There was a lot to check out at MWC2024 in Barcelona last month, both good and not-so-good One that caught my eye was TCL's Nxtpaper technology, which replaces smooth, glossy cell phone screens with those found on e-readers such as the Kindle

The idea behind Nxtpaper is that it is easier on the eyes than traditional smartphone screens; some TCL tablets with Nxtpaper tackle issues such as fingerprint smudges and glare from ambient light, while still maintaining touch controls They have gained the ability to turn off color, turning the display into a black-and-white e-reader-like display

While I have concerns about Nxtpaper, I like the idea of a more eye-friendly display, especially one that doesn't block out blue light by tinting everything with the dreaded orange filter

I don't know about you, but I hate the blue light filters on my devices Both my laptop and my phone are set to turn on when the sun goes down, and I really don't like how everything turns a horrible orange color I hate that my phone screen is so sepia-toned that it looks like there is a massive wildfire somewhere upwind

Nxtpaper does not do this, but TCL still claims that it emits 61% less blue light than a regular cell phone screen This happens because, thanks to all the different layers of the Nxtpaper display, the blue light filter is filtered in hardware rather than software Some Nxtpaper tablets released in Europe have a button to turn off all colors, switching the UI to something like a smartphone/kindle hybrid

TCL has programmed software into its Nxtpaper phones that measures the amount of time the phone is used and prompts the user to give their eyes a break The company follows the 20-20-20 rule, displaying a pop-up every 20 minutes, urging the user to look at something more than 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds

As someone who looks at screens all day long for a variety of reasons, it's easy to forget that it's not good for your eyes I don't usually respond well to alerts telling me to do things like drink more water or get on my butt and move around, but taking a minute out of an hour to not look at my work is definitely something I can get behind

Perhaps the biggest advantage of Nxtpaper screens is that they reduce screen glare considerably While it won't stop all light from reflecting off the screen, it still won't be as reflective as a traditional glass cell phone screen First of all, this means you don't have to worry about picking up reflections from yourself or your surroundings

Similarly, Nxtpaper minimizes the effects of extra bright lighting, like the sun, without increasing the brightness of the display like many flagship phones It's only March, but the sun is already strong enough to hinder the use of the phone outside The matte display also means that Nxtpaper does not pick up fingerprints as well as regular display glass

Of course, Nxtpaper's display is not perfect My main concern is that it is unclear how durable the screen is and how well it can withstand accidental damage I am convinced that adding a screen protector would also defeat the purpose of a paper-like display

We also have to contend with the fact that Nxtpaper's material adds an extra haze to everything on the screen And like the extra roughness of the top layer, it does not appeal to everyone

Likewise, the screen does not offer the level of color brightness that one would expect from a traditional cell phone display And also, the anti-glare feature means that it may perform better in situations where a regular phone might need ultra-high brightness to provide the minimum brightness required

Nxtpaper's screen is also LCD, so it does not offer the same advantages as the iPhone 15's OLED screen But for display geeks, the viewing angle of Nxtpaper doesn't seem so bad It may not be as good as an OLED screen, but you don't have to look directly at the screen all the time

The biggest problem is that TCL tends to stick to budget smartphones rather than ultra-high-performance flagships This means that Nxtpaper will not be on the best android phones anytime soon Even if you're like me and don't want to upgrade to the latest and greatest phone every year or two, you won't be able to try out Nxtpaper's screen

It's a real shame, because I'd love to try out Nxtpaper's display in the longer term, but I also don't want to get a brand new phone that is arguably worse than what I have now But maybe my priorities are wrong

TCL, which has already launched Nxtpaper devices in Europe, has decided to bring two Nxtpaper smartphones to the US market as the 50 series [The $229 TCL 50 Xl Nxtpaper 5G features a 678-inch Nxtpaper display with FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate It also has a 50MP main camera, 5MP ultrawide, 2MP depth lens, 8MP selfie camera, 128GB storage, 6GB RAM, 5,010mAH battery, and supports up to 2TB microSD card

The TCL 50 XE Nxtpaper 5G costs $199 and has a 66-inch display with HD resolution and 90Hz refresh rate It also has a dual 50MP main lens and 5MP ultrawide camera, an 8MP selfie camera, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a Dimensity 6100 chipset, and a 5,010mAH battery

Certainly neither of these devices are the most exciting phones on the market, but they do have pretty cool displays; it would be nice if Nxtpaper could be found in more upscale phones, but TCL is not that kind of company The handset maker told me that it's all about offering advanced features like 5G at an affordable price And if you don't like Nxtpaper's screens in the long run, at least you won't have to shell out that much money