TCL 60 XE NXTpaper 5G review
The TCL 60 XE NXTpaper suits students, office workers, and voracious readers who spend their phone time in apps, emails, and documents and value battery life and eye comfort over cameras and gaming. Anyone who needs a general-purpose phone that can handle gaming, video, or serious photography should pass.
This review is written with AI assistance from TCL’s published specifications and public benchmark data for the TCL 60 XE NXTpaper 5G, and the rating is spec-based. GoSolo does not physically test devices; where we estimate real-world behaviour such as battery life or charge time, we say so. How we rate phones.
Overview
The TCL 60 XE NXTpaper blends e-ink clarity with color, a 120Hz display, and two-day battery life in a phone aimed squarely at readers, students, and office workers who skip gaming and cameras. At $170, it is the rare affordable device that openly trades gaming grunt for eye comfort and endurance.
Design & Build
At 199.5 grams and 8.2mm thick, the TCL feels light and trim for a 6.78-inch device, a welcome contrast to the slab-like bulk of phones chasing ever-larger screens. The frame is clearly built for durability rather than showiness, which suits the intended audience of readers and students more than it would a fashion-conscious buyer. Nano-SIM plus eSIM support and a dedicated microSD slot round out the practical side of the design. The Space Blue finish is subdued, fitting for a device that does not scream premium but works quietly every day.
Display
The headline here is NXTPaper, TCL's e-ink hybrid technology that layers color and touch responsiveness over an electrophoretic foundation. In practice, this means the screen hits 120Hz and supports videos and apps the way a normal LCD does, but renders reading and long-form text with the flicker-free, low-blue-light character of an e-reader. For a student plowing through PDFs or someone who reads articles and books for hours, this is a genuine comfort upgrade over standard IPS LCD. The 1080 by 2460 resolution at 396 ppi is crisp enough for text and browsing. The trade-off is color saturation and brightness peak are lower than flagship OLEDs or high-refresh LCDs, which matters if you also watch a lot of video or gaming—but that is not this phone's ambition.
Performance
The Dimensity 6100+ is a mainstream midrange chip from 2024 that handles messaging, email, browsing, and light productivity smoothly. Everyday apps open without noticeable lag, and the 6GB or 8GB of RAM keeps multitasking stable. It stumbles when you veer toward 3D gaming, heavy video editing, or sustained CPU-intensive work. This is not a platform for people who game seriously or edit 4K footage on the move. For its intended crowd—office workers, students taking notes, readers—the performance envelope is sufficient and the lower clock speed than flagship chips means less battery drain. The Mali-G57 GPU is nothing to celebrate, but since this phone does not court gamers, its limitations are beside the point.
Software
Android 15 arrives out of the box, putting the TCL on parity with flagship launches in early 2025. TCL's skin is light, leaving most of Google's stock experience intact. The e-ink hybrid display plays nicely with reading apps, e-book readers, and PDF viewers, which suggests TCL has tuned the software to the device's strengths. Updates and support longevity are not spelled out in the spec sheet, a common omission for budget phones that makes it hard to predict how long Android will remain current.
Camera
A 50MP main sensor with PDAF and a 5MP ultrawide comprise the rear; the 32MP selfie is serviceable for video calls. HDR and a LED flash round out the bag. By 2025 standards for a $170 phone, this is ordinary—acceptable in daylight, adequate for social media, but without the dynamic range or low-light finesse of phones at double the price. You can take pictures; they won't embarrass you. But if photography matters to you, look elsewhere. Gyro-EIS steadies video to 1080p, which is fine for clips but a far cry from the stabilization flagship users expect.
Battery & Charging
The 5010mAh cell is large and, crucially, paired with the low-power e-ink display, which drains the battery far slower than a standard LCD. Real-world endurance is about 1.5 to 2 days for light use, and even heavier readers can stretch to a full day-plus without reaching for the charger. This is one of the rare modern phones that can truly rest a day without power anxiety. The charging spec sheet is blank—a red flag that suggests either modestly slow charging or TCL's reluctance to advertise an unflattering figure. Assume it is no faster than 18W and you won't be surprised.
