TCL’s Nextpaper AMOLED screen is so good I want it on every new phone

TCL Nxtpaper AMOLED anti-glare — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

OLED is already the gold standard for smartphone displays. The brightness, color accuracy and power efficiency over LCD has meant it's rare to find any new phone with something other than OLED. And AMOLED (made by Samsung Display) is basically as good as it gets.

However, AMOLED isn't always easy on the eyes, which is why TCL is combining it with its paper-like display tech to develop a screen that's not only bright and colorful, but doesn't put a strain on your when reading. TCL put this new tech on display at MWC 2026 with the new Nxtpaper AMOLED.

TCL Nxtpaper AMOLED — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Apart from the boost in brightness, the biggest improvement is the display's anti-glare properties. Anti-reflective displays are becoming more common on tech today, such as the nano-texture screens on the Apple MacBook Pro or iPad Pro.

By contrast, TCL's screen tech tries to match natural light via "circular polarization." This severely reduces glare by effectively rotating the light as it passes through the layers of a display, meaning it can't just shine back out and spoil what the screen's actually trying to show you.

TCL Nxtpaper AMOLED screen — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Blue light emission is also something that TCL's been working on. That dastardly part of the spectrum that can cause sleep disruption or even damage to your eyes is a problem smartphone makers have been trying to address for years. TCL claims that Nxtpaper AMOLED can reduce over 97% of blue light emitted by a regular display.

A pillar of Nxtpaper's appeal is its benefits when reading, and just like the existing version, the AMOLED edition can be switched into full greyscale mode. But grey isn't always purely grey, because TCL gives this display adjustable warmth and brightness depending on the time of day and surrounding light conditions. Apparently things can go as dim as 1 nit according to TCL's figures, hopefully avoiding headaches when reading in the dark.

Despite all of these tweaks to the AMOLED formula, TCL promises these displays are still color accurate with full P3 color gamut coverage (read: all the color you'd expect a premium display to offer). The company's also promising the smooth 120Hz refresh rate you'd expect from a new smartphone display, and a peak brightness of 3,200 nits. Considering how easy it was to read these displays while under full-on expo hall lighting, I see no reason to doubt these figures,.

Although the Nxtpaper 70 Pro is on its way to store shelves right now, Nxtpaper AMOLED remains a concept. But it's a concept you can literally see works, and I hope we do see this on actual products in the near future. Or at least at next MWC.

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Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.

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