Bigme Hibreak smartphone review – The color display e-ink phone hits high frame rates

With the Hibreak, Bigme has actually managed to bring one of the first e-ink-based products to the market that can also display videos at reasonable frame rates (according to the manufacturer, at up to 21fps). Of course, electronic paper can't yet offer the range of colors seen in an LED or OLED display and the resolution is also significantly lower when displaying colors. Nevertheless, we're impressed by the display quality Bigme has managed to coax out of the very economical screen.

The advantages of this concept are also great readability - even in bright environments and without the need for additional lighting. On top of this, and depending on how the phone is used, you'll get very good battery life. Because the displayed content remains after a single image is displayed, you won't experience any flickering with e-ink displays and this makes them very suitable for users sensitive to this issue.

Apart from that, you get a fully-fledged 4G smartphone with telephone functionality, location capability, 128 of GB storage, a speaker and a camera. Although you shouldn't expect particularly high quality when it comes to the latter two.

You also shouldn't expect software updates to be too frequent, meaning you'll be more than likely stuck with the older Android 11. E-ink displays are generally very durable but aren't actually designed for the high refresh rates offered by the Bigme Hibreak. This means there's still an element of risk that the screen's durability will eventually be exhausted.

If you're looking for a second phone, can make good use of the advantages of e-ink technology in everyday life and only occasionally watch a video, the Bigme Hibreak is a technically well-executed, unusual and, in many situations, quite a useful smartphone.

The Bigme Hibreak can be purchased directly from the manufacturer for $249 (black and white version), and $279 will get you the variant with the color display. At the time of review, on Amazon, the black and white model will set you back $269 and the color one $279. 

Bigme is a company that specializes in devices with screens based on electronic ink. Many of these were co-financed with the help of crowdfunding campaigns. E-ink displays enjoy many benefits but usually require a relatively long time to update the screen content. Therefore, this makes them unsuitable for rapidly changing content such as videos or games.

The manufacturer sent the Hibreak E-Ink smartphone to our test lab, and in front of us, we have a device that is said to offer up to 21fps. In addition, the variant with the optional color display also claims to be good at displaying moving images. Let's take a closer look at this $279 gadget.

 You shouldn't have high expectations regarding the Bigme Hibreak's chassis: plastic is the dominant material here, and the rear's leather texture makes the phone a little easier to grip. All in all, the build quality is clean, and the smartphone is robustly resistant to twisting and pressure.

The bezels around the front of the screen appear quite wide, especially at the top and bottom, and give the smartphone a somewhat old-fashioned look. At 170 grams, the Hibreak is quite light in the hand.

128 GB of mass storage represents good value, especially compared to other e-readers, which often come with little storage space. The same can be said for the 6 GB of RAM since it allows you to run more complex apps and multitask.

Apart from that, you shouldn't expect much additional tech. The USB 2.0 port on the bottom is for data exchange and charging, and Bluetooth 5.0 is a fairly old standard for wireless communication with other devices. Unfortunately, you'll have to do without NFC for contactless payment.

The built-in nano-SIM slot is accompanied by a microSD slot.

WiFi 5 is the fastest Wi-Fi standard supported by Bigme Hibreak. As expected, the review device achieved transmission speeds of around 280 - 375 Mbit/s. We tested this with our reference router, the Asus ROG Rapture AXE11000. These transmission speeds also remain relatively steady, with only one brief dip in reception quality.

4G is the fastest standard available for mobile network communication. The range of frequencies is acceptable, meaning trips abroad are also possible. However, if you are planning a new trip, try to find out in advance whether you can use the phone there. The reception was quite good in our random tests, but in difficult situations such as finding yourself located between tall buildings, there was a brief dip in reception quality.

Navigation via satellite networks is possible and worked well in our short random test.

The touchscreen is easy to use, but the relatively low maximum frame rate of 21fps means that inputs are not always immediately visible on the screen. The phone usually responds quickly enough, even to fast keyboard inputs, but conventional smartphones are still much more precise and more pleasant to use.

Biometric user recognition is not possible due to the absence of a fingerprint scanner.

The operating system is based on Android 11 but also adapted to the display's special capabilities: Reader and note apps are pre-installed, and you can add additional ones via app stores. However, you shouldn't expect further system updates - even the security patches are already a few years old. As a user, at least you automatically get a basic level of security via updates to Google's Play Services.

We should emphasize that the 2:1 screen format is not ideal for reading documents because, depending on how the smartphone is held, very little fits on the screen, either in width or height. This is an area where tablet-format e-readers are more comfortable and do a better job. Otherwise, the Hibreak is less purely geared towards reading documents but, instead, tries to present itself as a conventional smartphone. The homescreen is also more in line with the standard Android version, with many app icons instead of a separate library for books and documents, as seen in other readers.

However, BookShelf has its own reader app for documents, where you can make many settings while reading: for example, the contrast, format or page movement. Automatic scrolling is also possible. However, the translation and organization of the settings are sometimes odd. You can also easily install and use other reader apps, and thanks to its speaker, the Hibreak is also very suitable for audiobooks.

In terms of sustainability, the streamlined packaging is a plus point, and a USB cable is not included - both of which may prevent unnecessary electronic waste. Otherwise, the phone is packaged in a plastic film, and hardly any obvious efforts have been made to ensure sustainability: the device is neither easy for the user to open and repair nor is there any information about the materials used.