In a world dominated by glossy OLEDs and hyper-saturated AMOLEDs, TCL‘s NXTPAPER display technology offers something refreshingly different. It doesn’t aim to dazzle you with 2000-nit brightness or 144Hz refresh rates. Instead, it focuses on something most display makers have long neglected in the race to one-up each other: your eyes.

Originally introduced in 2021, NXTPAPER has quietly matured into one of the most human-centered innovations in mobile and tablet displays. It’s designed to reduce eye strain, minimize glare, and replicate the experience of reading or writing on real paper. But this isn’t just another matte LCD screen or a glorified e-ink hybrid. NXTPAPER blends hardware and software to create a next-gen viewing experience, one that’s been rigorously certified by TÜV Rheinland for visual comfort.

What Is NXTPAPER?

NXTPAPER is TCL’s proprietary display technology that mimics the comfort and clarity of paper, but it’s not an e-ink screen. It’s a full-color, full-motion LCD panel enhanced with a sophisticated multi-layer optical filter system. These layers reduce blue light exposure and eliminate glare without relying on third-party software filters or additional screen protectors.

Think of it as a matte screen that’s baked into the display itself. It delivers paper-like smoothness while still supporting videos, games, and rich color content. It’s especially useful for reading-heavy tasks like document editing, web browsing, and long eBook sessions. In devices like the TCL NXTPAPER 11 tablet and NXTPAPER 40 smartphone, the difference in comfort is immediately noticeable.

How It Works

Most standard LCDs transmit light from a backlight through a handful of layers: diffuser, polarizer, liquid crystals, and color filters. NXTPAPER adds several additional nano-layers that do three critical things: filter out harmful blue light, scatter reflections, and mimic the behavior of natural light.

Unlike OLED, which modulates brightness per pixel and can contribute to long-term image retention and eye fatigue, NXTPAPER uses a consistent backlit LCD architecture. It’s flicker-free in any lighting scenario, thanks to built-in DC dimming that regulates brightness without relying on high-frequency PWM (pulse width modulation), a common culprit behind eye discomfort in modern OLED displays.

Circularly Polarized Light and CPL Advantage

NXTPAPER also integrates Circularly Polarized Light (CPL) technology to mimic the way light behaves in nature. It reflects and refracts light more naturally, which makes reading on NXTPAPER screens feel less artificial than on traditional panels. You’re not just looking at a screen that reduces blue light, you’re experiencing a fundamentally different way of visual presentation.

NXTPAPER Key and Max Ink Mode

TCL is now doubling down on usability. The NXTPAPER Key allows users to instantly toggle between standard display mode and a reading-optimized experience. The Max Ink Mode, particularly in smartphones, enhances readability by offering deeper contrast and a more eBook-like feel, making it a practical feature for both casual reading and professional document work.

Eye Care Assistant and Smart Night Features

Beyond the display itself, TCL has built a broader wellness ecosystem around NXTPAPER. The built-in Eye Care Assistant uses AI-driven reminders and ambient light detection to encourage users to take breaks. It can gently nudge you when it’s time to look away, a small but thoughtful addition that aligns with ophthalmologist recommendations for screen use.

For nighttime use, NXTPAPER devices offer a low-intensity flashlight capped at just 10 to 30 lux, far less than the typical 90 lux of standard phone flashlights. This keeps late-night tasks like reading or checking messages more eye-friendly and far less disturbing to others nearby.

The screen also features automatic night mode support. It intelligently adjusts the display’s color temperature based on ambient light to ensure your eyes remain comfortable in low-light conditions, reducing abrupt strain during evening use.

Anti-Glare and True-to-Life Colors

The NXTPAPER display incorporates a matte nano-etched layer that cuts reflections and ambient glare. This allows users to read or watch videos outdoors without that mirror-like effect found on most glossy smartphones and tablets.

Crucially, TCL’s solution filters blue light at the hardware level. Unlike conventional low-blue-light modes that introduce an ugly yellow tint, NXTPAPER maintains vibrant, accurate color reproduction. Whether you’re watching a video or editing a photo, what you see remains true to life.

Adaptive Color Temperature and Paper-Like Texture

Another smart addition is TCL’s AI-optimized display engine that adjusts color temperature dynamically based on the time of day and surrounding light. It’s an adaptive layer that quietly works in the background to maintain visual comfort, similar to Apple’s True Tone but tailored for matte displays.

