Hisense released their 3rd dual screen Android smartphone with an E Ink screen last fall and it looks like it’s possibly the best E Ink phone yet.
Unfortunately it’s not sold in the United States and appears to only be available in China from websites most people have never heard of before, but as far E Ink phones go it looks a good option.
On the front it has a 6-inch AMOLED display and on the back is has a 5.6-inch E Ink Carta screen.
The E Ink screen has a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels, which equates to 287 ppi (the front screen has 402).
The E Ink side even has a frontlight so you can read at night. The second video below is in Chinese but it shows the frontlight at the 21:35 mark.
The E Ink screen can be used with the full interface, unlike some that only support a few features on the E Ink side.
The phone has decent specs too, including an octa-core processor with 6GB of RAM and the option for 64GB or 128GB of storage space, with a microSD card slot for further expansion. It has a 16MP front camera and a 12MP rear camera with flash.
The Hisense A6 looks like it’s the best option yet for having a small E Ink screen attached to the back of your phone for reading on the go. I want one! Too bad they aren’t sold in the US…
Interesting device.
I’ve bought several things directly from China and have never had a problem. But I would not buy this because it is intended for Chinese customers and includes limits on what you can do.
In particular, nobody has figured out how to get Play Store access, and nobody has figured out how to use gmail on it. I’m not clear on how use of google services are blocked, but they are with no workaround discovered as yet.
To make it usable for most if us, a global ROM is required. One of those may or may not be released.
Thanks. You just saved me from doing something stupid. Hopefully they decide to make one for North America. To me, that looks like the phone to have.
Do you mean they created one versions dedicated to America?
I saw some pictures from MWC of the phone with Maps and Gmail on its screen… Do you have any news about that?
Skynet, the international version is on the way, more 2-3 months hopefully. Check on Aliexpress weekly or so.
Is it coming?
They have an international version now that is available in Russia. Picked one up yesterday and very happy with it.
Hey Harry,
Can you install Google play at ore on it.
Is the a6 out in UK.?
Thanks
Jumping Joey Maggz
I have one bought from China with Chinese ROM, shipped to UK quickly. There are ways to put Google Apps on it you have to have them. I haven’t felt the need to and am very happy with mine. In fact I just ordered my second phone.
A look at mobilread or XDA will tell you lots more about this device.
I recently ordered the A5 with google play preinstalled, But then I thought to myself, “wouldn’t it be nice to get rid of google?” So I changed my order to the A5 pro CC. I am so glad I did the color E-Ink screen is awesome! There is a way to add the google play store to it but I’d rather not. There are numerous stores that offer APKS You can side load. One of the disadvantages with the dual display model in this article is that you have to take the case off every time you want to change sides. One drop and you’ve lost your money! I’ve got an OtterBox Commuter iPhone 11 Pro Max case on my HiSense A5 ProCC So I feel secure in case I drop it.
https://www.cect-shop.com/en/hisense-a6l.html
Be sure to follow there instructions to import to the UK without the vat and other issues. Remember that you are dealing with Germans who speak English In China., If you’re uncomfortable with that situation, look in this websites store, it may show up! If not you can search ebay for the yotaphone 3, The manufacturer went bankrupt so remaining inventory maybe flooding the market soon
You can simply use Aurora store in order to download 90% of apps out there. Certain ones, such as tinder and Snapchat , will not work though. Could someone please help me with a question I have regarding the eink screen? I own a few phones from Hisense, including the black and white a 5 and the color a 5 pro CC. The black and white A5 does not cause me any eye pain, but the dark screen and the glare of the A5 pro CC causes me trouble. Could you please tell me if the eink screen of the A6 is the same as the A5 or is it the same as the pro CC? Thank you so much.
The color E Ink screens are different than the regular black and white ones so that’s where the differences come in. The regular black and white screens look better and have better contrast without the added color filter layer that makes the screen appear darker.