There are many alternatives to Apple’s expensive nano-textured display glass. Diagram: www.large-screens.com
The best tablets with paper-like (nano-texture) screens
Last updated on April 2, 2025
Nano-texture glass is not exclusive to iPad displays: there are many tablets on the market with paper-like, matte screens, and they are much cheaper than Apple iPads.
There are several types of matte tablet displays. In this article, we are specifically interested in paper-like, nano-textured screens, not screens with a simple anti-reflective coating (more on this at the end of the article).
Here is a list of all tablets with matte screens available in March 2025, starting with those with the largest displays.
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I am a classical musician (violist) with 20 years of professional experience in orchestra and chamber music. For years, I have been using all kinds of large and very large tablets as part of my work as a musician.
I also have a degree in computer science, and I have always been interested in computer hardware. This article is therefore a summary of the hardware and practical side of using very large tablets.
I spent my school years in France, and this article must be riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes, for which I apologize. Feel free to send me any corrections!
1. The largest tablets with a nano-texture screen (13" and 14" displays)
There are only three tablets with large screens (13 inches or larger) available in early 2025. Sadly, only one of them is available to customers in the United States and Canada.
1.1 TCL NXTPaper 14
Unfortunately, the largest tablet with a paper-like display isn’t available worldwide. Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa are the announced regions where the TCL NxtPaper is sold, North America is missing from the list.
I don’t understand why this model is not available in North America, as other (in my opinon less interesting) TCL tablets are being sold in the US and Canada.
Let’s hope that the successor of the NxtPaper 14 (which may be called the NxtPaper 14 Plus) will be released worldwide!
The TCL NXTPaper 14 is the largest tablet worldwide with a nano-textured display. Image credit: large-screens.com
TCL NXTPaper 14 offers three display modes: Regular, Color Paper (mimics color E-Ink displays) and Ink Paper (black and white paper-like mode). Image credit: large-screens.com
Pros
- Largest tablet with a nano-textured display on the market
- Great price
Cons
- Only 400 nits maximum brightness
- Not available in the USA and in Canada
- Only two years of security updates!
1.2 Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2 (2025)
As you can see, I’m still working on this page!
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Huawei’s largest tablet, the MatePad Pro 13.2, is usually not available in North America. Image credit: Huawei
Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2: Pros
- Great 13.2-inch screen with nanotextured glass
- 820 cd/m² (nits) maximum brightness
- Very thin (0.22 in / 5.5 mm) and light (1.28 lb / 580 g)
- Pencil and Keyboard are included
- Super-fast charging (100 watts!)
Cons
- No Google Mobile Services
- Poor performance, especially for its price category
- Usually not available in the U.S. and in Canada
- Unclear security updates and Andoid upgrades policy
- Very expensive
Note: The Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2 is not always available in the USA and Canada.
1.3 13-inch iPad Pro (2024)
Both the 13-inch and the 11-inch iPad Pro M4 are available with optional nano-textured display glass, which will unfortunately cost you an arm and a leg. Image credit: large-screens.com
Apple iPad Pro 13-inch: Pros
- Fantastic 13-inch screen with nanotextured glass
- Highest available maximum brightness
- Thinnest large tablet (0.20 in / 5.1 mm)
- Excellent accessories and best stylus (Apple Pencil Pro)
- Best-in-class software support and update policy
Cons
- Nano-texture glass option only available on 1 TB and 2TB models
- Charges relatively slowly (35 watts)
- Horrendly expensive