And if you’re using a stylus or writing on a tablet like the NXTPAPER 11, you’ll notice the screen isn’t just soft on your eyes, it’s tactile. The matte finish provides real texture, mimicking the feel of pen-on-paper while also being resistant to smudges and fingerprints.

NXTPAPER vs AMOLED vs IPS LCD

Let’s be clear, NXTPAPER isn’t built to win display shootouts for contrast ratio or peak brightness. Compared to AMOLED, it can’t deliver the inky blacks or the vivid punchiness that makes HDR content pop. It also isn’t as color-rich or fast-refreshing as flagship OLEDs used in gaming phones or high-end tablets.

IPS LCDs fall somewhere in between. While they’re more affordable and color-accurate than older tech like TN panels, they typically don’t excel at glare reduction or eye comfort. NXTPAPER, though based on LCD, leapfrogs conventional IPS by focusing on usability in real-world environments like classrooms, offices, or public transport.

So yes, NXTPAPER is a compromise, but a practical one. It doesn’t pretend to be a spec king. Instead, it carves out a much-needed niche for readers, students, and screen-heavy professionals who care more about their vision than ultra-vibrant animations.

The Bottom Line

NXTPAPER isn’t trying to replace AMOLED or OLED in flagship phones or TVs. It doesn’t need to. TCL is smartly targeting users who spend hours reading, writing, or studying on screens and don’t want their eyes to pay the price.

It’s the kind of tech that doesn’t scream for attention. But once you’ve used it, especially over a long workday or a reading marathon, going back to a standard panel can feel jarring. NXTPAPER is a reminder that sometimes innovation doesn’t have to be louder, brighter, or faster.

Sometimes it just needs to feel a little more human.

In related news, we recently broke down TCL’s Inkjet-Printed OLED technology and also shared a guide on how to calibrate your TCL TV for the best possible picture quality.

TCL TVs sold in the U.S., from budget 4-Series models to high-end QLED and Mini LED sets, include a wide range of picture settings. With a few careful adjustments, users can unlock much better image quality across all content types.

This guide outlines how to set up your TCL TV for Movies, Gaming, Live TV and Streaming, and Sports. It covers both SDR and HDR (including Dolby Vision) content and explains platform differences between Roku TV and Google TV.

Before You Start: Turn Off Eco and Adaptive Settings

Before adjusting any picture controls, users should disable automatic features that interfere with consistency. On Google TV models, go to Settings > System > Power & Energy and turn Energy Saver off. Also, turn off Adaptive Brightness, Contrast, or any Intelligent Picture options in the settings. On Roku TVs, set TV Brightness to Normal under the general settings menu. These steps ensure the TV will not override manual picture settings.

Movies and Cinematic Content

To get a film-accurate image in a dark room, start with the Movie picture mode. This preset reduces backlight intensity, warms the color temperature, and disables motion smoothing. On Roku TVs, press the star (*) button during playback to access the picture menu and select Movie. On Google TV, go to Settings > Picture > Picture Mode and choose Movie.

Adjust the backlight based on the lighting in your room. For a dim home theater, a 40–50% backlight level works well. In a brighter room, raise it to around 70–80%. Set contrast to 90 or higher for strong highlights. Use the Warm color temperature setting for more natural skin tones. Set Sharpness to 0 to avoid artificial outlines and turn off any motion smoothing options like Action Smoothing or Motion Clarity.

For HDR10 content, keep the Movie mode active, set Backlight and Contrast to 100, and turn Local Dimming or Local Contrast to High. On Dolby Vision content, choose Dolby Vision Dark for night viewing or Dolby Vision Bright in a well-lit room. TCL locks most settings in Dolby Vision mode, but users can still adjust brightness based on viewing conditions.

Gaming (Console and PC)

TCL TVs include a Game Mode that reduces input lag by disabling unnecessary processing. On Roku TVs, access this under Advanced Picture Settings. On Google TVs, either switch to the Game picture mode or ensure Game Mode or ALLM is enabled when a console is connected.

Keep contrast high and backlight at maximum for HDR gaming. Use Warm color temperature for accurate colors. Set Sharpness to 0 and turn off noise reduction. In HDR games, verify that Local Dimming is still set to High if available. Users should also calibrate HDR using their console’s built-in utility.

