This strange new tablet wants to feel like paper without being E Ink

Oh look, another digital notebook entering the E Ink boxing ring — but wait, TCL’s new productivity tablet isn’t actually E Ink at all. The TCL Note A1 may look and act like traditional E Ink tablets like the Kindle Scribe and reMarkable, but it uses a completely different display technology that might be the key to setting it apart from the usual heavyweight champions.

Digital notebooks typically push a few key elements: a matte screen, smooth handwriting capabilities, and a minimalist interface that masquerades as “paper.” The Note A1 checks those boxes with TCL’s own Nxtpaper display tech while tacking on a full LCD, which opens up a world of color without the drawbacks E Ink suffers from.

It feels like the Note A1 is trying to embody the aesthetic of digital notebooks while jumping a few rungs above the most popular ones on the market. TCL is trying to say that, yes, it’s similar, but Nxtpaper does it better — effectively taking a direct shot at other premium note-taking tablets that rely on E Ink tech.

A note-taking productivity tablet

With sneaky AI advantages

TCL’s Note A1 is set to release in North America, Europe, and Asian-Pacific region on Kickstarter, strangely enough. Early investors can get it for a discounted $419, but its regular price will be $549. It’s set to launch by the end of February.

AI fatigue is real, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the practicality of AI in E Ink tablets before. My Kindle Scribe Colorsoft’s AI functionality packs a punch and has come in handy way more than I’d like to admit — especially when I’ve misplaced a bright idea somewhere in the margins of my grocery list notebook. But if a company is going to put AI on a minimalist tablet, it must follow the minimalist rules.

Since the Note A1 is primarily attacking the productivity space rather than the typical label of ‘e-reader.’ It’s obviously going to come stacked with AI features. Here are just a few on the docket:

• Note summarization
• Handwriting-to-text
• Meeting transcription
• Smart searching across notes
• Rewrite
• Help me write

It will also formally integrate with Microsoft Edge’s AI Browser. But wait, isn’t this tablet supposed to be paper-like and minimalist? Browsing sounds like a traditional tablet activity. Yes, and that’s why it’s somewhat strange. It appears to function more like an iPad or Android tablet, but with the quintessential paper-like matte screen of an e-reader or E Ink device — that’s thanks to TCL’s Nxtpaper.

What is Nxtpaper?

Paper-like without E Ink tech

Credit: TCL

If you thought E Ink was the only digital competition for paper, you were wrong. TCL created Nxtpaper to mimic the experience of reading on real paper and create a matte display that’s easy on the eyes. However, it’s a fully backlit LCD screen that reduces glare and filters out blue light. The tech supposedly doesn’t reduce any color vibrancy, which throws some major side-eye to E Ink’s infamously washed-out colors, even with a limited palette.

Nxtpaper also boasts a higher refresh rate and no ghosting, or the ‘residues’ of past writing that stay on E Ink screens for a few moments after you erase or move text — something that makes my eye twitch on my rather expensive Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. TCL effectively wants you to forget you’re looking at a screen at all.

Who the tablet is for

How Android changes everything

Credit: TCL

You’ll be able to download apps, enable cloud syncing, and access productivity suites you use on other devices with the Note A1. More functionality does mean more distraction potential, and it does dilute the minimalist intentions that usually come with a ‘paper-like’ tablet. Real paper doesn’t let you check your Gmail inbox.

Running Android opens up all sorts of productive doors, which eliminates the “single-use” selling point. If you’re looking for a distraction-free digital notebook, TCL’s Note A1 won’t be for you. But with a healthy AI infrastructure built right in, it looks especially appealing for users who are students, meeting-heavy professionals, or even journalists (I’m already wondering how it could outperform my Scribe).

If you regularly use AI like ChatGPT, Gemini, or other third-party software and constantly find yourself jumping between tools, having it condensed into your digital notebook could be a pretty stellar time-saver. But if you’re more of a notebook purist (or someone who rolls their eyes every time their tech stack announces yet another integrated AI tool), I’d bet it will feel noisy almost immediately.

TCL’s Note A1 initially looked like a tablet caught between minimalist note-taker and productivity mastermind. But with a paper-like display and an Android operating system, it appears to be a fully-functional tablet trying to trick your eyes into thinking it’s paper.

Brand

TCL

Storage

8 GB RAM, 256 GB internal storage

CPU

MTK G100

Operating System

Android

TCL’s Nxtpaper tablet combines a paper-like display with a productivity hub.