Hisense launches Touch Lite music player with E Ink display

Hisense has released a new Android-based music player, but it has a unique feature that may be appealing to some music lovers.

The Hisense Touch Lite is a toned-down version of the Hisense Touch music player that was released a few months ago. The Touch Lite has many of the same features as its older brother with a few cuts here and there.

The Touch Lite is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm CPU at 1.8 GHz and 4 GB of RAM. It packs 64 GB of storage and a 3000 mAh battery. That battery should last a long time thanks to its 5.84-inch 1440x720 E Ink display (281 PPI). As with all E Ink displays, this Carta HD screen only uses energy when it refreshes. Because it's suited for static images, the display is intended for reading and showing album artwork or song information.

The Touch Lite supports 32-bit/384 kHz audio and pumps music through two AAC 1216 stereo speakers or the 3.5 mm headphone jack (max up to 122 dB). It also has a USB-C 3.1 port for charging and data transfers, as well as WiFi and Bluetooth.

While the Touch Lite is designed to be an audio player, it runs Android 11. It doesn't ship with the Google Play Store, but a bit of tinkering should be able to get an alternative app repository installed.

The Touch Lite isn't quite as adept at audio playback as the more expensive Hisense Touch. For one, the Touch Lite has half the storage (64 GB vs 128 GB). Most debilitating, however, it the Touch Lite's seeming lack of HiFi support. As such, audiophiles will want to shell out the extra US$30 on the standard Touch for better audio support.

The Hisense Touch Lite is available for US$299 through AliExpress.

Buy the Surfans F20 HiFi audio player at Amazon.