TCL’s First Paperlike-Display Phones for the US Will Cost Under $229

TCL’s first US-bound Nxtpaper phones — which have displays that the company describes as “paperlike” — will cost under $229 when they arrive later this year. The company announced the prices alongside additional details for its 50 series of phones on Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

TCL’s 50 XL Nxtpaper 5G will be priced under $229 (roughly £180, AU$350), and the smaller 50 XE Nxtpaper 5G will cost under $199. TCL’s phones are often discounted further by wireless carriers, which is likely why the company provided price ranges rather than specific prices. Both phones are timed to arrive in the third quarter of this year.

Both Nxtpaper phones were revealed, alongside the rest of TCL’s 50 series, at CES 2024 in January. The 50 XL Nxtpaper will have a 6.8-inch FHD Plus display, while the XE will have a 6.6-inch HD Plus display. Both phones will include a normal view for general use with Android apps, a low-contrast color paper mode for comics and a black-and-white ink paper mode, which will act more like an e-reader. 

During my colleague Lisa Eadicicco’s brief hands-on, she noticed both phones have a matte finish on the display with virtually no glare. But we’ll have to test that out further when the phones are released.

Watch this: TCL’s New Phone Has a Paperlike Screen

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TCL has also revealed pricing for its phones with more traditional displays, including the $169 TCL 50 XL 5G and the $149 50 XE 5G. The XL model will be available at Metro by T-Mobile in the second quarter of this year, while the XE will arrive in the third quarter. The XL model is one of the cheapest phones we’ve seen so far with a super-smooth 120Hz refresh rate display. The XE will have a 90Hz display.

These phones are joined by the newly announced $99 TCL 50 LE phone. The TCL 50 LE has a 6.6-inch HD Plus display with a 90Hz refresh rate. That cheaper phone will also have a 4,000-mAh battery, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Additional details for it, including its release date, are coming later.

While it wasn’t announced for the US, TCL’s 50 SE phone for 150 euro (roughly $160) also debuted Monday, has a 6.8-inch FHD Plus display, 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage.

TCL’s phone announcements arrive as other companies as Mobile World Congress continues to ramp up. Anouncements so far include Microsoft announcing plans to use artificial intelligence to stop phone scammers and a rollable phone concept from Motorola.