CES 2023: I tried TCL's NXTPAPER Pro 12 tablet

TCL had a big year at CES 2023. They had their names on the back of your CES 2023 passes. They introduced us to the RayNeo X2, a pair of augmented reality smart glasses. They showed us their 40 Series smartphones, including TCL 40 R 5G, TCL 40 SE, and TCL 408. And they unveiled the new upgraded NXTPAPER technology in their TCL NXTPAPER 12 Pro tablet.

I tried TCL's NXTPAPER laptop and phone at CES 2023 and my god it is smooth. It looks and feels like a combination of an e-reader and an iPad, in that it has some pretty exceptional brightness, lacks glare, and filters blue light all without losing its ability to, well, be a tablet. And, y'all, this tablet feels so, so soft.

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NXTPAPER isn't entirely new technology to the TV giant's lineup; it originally launched a few years back. But TCL says the new version, the NXTPAPER Pro 12, "provides 100% more brightness than the previous iteration of NXTPAPER to maintain sharp visuals and further filter out harmful blue light to care for user’s eyes."

It also has an 8,000 mAh battery and the ability to reverse charge other devices — a pretty neat feature for another who has a consistently dying phone. To be clear, though, other than its paper-like screen, I didn't think there was anything overwhelmingly spectacular about this device. It's just your basic, mid-level android tablet.

"As consumers spend more time in front of screens, technology that supports eyecare has become hugely important," Stefan Streit, the CMO for TCL Communication said in a press release. "We utilize consumer feedback to innovate our eyecare solutions. That’s why TCL is bringing NXTPAPER to even more devices, so more people can experience incredible visuals without compromising their eye health."

The NXTPAPER Pro 12 has a 12.2-inch display, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and runs, unsurprisingly, on Android 12. It's available to purchase for $499 or $599 for the 5G version.