I’ve been using an iPhone for the longest time, and Android devices have never been able to tear me away. But there’s one thing it’s never quite nailed – bright lights and reflections. While the latest iPhone 16 Pro Max gets absurdly bright, it can’t always overcome reflections. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra has a matte coating that helps, but it doesn’t do anything for eye comfort. That’s why TCL’s latest colour e-ink smartphone caught my attention.
The TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra is the first handset in the NxtPaper that offers decent levels of performance. Its colour e-ink screen gets super bright and works incredibly well outside. And this may just sway me to switch from my iPhone.
TCL has pulled out all the stops here, slapping its NxtPaper 4.0 display tech on a 7.2-inch panel that somehow manages to be bright, sharp, and gloriously non-reflective. In fact, in bright daylight it’s easier to read than my iPhone. It uses circular polarised light to mimic natural daylight, which means the screen doesn’t punch you in the retinas every time you check the time at night. Also tucked in is something called Max Ink Mode, which turns off notifications while you read and gives you that proper e-reader experience.
You’re not just getting a fancy screen either, TCL’s squeezed some real specs in this one. MediaTek’s Dimensity 7400 chip is doing the heavy lifting, paired with 24GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. The battery is a decent 5200mAh, with 33W charging, that should last ages thanks to the NxtPaper display. It’s also IP68 water and dust resistant, so you can use it just about anywhere.
Camera-wise, you get a periscopic telephoto lens. It promises 50MP high-res snapping, 3x optical and 6x lossless zoom, and a big-pixel main cam that should actually hold its own in motion shots. TCL’s even baked in some artsy MuseFilm imaging wizardry to make your shots look even better.
If you’re the type who likes scribbling on their screen, the NxtPaper 60 Ultra is the phone for you. The T-Pen Magic stylus offers pressure sensitivity and ultra-low latency, supposedly making it feel like writing on actual paper. Combine that with TCL’s own note-taking app and a few AI productivity features, and it could be genuinely useful.
There’s a Junior version too for the kids. Its filters content, lets you set screen time limits, and has Google Family Link baked in. It’s a solid effort from TCL to offer something eye-friendly for younger users, and it actually looks decent for the price.
The TCL NxtPaper 60 Ultra will set you back €499 for the 256GB model and €549 for the 512GB one. It lands this September across Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. The Junior model drops in October in Europe for €249. Neither look to be coming to the US, and UK pricing and availability hasn’t been announced yet.
