Thanks to its unique LCD screen technology, the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER instantly transforms into an e-reader. This 2-in-1 product is priced at 249 euros.
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Technical Specifications
This latest smartphone from Chinese manufacturer TCL, better known for its televisions, follows on from the TCL 50 Pro NXTPAPER 5G, which we reviewed at the end of last year. This previous model was notable for its LCD screen capable of switching to a monochrome mode with a visual output very similar to that provided by the e-ink technology used in devices like Amazon’s Kindle.
The TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER brings back this NXTPAPER technology, this time incorporated into an even more affordable smartphone: priced at €249 compared to €350 at launch for the TCL 50 Pro NXTPAPER (which is now available for around €300). As a result, the hardware of the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER is slightly less sophisticated than that of its predecessor.
What features have been scaled down? Are these changes significantly detrimental, or does the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER 5G manage to compete with other aggressively priced entry-level smartphones, such as the recent Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro? Let’s find out.
Design
The TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER has a relatively compact format, similar to other entry-level smartphones launched in recent months. It weighs 190 grams and measures 16.5 x 7.6 x 0.8 cm.
Its design is contemporary, featuring a flat back, edges, and screen. The screen itself has fairly thick bezels, which are not particularly attractive. Additionally, the large off-center camera module tends to make the smartphone slightly unstable when used one-handed on a flat surface.
The back of the smartphone is mostly matte, soft to the touch, and resistant to fingerprint marks. However, the manufacturer has added a more glossy vertical strip that does attract fingerprints, which is a pity.
It’s worth noting that the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER is not waterproof. The manufacturer only highlights an IP54 rating, meaning the smartphone can be used in the rain at most. Considering its price, this isn’t very surprising, even though the Samsung Galaxy A26 (priced at €299 with 128GB of storage) has an IP67 rating, indicating complete resistance to water and dust.
The fingerprint scanner is located on the right edge of the smartphone, integrated into the power button, which is situated below the volume control button. Facial recognition unlocking is also available.
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A unique feature of the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER is a button that activates the Max Ink mode, which turns the “standard” color LCD display into a monochrome display, visually similar to that of an e-reader (discussed below).
Display
With its 6.7-inch screen, slightly smaller than the 6.8-inch screen of the TCL 50 Pro NXTPAPER, the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER offers an above-average display size. However, unlike its competitors, it uses an LCD panel instead of OLED.
Moreover, its resolution is lower than that of the TCL 50 PRO NXTPAPER: 1600 x 720 pixels, compared to 2460 x 1080 pixels. Nonetheless, this reduction in image precision is not particularly detrimental for everyday use (e.g., email, web browsing, social media, videos, photos, etc.).
The unique feature of TCL smartphones labeled NXTPAPER is the LCD technology used: by pressing the NXTPAPER button, the display switches to a monochrome mode, which—thanks to the matte coating of the panel—provides a visual output quite similar to that of an e-reader like Amazon’s Kindle.
If the goal of this technology is to create an environment suitable for prolonged reading without eye strain on a smartphone, it also has the advantage of being very energy-efficient, which enhances potential battery life.
Like its predecessor, the maximum supported refresh rate is 120 Hz (although not essential for this type of smartphone, it does mean that the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER is not falling behind its competitors in this regard). As always, there are three modes to choose from: 60 Hz, 120 Hz, or intelligent refresh rate (variable, depending on the type of application used).
As for display performance, the manufacturer only highlights a maximum brightness of 550 nits (no change from the TCL 50 Pro NXTPAPER).
Upon verification, this level of brightness is indeed what we measured using our probe and the CalMAN Ultimate software by Portrait Displays. The brightness even climbs to 670 nits if the Adaptive Brightness option is activated. This remains limited, at a time when it is common to measure a brightness exceeding 1000 nits.
