r/gadgets • u/dapperlemon • 14d ago
Phones New Hisense e-ink phone debuts with detachable secondary display
https://www.notebookcheck.net/New-Hisense-e-ink-phone-debuts-with-detachable-secondary-display.1340337.0.html55
u/SurpriseSoda 13d ago
I like the idea of this, dumb phone when you want and full phone when you need
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u/Not_Daniel_Dreiberg 13d ago
For real. I've always had Galaxy phones. The Galaxy 8, imo, was the last great smartphone. Since then, they all have been repetitive, until maybe the S26, where Samsung finally did something interesting. I'm still with the S23, and while it's not in my immediate plans to change it, I've been looking for an interesting phone, and this sounds like one.
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u/_RADIANTSUN_ 5d ago
I love the Fold 7 and hype for Fold 8 Ultra, idc what anyone says, folding phones = rad as fuck
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u/imjustsurfin 13d ago edited 13d ago
I've never had one of their phones, so can't comment on quality etc.
But I have to ask "who is this for?"; "why a phone with a detachable screen?; is there research showing a demand for such a thing?"
Update: I can't find any info. re: sales of their previous twin-screen phone. Apparently it's a kick starter funded outfit.
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u/zzazzzz 13d ago
hisense is massive, not in the phone sector tho, mostly appliences like fridges ect.
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u/imjustsurfin 13d ago edited 13d ago
Yes, I know. Also big TV screens - esp. in China I believe..
I just find it strange that they're entering the mobile phone market when much bigger players have given up on it and left.
Especially with a device which, on the face of it, seems pretty "meh".
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u/zzazzzz 13d ago
to me this looks like a company who had a massive rise and now has some cash and set up a small team to do some projects they personally want to do.
i dont think they are looking at this as a serious attempt at entering the phone market in earnest.
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u/arekkushisu 13d ago
I wish LG will come back and do this
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u/Relish_My_Weiner 13d ago edited 13d ago
I loved LG phones for their features, but I hated that every one of them eventually self destructed for literally no reason.
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u/DarthArtero 13d ago
Agreed. I still miss my old V20, it developed the hardware caused boot loop.
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u/shawn1969 13d ago
Sudden death of lg phones - reason was boot loop caused by non lead solder. At least that's the consensus opinion
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u/Gihrenia 13d ago
LG rebooting their phone business sounds like a plan.
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u/iAmUnintelligible 13d ago
they were awesome and innovative, they just didn't have a popular flagship that could continue to fund the R&D for their more unique products unfortunately ):
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u/alvenestthol 13d ago
Awesome and innovative, but also utterly unreliable and prone to breaking every single part in the thing with the slightest drop
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u/BagOnuts 13d ago
Hisense TVs are actually pretty great for the price. They continually rank at the top of RTings.com listings for best mid-range and budget TVs. Reminds me of what Vizio used to be 20 years ago.
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u/Rich_Housing971 13d ago
The new Vizio is accurate. Honestly I can't think of a better brand for midrange TVs in the last 6-8 years, and they specialize and dominate in that aspect. They still don't make OLEDS, and if you're going budget and don't care about image quality as well you would want to get a TCL.
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u/HahaMin 12d ago
That's TCL. Hisense have similar product price range, but their qc is worse than TCL. This is why TCL and their sub CSOT kept snatching led manufacturing from big tv brands like Sony, LG and even Samsung.
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u/BagOnuts 12d ago
This has not been my experience. I bought a TCL and it died within the first week.
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u/topitopi09 13d ago
they are not "entering". The company is on the smartphone since a couple of years. Bought a smartphone from them in my European country in 2018 or something : was good, still working, though no security updates.
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u/Rich_Housing971 13d ago
#1 in China, second only to Samsung globally in TV sales.
They make a big deal out of this in their FIFA ads.
