E Ink screens are great for reading ebooks and PDFs. They have more of a paper-like appearance than LCD screens, and they’re more energy-efficient and can be easily read in direct sunlight, and they cause less eye strain for some folks because using a backlight isn’t required.
However, E Ink screens evolve at such a slow pace improvements are rarely seen. E Ink introduced Carta screens way back in 2013 and that’s still what all ebook readers are using today.
When Carta screens were first released E Ink claimed they improved contrast by 50% compared to previous generation Pearl screens.
After eight years you’d think they would’ve come up with a way to improve contrast even more, but unfortunately that’s not the case. When you’re dealing with a company that has literally zero competition in the epaper display market things tend to stagnate.
E Ink has released different generations of Carta screens over the years, but the improvements are so minor it’s hard to pinpoint any differences. Contrast hasn’t gotten noticeably better. Perhaps Carta screens are a bit faster to refresh now but the Kindle Voyage was one of the first devices to get a 300ppi Carta screen back in 2014 and it still has better contrast than any E Ink device released since. Text is simply darker and sharper. There’s no denying it.
In fact E Ink screens look worse now than they did eight years ago. That’s not hyperbole. It’s actually not the E Ink itself that’s getting worse, it’s all the extra layers companies add over the top of the screen that decreases contrast.
Frontlight layers, capacitive touchscreens, glass and plastic front layers all degrade contrast.
E Ink screens had the best contrast back when less layers were added on top of the screen. Devices with infrared touchscreen have superior contrast to those with capacitive touchscreens. Even devices with lower ppi like the Kobo Aura H2O has better contrast than 300ppi devices. The Kindle Voyage was the one exception to this; it looks like a device with an infrared touchscreen because they did something to the glass layer to make it super clear. Even the newest Kindle Oasis doesn’t quite have the same level of clarity as the Kindle Voyage when compared side-by-side.
I can’t help but miss the days when E Ink screens had such a super clear quality to them that it made it almost seem like the text was floating off the background.
Too bad E Ink has stopped improving contrast over the years. Instead they’ve released color screens that have even worse contrast for black and white text because of the added color filter over the top of the screen. Having color E Ink is great for color content, but it’s a shame that contrast continues to get worse instead of better.
But hey, look at the bright side. Now you have 32 GB of storage, page turn buttons, comfort light, Bluetooth, waterproof, and all that jazz you don’t need. But Yeah I agree, very few industries degrade over time as opposed to improving.
Most of those layers of “improvements” that result in less contrast are, for me, not necessary. I prefer old e-readers that have no built-in lighting, as it is cheaper to replace a light bulb than an e-reader battery. To make it worse, it appears that more recent e-readers have made it more difficult to replace batteries. IIRC, the original Nook was designed for battery replacement.
I agree. I have the latest Oasis but can’t read on it as my Voyage is night and day better in terms of contrast and clarity.
Everyone seems to agree Voyage takes the #1 spot for clarity/contrast, but what would everyone choose for runner-up?
As much as I hate the asymmetrical design of the oasis on the 7 inch, I think it’s perfect on the 6 inch. So I have a love-hate relationship with that design. As far as a runner up it would perhaps be the Kobo Aura H2O original as mentioned or even the Kobo Clara HD. Both have dark thick inky sharp fonts. I wish they would make a Kindle with an IR touchscreen. The problem with the voyage is that although it had very nice contrast it had one of the worst front lit screens. And the new Oasis, although it has a nice evenly lit screen, the contrast is an absolute joke and nowhere near the voyage quality. So technically there is no perfect Kindle.
Yeah, the Kobo Aura H2O is probably the runner up even though it only has 265ppi, or maybe the Kobo Glo HD with 300ppi but Kobo didn’t keep it around very long before replacing it with an inferior model.
That’s why I don’t plan to replace my original H2O anytime soon.
Replacing batteries is the issue. For instance, the battery I have located for a dead Kobo Aura HD needs to be modified so that it can be installed.
Yeah, I don’t get why Oasis couldn’t replicate the dark ink of the Voyage.
Maybe it has to do with speed? The faster the turn, the slightly less dark it is?
If I were to guess I would say it had something to do with the micro-etched glass they used to talk about with the Voyage, but maybe that caused more frontlight imperfections and is why they don’t do it that way anymore.
I absolutely disagree. The Voyage is nothing special. It has the same contrast as my Oasis 3 and Oasis 2 before that and it is only ever so slightly better than my Clara, Libra and Forma.
And you know what has much better contrast than a Voyage? Literally any physical book in decent condition.
If you’re going to complain about stagnation in eink stop talking about that highly overhyped mediocre reader and talk about how we never moved beyond a screen with contrast only slightly slightly better than my Kindle 3 which is now 11 years old.
What… the title itself is about the contrast 😀
My Nook Glowlight 3 looks way better than my Clara HD . Very sharp text and lots more contrast.
I came here to make the comment that the Glowlight 3 contrast is on par with the Voyage while still allowing for temperature adjustment. It has IR touch though.
When does E-Ink’s patent on the basic electrophoretic display technology expire? Meaning when can other companies start making perhaps-better products and not have to worry about getting their @#!$’s sued off? I have always wondered that about 3D printers – the technology has been around for 30-40 years apparently, but only seemed to “take off” in the consumer space in the past 10 or 15. (“Consumer space” as opposed to airplane-part-manufacturers who use machines that cost a million or so dollars).
Stratasys (I think) held the patents. Did they ignore the consumer possibilities, and their patent-lock prevent anyone else from pursuing it for 20 years? How is this “promotion of the Arts and Sciences”?
I wonder how much of it is due to waterproofing also. I love the waterproof feature but the clarity difference between my PW3 and 4 was surprising.
In my opinion there is no consistency in Oasis line in terms of screen “sharpness”. I had 3 different oasis devices ( all 9’th gen) and I picked the one that has the best contrast. I noticed it by accident when I received second device and screen felt different. I started checking them side by side and although differences were small they were visible. the one that I have still is not as good as voyage but it is pretty close. I guess that is the reason why some people say that their oasis is good enough, and I agree with others, that say that oasis screen screen is not so good in terms of sharpness and contrast. I even decided to keep my current 9’th gen insted of upgrading to 10 due to this fact.
E Ink screens are a mystery. Some look better than others, and sometimes it depends on the lighting too. When I first reviewed the Paperwhite 4 I thought the contrast was on par with the Paperwhite 3, but that’s because I was comparing them in direct sunlight and under bright light. They do look the same under those conditions but when there’s less lighting on the screen the PW4 looks worse than the PW3, especially if there are any smudges on the screen, and I can see why some people complain about the contrast not being as good. I think it’s because slightly less light is able to penetrate the plastic front layer.
The relatively poorer contrast of illumined e-readers is harder on my older eyes. That is why I find that I return again and again to my original non-backlit Kindle Touch and my PocketBook 360+. I was a Psion reseller in the 1990’s and found the Psion 3a and the Psion 5 non-backlit handheld computers also had easily readable screens. The early backlit screens of successor models were terrible.
On the other hand, I remember a study that demonstrated that the relative increased challenge of reading text on paper compared with computer displays provided more neurologic stimulation to the reader that resulted in better comprehension and retention of information.
Still, I am considering buying one of the current PocketBook ereaders because I like their flexibility in loading non-cloud store materials and my affection for my PB 360+. Wish PocketBook had a better presence in the U.S. and better quality control/ruggedness than what is evidenced in reviews I’ve read recently.