complained about NXTPAPER’s use of dithering in the past. This one uses it less than the technology historically has, especially if you turn NXTVISION settings off, but it’s still there on some colors and modes.
|
Category |
TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro |
|---|---|
|
Operating System |
TCL UI 9.0 (Android 16), 2 years of updates |
|
Display |
6.9-inch NXTPAPER LCD, 1080×2340, 120Hz, 900 nits peak brightness, matte textured glass |
|
Processor |
MediaTek Dimensity 7300 |
|
RAM |
8GB LPDDR5X |
|
Storage |
128GB plus microSD card up to 2TB |
|
Rear Cameras |
50MP autofocus (wide) + 8MP autofocus (ultra-wide) |
|
Front Camera |
32MP |
|
Battery |
5,200mAh |
|
Charging |
33W wired, no wireless charging |
|
IP Rating |
IP68 |
|
Security |
Fingerprint sensor (in power button) |
|
Weight |
207g |
|
Dimensions |
169.4 x 80.05 x 7.98mm |
|
Colors |
Stellar Blue |
Nailing the basics
One of my chief complaints with the TCL NXTPAPER 60 Ultra was that it was just too dang big. The phone is gargantuan, with a 7.2-inch screen, but the NXTPAPER 70 Pro fixes this by reducing the size down to a more normal 6.9 inches. That doesn’t sound like a big difference on paper, but the experience is a lot less awkward because of the change.
The plastic build is nothing particularly special, but TCL coated the entire phone in a wonderful oleophobic layer that resists fingerprints and smudges in a way almost no other phone does. Gone are the days of wiping smudges off your phone or the screen! It’s also IP68 water and dust resistant, so you don’t have to worry about it getting ruined, even if you drop it in the sink.
Since this is an official North American release, it fully works on T-Mobile and Metro’s 5 G networks. It’s even compatible with T-Mobile’s T-Satellite technology, so you’ll not only get 5G speeds, but also satellite connectivity for messaging.
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Performance is as good as I had hoped for, and I didn’t notice any obvious hitching or longer loading times than I expect from a modern phone. It helps a lot that TCL doesn’t skimp on RAM, as most $200 phones only have 4GB of RAM (which isn’t enough), while the TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro has 8GB.
The Mediatek Dimensity 7300 is also plenty powerful for nearly everything, and I even found that most games ran just fine. Some of the more graphically intensive mobile games will need to run on low settings, but games like Minecraft were able to run fine, even with the more taxing Vibrant Visuals setting enabled. It’s also a great battery sipper, with all-day battery life and reasonably fast 33W charging.
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Surprisingly, given the price and all the other great features here, the camera is quite good. It’s much, much better than anything else I’ve tested at this price and typically produces great-looking shots, even in low light. There’s no telephoto camera, but it’s got an ultrawide one in addition to the main camera, and TCL didn’t waste money or space on a useless macro camera like so many phones in this price range do.
If you’re picking one up from T-Mobile, just be aware that it’s loaded with tons of preinstalled apps, and T-Mobile tries to serve you new ones all the time. Thankfully, this can be easily turned off and the apps removed with the help of a short guide I wrote.
Other than that downside, don’t expect world-class haptics from a phone in this price range. They’re not as bad as some other phones I’ve used lately, but they’re not as punchy or quality-feeling as something from Pixel or OnePlus (which are twice the price, anyway).
A little wiggle room for your budget
TCL did what I thought was impossible in 2026: it delivered an affordable phone that doesn’t feel like a piece of junk. The TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro delivers an excellent all-around experience, and it does so without forcing customers to pay exhorbitant amounts of money.
I don’t know how TCL managed to pull it off, but the debut of NXTPAPER 4.0 in a North American phone couldn’t have been better. This is the perfect way for the company to get its technology into the hands of lots of people, and I hope to see TCL roll it out to more models in the future.
In short, if you want a great phone that doesn’t cost much money, the NXTPAPER 70 Pro is the right choice.
TCL’s amazing eye-friendly NXTPAPER 4.0 is finally available on a North American phone, and it’s the best value product we’ve seen so far in 2026. Beat the horrible price increases plaguing the smartphone industry and get an experience that’s excellent all around with the TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro, a $200 phone that punches way above its price range.
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