One of the more intriguing showcases that debuted as part of TCL’s IFA 2020 event was the TCL NXTPAPER – a tablet concept with a new type of display that marries e-Ink and LCD technology to offer an unparalleled viewing experience.
By ‘unparalleled’ we don’t mean in terms of refresh rate or resolution, but instead with regards to legibility – TCL claims that the NXTPAPER is the world’s first “zero eye-strain” display.
This Full HD full-colour panel has a paper-like quality and leverages high internal reflectivity to achieve a flicker-free viewing experience that’s visible even in bright conditions. The company has gone as far as to employ eleven patents on the eye-protection tech at play too, as it boasts no “harmful blue light” compared to traditional a LCD, thanks in part to the complete lack of a backlight.
The result is a viewing experience with 25% greater contrast than an equivalent e-Ink screen would be able to offer and the technology can be made up to 36% thinner than an equivalent LCD panel would have to be. This trait also makes it 65% more power-efficient compared to LCD tech, which is ideal considering the use cases TCL has in mind for NXTPAPER.
While it’d be great to see in a colour-screened Amazon Kindle alternative – capable of video playback – aimed at general consumers, TCL instead envisions its NXTPAPER tech making its way into learning tablets for the classroom, for training and beyond.
The company says we can expect to see a market-ready device using NXTPAPER “early next year,” alongside a foldable phone or tablet – something the company has teased for a long time.
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