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It’s not often that we see smartphone announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), not when Mobile World Congress (MWC), the trade show dedicated specifically to handsets, is always just a month away. But that also means that the few smartphone releases that do take place in Las Vegas, such as TCL’s new 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G, get a little more spotlight than usual.
A fairly simple device
The TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G, as mouthful as the branding is, is actually a fairly simple device with an understated design. It features a 6.8-inch FHD+ display, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 50-megapixel triple-camera array on the back. These specs could pass for a mid-range phone by almost any Android manufacturer, including Motorola and Samsung.
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But what makes the TCL phone unique is its Nxtpaper 3.0 display technology, which blocks blue light to promote visual comfort and reduce eye strain. The company has been working on this digital well-being tech for years now, and it’s not the first time I’ve seen it on one of its phones, but the third generation of Nxtpaper is holding strong going into 2025.
For example, the nano-matrix technology improves the clarity and sharpness of images — two aspects that are common drawbacks of these matte-textured coatings. When I took a look at the phone ahead of the Monday announcement, the colors on it looked surprisingly punchy, even with the satin layering above the actual screen.
The AI twist
And for the AI twist, as every product is required to have in 2025, the TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G features a Smart Eye Comfort Mode and Personalized Eye Comfort Mode, two settings that adaptively configure the display’s colors, brightness, and contrast levels based on the user’s preference. I ran the latter of the two modes, which surveyed me with the same image in various color schemes and asked me to pick the best one, and the resulting tone was quite easy on the eyes.
The TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G also features a dedicated Nxtpaper Key that, when toggled, turns on Max Ink Mode, a monochrome, E Ink-inspired display mode that minimizes color and distractions. It basically turns the phone into an Onyx Boox Palma, but because it’s a phone, you can actually make calls on it, too.
Availability
TCL says the 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G will launch in the US later this year, likely around May, when the phone also debuts in Canada. The phone will sell for $199 and will be available across major carriers and retailers.
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