On the other hand, the contrast ratio of the LCD panel at 1984:1 is excellent. Additionally, color fidelity is almost maintained, as the average Delta E was measured at 3.61 (ideally, it should have been below 3). The color temperature, on the other hand, is 6823 K (with a Cold setting), thus leaning towards blue.
Finally, the color gamut coverage of the screen is not extraordinary. Indeed, it is only capable of reproducing 65% of the DCI-P3 gamut, which is low by current standards (the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro covers the gamut at 97%!).
Software
The TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER runs on Android 15, with—always appreciated—a very small number of bloatware apps.
It’s worth noting that “AI” features, though very trendy, are not really highlighted. And for good reason, they are few in number. For instance, there is an assistant that can help us write various documents, such as an email, from notes we input.
Another function allows for the translation of a text (no problem for English to French), which one might select on a website, for example, to get its summary or to rewrite it (with a more casual, more professional style, etc.).
It is also possible to ask TCL’s AI to provide a written summary of a recorded conversation. But, as can be seen in the screenshots below, this function is not free and requires a subscription after a few free trials (one hour of voice transcription per week).
For photo editing, there is a tool to correct (as much as possible) blurry photos and the now ubiquitous magic eraser.
As we have already indicated, the main novelty of the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER lies in its button that activates the reading mode, called Max Ink.
In this mode, only basic applications (Calls, Messages, and Contacts) are accessible, along with 7 other applications of our choice. Various notifications are disabled so as not to disturb during reading.
Furthermore, one can read e-books through Google Play Books, for example, where new ones can also be purchased.
Another advantage of this mode is the very long battery life it allows: up to 7 days according to the manufacturer.
Two other modes can be activated by pressing the NXTPAPER button. These are the Ink Paper and Color Paper modes. The first displays the traditional Android environment, but in monochrome, while the second provides a color display, but with pastel colors. These two modes are of very limited interest, since the manufacturer does not communicate on a battery life gain related to their use.
Finally, in terms of updates, we are poorly served. TCL offers two years of software support, both for security updates and major Android updates. Close to the new European legislation on software support, which defines a minimum of five years, this is disappointing.
Performance
To ensure acceptable performance, the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER includes the same Mediatek Dimensity 6300 processor as its big brother, with 8GB of memory. However, storage capacity has been reduced, as it is now only 256GB (compared to 512GB for the TCL 50 Pro NXTPAPER). Fortunately, it is still possible to use a microSD card if needed.
Unsurprisingly, this Mediatek chip provides very limited performance, especially compared to some recent competitors, like the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro (which includes the Dimensity 7300 Pro chip). Nevertheless, the smartphone still offers satisfactory responsiveness when it comes to navigating Android options, editing photos, or using most applications.
Only sophisticated games will struggle. For example, while Fortnite works, one must settle for a maximum of 30 frames per second. This is sufficient for occasional relaxation, but the responsiveness is not extraordinary, which is not ideal for gaining an advantage over other players in online confrontations.
Photography
To capture memories, the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER offers the bare minimum. Indeed, there are only two rear lenses (the macro lens and its 2-megapixel sensor from the TCL 50 Pro NXTPAPER have disappeared), plus the one integrated into the screen for taking selfies. The three are associated with sensors whose definitions are lower than those of the sensors of the TCL 50 Pro NXTPAPER.
We are therefore left with a very basic configuration:
– Wide-angle lens with a 50-megapixel sensor (26 mm, f/1.8).
– Ultra wide-angle with a 5-megapixel sensor.
– 8-megapixel selfie sensor.
The quality of photos taken with the wide-angle sensor is decent, at best. Indeed, even when lighting conditions are ideal (in full sunlight), the sharpness of images is not extraordinary, and certain elements clearly lack precision.
At night, the results are clearly not up to par, in the absence of a specific mode for very limited lighting conditions. Indeed, the traditional Night mode is absent from the photo interface. However, when the lighting is a bit less limited, indoors for example, some images turn out to be satisfactory.
