Just wanted to provide some info for folks interested in the 11 plus for a writing tablet.
I've had this for about a month now and love the screen. It's way easier on my eyes than my M3 iPad Air, and the Nxtpaper screen options are fun (if not gimmicky). Its use for me is purely as a note-taking and reading device. It's my android version of a mashup between a Kindle Scribe and Remarkable Paper Pro (with major differences, obviously). That being said, it's been working great. I use Noteshelf 3, O launcher, Google Drive, Kindle, and Webtoons. This combo has made this a totally budget-friendly-option writing and reading tablet.
My biggest concern was finding replacement nibs as I tried several 'compatible' USI 2 pens from Amazon but none worked consistently. I did find a post on reddit that the TCL pens are rebranded Ugee UT2 and UT3 (311A) pens. Well, after going to the Ugee website I successfully ordered replacement nibs... and they work!
A couple of things to note:
- This is nothing like writing on paper (like a Remarkable or Kindle Scribe), however, I find the pen accurate and smooth. I've adapted and my handwriting looks fine (as messy as it is).
- There will be the tap of the stylus on the glass screen
- Battery life is good but not compared to e-ink tablets. I will easily get a full day to 1.5 days of use on a single charge. I think this is mostly because my screen brightness is nearly always below 10%. Actually more like 3-5%, but I can see the screen perfectly fine. It's that good.
- It's android, so there's that. It probably won't get any security updates.
- TCL really didn't add much bloat. I removed nearly everything I possibly could (TCL AI Tools, multiple google apps, and everything I'll never use). Goal was to make this a focused, writing-only tablet with access to google drive for loading PDFs, etc.
- I ordered the version with the folio and pen. The tablet itself is not magnetic, so if you don't get the folio, the pen won't magnetically attach anywhere.
- You have to manually activate the pen by hitting the button before it will write. But there's no delay in connection.
- I have read on Reddit that there are angle-issues with the pen so maybe not great for drawing. For me, writing in portrait mode, it's been fine.
- Pen has lasted for a least a week at a time on a charge. I've had to charge it twice over a 5 week-ish period. Unfortunately, there's no way to check battery life through the tablet. The pen will flash red (instead of blue) if it needs a charge.
If you're interested in the nibs, I did find them on the Ugee website (https://shop.ugee.com/products/ugee-pen-nibs). The nib sku # is UGEPL-311-4. I thought they were crazy pricey at $15 for 1 nib, but ordered anyway. Turns out you get 1 package with 4 nibs in it for $15. Still pricey for a nib, but within 1 month of use I've seen almost no wear, so I'm hopeful these will last a long time.
Anyone else used the TCL Nxtpaper 11 plus this way? What has your experience been?
BTW, that's the Home Screen, not lock-screen on my tablet with O-launcher. I literally have nothing on it. Swipe Right to access Noteshelf 3, swipe left to access Google Drive, tap the time to open Chrome Browser, use the pull-out slider (on left for everything else -- settings, Kindle, etc.)
