What are the features of e-book readers and smartphones? TCL 50 NXTPAPER 5G series is now available – Sumahon!!

TCL has announced the TCL 50 NXTPAPER 5G and TCL 50 PRO NXTPAPER 5G smartphones, which it claims are equipped with an eye-friendly NXTPAPER display.

The company's NXTPAPER brand is equipped with the unique NXTPAPER 3.0 display which is an evolution of e-paper, a model that combines the best of LCD, organic EL and e-paper.

All installed SoCs are MediaTek Dimensity 6300. It is a familiar chip in modern mid-range smartphones, so you will not have any problems with it for everyday use. The memory is 8 GB, the storage capacity is 256 GB for MUJI and 512 GB for PRO.

The display is equipped with TCL's unique NXTPAPER technology. It is said to have a paper-like texture and does not cause eye strain like a paper book, but it is only described as an “e-paper style”, so the principle behind it is unclear. As far as I can see, it looks like a backlit display, so while it is displayed using the backlight + color filter principle or self-emitting element, it has a smooth texture like paper on the surface of an e-paper station or a station equipped with a stylus pen. I think it is possible to do anti-glare treatment and have a black and white mode in the software so you can switch between them seamlessly.

Size: 6.8 inches, resolution: FHD+ (2460 x 1080), refresh rate: 120 Hz.

There's a NXTPAPER switch on the side of the main unit, and when you activate it, it starts “Max Ink Mode.” The user interface is said to be changed to resemble an e-book reader, allowing for a focused reading experience.

The rear camera has a triple-lens setup: a 108MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 2MP macro camera.

The camera resolution is 8 million pixels for the MUJI and 32 million pixels for the PRO. There doesn't seem to be any need to differentiate here.

The battery capacity is 5010 mAh and supports 33W fast charging. It features a standby time of up to 26 days and the ability to read for 4 hours per day x 7 days in Max Ink mode.

It also boasts of being equipped with modern AI functions. It supports text understanding, summarization, and creative writing.

The PRO comes in five colors: Moon Grey, Midnight Blue, Alps White, Pae Gold, and Rosy Purple, while the MUJI comes in four colors except Alps White.

The TCL 50 NXTPAPER 5G will be sold in the EU for €229, or about ¥35,000 in Japanese yen. The 50 PRO will be available in the EU and Latin America for €299 (¥46,000).

By the way, have you noticed how many differences there are between the MUJI and the PRO? If you look at the specs table below, you'll see that there are only differences in storage capacity, camera resolution, and number of body colors. If that's the case, I think it would be better if the front cameras were all 8MP and something like “white color only available on the 512GB model”.