News ‘Max Ink Mode’ makes TCL’s screens even inkier

[News]

Regular smartphone by day, e-reader by night. | Image: TCL

Look, I haven’t picked up the TCL 60 XE, but I can already tell you the name of its best feature: Max Ink Mode. The 60 XE is the latest of TCL’s phones to use its Nxtpaper display technology, aimed to go easy on the eyes with reduced glare and an E Ink-like monochrome mode.

The phone has a full-color 6.8-inch display by default, but if you flip a slider on the side of the device, you enter Max Ink Mode. In addition to being a kind of e-reader mode, it can also silence notifications so you can get a little peace and quiet while you do some reading. How lovely! TCL introduced this “Nxtpaper key” on some phones last year, but they never made it to the US. It’s our turn now, because the 60 XE is a North American exclusive.

Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge
Ink Mode to the max!

The TCL 60 XE also features a 50-megapixel rear camera and a 32-megapixel selfie camera and comes with a healthy 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. It’ll start at $199, going on sale first in Canada in May 2025, with US availability later in the year.

TCL has a couple of other non-TV things to show off at CES 2025: a Nxtpaper 11 Plus tablet with the company’s next-gen Nxtpaper 4.0 technology, which is supposed to offer better clarity and sharpness. The Nxtpaper 11 Plus emphasizes eye comfort with viewing modes designed to ease strain, offering an 11.5-inch 2.2K display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The company isn’t announcing its pricing or availability yet.

Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge
The projector concept has a rotating handle to prop itself up.

There’s also a new projector — the Playcube, which uses a “modular concept integrating aesthetics and functionality,” according to a press release. No price or availability on that one, either.