TCL just refreshed its budget tablet, the Tab A1 Plus, and the new version brings two upgrades worth noting. The name gives away the first one: this is the Tab A1 Plus NXTPAPER, meaning it now uses TCL’s own paper-like display technology, the kind that makes an LCD screen mimic the look of e-ink. The second upgrade is a much bigger battery.
What’s new on TCL Tab A1 Plus NXTPAPER budget tablet
The screen itself hasn’t changed. You still get a 12.2-inch IPS display with 2,400 x 1600 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and 500 nits of brightness. What TCL added on top is the NXTPAPER tech, and it comes with a dedicated button that lets you switch between color ink mode, grayscale ink mode, and the standard display mode.
The battery got a real bump too, going from 8,000mAh up to 10,000mAh. Charging speed improved along with it, jumping from 20W to 33W on the wired connection. The front camera moved up from 5MP to 8MP, though the rear camera stays the same at 8MP.
You may also like: Oppo Pad Mini: The Best Android Mini Tablet
Everything else stays the same as the original Tab A1 Plus. You’re looking at a Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chipset paired with 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and you can push that storage up to 2TB with a microSD card.
The build is a metal unibody with IP54 splash and dust resistance, so it can handle a bit of moisture without trouble. It also supports a stylus, has quad speakers built in, and connects over Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0.
TCL Tab A1 Plus NXTPAPER Price and Availability
The Tab A1 Plus NXTPAPER carries a $399 price tag, but TCL has an early bird discount running right now that drops it to $299 for a limited time. You can grab it in a single color option, aerolite gray, through TCL’s website or on Amazon.
You may also like: OnePlus Pad Go 2 review: Better than all mid-range tablets
This tablet fits into a bigger pattern for TCL, which has been working NXTPAPER tech into more of its lineup. It’s not the only budget option with this display, either. The TCL Tab 8 NXTPAPER 5G launched late last year at $199, and it still holds the title of the cheapest tablet with TCL’s e-ink-like screen.