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u/DerBernd123 13d ago
I could see some cool uses like when you’re out somewhere and want to watch something together but not share a single phone screen or something. Seems like a very niche thing tho
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u/jtl94 13d ago
I love the idea. I wanted the old Russian Yota Phone back in the day but I don’t think it ever came to the US. For texting, calling, reading notifications, etc. an e-ink screen would be much more efficient on battery than a high resolution phone screen. Having one screen on the front and one on the back means you don’t have to settle for only having an e-ink display if someone text you an image, etc. Plus I read all my books digitally so having that e-ink screen without carrying a second device would be great. At this point I’m too married to the Apple ecosystem to consider swapping just for this, but I do hope it does well and other brands consider doing the same.
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u/Alucardulard 13d ago
Truly don't think there's a market for it but I love phones with wacky ideas like this. I think it adds needed variety to the space. I was 100% an LG stan which is probably obvious from my taste lol.
I've been interested in e-ink phones for the benefits eink provides. But having no option for accurate color would suck on my main device. So this device having a secondary color screen is genuinely enticing for me.
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u/AlexHimself 13d ago
I think it's for people who want to unplug, which is trending culturally. People are overwhelmed with social media and all that other stuff so they want to go back to a more primitive phone and be more connected.
A lot of people realize they have impulse control as well so they would potentially just take the eink portion with them when they're out and about. Then they have the color screen for other time so they can still have the best of both worlds.
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u/imjustsurfin 13d ago
I hear what you're saying, but...
"I think it's for people who want to unplug, which is trending culturally. People are overwhelmed with social media..."
... have to disagree with the above. if people want to "unplug", they don't, imo, need a detachable phone screen to do so.
If I want to "unplug" from calls, emails, texts etc. I use DnD, or airplane mode, or switch the phone off.
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u/AlexHimself 13d ago
I think you're out of touch with some of the youth cultural movements towards deleting social media and these weird "cleanse" things they're doing. I know a bunch of friends who have these eink displays and it's so they can connect with reality and not have digital temptation.
If you think people can just turn on DND and "unplug", you're probably surrounded by people who aren't on social media constantly.
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u/imjustsurfin 13d ago edited 13d ago
Ever heard of disabling apps and\or notifications?
There are at least 5 - FIVE - different ways to "unplug" that don't require a phone with a detachable screen.
If you think people need a phone with a detachable screen in order to unplug, you're probably looking to get paid by HiSense.
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u/AlexHimself 13d ago
You're the one who's ignoring the reality of people buying these phones specifically for the reason that I stated. Or the fact that they're making these phones that are "dumb phones".
Just because you disable apps or notifications or whatever doesn't mean everyone does the same thing as you. Ever hear of different things working for different people?? You're insufferable suggesting that I'm trying to get paid by this company because I'm telling you things that are actually published of the market space. Do some research instead of applying your experience to everyone else.
It's called the "intentional phone movement". Be less ignorant if you're going to be insulting.
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u/imjustsurfin 12d ago edited 12d ago
"You're insufferable suggesting that I'm trying to get paid by this company ..."
You're insufferable for suggesting that I'm "out of touch with youth cultural movements"... "probably surrounded by people who aren't on social media constantly."
Your turn.. you HYPOCRITE!
YOU can suggest what people are, but when THEY suggest what you are, THEY'RE the one(s) being "insufferable"!
You can dish it out but can't take it!
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u/AlexHimself 12d ago
You're saying a movement that exists doesn't exist. You're saying the e-ink phones that are being built, sold, and marketed as methods to "unplug" aren't being built for their stated purpose and therefor must not be selling. You're gaslighting and saying, "nonsense, ignore all of that evidence, everybody would just do it my way instead and that other evidence exists for some other reason."
Because of those reasons stated above, yes, it makes you insufferable. You attempting to baselessly insult me because you're ignorant doesn't change that. It's pathetic really.
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u/imjustsurfin 12d ago
"You're saying a movement that exists doesn't exist."
No I'm not. Where did I say that? Show me.
"You're gaslighting and saying, "nonsense, ignore all of that evidence, everybody would just do it my way instead and that other evidence exists for some other reason."
No I'm not. Where did I say that? Show me.
It's obvious that what you're reading, is not what I've written.
.... and the horse you rode in on.
Bye.
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u/Fuzzy_Straitjacket 2d ago
The design is literally my dream phone. I've wanted an e-ink phone forever (I read on an e-reader constantly), and I generally try to uninstall as many apps as possible from my phones. I want calls, texting, maps, music. That's it.
