To test battery life, we stream a long YouTube video with the screen at maximum brightness over Wi-Fi and record how long the tablet lasts. The TCL Tab 10 managed to run for 10 hours and 22 minutes, a result that impressively beats the Lenovo Tab P11 Plus (7 hours and 58 minutes), the Nuu Tab 10 (7 hours and 5 minutes), and the standard iPad (5 hours and 18 minutes). An 18W charger is in the box, which is relatively fast for a device in this price range. It took about 3 hours and 20 minutes to fully charge the slate's 8,000mAh battery, which is in line with the charger's 18W rating. In PC Mode, the TCL Nxtpaper multitasks quite well. I was able to play games while also streaming shows. (Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar) TCL Nxtpaper 10s: performance Curiously, TCL claims that most digital pens should work with the tablet, but we tried four different options (albeit all proprietary models for other brands) and none worked. Instead, I was sent a standard TCL pen to try writing and doodling on the device, which worked fine, although it didn’t quite feel like writing on paper as TCL claims it ought to be. I tested this in both the included notes app and a free drawing app, and had the same experience between them.

One noticeable annoyance in its design is its rear camera bump which doesn’t allow the tablet to lie flat on a table. If you want the TCL Nxtpaper 10s to not wobble when on a desk – while using it to write or draw, for example – you’re going to need to invest in a case. I sat on a video call for over 3 hours after the device was at 96% charge while also switching between other apps, including watching YouTube videos and scrolling through Facebook. By the time I finished up that call, the battery had reduced down to 46%. This was with the brightness turned completely up but Bluetooth turned off. This gives an estimate of 6 hours of battery life while watching videos on the device. Comparatively, the Apple iPad (2021) gives roughly 10 hours of battery life between charges when being actively used, but it does have a larger capacity battery. The USB-C port is located around the side of the TCL Nxtpaper 10s, between two speakers and near the power button. The volume controls are located on the top long edge while its connection for the keyboard can be found on the bottom long edge. (Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar) TCL Nxtpaper 10s: battery Ultimately, the TCL Tab 10 5G feels good as a daily driver. Everything we used it for ran smoothly, and with 5G connectivity, you have a tablet that’s always connected and ready to use wherever you go. The Tab 10 5G uses a Dragontrail glass screen and has an IP5X rating. We can't say for sure how Dragontrail glass compares with Gorilla Glass, but the IP rating means the tablet resists dust ingress to a serious degree, though it isn't at all waterproof.The TCL Nxtpaper is a nice-looking device; in fact, my review sample was a lovely pastel green chassis and it was easy to fall in love with the design. There’s nothing standout here from other tablets – except for the obvious matte look to the screen – but all its buttons and ports are neatly laid out. To evaluate gaming performance, we ran GFXBench's Aztec Ruins test at the device's native resolution and 1440p offscreen. It achieved 9.5 and 5.7 frames per seconds (fps) on those benchmarks. Those numbers might not seem impressive, but they exceed the Nuu Tab 10's results of 2.5 and 1.4fps. Anecdotally, the TCL tablet didn't heat up much when we ran these intense benchmarks, which is always a good sign. The headline feature here, as we’ve mentioned before, is the 10-layer display designed to promote eye health. This results in a matte screen that, while it looks nice, reduces sharpness, with everything on screen appearing slightly fuzzy. It’s not a huge issue, but is noticeable when you’re used to your smartphone’s sharper screen or another tablet. The layers also impact the image quality of the front camera, so you’ll appear slightly distorted while on a video call. While watching shows such as The Last of Us, this display impacts the details on the screen, especially during darker sequences. So if you’re looking for a tablet to stream videos on, you might need to look elsewhere. While its focus on eye care is admirable, it does feel like TCL is limiting the reach of this tablet to just students, and anyone else looking for an affordable option might be disappointed by picture quality.

Comparing apples with apples, the TCL Nxtpaper 10s is directly comparable to the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 – both run Android 11 out of the box but the latter can be upgraded to Android 13, while the TCL can only go to Android 12; they both come with 64GB of upgradable storage, although the Galaxy Tab A8 supports up a 1TB microSD expandable storage while the Nxtpaper 10s only supports up to 256GB; and both have the same camera specs. While that might not seem like a very long time, when used for school work or study, you’re going to get a minimum of 6 hours out of it, which will cover most of a standard day. I found with minimum use of the device after fully charging, its battery barely dropped below 90% after a day. Despite having dual speakers, the volume on the tablet isn’t too loud, and I found the experience of listening to music and watching videos better with wireless headphones connected.The tablet's 10.1-inch, 16:10 display has a resolution of 1,920 by 1,200 pixels. It looks brighter and more colorful than we expected and easily outclasses that of the Nuu Tab 10 (10.1 inches, 1,920 by 1,200 pixels). We even think it looks comparable with the entry-level Apple iPad (10.2 inches, 2,160 by 1,620 pixels). There isn't support for high-end display features like Dolby Vision, but the Tab 10 5G is still perfectly fine for watching movies and shows. While TCL in the UK is clearly marketing the Nxtpaper 10s as a writing device, the Australian branch of the company is keen to highlight its PC mode. Either way, the device works admirably although the writing experience isn’t the best.

The tablet vastly exceeded our expectations on performance benchmarks. Starting with the PCMark Work 3.0 test, which simulates everyday tasks like web browsing and video editing, it scored 9,312 where the Nuu Tab 10 managed only 3,864. That's a huge gap in performance for activities common on affordable tablets. It's common for more affordable Android devices to include fewer upgrades than their pricier peers, however, and Android 12 is at least a step up from the Nuu Tab 10's outdated Android 11 software. That said, if you value consistent software upgrades, Apple's iPad lineup is a much better bet. The TCL Nxtpaper 10s carries an 8,000mAh battery, larger than the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 and smaller than the 2021 version of the Apple iPad. In the UK, the TCL Nxtpaper 10s comes with a stylus rather than a typecase. Its matte screen is meant to mimic paper, but with a general stylus it didn’t feel different to other tablets. (Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)The overall look of the home screen is clean, as you’d expect from any Android device. However, out of the box, you’ll find around 18GB of storage is already taken up by the OS and pre-installed apps. That means about a third of the device’s storage is already gone – 5GB of which is just the apps, and they’re hard to find unless you have a dig through the storage details. You need good lighting to get decent photos and videos from the rear camera. If something important happens and this is the only camera available, it captures passable images, but your phone's camera is likely to be the better bet. You do get 1080p video capture at 30fps, however, which is a decent perk. Photos taken in indoor light look muddy and washed out To complement the eye-care goal, there’s also the option to warm the display with an Eye Comfort mode. This filters out even more blue light, causing the display to slightly yellow while still keeping most of its color profile. While not unique to the TCL Nxtpaper 10s – several devices from laptops to phones offer a similar setting – it’s still a welcome inclusion, especially for students who might find themselves working on assignments well into the evening before bed. The tablet measures 9.5 by 6.2 by 0.3 inches (HWD) and weighs 17.3 ounces, which is typical for its 10-inch screen size. The Nuu Tab 10 (10.3 by 6.0 by 0.4 inches, 18.2 ounces) is just slightly larger and heavier, for reference. Offering a 10.1-inch display, the TCL Nxtpaper 10s is only marginally smaller than the 10.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 and the 10.2-inch 2021 Apple iPad.