Move over Amazon, new colour 'paper' tablet could be Kindle Colorsoft killer

Now here's an interesting new development: TCL, a brand synonymous with screen technology, has just revealed a new tablet in the Note A1 Nxtpaper.

What's particularly interesting about this product, however, is that it's the first tablet from the company to feature the new 'Nxtpaper Pure' display technology.

Not only is this able to deliver in full colour, it's also finished in an anti-glare, anti-fingerprint, anti-reflection surface that's more akin to paper than a typical display.

It's this which makes the Note A1 Nxtpaper a would-be Kindle Colorsoft killer, because Amazon's e-reader uses an E Ink Kaleido display technology that can only deliver colours into the thousands – whereas Nxtpaper Pure has a 16.7 million colour palette to play with.

Note: TCL does not use any kind of E Ink display technology in the Note A1. The company's Nxtpaper line has long been able to mimic a similar kind of black-and-white delivery – visually similar to Amazon's base Kindle product, but with a different feel – by dumbing down the screen's output (i.e. brightness, colours, refresh rate).

As the Note A1 also features a new stylus, designed to look like a fountain pen – complete with dual tips, to ape both pen and pencil – you could say this is TCL's product that's out to get the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.

Of course, Amazon's Kindle line is very distinct. It runs on Android with its own software overlay, meaning Kindle Store can't dig into the full expanse of Google Play Store. Although for e-books, as many agree, this is no bad thing – it's what the Kindle is principally designed for.

The TCL Note A1 Nxtpaper also runs on Google's Android system, again with its own software overlay, designed to add additional stylus interaction features and a suite of AI tools – think the usual context-aware storage area, live translation, and suchlike.

The Note A1 is therefore trying to be all things: tablet, e-reader, sketch pad, personal organiser, laptop replacement. But for some people this multifaceted approach will be ideal.

TCL will be showing off the Note A1 Nxtpaper at CES 2026 – the largest dedicated technology show in the world – where it'll be clear to see just how much of a Kindle Colorsoft threat (and more) this latest tablet solution could be.