During a conference dedicated to new hardware from the Hanvon brand (an Asian brand little known in Europe and the US), an Android tablet was announced and, surprisingly, it is equipped with a new Kaleido 4 color e-ink screen.
This color e-ink screen technology is developed by the company E INK. It therefore succeeds the Kaleido 3 screens that currently equip all the e-readers on the market (well, 95% of them). The Kindle, Kobo and Pocketbook brands generally use these screens.
We knew that the company was working on Kaleido 4 but, until now, we did not know how far along this technology was.
Fortunately, a user of the social network Reddit shared images of a prototype device using a Kaleido 4 color screen. The device is the Hanwon M10C Gen2 and no release date has been announced.
What we can already say is that there is a clear improvement in screen sharpness and color rendering, with colors that seem more vivid and more accurate than on the previous generation of screens.
Here is what has been said about the performance of the new Kaleido 4 screens:
- 50% higher contrast
- A “whiter” white, 15% more
- Less visible grain / pixels
- A screen refresh rate that can go up to 18 frames per second
All of this information comes from the technical specifications released by the marketing team, and we are used to this kind of regular announcement from E Ink.
That being said, if this new screen delivers on its promises, it is clear that the improvement is significant compared to the current generation of screens.
As is customary with these new screens, they will first be available from Chinese device manufacturers. Then, generally, it is the Pocketbook brand that integrates it into one of its e-reader models, before it finally appears in the e-readers of the major brands we know.
We will therefore have to wait a little longer to know whether or not this new Kaleido 4 color screen is worth it, or whether it is only a minor evolution.
With a bit of luck, we will be able to discover an e-reader using a Kaleido 4 screen in the US sometime in 2027!