This is why your phone doesn't have a matte display

10 December 2023
We take a look at the TCL 40 NxtPaper 5G with its matte LCD.

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  • f
  • fertolero
  • gxe
  • 18 Jan 2024

i have one the 4g variant and you missed out saying that it really protects the eyes agaisnt blue light and its the only smartphone to have the certification from an independent entity ... tvu rheinland certified low blue light and tvurheinland certified reflection free. now, before doing reviews go check the facts...

    • S
    • Spike
    • b1E
    • 29 Dec 2023

    So TCL is experimenting with a very low and cheap screen for Matt!? How about try: 4K, 1500 nits at least , other smart AI processing light etc and then we can talk!?

    The problem with increasing brightness to combat glare on glossy acreens is it's killing batteries. It's fine once for instance Samsung & Aplle stop using same batteries and slow charging. It's becomingstupod at this point. I don't even use Social Media and can't have 2 full days on my S23U less than half brightness. Either increase the battery to survive 2 full days or way faster charging.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • qNG
      • 18 Dec 2023

      You reviewed an off-brand phone with unknown screen tech and concluded all matte screens are bad. Come on.

        IpsDisplay, 10 Dec 2023"we don't really see ourselves recommending a pho... moreI agree completely. The article felt unnecessarily harsh & hopeless for the future.
        With sufficient research, we might just end up with a better product.

        Without experiments, we can never conclude a tech to be bad. Maybe a glass dimpled in a specific pattern might give us the best of all worlds, who can say without testing?

        And even in its present state, this TCL phone might help someone whose use case corresponds heavily.

          I'd like to add: You can always use a matte Glass Guard, and in my experience, it works ok. And its way safer to have a glass guard instead of a display itself, if I don't like, I remove it.

          However, the one I have on, is only a scrambler at best:- it softens/spreads the reflections, not eliminate it completely. I think further research in this area could bring great results.. TCL's bad result doesn't mean the concept is bad.

          Let me know what you guys think..

            Sadiq Usman, 12 Dec 2023Don't mind getting this as a secondary phone. Though ... moreunfortunately it won't have amoled..

              Don't mind getting this as a secondary phone.
              Though I'd prefer the 4g variant of this phone.
              Would really like to know how it'll be if it had an amoled display and a higher brightness level 🤔

                Anonymous, 11 Dec 2023they should have continued with real e-ink display... i th... morethe problem is they have to deal with something like patent holders for e ink technology.. so it slew down the progression.

                  Yota with the YotaPhone line had the best system for making a phone kindle-like. AMOLED display on the front, E-ink display on the back.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 6Aq
                    • 12 Dec 2023

                    I hope a company tries making a phone with a better matte display. Gotta wonder how many of the flaws could be improved upon by matching the matte glass with a higher resolution and oled display, or maybe using better quality matte glass.

                      IpsDisplay, 10 Dec 2023"we don't really see ourselves recommending a pho... moreThe strengths are: handles certain lighting better than a glossy panel, resists fingerprints, ever so slightly less slippery and feels "softer". Think of how the glossy glass back of a phone feels compared to one with a matte finish. It's pretty much the same. None of the display panel specs are compromised except of a small hit to the sharpness. But you'd have to be pixel peeping to notice. Brightness, contrast, refresh rate, battery life will be the exact same (if you add only the matte finish)

                        Ottonis, 11 Dec 2023"As long as it still uses LCD or OLED, which requires ... moreFastest refresh rate e-ink display I think is 15hz? LTT made a video about it. It had lots of problems especially when dealing with lots of movement

                          The only valid argument against matte displays is sharpness. Brightness and colors have nothing to do with the fact that it has a matte finish and represent problems because of the panel itself and the additional layers tcl added. I have a matte screen protector. It doesn't make your phone any less bright or vibrant than any other normal screen protector. As for the sharpness, it isn't as noticeable as you might think (at least in my opinion)

                            Leanzazzy, 11 Dec 2023I almost thought this was a shameless copy of MKBHD's ... moreBut MKBHD's video on this smartphone is so bad maybe his worst video period

                            His format/premise is comparing to normal smartphone screens why didn't he have a regular e-ink device like a kindle etc etc to compare to??

                            This device is geared to that niche.. poor video man

                            Id rather go with a YouTuber like goodereader for a more comprehensive take on this display

                              So these matte coatings how does it work I know nothing about them will they peel off after time or is that not possible?

                                I've used Matte vinyl protectors from Skinomi for many of my phones. Love the look & feel of it on a regular screen.

                                The only reason I don't keep using them, is I prefer the better armor of a glass protector.

                                  kurotsuki, 11 Dec 2023As long as it still uses LCD or OLED, which requires electr... more"As long as it still uses LCD or OLED, which requires electrical current to retain a pixel state, it won't be as good as a real e-ink regarding power usage."

                                  I get that but I assume that sticking with e-ink technology would vastly get in the way of most use cases of smartphones: what is the maximum refresh rate of e-ink, is it still around 1/sec, aka 1 Hz?
                                  Nowadays, smartphone screens are already deemed unacceptable if the have "only" 60Hz and no HRR options (90, 120 etc Hz).

                                  For a mere book-reading device e-ink is actually excellent, but for videos, gaming or surfing the internet, it won't cut it.

                                  Except there are some disruptive new developments in the e-ink department that I haven't cought up yet.

                                    The only con is this display is kinda dim while your outside during day time as stated by Marques.

                                      I guess that they wanted to mimick the reading experience of written text on paper. And despite having less maximum contrast and being less bright than conventional modern displays I wonder if there is a scenario in which this matte display may actually be better for just reading plain text (of course not in bright sunshine but at home, in the evening etc).

                                        • I
                                        • Inve
                                        • S3c
                                        • 11 Dec 2023

                                        Title correction: This is why the author personally doesn't like matte displays.

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