For Xbox and PC users with supported TCL models, enable VRR and connect through HDMI 2.1 ports. TCL automatically detects variable refresh signals when Game Mode is active. If the TV shows brightness fluctuations during VRR gameplay, consider setting Local Dimming to Low to stabilize the image.

PC users should rename the HDMI input to “PC” or “Computer” to force 4:4:4 chroma and better text clarity. Set the GPU to output Full Range RGB and ensure the TV’s black level is not clipping shadow detail.

Live TV and Streaming

For general TV watching, use the Standard picture mode. This profile balances brightness, contrast, and color for a wide range of content. Raise the backlight to suit your room lighting. On Roku TVs, select a brighter preset if you are watching during the day. On Google TVs, push the Brightness slider to around 70–100, depending on ambient light.

Keep contrast high and adjust color temperature to Normal or Warm if faces appear too cool. Moderate sharpness, around 10 to 20 on a 0–100 scale, helps with cable news or older YouTube content. Use Low or Auto noise reduction if the signal is low-quality. For motion, enable Low smoothing if you want smoother camera pans, or leave it off for a more natural feel.

In HDR or Dolby Vision streaming, use HDR Bright or Dolby Vision Bright modes for daytime viewing. These modes raise midtones to prevent images from appearing too dim in well-lit rooms. For evening or dark-room viewing, switch to HDR Dark or Dolby Vision Dark for a more accurate tone curve.

Sports Viewing

TCL’s Sports mode is tuned for fast motion and bright environments. Activate this mode during live games to boost clarity and motion smoothness. It increases backlight, contrast, and sharpness and often sets the color temperature to Cool.

Set Backlight and Contrast to 100 to maintain visibility in bright rooms. Sports mode typically enables aggressive motion interpolation by default. On Google TVs, set Blur Reduction and Judder Reduction sliders to high values. On Roku TVs, use Action Smoothing = High. This ensures players and fast-moving objects remain visible during pans.

Use a higher color saturation level (around 55–60) to make team jerseys and field colors look more vibrant. Avoid pushing this too far, or faces may look unnatural. Leave Clear Motion or LED Motion off to avoid flickering and loss of brightness.

For HDR sports, use HDR Bright or a bright Sports HDR mode if available. Keep Local Dimming on High to maintain image depth.

Final Thoughts

Each TCL model may have slight differences in menu structure, but the core settings remain consistent. Disable adaptive features, choose a mode based on the content type, and fine-tune color and brightness to suit your environment. Calibrating each HDMI input separately ensures every source looks its best, whether you are watching a film, gaming online, or streaming daytime TV.

Buy TCL QM8K TV Now on Amazon

In related news, we recently broke down how TCL’s inkjet-printed OLED technology works and explored what makes the TCL Z100 soundbar stand out.

In a world of increasingly dazzling TV displays, the terms QLED, Mini LED, and OLED can feel more like buzzwords than buying guides. But the truth is, each technology represents a distinct approach to image quality, with strengths that cater to different viewers, rooms, and price points.

TCL is pushing premium tech into affordable territory, offering some of the best examples of QLED and Mini LED implementation in 2025. OLED, while not yet available in TCL’s consumer lineup, is still worth comparing to understand what you might be trading off. So what are the differences, and which display tech makes the most sense for your next upgrade?

Let’s break it down.

The Basics: How Each Tech Works

QLED is TCL’s most accessible display technology. Short for Quantum Dot LED, it’s fundamentally an LED-backlit LCD TV with a layer of quantum dots that boost color brightness and volume. These dots glow when hit by light, helping TCL’s Q6 and Q7 series produce wider color gamuts and brighter highlights compared to traditional LEDs. But QLED is not self-emissive, meaning black levels and contrast rely on backlight control.

Mini LED takes this concept further by drastically increasing the number of backlight zones, sometimes into the thousands. TCL pioneered this in 2019 and now leads the pack in mass-market Mini LED TVs, especially in the QM7K, QM8K, and flagship X11K series. These sets offer ultra-high brightness (up to 5,000+ nits in some models), better local dimming, and more precise light control across the screen, bringing them closer to OLED-like contrast without the downsides of organic pixel aging.

OLED, meanwhile, is entirely different. Each pixel emits its own light, so it can shut off completely for true blacks and infinite contrast. The downside? Burn-in risk from static content, lower peak brightness (especially in full-screen scenes), and a price premium in larger sizes. TCL is still developing its first consumer OLED TVs, likely for late 2025 or beyond, but for now, you’ll need to turn to brands like LG or Sony if OLED is your target.

