BMW’s revolutionary concept cars, which showcased color-changing capabilities through E Ink Holdings’ cutting-edge technology, were notably absent from CES 2024, despite their impressive debut in 2022 and 2023. Speculations arose about the technology possibly becoming outdated, but industry insiders argue otherwise. E Ink Holdings’ technology took center stage at CES 2024, featuring on various consumer devices, such as smartphones and notebook computers. This inclusion suggests a potential move towards commercializing this transformative technology.
Transsion Holdings presented a mobile handset incorporating EIH’s Multi-Color e-paper Film and E Ink Prism 3 technology, branded as “E-Color Shift Technology.” This innovative feature allows the phone’s exterior to dynamically change colors and patterns, displaying time-related information through 60 micro-units on the phone’s back without a continuous power supply. Notably, E-Color Shift Technology stands out from conventional phone accessories, marking the first native personalization application in phone design. This marks a significant stride in integrating color-changing e-paper panels into electronic product aesthetics.
Lenovo also embraced this trend by unveiling the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 SPE at CES 2024, described by EIH as a revolutionary proof-of-concept product. This high-performance laptop boasts a customizable casing, supporting up to 1,000 different images for users to express their creativity. Lenovo’s software, hardware algorithms, and E Ink Prism technology collaborate seamlessly, ensuring that the color-changing cover does not compromise battery life, even when the system is off.
Beyond personal electronics, Kohler, a renowned US kitchen and bath brand, introduced NUMI 2.0, the world’s first smart toilet with an E Ink display, at the “Kitchen & Bath China” exhibition in June 2023. Utilizing E Ink Prism e-paper from EIH, this toilet offers dynamic color changes and customizable patterns, signaling EIH’s expansion into smart home and smart living markets.
In August 2023, Xiaomi took a leap into the future with CyberDog 2, a bionic quadruped robot featuring EIH’s Prism e-paper, showcasing the versatility of color-changing technology in unconventional applications.
There has also been a guitar that we came across earlier which had its exterior done up with the Prism 3 display and hence exhibited color-changing properties. This further highlights how the Prism 3 e-paper display panels can be easily clamped to just about any surface
While these applications, spanning from automotive to bathroom fixtures, are captivating, they remain in the early stages of development, existing as conceptual ideas rather than mass-produced products. Despite the excitement surrounding color-changing e-paper displays in consumer goods, including computers and handsets, EIH emphasized that product development is ongoing, with the market release timeline yet to be determined.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
