Hisense has been focusing on dedicated e-readers and music players with E INK screens. The Hisense Hi Reader was one of the best portable devices of the year and it is pocket friendly and brimming with great specs. The company has just released a follow-up, the Hisense Hi Reader Pro, which has the ability to support a SIM card to make phones and use data, to use it on the go, if you are not within WIFI zones. It is available from the Good e-Reader Store.
The Hisense Hi Reader features a 6.1-inch E INK Carta HD display with a 300 PPI display. It has a front-lit display and warm lighting with 36 different levels. The reader has a black color scheme on the front and back, with a flush screen and bezel design. Like most Hisense devices, they are primarily marketed in China, but they do support English.
Underneath the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor, 4GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. There is WIFi for surfing the web and installing apps. Bluetooth 5.0 is also included for those of you that like pairing wireless headphones or external speakers to listen to audiobooks, podcasts or music. It has a single super lineur speaker and dual microphones. The Hi Reader has support for high resolution audio with APTX, AAC, SPC, LDAC with high bitrate. There is included support for 4G internet via a data plan or voice/data. There is no word on supported network bands. There is a USB-C port for charging and it is powered by a 4000 mAh battery. It weighs 183g, which is nice and light.
Hisense is running Google Android 11 on this model and they normally have a small app store, primarily populated with Chinese apps. Users can install their own 3rd party app app stores, such as Amazon, or Samsung. Sideloading apps is also possible, so you can easily get the Kindle app. Hisense has a number of speed modes available to boost performance make apps run faster.
What is the difference between the Hi Reader and the Hi Reader Pro? The normal Hi Reader has a 6.7-inch screen, whereas the new model is 6.1. The RAM and storage is halved and it doesn’t have the same support for audio. The battery is 1000 mAh smaller and it is running Android 10. The biggest change is the inclusion for a SIM card. No longer will you have to rely on WIFI zones.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
