TCL NXTPaper 11 Plus continues to do something the Apple iPad can't

A new Android tablet has arrived at CES 2025, with the TCL NXTPaper 11 Plus packing the firm’s latest NXTPAPER 4.0 screen technology, giving it a leg-up on Apple’s iPad range.

TCL’s NXTPaper full-color electronic paper display technology has been around since 2021, combining a traditional smartphone/tablet display with an E-Ink style, paper-like screen. Users can instantly switch between screen states with the press of a button – called the NXTPaper Key (more on this shortly).

For 2025, this technology has been improved further with the inclusion of the AI-powered Smart Eye Comfort mode. This mode intelligently responds to the environment you’re in, and adjusts the brightness, contrast, saturation, colour gamut and colour temperature of the screen for optimum viewing.

This allows the screen to mimic natural light and cuts out blue light, reducing the strain on your eyes and enhancing visual comfort compared to screens you find on other tablets.

TCL has also improved screen clarity with NXTPaper 4.0, with nano-matrix lithography technology enhancing fine details in images and text and providing smoother, richer transitions which feel more natural and put less strain on the eyes.

World’s first NXTPaper 4.0 device

The first opportunity you’ll have to try out the NXTPaper 4.0 technology is on the TCL NXTPaper 11 Plus.

Once you’ve got the tablet you’ll be able to take an on-screen test to create personalised settings to best suit your preferences, usage, and specifically your eyes, for ultimate comfort and clarity.

Toggling between the full-color display and the paper-like greyscale offering is as easy as pressing the NXTPaper Key - but this button also gets an upgrade here.

As well as switching between screen modes, the NXTPaper Key can now be customised to offer shortcuts to key features on the tablet, including AI tools and frequently used apps.

TCL is packing its new tablet with a suite of AI tools, including text assist, Google’s circle to search, writing assist, smart voice memo (which can record and summarise meetings), smart translator and real-time subtitles.

The real-time subtitles feature is particularly interesting, as it supports translations for dozens of languages, and works whether you’re watching or streaming video, or in a video conference.

Further information is limited, but we do know the NXTPaper 11 Plus comes with an 11.5-inch display with a 2.2K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Everything is powered by a MediaTek Helio G99 chipset, there’s T-Pen stylus support, and the upgraded NXTPaper Key.

The NXTPaper 11 Plus tablet will be available later this year, with the release date and price due to be announced at MWC 2025.

As the NXTPaper 11 cost $229.99 / £179.99 at launch in 2023, we expect the new Plus model to carry a higher price tag – although it will likely still undercut Apple’s $349 / £329 10th gen iPad.