A $100 discount before you’ve even added it to the cart is a pretty solid opener. TCL has launched the Tab A1 Plus NXTPAPER in the US, and with a back-to-school sale knocking it down to $299.99, it’s punching well above its weight class.
So what makes NXTPAPER worth caring about? It’s a layer that sits on top of a standard LCD panel and mimics the low-glare, easy-on-the-eyes look of an e-ink display. It’s not a gimmick either. TCL has been refining this tech across multiple generations, and it genuinely reduces eye strain in a way that regular tablet screens don’t. The Tab A1 Plus NXTPAPER has a 12.2-inch, 2400×1600, 120Hz screen and a physical NXTPAPER Key button that lets you flip between Standard, Ink Paper, and Color Paper modes. That kind of hardware shortcut is a small thing that makes daily use much smoother.
The rest of the specs are decent for the price:
- 8MP front and rear cameras
- Four-speaker audio setup
- Android 16 out of the box
- VersaView support, so specific apps can stay in normal display mode while the rest runs in paper mode
Both TCL’s site and Amazon are selling it at $299.99, and both are throwing in a T-Pen 2 stylus and a flip case for free. That’s real added value, not filler. The only catch is there’s just one color option: Aerolite Grey. But at this price, with that display tech, this is one of the more interesting tablet options in the midrange right now.