REVIEW – I’ve used a baker’s dozen or more tablets over the years (Android, ChromeOS, and iOS), everything from early touchscreens that were resistive (ugh) to the latest and greatest Apple iPad Pro. The cheaper Android tablets have almost all had issues for me ranging from minor to unusable, but the TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G Tablet caught my attention by getting rave early impressions from various technology creators and outlets I follow. I was eager to try out the e-ink-like LCD screen and 5G connectivity, so let’s get to it!
What is it?
The TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G Tablet is a 10.4 inch Android tablet with a unique “NXTPAPER” LCD screen. In the United States it’s being distributed by Verizon with 5G connectivity. It has respectable-but-not-flagship specs under the hood, as well as decent expandable storage space and enough RAM for most people. The main feature that stands out from most other tablets on the market is the “NXTPAPER” screen with its textured coating designed to deliver the experience of e-readers (both greyscale as well as color e-ink) without the slow refresh rate and ghosting artifacts with traditional e-ink readers.
What’s included?
- TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G Tablet
- AC Charger (18W)
- USB-C cable
- SIM Tool
- Manual/safety info
Tech specs
Click to expand
- Processor: MediaTek 24E (Octa core 2*A76 2.2GHz 6*A55 2.0GHz (Octa core, up to 2.2GHz))
- Dimensions: 9.69 x 6.14 x 0.31 in (246.1 x 155.86 x 7.8 mm)
- Weight: 480g (16.93oz)
- Operating System: Android 14
- ROM/RAM: 128 GB / 6 GB
- SD Card: Up to 2 TB
- Screen: 10.4″, 2000 x 1200 px, 600 nits, 90 Hz refresh rate
- Network bands supported: GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz, UMTS: B1/2/4/5/8, 4G LTE Bands: B2/4/5/13/66/48, 4G LTE Roaming Bands: B1/3/7/12/17/20/28, 5G: n2/5/48/66/77(HPUE)
- WiFi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac(2.4GHz & 5GHz on 802.11n)
- Bluetooth: 5.3
- NFC: no
- USB data/charging: USB-C
- SIM Type: Nano SIM 4FF
- Battery size: 6000 mAh
- Charging: 18 W USB
- Rear camera: 8 MP with AutoFocus
- Front Camera: 8 MP Fixed Focus
- Speakers: Stereo (2 speakers)
- Supported formats: AAC LC, HE-AACv1 (AAC+), HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+), AAC ELD, (enhanced low delay AAC), AMR-NB, AMR-WB, FLAC, MP3, MIDI, Vorbis, PCM/WAVE
- Headphone jack: no
Design and features
The front of the TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G Tablet (at least when turned off), looks like most other tablets. The corners are rounded and the bezels are fairly slim while leaving enough space for your fingers to hold onto. The selfie camera is at the top center in landscape mode (which is what I think most people prefer these days).
The body of the tablet is plastic, but it’s one of the nicest plastic-bodied mobile devices I’ve touched. There’s little to no flex, and the body has a nice texture so you don’t get that cheap glossy plastic feel at all.
Both sides of the tablet have speaker cutouts. They seem positioned well to avoid hands blocking the sound with most comfortable holding positions.
The main 8 Megapixel camera is nothing to write home about, but it’s up to the task of taking pictures of documents or the occasional photo. Next to the camera on the side is the power button.
Up top we have the volume rocker. The selfie camera facing front is also decent for what people would use it for, but it’s not spectacular. Both cameras only shoot 1080P video at 30 frames per second.
The back of the tablet is a dark blue color, and is flat and clean aside from the TCL logo and the camera (and a small QR sticker).
Assembly, Installation, Setup
Setting up the TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G Tablet is similar to most other Android tablets I’ve used, I didn’t notice anything in addition to the usual setup (besides maybe a Verizon terms and agreement page, by the time I wrote down my notes after setup I’m not certain there was one). The nano SIM card tray pops out with the included SIM tool, and also has an empty spot for a micro-SD card. This card can be used to store files and media, but I couldn’t see any way to get it to simply expand the devices usable storage. It’s great for books, music, and movies though!
Performance
The performance of the TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G Tablet mostly exceeded my expectations for a tablet at this price point. It could play any game I threw at it (though on lower settings for some):
Screenshots below show benchmark results and screenshots of the device after initial setup:
One of the selling features of the TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G Tablet is the textured screen, with TCL claiming better outdoor visibility as a result. My experience was mixed, in bright sunlight it was harder to read than a mid-range Lenovo Android tablet (above, TCL left).
However, in partly sunny conditions you can see that the TCL screen coating does a good job of diffusing spotty reflections and thus making everything much easier to see.
The NXTPAPER display can also be set to three modes: regular, color paper, and ink paper. Above is the regular mode.
The color paper mode looks very much like a color e-ink device like the BOOX Tab Ultra C Pro color ePaper tablet I recently reviewed. You get less vivid colors overall which should reduce eyestrain for long reading sessions – though I didn’t notice any real difference with any of the modes and my eyes (including the blue-light-reducing night modes that can also be applied). My eyes are always a bit irritated, and any screen hurts them after a while regardless of any technology I’ve tried so far.
The “ink paper” mode turns the screen into a black and white view where full white backgrounds are a bit grey. The result is uncannily like your classic black and white e-reader devices like Kindles or Nooks, but with snappy page turns and no e-ink artifacts.
I tested out the 5G connectivity in a variety of places, and got between 200 and 640 Mbps depending on the area and if the building I was in interfered with the signal. Watching video was a delight on 5G. In fact, the 5G modem on the TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G Tablet may be the best I’ve used, I haven’t seen 5G numbers this high on any of the other many mobile devices I’ve tested.
What I like about the TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G Tablet
- Good performance for a decent price
- Unique paper-like screen
- 5G connectivity is excellent
What needs to be improved?
- Only available through Verizon in the United States at time of writing, I’d like to see an unlocked version as well with compatibility for other carriers
- Battery life was good but not great, 4-10 hours depending on how much strain you put on it
Final thoughts
The TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G Tablet seems like it targets a pretty specific niche: people who need a 5G capable tablet and want to use it as an e-reader device with the added bonus of being able to do other tablet things like games and videos. At 10.4 inches, even with a keyboard it’s a bit small for doing productivity work, but it is very portable and makes for an excellent books and comic books consumption device. If you’re on the go a lot and are looking for something capable of doing these things without WiFi, the TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G might be just the thing for you!
Price: $239.99
Where to buy: TCL
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by TCL. TCL did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
