e-ink – BIG

Given the popularity of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and Flip line, it’s not surprising to learn that Apple is reportedly experimenting with a similar foldable design.

According to notable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is working on a foldable smartphone/tablet that features a secondary Electronic Paper Display (EPD) cover screen. Kuo goes on to say that the technology is also being tested in “tablet-like applications.” Apple is reportedly exploring the technology because of its “excellent power-saving” capabilities.

Apple is testing E Ink's Electronic Paper Display (EPD) for future foldable device's cover screen & tablet-like applications. The color EPD has the potential to become a mainstream solution for foldable devices' must-have cover/second screen thanks to its excellent power-saving.

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) May 17, 2022

Reports regarding Apple’s plans for a foldable smartphone/tablet plans have surfaced several times over the past few years. In May 2021, Kuo reported that Apple could have plans to drop its foldable in 2023 and that the tech giant expects to ship 20 million units in its first year. Then in December of the same year, display analyst Ross Young said that Apple won’t release a foldable smartphone until 2023 or 2024 at the earliest.

It’s unclear if Apple’s foldable device falls under the iPhone or iPad line since Kuo’s latest prediction doesn’t mention a display size for the device.

Whatever the case, Apple’s foldable device is likely still years away from release.

Source: @mingchikuo Via: The Verge

After the Kaleido 3, E-Ink has just announced its latest colour ePaper for Readers.

According to the company, its new ePaper called the Gallery 3 will feature a higher colour resolution of 300 pixels per inch (ppi), in contrast to 150ppi on the Kaleido 3. Most importantly, the new display has a faster update time.

The black-and-white update time has been reduced to 350 milliseconds (ms), which means, pages with only black and white colours would update in .35 seconds, while the fast colour mode now takes 500 ms to refresh. The normal colour mode takes 750-1000 ms, and the best colour takes 1500 ms (1.5 seconds) to update.

E Ink Gallery 3 offers faster update times, improved resolution, a new front light technology that reduces #bluelight, and more! Learn more about the next generation of color #ePaper here. https://t.co/wHsLekvyDA pic.twitter.com/kkAhpuRKob

— E Ink (@EInk) April 25, 2022

Gallery 3 also supports pen input at 30 ms for black and white, along with support for “other colours,” though E-Ink didn’t mention which colours.

Additionally, just like the company’s recently released Kaleido 3, Gallery 3 also incorporates ComfortGaze technology. ComfortGaze reduces the blue light reflected off the display by lowering the blue light ratio by 60 percent and the blue light toxicity factor by 24 percent, allowing users to view content on the screen for longer durations without eye discomfort.

“E Ink is very excited to announce this significant breakthrough with E Ink Gallery 3,” said Johnson Lee, CEO of E-Ink.

“For the first time, our Gallery full color ink platform series can be offered for an enhanced reading and shopping experience for eBooks, and for colorful document viewing and editing in eNotes. We have invested over $100 million dollars in R&D resources and budget to improve every aspect of this technology. Our team across the world has worked tirelessly over the past several years, and has made a product we can all be proud of.”

The new Gallery 3 will be on display, along with the Kaleido 3 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, at Touch Taiwan from April 27th to 29th. E-Ink didn’t talk about any future products that might incorporate Gallery 3, though we might learn about them at Touch Taiwan.

Image credit: E-Ink

Source: E-Ink