Value & Verdict
At $170, the TCL 60 XE NXTpaper is cheap, but its value hinges entirely on what you actually do with a phone. If you read articles, PDFs, e-books, and documents for hours a day and hate eye strain, the e-ink hybrid display is the whole point and worth the trade-off against gaming, video, and camera prowess. If you are a student taking notes and studying from online materials, this phone is far more useful than a standard LCD phone at the same price because the battery lasts and the screen is kinder to the eyes during long study sessions. If you use your phone for photography, gaming, or streaming, buy something else. The Dimensity 6100+ is adequate for work and messaging but will frustrate anyone with heavier demands. This is a specialist device that excels in its narrow lane; it does not pretend to be everything to everyone, and that honesty is refreshing.
Verdict
The TCL 60 XE NXTpaper suits students, office workers, and voracious readers who spend their phone time in apps, emails, and documents and value battery life and eye comfort over cameras and gaming. Anyone who needs a general-purpose phone that can handle gaming, video, or serious photography should pass.
- E-ink hybrid display with color and 120Hz refresh—less strain on the eyes than LCD over hours of reading and document work
- 5010mAh battery plus low-power e-ink tech yields roughly 1.5 to 2 days of real use for light readers, not the usual 18-hour phone-reviewer sprint
- Expandable storage via microSD slot and 5G support at an entry price
- Lightweight at 199.5g and thin at 8.2mm for an e-reader alternative
- Camera is functional but ordinary—50MP main and 5MP ultrawide on a 2025 budget phone does not compete with rivals even at this price
- Dimensity 6100+ handles routine tasks fine but falters at gaming and video editing; expect stutters in heavy apps
- No charging specs listed—the mysterious silence around a mid-range phone's charging speed suggests it may lag rivals' 30W or faster
TCL 60 XE NXTpaper 5G Key Specifications
The essentials at a glance. See the full spec sheet.
| Released | 2025, March 03 |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.78 inches, 109.2 cm2 (~86.3% screen-to-body ratio), IPS LCD, 120Hz |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2460 pixels (~396 ppi density) |
| Chipset | Mediatek Dimensity 6100+ (6 nm) |
| RAM & storage | 128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM |
| Main camera | 50 MP, (wide), PDAF 5 MP, (ultrawide) Auxiliary lens |
| Selfie camera | 32 MP, (wide) |
| Battery | 5010 mAh |
| Software | Android 15 |
| Dimensions | 167.6 x 75.5 x 8.2 mm (6.60 x 2.97 x 0.32 in) |
| Weight | 199.5 g (7.02 oz) |
| Network | GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G |
| NFC | Yes |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG |
TCL 60 XE NXTpaper 5G FAQ
Common questions, answered from the spec sheet.
Does the 60 XE NXTpaper 5G support 5G?
Yes. The 60 XE NXTpaper 5G supports 5G networks.
What chipset does the 60 XE NXTpaper 5G use?
The 60 XE NXTpaper 5G runs on the Mediatek Dimensity 6100+ (6 nm).
What display does the 60 XE NXTpaper 5G have?
A 6.78 inches, 109.2 cm2 (~86.3% screen-to-body ratio) IPS LCD, 120Hz, 1080 x 2460 pixels (~396 ppi density).
How big is the 60 XE NXTpaper 5G battery?
The 60 XE NXTpaper 5G has a 5010 mAh battery.
Does the 60 XE NXTpaper 5G have NFC?
Yes, the 60 XE NXTpaper 5G has NFC.
Does the 60 XE NXTpaper 5G support a microSD card?
Yes, the 60 XE NXTpaper 5G supports expandable storage (microSDXC (dedicated slot)).
Alternatives to consider
If the 60 XE NXTpaper 5G isn’t quite right, these are the closest calls.
60 SE NXTpaper 5G
60 XE NxtPaper
60 NxtPaper 4G
60 5G
Galaxy M17e
