The new TCL 50 Pro NxtPaper 5G features a display feature that both Samsung and Apple lack – an E-Ink-like panel that's revealed at the flick of a switch, to bring Amazon Kindle-rivalling readability and up to 7 days of battery life.
I've been reviewing the best phones professionally for a dozen or so years now, so I've seen it all – from the best Android devices to the best Apple iPhones. But the most popular products that people buy are, dare I say it, predictable these days.
Sometimes, however, a product comes along with a refreshing new outlook. This year – and coinciding its reveal with the IFA industry exhibition in Berlin, Germany – it's TCL taking a chance on standing out with the new TCL 50 Pro NxtPaper 5G handset.
What's so special about this handset? It's got a 6.8-inch display which, at the flick of a switch, morphs into an E-Ink-like monochrome panel to give you Amazon Kindle-like readability and stellar battery life. That's perfect for eBook reading or just putting your phone into a simplified state with minimal notifications.
Now that's a display technology that even Samsung and Apple can't rival. Well, I say can't, but it could be more won't. After all, this isn't the first phone I've seen with these aspirations – Yota, which went bankrupt some 5 years ago, made YotaPhone products with dual displays, one of which was E-Ink proper. None of them ever really took off, despite the innovation.
TCL's take is different to Yota's, of course, as the company isn't using two displays in the 50 Pro NxtPaper 5G. The phone features an LCD panel, there's no E-Ink panel involved, so the company's "Max Ink" mode is really just a dialled-down refresh rate with muted colours and the handset's core functions limited. Up to four apps can be customised to function in the mode, however, providing a more personalised mode.
It's an interesting approach that relies on not too reflective an LCD display surface to create that paper-like reading quality that most associate with the best Amazon Kindle products. People have enjoyed the feature in the past, with TCL's NxtPaper 11 tablet already available in some markets.
The TCL Pro NxtPaper 5G aims to remain competitive beyond its additional display mode, too, with a 108-megapixel main camera to shout about, plus an included case and stylus. I doubt you'll get Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra-matching levels of functionality, but I think the inclusion of a pen-like accessory to add notes in the Max Ink mode is a nice touch.
TCL is only set to launch the 50 Pro NxtPaper 5G in limited markets, with its €299 (£252/$333/AU$490 by equivalent conversion) asking price in Europe and a to-be-determined equivalent in Latin American markets. It won't go on sale in the USA or Australia, but will be available in the UK later this year.
