Catching up with the latest viral TikToks on your smartphone or getting lost in mobile gaming can be a strain on the eyes. E Ink alternatives are few and far between, and they can be pricey for what you get. Bigme has now launched more budget-friendly options.
The two new additions to Bigme's lineup of E Ink smartphones share much, but each offers a slightly different user experience. This is because one model sports a monochrome ePaper display and the other goes color. Either way, screen size is 5.84 inches.
Folks choosing the black-and-white HiBreak S will get visuals at 720 x 1,440 pixels (276 ppi), plus the company's own fast-refresh technology that supports refresh rates of up to 24 frames per second. If regular smartphones could mock – and in these days of AI everything, you never know – they'd be doing so right about now.
However, the xRapid tech should be good for fairly smooth scrolls or page turns. But it won't be too tasty in the video watching department. Bigme has also baked in an algorithm to reduce ghosting for "a cleaner and more comfortable viewing experience." Visuals here will be in shades of gray too, meaning that users who want color will have to stump up a bit more cash for the color version. You'll get the same refresh and anti-ghosting tech, and the same black-and-white resolution, but color comes in at just 240 x 480 pixels (92 ppi) – which is likely to leave you wanting.
Reduced eye-strain aside, E Ink is also good for extended usage between top-ups, and Bigme promises that the 3,300-mAh battery will "maintain a charge for a remarkably long time" – though doesn't actually specify how long that might be. You'll need to plug in more often if you make use of the 36-level front light when strong ambient light isn't available. That said, I actually prefer the front light on all of the time when using my e-note – which isn't as fatiguing for the eyes as it may sound, as the LED glow is pushed out over the display rather than shining straight into my eyes.
Other key specs include octa-core processing supported by 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage – which can be expanded to 1 TB via microSD media. The card slot is also where you plonk in your SIM card for 4G LTE connectivity and cellphone usage. It runs Android 14 out of the box, though we're not sure if OS upgrades are included in the package.
Each model comes with dual cameras – a 13-megapixel main at the rear and a 5-MP selfiecam to the front – with "seamless OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology" for scanning documents.
You'll naturally have to adjust your expectations of what a modern smartphone can do if you dive into the E Ink pool, but your eyes may thank you for it. The HiBreak S black-and-white model is priced at US$249, while the color E Ink version bumps that up to $279.
Product page: Bigme HiBreak S
