I wish every tablet had the same matte display as TCL Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G

Ben Schoon | Oct 11 2024 - 12:30 pm PT

One of the best trends in mobile devices lately is a push for anti-reflective displays, and no one does that better than TCL. Lately, I’ve been able to try out the TCL Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G, and the biggest standout to me has been the display, which I just want on every tablet from now on.

“At a glance” is 9to5Google’s mini-review format where we offer quick insights on a product that our team has spent time using, just in a bite-size article that focuses on our favorite parts or the most important things to know.

The TCL Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G is, by many accounts, a relatively unremarkable Android tablet. It’s a bit underpowered, on the affordable end of the spectrum, and doesn’t have much in terms of an accessory ecosystem. But at its mere $240 price, there is still a lot to love here.

For me, that was primarily the display.

The 10.4-inch, 2000×1200 LCD display isn’t especially impressive on its own. LCD is inherently not as nice to use as OLED, but colors were nice and the panel was bright enough for travel, as I mainly used the tablet for movies and reading while traveling. The viewing angles left plenty of room for improvement, but the kicker was the matte finish.

TCL’s matte finish on its glass displays is just out of this world compared to what you’ll find anywhere else, both in terms of look and feel. The matte texture just absorbs all of the reflections you might see in an airport or anywhere else that relies on overhead lighting. It makes for a delightful way to watch movies, as there are no distractions, and no messing around with the angle to find the right way to watch without having lights in your way.

This was only made better by TCL’s NXTPAPER modes, which can turn the display into color or monochrome experiences similar to what you’d get with e-ink. This works really well for cutting out distractions when you’re trying to read content, and is also easier on your eyes. Compared to a typical tablet, I generally felt less fatigued using this tablet versus others.

The 10.4-inch size is also a big highlight, as the last time I tried with this matte finish was a 14-inch behemoth that just made me want a smaller model.

I really do wish that basically every tablet had some version of this matte display. It takes away the pain of putting on a screen protector, especially as matte glass screen protectors seem to just be disappearing, while also providing a wonder out of box experience.

The TCL Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G itself is a good enough showcase for this display, but I do wish I could see it on something a bit more powerful. The underpowered MediaTek chip and 6GB of RAM left a lot to be desired in terms of performance, which is acceptable but a bit slow at times, especially for games.

The other standout for me in my time with the Tab 10 was its 5G connection. I’m usually partial to just throwing up a hotspot from my phone, but the Tab 10’s dedicated connection made it super easy to start streaming a movie or access a website without fiddling with my phone. It’s a nice bonus, though I do really wish TCL would sell this tablet as a Wi-Fi only model.

What do you think of matte and antireflective displays? Do you want to see more of them? Let us know in the comments below.