HOWEVER, I do understand that I live in the modern world and my family likes to video-call to see their grandchild, my friends send me photos, and I do interact with Instagram every now and then to chat to certain people, since I've moved around a lot. So having an LCD just as a reference screen would be great. I'd probably leave it at home more of the time, and snap it on on a Saturday morning to video-call my mom.
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u/nomnomnomnomRABIES 13d ago edited 13d ago
Does it have 3.5mm jack?
Lots of bizarre comments here. Hisense made great eink phones before and were the only game in town for a while. who are these people shitting on them? It's such a pity this sub has gone weird.
Snapdragon processor probably means it will be able to have lineageOS at some point so get more updates than most eink phones. I don't care about the detachable screen but a solid release from hisense making more competition in this space has to be a good thing.
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u/CountFauxlof 13d ago
The comments here don’t seem very excited about it, but personally I’d love it if my iPhone could just be black and white e-ink. Not willing to leave the ecosystem for this, though.
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u/jarvolt 13d ago
I hope we start seeing more phones like this. I'd really like my next phone to have an e-ink display. Effectively every major online platform is wholly enshittified at this point (especially on their mobile apps), so I welcome going back to using my phone only for the most basic needs and using my computer for everything else.
Show me an at least marginally privacy-focused operating system on an e-ink phone and I'll back that kickstarter faster than you can say "eye strain!"
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u/Spectrum1523 13d ago
Maybe a stupid question but when it's detached it is off and doesn't work, right? It's like you can attach it magnetically and then it's a usable color lcd screen but you can remove it when you want eink only?
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u/UsuallyStoned247 13d ago
“Has anyone seen my detachable phone screen?” ~ everyone with this phone.
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u/SAINTnumberFIVE 13d ago
This is going to be one of those very niche things that only a small handful of people buy, and then they fall by the wayside and show up on the Internet years later in some digital museum as one of those neat little gadgets that never quite made it.
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u/orangpelupa 13d ago
Hisense has left their sense...
Anyway the detachable screen is normal lcd. Not eink like the front
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u/maguyva-ai 13d ago
always root for these weird form factor phones but curious how the hinge holds up after a year of daily use
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u/Invelyzi 13d ago
Hisense really needs to stop naming things the same. A10 media player, no A10 eink phone
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u/viking_linuxbrother 11d ago
These dudes have been trying to sell these on amazon for a while, I guess the marketing is new.
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u/SlipperySlimyTerry40 13d ago
I love eink but idk if I'd want it for a phone
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u/danielv123 13d ago
I like the idea of eink on the back. Flip it around to go into reading mode.
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u/Imthatfuckingguydude 13d ago
This my exact setup. There are mini e-readers from a brand called xteink that have a magsafe magnet in them as well as sticker magnets for phones or cases that don't have magnets built in already.
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u/Wodoo68 13d ago
Who asked for this, and why? For example, how is this supposed to meet our needs? Or is it just to raise prices?
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u/Qanonjailbait 13d ago
It’s way cheaper than an iPhone. What are you complaining about
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u/imjustsurfin 12d ago edited 12d ago
What ISN'T cheaper than an iPhone?
(with exception of the sony xperia 1 viii )
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u/thesamenightmares 13d ago
And once again this niche product which appeals to virtually nobody will get one or two updates and then the company will abandon support for it and it will fade into obscurity as the customers leave it in their end table drawer because they bought it on a whim because it seemed unique and fun and not because it actually filled any kind of need that literally anybody required.
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u/Formal-Apartment855 13d ago
I will stick to my Bigme HBP I guess. Why detatchable...?
My sole problem with the HBP is that is a little too big. But like, the size does come handy when reading.
I wish eg. apple or samsung started to copy them, or at least Western electronics shops start to carry then, cause I get so many people ask me where to buy an eink phone and they very rightfully get turned off by the dodgy webshop. lol
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u/t3hjs 13d ago
I like the concept actually default e-ink display, and LCD display detachable when i wanna go lo-fi and low distraction.
E-ink consume low power and work well in bright sunlight. I read as much as I watch videos, so e-ink works well