Leaked images show off YotaPhone 3

The YotaPhone was a unique phone upon its release in 2013. In addition to (at the time) decent specs, the Russian-made smartphone featured a low-resolution E-Ink display on the back of the device that came with its own dedicated apps and could even mirror the main display. Despite its innovative design, the YotaPhone never caught on in the mainstream, a failure that also besieged its successor, the YotaPhone 2. However, Yota has been hard at work and still plans to release the third iteration of the YotaPhone sometime later this year. Thanks to a recent set of leaks, we now have more information on what might make the next YotaPhone tick and what the final product may look like.

Dubbed simply the “Yota 3,” we already know a few key features about Yota’s next smartphone because of some earlier leaks. The new leaks corroborate what we’ve previously heard, pegging the Yota 3 as a decidedly mid-tier device. We can expect the Yota 3 to feature:

• 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED display
• 5.2-inch 720p E-Ink display (on rear)
• Snapdragon 625 SoC
• 4 GB of RAM
• Up to 128 GB of storage
• Dual SIM support (with one SIM slot supporting microSD cards)
• Fingerprint scanner
• 12 MP rear camera
• 13 MP front camera
• 3,200 mAh battery
• USB Type-C

The rumor mill currently has prices pegged at US$350 for a 64 GB variant and $450 for 128 GB. Take these rumors with a grain of salt, however; it’s odd that prices are speculated in US dollars when the phone is currently only planned for release in China and Russia. This could be the converted price, but remember that North American buyers may have to pay import fees as well.

The concept of a secondary E-Ink display is a very nice feature that still remains unique among other smartphone manufacturers. While the first two YotaPhone devices never caught on, their secondary displays open up a new world of use cases. E-Ink screens are perfectly legible even in the brightest light, they consume very little power, and they can display an image indefinitely (even without a power source). This makes them useful for reading, mapping, or other static activities that don’t require a screen to refresh very often.

Again, as with all rumors, we won’t know anything for certain until Yota themselves make an announcement. However, if these leaks are to be believed, the Yota 3 may offer one of the most unique and innovative smartphone experiences this year.

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