The $249 Tablet that outsmarts My Eyes: Living With the TCL NXTPAPER 11 Plus

Most tablets are billboards for light. The TCL NXTPAPER 11 Plus is a shade tree.

For days, I side-eyed it. Two-forty-nine at Walmart for an 11.5-inch Android tablet with a “paper-like” color display? My daily drivers are a Galaxy Tab S9 and an iPad mini; both are premium, both are fast, both make text razor-sharp. So, I doubted a budget slate could be better for reading. Then I used the NXTPAPER 11 Plus for a week.

It surprised me. Not with raw speed or swagger, but with restraint: matte glass, muted reflections, and a color reader mode that turns evening news binges into something my eyes don’t punish me for later.

Below, what makes it click, where it stumbles, and whether you should trade AMOLED gloss or iPad polish for TCL’s hush-quiet screen.

The Screen: Paper, but in Color

TCL’s NXTPAPER 4.0 stack is the star. I made sure I got the model with 4.0, not the older models.

Think etched glass + tuned backlight + software modes that aim to reduce blue light, tame glare, and cut visual fatigue without dropping you into grayscale purgatory. CES/MWC coverage lists 11.5", 2.2K, up to 120 Hz, ~550 nits peak, plus “Smart Eye Comfort” that adapts to your room.