NXTPAPER Screens Have Surprisingly Good Outdoor Readability

I recently purchased a TCL 60 XE phone with a NXTPAPER screen, and I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not, but the screen actually looks pretty good. I think it’s a good alternative to color E Ink.

The picture above shows a NXTPAPER screen next to a color E Ink screen on the Kobo Libra Colour in direct sunlight. The E Ink screen definitely has an edge when it comes to readability in direct sunlight, but unlike regular LCD screens, the NXTPAPER screen is actually readable outdoors in bright light.

I’ve been using the TCL 60 XE to read outside a lot lately since I broke my Kindle Voyage, and it’s definitely usable for reading outside, unlike my old phone with an OLED screen that looks great indoors but it looks like a dark mirror outdoors.

The NXTPAPER screen has a matte layer that is very nonreflective. In fact, it’s even less reflective than E Ink screens in terms of the glaring mirror effect on the top layer. There are no visible reflections at all.

I’ve tried matte screen protectors in the past and I always hated them because they make the screen look much worse in terms of clarity. The matte screen on the TCL 60 XE does degrade the screen quality some. The viewing angles aren’t as good as my old phone, and the screen isn’t quite as clear, but it is nice not having to deal with the mirror effect. It does give the screen a more paper-like appearance, which makes it more pleasant for reading.

I also like the fact that I can actually see the screen while taking pictures outside. The camera quality isn’t as good as my old Pixel phone, but the TCL 60 XE is more of a budget phone that costs a fraction of the price so that isn’t surprising. The picture quality is pretty good, but not great.

There are some unique E Ink modes with NXTPAPER screens, but they’re kind of gimmicky. You can switch to a black and white mode or a color Ink mode, but there’s really not much of an advantage of doing so. It does reduce blue light and it makes the background appear a little more yellow, kind of like warm frontlights, but it doesn’t really make the screen look better.

Battery life isn’t as good as E Ink, and that’s one of the main drawbacks, but the TCL 60 XE seems to have longer battery life than other Android phones and tablets that I’ve owned. At 100% brightness outdoors it seems to go down about 10% an hour, which is actually pretty respectable at full brightness. At lower brightness, battery life is much better and lasts several days for reading.

Overall, I’ve come to the conclusion that I prefer the NXTPAPER screen over color E Ink when it comes to a phone. The color quality is much better and the refresh rate is much faster with the 120Hz display. NXTPAPER isn’t going to replace my black and white ereaders, but it does have some advantages over color E Ink, and the portability factor is nice for reading on the go. There’s also a NXTPAPER tablet with a newer and improved NXTPAPER 4.0 screen that’s supposed to be even better. E Ink screens are great for reading text, but I’m still not sold on high-priced color E Ink screens when it comes to things like phones and tablets.

I’ll post a video comparing NXTPAPER and E Ink screens next week, so check back for a more in-depth look.