TCL P80 Ultra is like having an e-Reader display and an AMOLED screen all on one phone

Published Sep 3, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT Andy is a seasoned technology journalist with more than 15 years experience in the mobile industry, writing for Digital Trends, Wired, and more. Andy has reviewed hundreds of smartphones and tablets, dozens of smartwatches, and a host of smart rings, smart glasses, and fitness trackers, giving him a unique ability to assess and evaluate the latest products. His daily mobile tech life includes Android and iOS devices, smart rings, and a smartwatch, unless it's a special occasion, when a traditional watch takes its place on his wrist. Andy always has a strong opinion on the state of the mobile industry, and writes in-depth analysis features to put the latest news and products into context. He has attended multiple CES, MWC, and IFA tradeshows, has a passion for photography and cars, listens to far too much K-pop, and follows F1. You can find Andy's portfolio of work on his Authory page. TCL has a pair of very interesting smartphones launching at IFA 2026. The P80 Pro and P80 Ultra feature its new Nxtpaper AMOLED screens, so you get the beauty of an AMOLED and the eye-friendly benefits of the e-Reader-like Nxtpaper screen, all on a single handheld device. What is Nxtpaper? Until you’ve seen a Nxtpaper device in person, it’s hard to grasp just how impressive it is. TCL has been perfecting the technology for a while, releasing previous versions of the screen on both tablets and phones. This new version uses AMOLED for the first time. You can switch between a ‘normal’ AMOLED screen with all its vivid colors and fast response, and Nxtpaper, which is a paper-like display that uses hardware and software to eliminate glare, reduce blue light, and lower eye fatigue. It’s clever too. It can automatically adjust brightness and color temperature based on your environment, there are different modes to ensure the screen works best for what you’re doing, and when you use the full Max Ink mode, the battery will last a lot longer than usual. TCL’s display expertise makes Nxtpaper work seamlessly, and it is much like having both a normal screen and an e-reader-style screen on a single device, with very little friction when changing between them. Introducing the TCL P80 Ultra Credit: TCL The TCL P80 Ultra is the top new phone from the company. It has a 6.83-inch Nxtpaper AMOLED screen on the front with a 2772 x 1280 pixel resolution, and a 120Hz refresh rate. Peak brightness will hit 3,200 nits. Switching between the screen modes is easy with a physical toggle on the side of the phone. Inside is a MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Elite processor, the frame is made from aluminum, and the phone has an IP68 dust and water resistance, plus a MIL-STD-810H toughness certification. It’s a triple camera on the back, featuring a 50-megapixel main camera, an 8MP wide-angle camera, and a 50MP telephoto camera for a 3x optical zoom. A 5,800mAh battery provides the energy and is recharged at 45W, and in Max Ink Mode it’ll potentially last for 26 days on a single charge, or seven days of reading. The TCL P80 Ultra will come in an 8GB/256GB or 8GB/512GB configuration, in Midnight Blue or Sunlit Gold colors, and cost £480 or around $650, in the UK. TCL states a European release will come first for the TCL P80 series, and the intention is for a US release to come later, but it’s unlikely to happen before 2027. What about the TCL P80 and P80 Pro? Credit: TCL TCL also has the TCL P80 Pro, which features the same 6.83-inch Nxtpaper AMOLED screen, Nxtpaper Key, and multiple viewing modes as the Ultra. It also has the same MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Elite processor and 5,800mAh battery with 45W charging. However, the camera misses out on the 50MP telephoto, leaving just the 50MP main and 8MP wide-angle camera. There’s also a TCL P80 model, but its 6.83-inch AMOLED screen does not come with Nxtpaper screen technology, making it a fairly normal mid-range smartphone. It has a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Elite processor, a 5,000mAh battery, and the same camera setup as the P80 Pro. All three phones run Android 16 and TCL promises three OS updates and seven years of security updates. The TCL P80 Pro costs £430/$580 and the P80 costs £400/$540. The same release schedule as the P80 Ultra applies. Look out for all three phones in the UK on Amazon in September.