What Is an E-Ink Smartphone, and Why Is It Returning?
An e-ink smartphone is a mobile phone designed around an eye-friendly, paper-like screen that prioritizes readability and long battery life over fast, colorful visuals, often turning the device into a hybrid between a traditional smartphone and a dedicated e-reader. After years of incremental slab phones, this idea is resurfacing in new forms. TCL’s Nxtpaper line uses a matte, anti-glare LCD tuned to mimic paper, while Hisense sticks to classic E Ink panels similar to dedicated e-readers. Both approaches target people who read a lot on their phones and are tired of glare, eyestrain, and daily charging. The renewed activity from multiple brands suggests that while the e-reader phone remains niche, there is rising interest in phones that treat text and comfort as the main feature instead of an afterthought.
TCL Nxtpaper 70 Pro: Paper-Like Reading Without Giving Up Color
The TCL Nxtpaper 70 Pro is a different take on the e-ink smartphone display idea: instead of pure E Ink, it uses a 6.9‑inch 120Hz LCD with a matte, paper-like Nxtpaper coating. A dedicated side switch lets you toggle into stripped-back modes that reduce saturation in color or monochrome, creating a paper-like reading phone that stays readable outdoors thanks to up to 900 nits of brightness. According to Expert Reviews, the phone pairs this screen with a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chip, a 5,200mAh battery with 33W charging, Android 16, IP68 protection, and a 50MP main camera. It is positioned as “a great value handset for reading on the go”, helped by a starting price of £290 for 256GB storage. This makes it a practical e-reader phone that still feels like a modern mid-range smartphone rather than a specialist gadget.
Hisense A10: A True E-Ink Phone Returns After a Long Pause
Hisense is heading in the opposite direction with the Hisense A10 e-ink phone, returning to full E Ink after a three-year gap since the A9. The company has begun teasing the A10 through its E Ink-focused channel, describing it as the result of three years of work and hinting at a slimmer body than many expect. Official details remain scarce, but leaks suggest a 7‑inch Carta 1300 E Ink display at 300ppi, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a 4,500mAh battery, and Android with 5G support. Stuff notes that the A10 may use a quad-core chipset, a step down in raw power from the A9’s eight-core Snapdragon, underlining that Hisense is optimizing for static text rather than games or video. If confirmed, the A10 would be a rare, purpose-built Hisense A10 e-ink reading phone, closer to an e-reader than a typical handset.
Different Paths to the Same Goal: Comfortable Reading and Endurance
TCL and Hisense are chasing the same outcome with different tools. TCL’s Nxtpaper 70 Pro keeps a conventional, fast LCD but tames it with a matte finish and e-ink-like modes, so you can jump between a full-featured Android phone and a subdued reading profile with a hardware key. Hisense, by contrast, is expected to double down on a single e-ink smartphone display that behaves much like an e-reader screen, with lower refresh rates but excellent legibility and gentle lighting. Both strategies serve people who care more about comfortable text, lower blue light, and multi-day battery life than high-refresh gaming. For them, a paper-like reading phone that can still run messaging, reference apps, and offline media fills a gap that a separate Kindle-style reader and a standard phone cannot always cover conveniently.
A Niche Category That May Quietly Grow
E-ink smartphones remain niche, but signals from TCL and Hisense point to a small category gaining momentum. TCL is widening its Nxtpaper portfolio with better hardware and useful touches such as IP68 durability and stylus support, making reading-focused phones less of a compromise. Hisense’s decision to return to the space with the A10 after the A9’s 2022 launch suggests it still sees value in a dedicated e-reader phone, even if availability and pricing are uncertain. As color-saturated, high-refresh displays become standard elsewhere, these quieter devices appeal to readers, students, and professionals who live in documents and long-form articles. The trade-offs—slower animations, modest cameras, and sometimes limited distribution—mean e-ink phones will not replace mainstream flagships, but they are becoming more credible companions for people who want their phone to feel more like a book in daily use.
