This new smartphone lasts a week on a single charge!

Remember how back in the day phones lasted for days and days on a single charge? I do, and I miss those days with every new smartphone I have to long-term test.

Well, now it seems that one company has cracked the code and offers a smartphone that can last up to a week on a single charge. And it has nothing to do with new battery tech.

The TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro

Some of you might be familiar with TCL from the company's TV portfolio, and the nerds among our readers probably know about the NXTPAPER line of mobile devices TCL offers. They were mostly tablets, but now we have a new phone on the table.

The TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro is the latest device to feature the company's NXTPAPER technology and comes with a super affordable price tag — just $200. And even better — you can grab the phone in the US through T-Mobile and Metro.

The specs are far from flagship-like, but the phone still packs some decent hardware. It has 8GB of RAM and a 5,200mAh battery. It also has a 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 32MP front-facing camera.

What's NXTPAPER screen technology?

TCL NXTPAPER is a specialized display technology designed to reduce eye strain by mimicking the texture and matte appearance of paper. It uses a filter to reduce glare and flicker and nano-matrix lithography to mimic the feel of paper.

The 6.9-inch FHD+ NXTPAPER display inside the TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro retains the color and responsiveness of LCD/OLED panels (it's an LCD under all the paper-y tech) and also offers a 120Hz refresh rate.

A blast from the past

There's one almost forgotten technology that has found its place inside the TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro. The phone has a microSD card slot! And it supports cards with up to 2TB of storage.

That's effectively more than the best Galaxy S26 Ultra, if we take into account the base storage of the TLC phone itself.

As an added piece of mind feature, the phone has an IP68 rating, so water is not an issue with this smartphone.

Something's missing?

It's great and all, but you may ask - "What's the processor inside? What's the beating heart of this phone, and is it good?" Well, this information is missing from the official specs sheet.

I did a little digging and found out that inside the TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro you'll find (not that I advise tearing down the phone) a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset.

It's not the fastest out there, but it gets the job done. It's an 8-core, now almost two-year-old chip that's marketed as ultra-efficient.

The cherry on top

This chip along with the NXTPAPER screen has allowed TCL to boast a battery life of up to seven days on a single charge for the 70 Pro. That's longevity, alright!

If you need an affordable phone that can last you a week and don't mind the rather modest specs, this one fits the bill.

Of course, you can also use it as a backup phone for the times you don't really need a flagship or you travel away from the wall outlet.

The NXTPAPER displays are great on your eyes and also tailored for reading, so you can leave your Kindle at home too.

There's not much to add, it's an interesting technology I had the chance to experience several times at MWC in Barcelona and IFA Berlin. Very e-ink-like feeling, and yes, the colors are not as vivid as on an OLED screen, but absolutely adequate.

Would you buy such a phone? Share your thoughts and vote in our poll.

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