TCL introduced the NxtPaper brand several years ago and since then the technology has continued to improve – and to become more central to the TCL experience. Today, the company debuts the first NxtPaper smartphone featuring an AMOLED display instead of an LCD like previous iterations. The company is launching three closely related phones today – let’s have a closer look.
TCL P80 Ultra
As you can tell by the name, the TCL P80 Ultra is the “no effort spared” flagship of the series. And we have to start with its display as it is its best and most unique feature.
This is a 6.83” AMOLED display with NxtPaper technology, the first of its kind. It aims to deliver paper-like comfort and to maintain the paper-like look in any ambient light conditions. It achieves this in several ways.
The TCL P80 Ultra debuts the first NxtPaper display based on an AMOLED panel
Typical OLEDs use linear polarization filters – however, TCL says that circular polarization is more natural and even though you can’t see the difference, you do feel it. There is one way to see it, actually – some phones have problems with polarized glasses, but not the P80 Ultra thanks to its circular polarization.
You are probably familiar with display sub-pixel arrangements. Displays usually rely on these sub-pixels being small enough that you can’t see them individually – they kind of blur together. However, TCL added a homogenizing film to the display, which mixes the Red, Green and Blue colors to achieve white light. Additionally, the company has brought the amount of blue light down to just 2.9% without affecting image quality. TCL says its Nano Crystal Shield Glass is the best anti-glare solution on the market.
The many eye-comfort features of the NxtPaper technology
As for the display itself, it’s a 6.83” AMOLED panel with 1.5K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It is perfectly calibrated and has 100% DCI-P3 coverage. The AMOLED panel is brighter than the LCDs used in previous NxtPaper phones and can reach a peak of 3,200 nits.
The TCL P80 Ultra is powered by the Dimensity 7400 Elite. The chipset is paired with 8GB of RAM (LPDDR5) and 256GB or 512GB of storage (UFS 3.1). The phone runs on a 5,800mAh battery that supports 45W wired charging.
The TCL P80 Ultra runs on a Dimensity 7400 Elite chipset and a 5,800mAh battery
The Ultra has the best cameras of the P80 series. This includes a 50MP main camera (with OIS), a 50MP 3x periscope (0.64µm pixels, f/2.4 lens with OIS) and an 8MP ultra-wide. The selfie camera has a 32MP sensor.
The TCL P80 Ultra has a 50MP 3x periscope camera
All NxtPaper phones have a NxtPaper slider on the side – it can be used to activate your preferred e-reader mode, including the Max Ink mode. This mode does three things. First, it applies digital detox – it kills most notifications (except for calls and texts) and puts background apps to sleep. Second, without background apps, battery life is extended for up to 7 days of immersive reading. And third, it offers easy access to the e-reader app – TCL has pre-loaded the phone with over 500 books to get you started.
All NxtPaper phones have this slider
As with any 2026 phone, there are a host of AI features. All the usual suspects are here (see below), but the most thematic one is AI-enhanced Reading. This can turn a regular e-book into an audio book that you can listen to – it can even turn the books into more of a podcast than an audio book.
The TCL P80 Ultra is loaded with AI features
The TCL P80 Ultra comes in three colors: Sunlit Gold, Burgundy and Midnight Blue. The phone has an aluminum frame and its body is rated IP68 for dust and water resistance, plus it passed MIL-STD-810H shock tests.
TCL P80 Ultra color options
For pricing and launch details, see below. Note that the Ultra is eligible for 4 OS upgrades and 7 years of security patches.
TCL P80 Ultra highlights
TCL P80 Pro
The TCL P80 Pro is roughly the same phone, except that it only has dual cameras. This includes a 50MP 1/1.56” main (with OIS) and the 8MP ultra-wide, but not the 3x periscope.
TCL P80 Pro highlights
The rest is the same – crucially, the 6.83” NxtPaper AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and 3,200 nits brightness is exactly the same as the Ultra’s. And so is the Dimensity 7400 Elite with 8GB of RAM and 256GB/512GB storage. The same goes for the 5,800mAh battery with 45W charging too.
TCL P80
TCL wanted to bring the high-quality AMOLED panel to the widest audience possible, so it designed a cheaper version of the P80 Pro – the TCL P80 is the same phone except without the NxtPaper technology.
TCL P80 highlights
This means you get the same 6.83” panel with 1.5K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It’s a bright display with 3,200 nits peak brightness and it has 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space.
Note that the base storage on this model is 128GB and the maximum configuration is 256GB. Unlike the Ultra, the P80 and P80 Pro are getting only 3 OS updates and the same 7 years of security patches.
Pricing & availability
TCL is launching the P80 trio today. The TCL P80 Ultra starts at €550 for the base 8/256GB model, while the Pro model (without the periscope camera) is over €100 cheaper while offering the same display quality. Finally, the vanilla P80 is cheaper still, though that is partially due to the lower base storage (doubling the storage to 256GB costs only €30, though).
TCL P80 series prices
