First-look review of TCL Note A1 NXTPAPER

I had the chance to scribble a few words on the TCL Note A1 NXTPAPER at MWC Barcelona 2026, so it made sense to write a few words about it too. Launched at CES, it includes an 11.1in panel.

TCL also announced a sister model, the TCL TAB A1 Plus at MWC, which has a 12.2in colour screen, shown below, but that does not have NXTPAPER technology.

The TCL Note A1 NXTPAPER is aimed at the Kindle Scribe, Remarkable Pro and the various other note-taking tablets you’ll find on Amazon. TCL’s big advantage: that you reap all the benefits of an e-paper style screen when writing and reading, but it can switch to a rich, full-colour panel when you want to watch a film (for example).

First scribbles, first impressions

In terms of hardware, the TCL TAB A1 Plus NXTPAPER makes a great first impression. It’s solidly built, light and the thick left border on the left makes it easy to use one-handed. And yes, the panel looks great in both mono and full-colour modes.

It’s built on Android but you won’t see the usual interface. Instead this is a pared-back affair designed for note-taking, with access to folders alongside organisational and writing tools on the left-hand side. You can download a Kindle app, and Libby, but the selection is very limited.

Instead, this is geared towards taking notes. To that end you get a large stylus bundled as part of the deal, along with a smart folio case. This includes space for the stylus, which also attaches magnetically to the side.

TCL will also be selling a keyboard case, which is exactly as you’d expect. Not great amounts of key travel, but it’s light and (let’s hope) inexpensive.

My only real disappointment here is that you don’t have a roughened surface for the stylus to rub against, so when writing it feels like you’re doing so on a normal tablet screen. There is also a tiny amount of latency, so you can’t just scribble away as you do normally.

The good news is that the handwriting recognition works well… so long as your handwriting is half-decent.

TCL Note A1 NXTPAPER price and availability

We don’t yet have a confirmed released date, but you can back the project now on Kickstarter for HK$ 3,782 (about €411).