First smartphone with color e-ink and LCD screen appears

We have reported on the manufacturer Bigme several times, as the company offers various systems based on e-ink displays, which include not only e-readers but also smartphones. E-ink displays offer several fundamental or technology-related advantages: for instance, they operate with comparatively low power consumption, as energy is only consumed when screen content changes if the backlight is deactivated. Additionally, readability tends to be more satisfactory than with a (dimmer) LCD even in sunlight without a backlight. Longer texts can also be read while remaining relatively easy on the eyes.

Nevertheless, there are reasons why e-ink screens have not completely replaced LCDs. They are relatively slow, making them not quite as well suited for displaying moving image content, although the technology is also making progress in this regard. Bigme has now teased a new smartphone that, according to the manufacturer, is the first device to feature both a color e-ink display and an LCD screen. While smartphones with e-ink displays on the back and aftermarket solutions already exist, there has not yet been a model with a color screen based on e-ink technology.

Bigme has only released a rather general teaser for the time being, though interested customers can sign up for notifications. With such a smartphone featuring additional displays, notifications could be permanently displayed in an energy-efficient manner. Furthermore, reading e-books or displaying a boarding pass would be possible.