Back in May of this year, E Ink announced they have developed a new type of integrated touchscreen technology called On-Cell Touch that is supposed to improve contrast of E Ink screens by 30% for black and white text, 40% for color.
Since the announcement a few new ereaders have been released, including the Kobo Elipsa with a 10.3-inch E Ink screen, and Onyx just released the Nova Air with a 7.8-inch screen earlier this month. Neither use E Ink’s new touchscreen.
And now Amazon is taking orders for a new Kindle Paperwhite, one that has a unique E Ink screen not used on any other device (6.8-inch with 300ppi), and yet there’s no mention of improved contrast, so it would appear that it’s not using E Ink’s new touchscreen tech either.
Despite being announced several months ago, E Ink’s new On-Cell touchscreens have yet to make an appearance on any of these new devices in 2021.
Improving contrast by 30% seems like a pretty big deal, especially since E Ink screens tend to evolve at a slower rate, so it makes you wonder why none of the newer devices are using E Ink’s new screen tech if contrast really is that much better.
Perhaps performance isn’t as good or cost is higher than existing applications. Maybe they’re only available in certain sizes for now. Who knows, but it’s kind of strange to announce something new and improved and then not have it get used in any new products.
Could be a couple reasons, as I see it.
Maybe OCT panels aren’t ramped up to full production capacity yet – with every imaginable supply chain completely ****ed right now, this wouldn’t surprise me.
Or maybe the tech requires some investment on the software side that Amazon, Kobo, and the others haven’t put in yet. We’ve gotta remember, there’s months of designing/prototyping that go into even incremental updates and refreshes. If it’s not a drop in replacement for a current design cycle, it probably doesn’t land until the *next* design cycle.
Yes! Exactly! Love this article! I was actually hoping you would do another article about the new e-ink tech. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: My next e-reader buy will be when companies improve the contrast/e-ink tech.
I will likely buy my next reader for the same reason I bought my current one: I did something stupid and broke the previous one.
Hopefully technology will be at a point where I feel like I’m making a meaningful-but-forced upgrade instead of just replacing the old one.
True, I also thought that in June or July or so there would be a new incarnation of the colour eink, but nothing showed up at that time.
Maybe it also has to do with the shortage of certain electronic parts.
I would guess that the new Kindle device and Elipsa were already designed by the time the new display was announced, so switching to the new screen would have delayed release of these devices. Maybe for the Oasis update they will use the new screen.
Assuming there’s actually an Oasis update, there’s the theory the Oasis line is going to be retired and the Paperwhite Signature Edition will be the top of the line Kindle.
I kinda doubt it, but I was almost certain there wouldn’t be any new Kindles this year, and we know how that ended up.
I hesitate to cancel my Note 3 order, would the Note 4 be around the corner ? Thanks.
Last year Boox introduced their new models about this time based on Android 10 just about the time Android 11 was released. If you look up Android’s release history it’s pretty much always been in late summer of fall in the past. So it might be worth waiting, but alternately could be disappointing because there usually isn’t much change in the newer models because they come out so often. In any case you could catch a Note 3 on sale/closeout if you’re quick.
What makes the new Paperwhite screen unique?
It’s same size, same PPI as the Kobo Libra H2O. Is there something else unique about it that I haven’t noticed?
The 6.8″ Kobos have 265ppi.
You are correct, sir, my bad! I thought the Kobo Libra H2O screen was 6.8″, but it is in fact 7″ and 300ppi.
So the 6.8″ screen at 300ppi is indeed a new screen.
Honestly, device contrast seems quite nice right now. I have NO complaints about the contrast on my Kobo Aura One, Kobo Forma or Kindle Oasis 2. Too much contrast tends to make my eyes hurt, which is not exactly what I’m looking for as an e-ink “upgrade.” I got away from blinding white pages in sunlight when I ditched paper books…
When it comes to contrast, a tablet or phone will beat e-ink 100% of the time. And most already have a phone. So as an upgrade even for those who want more contrast, it’s not necessarily a compelling *MUST PURCHASE* technology.
Still, a modest increase to contrast wouldn’t be terrible, maybe we’ll see it on whatever replaces the Forma in Kobo’s line-up, which I’m guessing is due for a refresh next year. However, I wouldn’t want to give up the Mobius flexible substrate on the Forma for more contrast, so hopefully the new technology is also compatible with that.
Strongly disagree. The contrast on eink is simply acceptable and could be much improved. Hardly any books would be published with equivalent low contrast and medium dark grey material as ereaders and for good reason. It’s obvious that a major driver for lit screens has been to compensate for the contrast on eink screens. This is why many people have the screen lit at a low level even in broad daylight. If ereaders had similar contrast to books you’d see much higher uptake among the population of readers sticking stubbornly to their paperbacks and hardbacks.
I’m not saying e-ink contrast can’t or shouldn’t be improved. And I’m glad if there is better technology coming down the pipeline.
What I *am* saying is that the CURRENT front lighting that is already available in modern devices creates an e-ink screen that can actually be lighter and whiter and with more contrast than a paper book in the same lighting situation.
I was sitting at my table reading this afternoon and I held up a piece of very white, laser printer paper with black text right next to my new Kobo Forma, which had the front light set at about 50%. Guess which had the best readability and contrast? Hint, it was NOT the paper.
MOST people would not ditch a $100-400 dedicated front lit reading device they already own and run out and buy brand new on the SOLE basis of getting only 30% more contrast. That’s why I said that contrast and JUST contrast, is not a compelling argument for buying another device.
And before you point out that my Kobo Forma is both a current and premium model, the same scenario would be true using my old Kobo Aura HD or my old Kindle Voyage or my husband’s old Kindle Paperwhite.
Existing e-reader tech can give better contrast than a print book NOW. Granted, not everyone LIKES a front-lit reader, and some simply won’t turn up their light due to battery life or other concerns. But that’s a small subset of folks.
As for contrast driving people to adopt e-reading who haven’t yet, DREAM ON! I have a lot of friends and some like e-reading, some have yet to adopt and of the latter, I suspect most won’t adopt.
I’ve always asked those who haven’t taken to e-reading WHY they don’t want to or if they’ve tried, why they didn’t like it. Not once has an answer been “lack of e-ink screen contrast.”
They do have varied reasons, some like the feel of a book in their hands. Some like the typography in paper books. Some have tried e-readers, but HATE swiping or tapping a screen or punching a button to turn pages. Others have told me that their favorite author’s works aren’t out in ebook yet. Some hate that they can’t lend an ebook or resell after reading. Some don’t like the idea of getting involved in a book only to see a surprise “low battery” warning. But contrast has never come up.
I just dumped my first ereader from a year ago, the Onyx Boox Nova Air, for this very reason. I still have it, but my later purchase of a Kindle Paperwhite 5 ruined me with it’s better screen, and my just purchased Kobo Libra 2 is ENTIRELY better than both. I can’t believe just how good the Libra 2’s screen is. And I can’t believe how many reviewers, who are elbow deep in ereaders year in and year out, didn’t point out just how bad the Boox display is. I trusted them to help me make a blind grey import purchase. Washed out greys, murky backlighting and that baked on textured ‘screen protector’ just tops off a terrible display. I was new to ereaders and didn’t have anything to compare it to, and I don’t think I’m the only one who has been burned. That’s why so many of us spend big dollars in pursuit of something that actually looks like a printed page. Thank you Kobo and bring on the in cell tech!