What is an e-ink smartphone, and why are people returning to it?
An e-ink smartphone is a mobile phone built around a paper-like display that prioritises eye comfort, low power use and readable text over bright colours or high-speed animation. After years of all-glass, high-refresh OLED slabs, these reading-first devices are resurfacing as a quiet backlash against screen fatigue. For heavy readers, an e-reader phone promises longer, more comfortable reading sessions, minimal glare outdoors and fewer distractions than a typical flagship. Instead of pushing AI tricks, the appeal is practical: a single device that can handle messaging, light apps and book-length reading without the harsh glow of a standard panel. This niche stayed small for a while, but new hardware and display tech mean e-ink smartphone fans now have more credible options that feel less like experiments and more like everyday tools.
Hisense A10: A long-awaited pure e-ink smartphone returns
Hisense is stepping back into the dedicated e-ink smartphone space with the Hisense A10 phone, its first model in this line since the A9 in 2022. A teaser shared via the company’s E Ink-focused channel describes the A10 as the result of three years of work and hints at a thinner-than-expected design. Official details remain limited, but reports suggest a 7in Carta 1300 E Ink display at 300ppi, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and a 4,500mAh battery, along with Android, 5G and Bluetooth 5.1 support. According to Gizmochina, the A10 is expected to succeed the Hisense A9, which used a 6.1in 300ppi panel and was positioned as a reading-focused smartphone. If the leaks hold, the A10 will lean into its role as a large-format e-reader phone that can still cover core smartphone duties, rather than trying to chase gaming or heavy video use.
TCL Nxtpaper 70 Pro: A paper-like display phone with a toggle
While Hisense sticks to pure e-ink, TCL is attacking the same problem from another angle with its Nxtpaper 70 Pro paper-like display phone. Instead of a slow-refresh e-ink panel, TCL uses a 6.9in 120Hz screen with a matte Nxtpaper layer that cuts glare and blue light. A dedicated hardware key lets you switch between a standard colourful mode and toned-down Nxtpaper modes in colour or monochrome, approximating an e-reader phone experience without giving up fluid scrolling. The 70 Pro pairs this with a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor, IP68 water and dust resistance, a 5,200mAh battery with 33W charging and a camera setup led by a 50MP main sensor. Expert Reviews notes that this generation is far closer to mainstream mid-range phones on specs, while still focusing on comfortable reading with its eye-friendly display and anti-glare finish.
Why e-ink and paper-like phones appeal to reading-focused users
For people who read more than they game or stream video, an e-ink smartphone or paper-like display phone can solve several everyday problems. E-ink panels such as the Carta 1300 used in many readers excel at sharp text with 300ppi resolution, long battery life and near-glare-free outdoor readability. That makes them ideal for ebooks, long articles and documentation. Devices like the Hisense A10 phone push in this direction by treating the display as an always-ready page, even if they sacrifice smooth animations. Hybrid approaches like TCL’s Nxtpaper 70 Pro cater to users who need standard smartphone behaviour part of the time but want a softer, less fatiguing view for reading sessions or late-night use. Both camps target the same pain point: keeping digital reading comfortable over hours, not minutes, while still letting you carry one device instead of a separate e-reader.
A growing niche: More brands, better designs and real trade-offs
Three years ago, picking an e-ink smartphone meant living with obvious compromises in speed, design and features. The new wave looks different. Hisense is refining its dedicated E Ink line with a larger, sharper panel and a slimmer build, while TCL is proving that a reading-friendly screen can coexist with a 120Hz refresh rate, IP68 durability and stylus support. Multiple brands now compete for readers who want their phone to feel more like a book than a TV. Trade-offs remain: pure e-ink phones still struggle with fast video and gaming, and paper-like LCDs cannot match the extreme power savings of real e-ink. But as the Hisense A10 and Nxtpaper 70 Pro show, the category is moving from novelty to viable choice for anyone whose phone time is dominated by words, not reels.
