E-ink supplies electronic ink screens to all e-reader manufacturers (including Kobo, Kindle, and Pocketbook). For several years, they've been showcasing a brand new type of color screen: the Spectra 6. Unfortunately, despite being announced years ago, this technology is still not available!
This new "color electronic paper" technology is based on the use of 6 colors which are then combined to produce the correct shades of color needed.
The screens presented at various trade shows have a diagonal of 25.3 inches with a resolution of 3200 x 1800 pixels for 145 PPI. However, these screens can reach a definition of up to 200 PPI.
According to the photographs and videos that can be seen on the web, Spectra 6 screens are impressive! They are clearly the most advanced when it comes to displaying vibrant colors with a contrast that allows them to be easily mistaken for a paper print.
It's truly a revolution that nevertheless has a major flaw: it currently takes 12 seconds to completely refresh the screen and display a different photograph!
This is completely unacceptable for an e-reader, which needs to refresh the screen much faster for a good reading experience.
These E-ink Spectra 6 color electronic ink screens are therefore currently reserved for display and signage. They can be used as signage in shopping malls or for displaying promotional offers in stores – for example.
Despite this significant limitation, the images we can see are truly fascinating and provide a good overview of what e-readers could become in the coming years.
With a refresh rate that drops to less than 2 seconds, I think many of us would adopt an e-reader with a Spectra screen as a reading device for novels and comics.
The previous generation of Spectra color signage screens from E Ink required about 30 seconds to refresh. Unfortunately, it took the company and its engineers years to successfully halve that time!
Spectra 6 screens were scheduled to be delivered as early as 2024. But, in mid-2025, these screens are still only seen very rarely and are far from being available in large quantities. They may not even be truly available for electronic device manufacturers...
Furthermore, the official E Ink website has not even been updated this year regarding the availability of these screens:
See the E-ink website: https://www.eink.com/brand/detail/Spectra6
For people who want to see what it could look like, here's an interesting video that gives a better idea of the quality of the color display:
With a beautiful display close to a print, this technology seems far more convincing than the Kaleido 3 screens found in current color e-readers.
But, t seems that Spectra 6 technology is struggling to develop. Is it due to the manufacturing cost or because the technology is not yet ready?
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