I’ve spent the better part of the last two weeks using an otherwise exceptional mid-range Android phone with an amazing feature: a matte OLED display. This screen is by far the best thing about the TCL P80 Ultra, and oddly enough, it made me even more excited about the iPhone Duo and its matte interior screen.
The 2023 TCL Nxtpaper 40 introduced matte screens to the company’s phones for the first time, following their appearance on tablets in 2021. Nxtpaper is more than just a matte finish on a panel: it also includes a paper-like feel and low-power monochrome modes that create a reasonable facsimile of an E Ink screen. But the matte effect has always been the biggest draw for me.
The P80 Ultra screen is special because it is the first to combine Nxtpaper technology with an OLED panel. That means it’s the best-looking Nxtpaper display yet, with deeper blacks, better contrast and richer colors. Previous models seemed a bit visually compromised; this one doesn’t. It also finally allows a permanent display. Always-on screens have been the standard on Android for years, and the fact that TCL’s Nxtpaper phones didn’t have them was a problem for many.
I’ve used a few Nxtpaper phones over the past few years, but I’ve generally found that the compromises – both in specs and the screen itself – never really made sense. In some ways, this is still true for the P80 Ultra, which I can’t entirely recommend as a phone in its own right. Performance was slow and choppy, and while the triple rear camera has pretty decent specs on paper, photo quality is distinctly average.
The difference now is that the display appears to be upside down. As an OLED, it’s bright and beautiful, with enough color and contrast to suit both scrolling and streaming. But the matte finish makes it easy on the eyes, even on high brightness or in a dimly lit room, with less flicker and blue light than most other displays. The anti-glare effect of Nxtpaper makes it a great phone to use in brighter environments. It looked great under the bright lights of TCL’s IFA show booth, which is no small feat. And the viewing angles are really excellent, with good visibility even when the phone is almost entirely sideways. Without affecting the texture, which is smooth and satiny, the finger therefore sticks a little less when sliding. It’s a small thing, but welcome.
Since this is an Nxtpaper phone, it goes a little further. A dedicated toggle on the side of the phone triggers one of the two most important screen overhauls. Paper mode erases the color from the screen – or can go entirely monochrome if you prefer – to make it even easier on your eyes, with the ability to exclude individual apps so they work as usual. Streaming apps and games are exempt by default. Max Ink mode is more radical: it’s strictly monochrome and removes access to most apps and OS features, giving you a power-efficient mode with minimal distractions, turning the P80 Ultra into something between an e-reader and a dumb phone.
Although most other phones limit themselves to aftermarket matte screen protectors to achieve the same effect, TCL isn’t the only manufacturer making hardware with a matte display. Huawei has made a series of tablets with what it calls PaperMatte panels, and Lenovo and Xiaomi offer similar displays on some models. Matte screens enhance the painterly effect of Samsung’s Frame TVs (and imitations from competitors, including TCL). And then, of course, there’s Apple’s nano-textured glass.
Apple has offered this coating as an option on iPad Pro models since 2024, selling it on the basis that its paper-like qualities are beneficial to anyone using the iPad Pro as a drawing device. It now appears for the first time on a phone in the iPhone Duo, with Apple relying on the anti-glare effect to minimize the visibility of the foldable panel crease.
I haven’t had the chance to try the Duo yet, but using the P80 Ultra made me want it even more. Pairing a matte effect with the Duo’s large interior screen looks awesome, and it’s one of the few elements of the Duo that no Android foldable can currently match. My only hesitation is that Apple hasn’t made the exterior panel matte either – an odd choice given how much emphasis it places on seamless switching between the two screens – so I fear the transition will be jarring. Given the book-style format, Apple will also be missing a trick if it doesn’t create its own e-reader-inspired mode for the Duo to match TCL’s, although the existing grayscale mode could be a decent imitation.
Perhaps what’s most exciting about an iPhone adopting a matte panel is that within a year we’ll likely see Android brands imitating it, something TCL hasn’t been able to inspire. We’ve already seen the Duo’s chunky form factor appear on handsets from Samsung, Xiaomi and Huawei, with Motorola also teasing its own. The Duo’s matte layer has yet to spark its own imitators, but I suspect it’s only a matter of time, especially if it helps hide foldable creases. Not all phones need to be matte, but I wish more of them gave me that option. I hope Apple’s influence in the industry will grant me my wish.
Gn tech
