The Kingrow K1 is the first E Ink driven smartphone with modern specs. It has a single e-paper panel as the main screen that gives you around three weeks of battery life. Good e-Reader now has the final production model in our hands and would like to offer you a full unboxing video.
The Kingrow K1 features a 5 inch E Ink Carta HD display with a resolution of 1280×720 and 283 PPI. It has an adjustable front-light, something that no other smartphone in this class has ever had. Underneath the hood is a MediaTek Helio P23 (MT6763) octa-core processor , 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. There is a USB-C port on the bottom of the device and also 2 stereo speakers on the back.
There is also a front camera facing camera on the prototype, but it is unknown if it will be included in the final production model. There is also an 8MP rear camera with LED flash with auto-focus.
It is powered by a respectable 3100 mAh battery and you should expect around 2 days of usage when using apps and making phone calls. If it is used purely as an ebook reader, you can expect around a week of battery and 13 days of standby mode.
The Kingrow K1 is running a modern version of Android, unlike most of the e-readers that are currently available. It comes with Android 8.1 Oreo and will have full compatibility with Google Play and Google Play Services, so you can install all of your favorite apps.
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.