Onyx Boox is going to be releasing a new E INK smartphone later this year. This is the second mobile device that they have developed, the first one was issued in 2011. The new device will have a very modern version of Android and access to the Google Play Store.
The Onyx Boox Phone features a single screen 5.8 inch E Ink Carta HD display with 300PPI. It has a front-lit display and color temperature system. Underneath the hood is a octa-core processor, but the amount of RAM and internal storage is unknown. It has a USB-C port and there is a fingerprint reader to lock or unlock the phone. There is dual microphones, so call quality will be pretty good. There will be SD card via the SIM card tray. You can have 2 SIMS or 1 SIM and one SD card.
There are two speakers to play music, audiobooks or podcasts. There will be WiFi, 4G / LTE and Bluetooth. Onyx has told me that this device shown at CES is a prototype and it will be refined and more specs will be shared in a month or two.
There is a dual camera system on the back, the design is similar to the iPhone XS MAX. The exact number of megapixels is unknown, but it will likely be 12MP to 18MP.
On a software level, the Onyx Phone is using Android 9.0, which is their third product to use a modern OS. They are currently using a skinned version of Android, calls, text messages, apps and settings icons are on the main screen. The Onyx Boox MAX 3 and Note 2 have a new vertible refresh system, which makes web-browsing, watching videos or streaming music on an E Ink screen viable. They have brought Normal Mode, Speed Mode, A2 Mode and X Mode to their phone, so using Android apps will be solid.
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.
