As tipped by ChannelNews Chinese TV and appliance brand TCL has reentered the smartphone market with two new models and a tablet, the big difference is their NXTPAPER technology which sets the brand apart from other Android competitors.

The new range includes the P80 Ultra ($999), P80 Pro ($799) and three NXTPAPER tablets that are available at multiple retailers from today.

The tablets are the Note A1 at $1,299, TAB A1 Plus at $599 and TAB A1 at $449.

The P80 is the first time TCL has put NXTPAPER on an OLED panel, earlier models used LCD.

Under new mobile management TCL is rebuilding its local phone business under ex-Motorola executive Kurt Bonnici, who is credited with making Motorola Australia’s number two Android brand, now he is punting on TCL’s leadership in display technology to deliver growth over his rivals.

I have been using the $999 P80 Ultra and it’s an impressive mobile with their display technology the best display I have ever seen on a mobile phone especially when it comes to reading and viewing content.

As for Specs and the Ultra vs the Pro both models share a 6.83-inch 120Hz screen peaking at 3,200 nits with 100% DCI-P3 coverage, MediaTek’s 4nm Dimensity 7400 Elite, 8GB RAM, and a 5,800mAh battery with 45W charging.

The Pro has a 50MP main camera with a 1/1.56-inch sensor and OIS, an 8MP ultra-wide and 256GB of storage.

The Ultra adds a 50MP 3x periscope telephoto and 512GB.

It’s being advertised as having “up to 24GB” includes virtual memory, not extra physical RAM.

Owners get four OS upgrades and seven years of security patches on both the Ultra and Pro.

The screen uses circular polarisation, so it works with polarised sunglasses, and a dedicated NXTPAPER Key switches to e-reader mode.

TCL claims Max Ink Mode stretches the battery to 26 days on standby or seven days of reading with the model I have been using ahead of a review having excellent battery life.

The use of NXTPAPER technology appears to be a clever move that gives TCL a genuine point of difference instead of chasing megapixels.

My early experience with the Pro model is that it’s an excellent sub $1,000 compelling phone and e-reader hybrid with an excellent glare-free screen.

It’s expensive if the display option is taken out of the equation with average performance and a complex software management system that left me struggling to manage pages and media publications.

What is needed is a bar at the bottom or top for return actions.

The matte AMOLED display is a revolution and the battery life is much improved, over previous TCL devices.

Despite the display this device is not quite flagship and will struggle up against flagship premium models from Motorola, Oppo and Samsung.

In Europe the Ultra is €549, the Pro €429 and the base P80 €349.

At A$999 and A$799, Australian pricing sits noticeably higher than a straight conversion.

Before I do a full review I want to get similar competitors models in the $1,000 category in my hand to compare performance because if this display was on a Samsung S26 Ultra this would be an outstanding device.