Everybody who makes ereaders seems to figure that what readers really want is a method for doodling on their written work. TCL’s new Note A1 NxtPaper is just the latest to sport the peripheral, as well as (as the name suggests) a NxtPaper display that should make non-scribbled reading even easier.

Of course, you could also opt for Kindle’s Scribe or Kobo’s stylus-supporting range for similar features, but TCL’s recent performance on the TV front has us eying the Chinese company’s take on a reading tablet. It’s easy to see why it’s interesting.

Reading the NxtPaper

The Note A1 really is more of a reading tablet than a dedicated ereader. The 11.5in NxtPaper display supports colour (up to 16.7 million of them), and the whole thing is designed as a note-taker first. A split-screen mode allows for side-by-side information transfer (a little like copying someone else’s homework before class starts), while support for cloud services ensures that you’ll retain those notes on all your other devices.

The hardware looks pretty slick, too. The Note A1 measures just 5.5mm and weighs 500 grams, with “aerospace grade” aluminium making up much of the build. There’s what appears to be a camera sensor on the rear, though TCL is strangely quiet about what it is and what it does. Other tablet-like features, like a combination lock screen and fingerprint scanner, are also present.

Expect the obligatory range of AI features — real-time translation, auto-summarisation, and even a feature that’ll make your sketchy handwriting look prettier, if that’s your thing. But it won’t be cheap, starting at R7,100 or so when TCL takes its Note A1 NxtPaper to Kickstarter. The company will likely use the platform as a pre-order portal, so it’ll probably release regardless of funding status. So there’s that.