The photo module interface only offers two levels of digital zoom: 2x and 4x. And it is not possible to go beyond that. This may seem limited! However, it is rather reasonable, because if other entry-level smartphones often offer a maximum digital zoom of 10x, we know very well that beyond 5x the results are most often disappointing.
In this case, if we limit ourselves to the 2x digital zoom, we generally manage to capture images of fairly good quality. Not stunning, but decent.
But, if we push the magnification factor to 4x, the quality of the photos taken degrades. The loss of precision is quite noticeable, even if it is especially visible on a large screen and a bit less on a smartphone.
At night, let’s avoid the subject. Let’s just say it’s best to stick to taking zoomed photos during the day.
The ultra wide-angle sensor, for its part, has a definition that is far too low to deliver satisfactory images when viewed on a large screen. Indeed, on most of the photos we took, large areas appear blurry. However, like photos taken with digital zoom, the images manage to be convincing on a small screen.
Despite the absence of a dedicated lens for this shooting mode, it is possible to take very close-up shots in macro mode using the main sensor, and even to obtain quite beautiful shots. For enthusiasts of the genre.
Finally, the selfies captured by the front lens benefit from variable precision, depending on the ambient lighting conditions. Once again, the relatively low definition of the sensor does not allow for great precision.
Network and Communication
The TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER is able to handle two 5G nano SIM cards. However, it is possible to use only one and use the second slot to install a microSD card.
For the rest, the smartphone is quite classic, with support for Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and NFC technologies.
Battery Life
Good point, the smartphone’s 5200 mAh battery is slightly larger than that of the TCL 50 Pro NXTPAPER (5010 mAh).
Thus equipped, the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER is also better off than some recent smartphones, sold a bit more expensively, like the Samsung Galaxy A26 or the Nothing Phone (3a). Indeed, the battery of these latter has only a capacity of 5000 mAh.
And this has an impact on the autonomy of the smartphone, when it is not used in e-reader mode.
Thus, using the integrated PC Mark battery test, with a display brightness of 250 nits and an Automatic refresh rate (default), the smartphone operated for just over 13 hours.
This result is quite satisfactory, as it is average. It turns out to be higher than what we had obtained with the TCL 50 Pro NXTPAPER (a little more than 11 hours).
If we force the display frequency to 60 Hz, we gain an additional half hour (13 hours and 35 minutes). This is once again a respectable result, even if it remains lower than that obtained with the recent Honor 400 Lite (15 hours and 42 minutes), sold—let’s remember—at €299 (with a 5230 mAh battery).
Furthermore, the streaming video autonomy of the TCL 60 SE NEXTPAPER (250 nits, 60 Hz) is about 18 hours (looping playback of a 2-hour movie over Wi-Fi drained the battery by 33%). Once again, this result proves to be correct, as it is slightly below average.
For wired charging, it is useless to use a charger with a power higher than 18 W, because that is the maximum supported by the smartphone. This is therefore not fast at all. Even the Galaxy A26 that Samsung unveiled a few months ago is faster (25 W). That’s saying something!
Thus, using a Sony 30 W adapter, the battery was recharged to 18% after fifteen minutes. Then, its level reached 38% after half an hour of charging, 56% in 45 minutes, and 72% in an hour. It took an hour and a half for the battery to regain only 93% of its initial charge.
Audio
The two speakers of the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER do not show great efficiency. Indeed, they deliver a nasal sound, with a glaring lack of bass. It’s better to use a headset or earphones to enjoy quality sound.
Especially since the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER is equipped with a headphone jack, always handy if you don’t own a Bluetooth headset.
Price and Release Date
Announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, at the beginning of last May, the TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER should finally be available in stores by the end of July.
A single model, equipped with 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage space, will be offered at a price of €249.
It should be available in two colors: Space Grey (model tested) or Mint Green (pale green).
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Maya Singh is a senior editor covering tablets and hybrid devices. Her work explores how these tools reshape digital productivity and learning. She also contributes to feature editorials on emerging tech.