Picture Quality Breakdown

Let’s talk about brightness. If you’re planning to watch TV in a bright room or just want your HDR highlights to be eye-searingly intense, TCL’s Mini LED models are unmatched. The QM8K series can hit 2,000 to 2,500 nits, while the X11K boasts up to 6,500 nits. OLEDs, even the newest ones, typically top out around 1,000 to 1,500 nits in highlights. In full-screen brightness, they’re even dimmer. QLED sits in the middle, not as bright as Mini LED, but easily hitting 600 to 1,000 nits on midrange models like the TCL Q7.

Contrast? OLED wins. No blooming. No grayish blacks. Just pure, inky darkness. But TCL’s Mini LED sets come close, especially in real-world use. The thousands of dimming zones in the QM8K and X11K allow for excellent black levels with minimal haloing, even if not technically perfect. Standard QLED sets without Mini LED tech (like the Q6) do fine in bright rooms, but their black levels suffer in dim lighting, especially without local dimming.

Color volume and saturation are also strong suits for both TCL’s QLED and Mini LED lines. Quantum dot layers allow these TVs to hit nearly 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage and retain color saturation at higher brightness levels, something OLEDs can struggle with. But OLED takes the edge in color accuracy, especially in darker scenes, and offers more consistent picture quality from wide viewing angles.

Speaking of angles, OLED is the clear winner if you have a wide couch or side seating. TCL’s QLED and Mini LED sets, which use VA LCD panels, tend to lose contrast and shift colors off-axis. That said, TCL has introduced wide-viewing VA tech in some 2025 models (like the C9K series) to improve this, but it still can’t fully match OLED’s uniformity.

Gaming and Motion Performance

For gamers, both OLED and TCL’s Mini LED models are excellent choices. OLED offers near-instantaneous pixel response times (around 0.1ms), which eliminates ghosting and motion blur entirely. But TCL’s QM8K and Q7 series support up to 144Hz refresh rates, VRR, ALLM, and extremely low input lag (around 6 to 10ms), making them top-tier gaming displays too.

Here’s where LCD-based tech wins: burn-in. OLEDs can degrade when static elements like HUDs or logos are left onscreen for long periods. TCL’s QLED and Mini LED TVs have no such risk. If you’re gaming for hours on end or watching news channels with constant tickers, that’s worth considering.

Durability and Power Use

When it comes to long-term durability, QLED and Mini LED win again. The inorganic LEDs used in TCL’s backlights last for tens of thousands of hours without visible degradation or risk of image retention. OLEDs, while much improved in lifespan, can still experience slow pixel wear, especially the blue subpixels, which can lead to uneven brightness over many years.

Power consumption depends heavily on content. OLEDs are very efficient when showing dark content (since black pixels are off), but they can draw more power in bright scenes. Mini LED TVs use more energy when pumping out their extreme brightness levels, but local dimming helps cut power draw during darker scenes. In mixed usage, the differences tend to even out.

TCL’s 2025 Lineup: What Can You Actually Buy?

If you’re in the market today, OLED isn’t part of TCL’s product catalog yet. What you do get is a robust lineup of QLED and Mini LED models at multiple price points. The Q6 is your affordable, wide-color option, great for casual TV watching. The Q7 steps up with 120Hz panels, local dimming, and better HDR chops.

For a premium viewing experience, the QM7K and QM8K Mini LED models are TCL’s best current offerings. They boast high brightness, deep blacks, and all the modern gaming and HDR features you’d want. The flagship X11K, with 14,000 dimming zones and absurd peak brightness.

Which Should You Choose?

If you want the best cinematic picture in a dark room and don’t mind paying a bit more or buying from another brand, OLED is still king. If you want an excellent all-rounder with insane brightness and no burn-in risk, TCL’s Mini LED TVs (especially the QM8K) are the sweet spot. For budget buyers or bright-room viewers, TCL’s QLED TVs offer solid performance and color for the price.

At the end of the day, it’s not about which display tech is best; it’s about which one fits your room, your budget, and your viewing habits. And that’s where TCL’s diverse lineup gives you more control than ever.

Buy TCL QM8K TV on Amazon

Buy TCL QM7K TV on Amazon

You must also check out our other article, where we explained TCL’s Inkjet-Printed OLED technology in detail.