- Hisense has announced a phone with a removable back screen
- The front display is e-ink and the rear is LCD
- Currently, the phone has only been announced for China, so it may not be widely available
We don’t see much experimentation in smartphone design anymore, so I always applaud when companies try something new. That’s exactly what Hisense has done with its new A10 handset, as this has two screens – and one of them is removable.
Specifically (via GoodEreader ), this one has a 6.13-inch monochrome e-paper display on the front (it’s not clear if this is officially an E Ink) and a detachable color LCD screen on the back.
It runs Android 16, but most of the specifications have not been revealed yet, except that it uses an octa-core 4nm chipset, which according to leaker Experience More is a Snapdragon. In any case, being 4nm means this won’t be a high-end phone, but then high-end specs would arguably be wasted on an e-paper screen.
According to Experience More, the removable LCD display will be sold separately. This makes sense as not everyone will necessarily want two screens.
But it’s an interesting idea that potentially gives you the benefits of both e-paper and a conventional phone screen – and since the second screen is removable, you don’t have to add the bulk or fragility of the second screen when you don’t want to.
The wrong way around
I can’t help but think it would have made more sense to make the e-paper screen the removable back. After all, for most people, an e-paper display is more of a secondary device — one you might use to read a book or save battery, but not for most smartphone tasks.
There is a market for e-paper phones – those who want simplicity or less eye strain are drawn to them for one, and they can also help encourage people to use their phones less because there’s more friction there than with an LCD or OLED screen.
But they remain niche devices, and while the Hisense A10 in some ways gives you the best of both worlds, it could end up being even more niche as it combines the niche of an e-paper display with the niche of a dual-screen device.
So personally, I’d love to see this reversed – giving buyers a conventional smartphone with the option of an e-paper attachment. But until a company gives us that, there’s always the Xteink X4 – a little leather that can be magnetically attached to the back of phones.
The problem with this is that it doesn’t run Android or integrate with your phone’s apps, making it a bit more limited than a true dual-screen device would be. But it’s better than nothing.
As for the Hisense A10, it’s currently only announced for China, so you might need to import it.
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