Chinese multinational consumer tech company TCL has announced the "world’s first and only smartphone devices to offer a revolutionary full color paper-like visual experience" – featuring the company's eye-friendly NXTPAPER technology.
TCL first launched its NXTPAPER technology at IFA 2020, and followed that with actual product in the shape of an 8-inch tablet the following year. More tablets and laptops employing the technology have since joined the blue-light-hating display party.
In essence, the screen technology is an eye-friendly solution that combines a full color digital display with e-paper qualities, though one that's not based around E Ink technologies.
One of its aims is to reduce health issues associated with blue light coming from the screens we gawp at for more hours than we'd care to admit – though the jury still seems to out as to whether whether blue light is as harmful as previously thought.
Where blue-blocking glasses or device software tweaks might result in the onscreen colors having a yellow hue, TCL's technology fine tunes the LED blue light spectrum so that it remains within a safer emission range, which is said to reduce harmful blue light by as much as 61% while retaining original onscreen colors.
As well as managing light output, the technology also incorporates a nano-etched layer for a paper-like matte texture that makes for "a comfortable viewing experience regardless of external lighting conditions."
TCL reports that it has secured TÜV Rheinland eye-friendly certification for its NXTPAPER product line, which now includes smartphones. First up is the TCL 40 NXTPAPER 5G, which features a 6.6 inch display with a V-notch for the 8-MP selfiecam, has 720 x 1,612-pixel resolution and a screen-to-body ratio of 84%, puts out 500 nits of typical brightness and has a contrast ratio of 1,500:1.
Powering the handset is MediaTek Dimensity octa-core processing and integrated graphics, supported by 6 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage (with microSD expansion). Bluetooth 5.1 and 802.11ac Wi-Fi, plus 5G of course, are cooked in, and it runs Android 13 out of the box, with TCL promising at least one OS upgrade.
Around back is 50-MP main camera that's joined by a 2-MP depth camera and 2-MP macro shooter. Video recording is possible at 1080p/30fps, with support for HDR.
The smartphone sports a 5,000-mAh battery with support for 15-W fast charging over USB-C. And it comes packing a 3.5-mm headphone jack, should that kind of thing be important to you.
The TCL 40 NXTPAPER model offers more display goodness in the shape of a 6.78-inch display at 1,080 x 2,460 resolution and 450 nits of typical brightness. This screen is hole-punched with a 32-MP selfiecam.
Inside, it rocks a MediaTek Helio G88 chipset with octa-core processing and integrated Mali graphics supported by 8 GB of RAM (plus 8 GB memory expansion) and 256 GB of storage with microSD expansion. This model also runs Android 13 with at least one update waiting in the wings.
Elsewhere, the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chops are the same but mobile data tops out at 4G, the rear camera array gets a bump to a 50-MP main, 5-MP ultra-wide and 2-MP macro camera, the battery is bigger at 5,010-mAh – which supports 33-W fast charging over USB-C – but the per-charge runtime is 14 hours instead of 16 hours for the 5G model.
With IFA 2023 just around the corner, the first customers to get the new phones will be in Europe where the TCL 40 NXTPAPER 5G is scheduled for October release at €249 while the TCL 40 NXTPAPER arrives next month for €199. Global availability will follow later in the year.
Source: TCL