E Ink was the next big thing. Is it finally ready?

E Ink has owned its own little niche in the the e-reader ecosystem for more than fifteen years. Now, thanks to improved capability and reduced cost, the tech is finding its way into monitors, laptops, phones, watches, tablets, and more. So what’s next for E Ink? Can it truly compete in all those different device categories? And…should it? Presented by Meta for Work. #Technology
Read more: bit.ly/3MIVRPg
0:00 Introduction
0:32 What is E Ink
1:17 Amazon Kindle breakthrough
2:22 Microscopic E Ink
3:29 Benefits and downsides
4:52 E Ink evolution
5:49 E Beyond the e-reader
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[@TheVerge]

What gadget do you most want to get an E Ink makeover?

[@adeebmd5701]

Kinda miss my pebble

[@crachor]

Smartwatches need to bring it back, in force.

[@bagassaadillah]

Bring back pebble with e ink tech 😢

[@scottbmcqueen]

I want a color bulletin board with a plexy cover so you can use dry erase markers on it.

[@madscola]

smart watches!

[@XArthieX]

We need E ink patents to expire

[@zukacs]

most of them did

[@erifetim]

weird that they didn‘t even mention it

[@mindbeast971]

instead they interview the sales contact of the company, sigh😊

[@Jeez001]

Yeah parents are what prevented LED, OLED, LCD for every catching on 😂. Eink just didn't catch on because of its limitations.

[@MrAmitkr007]

​@@Jeez001e ink parents were very disciplinary

[@MentalEdge]

I can't believe the verge would get this wrong, the Pebble WAS NOT E-INK. They used transflective memory LCDs, similar in appearance to e-ink, BUT STILL LCD!!

[@pawepiat6170]

Which is another underused tech. So far only saw it on pebbles, garmins, and the playdate. Maybe some 2010s car systems?

[@solidunit]

They’re not tech people

[@theglimy]

Didn't knew this exist. But on their KS campaign "The new color e-paper display is easy to read and always-on, perfect for displaying incoming notifications and your favorite watchface. Compared with display technology like LCD or OLED, power consumption is minimized, enabling Pebble Time"

[@MentalEdge]

@@theglimy epaper is not eink. It's a term they made up since "transflective memory LCD" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

[@gonnermalegs]

I don't think they actually said it was an E-Ink smartwatch, just that _Pebbled paved the way for one_, meaning that without Pebble, we might not have the existing E-Ink smartwatches of today.

[@eduadelarosa]

When the CO_2 monitor was shown at 6:17 it displayed 1410 ppm which is not healthy. Above 1000 ppm people lose concentration and at 1500 you start to get headaches. Also, 1410 means around 1 in 40 breaths were in someone else's lungs already, so there's that that for the spread of respiratory pathogens. The Verge should commit to improve air quality in their offices by employing mechanical ventilation in addition to HEPA filters in order to comply with the latest ASHRAE regulations.

[@DangerFieldProd]

In the following few frames it then shows 1844. In other shots it shows between 690 and 770.

[@MLWJ1993]

​@@DangerFieldProdIf you breathe on it, you can max it out! 😂 They're not super useful when setup directly next to a breathing person.

[@Anuj_Tomar]

I really want a folding phone with bigger eInk display inside and normal oled display outside , so that instead of carrying kindle , we can utilise our phone itself for reading books during commute while saving battery as well

[@AbhishekMukherjee]

Was thinking the same. Also if the phones or tablets had e-paper displays in the back case part. The colors could be changed, or it could serve as an e-reader.

[@gabriel1rodrigues2]

The reverse would be insteresting too. A foldable like z-flip. Oled inside, e-ink outside. The outside can be always on, and you can see notifications and dimiss them at will.

[@Anuj_Tomar]

@@gabriel1rodrigues2yeah wish it becomes mainstream, but there not many fans of non OLED tech , it did picked ip traction earlier, yota phone, eink cases , but all those companies got closed, maybe bigger corps should try again and atleast have it as an option albeit even at a slight premium

[@Hexagonian]

i remember seeing a phone like that, or maybe a phone CASE like that. i don't remember who made it though

[@whataweirdrequirement]

This is my dream phone.

[@benjaminandersen1097]

"maybe the goal is not to replace all screens, but just the ones that make sense" - so true

[@a-shockingly-generic-name]

I have been obsessed with e ink for years, seeing the kindle as a kid was the first piece of tech that I thought "oh my god they made sci-fi real". I saw the rise and fall of pebble, and I still think that an e ink smartwatch remains the best design. I have a kindle now but to be honest I spend more time marveling at the display itself than reading anything on it.

[@gabriel1rodrigues2]

E-ink smart watches is the smartest move of them all. You can show the hour at all times. And the refresh rate is 1 frame per minute. So you can save battery to the other coolthings it can do.

[@shyam163]

pebble was was a kind of lcd

[@siraaron4462]

But what if the back of my phone was an e-ink display? Instead of adding skin decals or cases if I wanted to change the look of my phone I could just select something

[@davidyang9902]

and it can even be used to show notifications or the time always on display

[@zaphenath6756]

there have been several phones like that already

[@Damonst3r68]

It already exists

[@JeffreyLan]

As great as the OLED on my smartwatch looks, it's totally overkill for something I just glance for a second or two a handful of times a day. I'm BEGGING for an eink smartwatch that could run for weeks between charges.

[@khopskins]

My garmin instinct 2 watch gets 21 days on a charge.

[@georgekontogiannis4091]

There used to be a company that made it, called pebble.

[@idontwantcorporateretaliat6301]

I have a fossil hybrid. I think ti can go 2 wks maybe.

[@hr1100]

My Garmin watch is used 24/7 (literally) and to track running sessions (GPS), and lasts almost 2 weeks on a charge. Has oled screen.

[@Project2457official]

Agreed. Half the point of the convenience of a watch is lost when you have to charge it every day.

[@mpstudies]

Increasingly I think the limits are being arbitrarily defined by what Amazon limits what its Kindle devices can do. It seems they’re starting to respond to the rest of the market with the Kindle Scribe, but it’s too little too late.

[@wilypueo]

I've been a user of Kindle for a long time, been waiting for a a great E-ink color display for graphic novels/art books.

[@Eutrofication]

I don't want light to keep streaming into my eyeballs all day, big fan of e-ink

[@asystole_]

I have bad news for you about how human vision works...

[@oo--7714]

​@@asystole_you already know what he means. No need to be obtuse.

[@CasterAzucar]

I use a Remarkable 2 ePaper tablet daily- e-ink for productivity is (to me, someone who is easily distracted) unbeatable!

[@pieceofshitzu2]

E-Ink is super great for utility purposes! Put it as signs around the world, not just regular TV'S

[@themizarkshow]

Happy to see the BOOX color e-ink stuff getting some attention. I love mine and take it everywhere. So much nicer for note taking and reading than an iPad.

[@JohnDoe-xc5kn]

I wish it could support more sophisticated note taking techniques like backlinks, or trackers, without needing a keyboard.

[@msbaseball333]

I keep waiting for a form factor like the Readius, a prototype I saw over 10 years ago. It was a rollable e ink display. Would be the perfect small reader.

[@rgb3x3]

I hate the question of eink replacing traditional displays. No, of course they can't replace them! They're made for a different use case. They can exist alongside LED displays for more specific purposes, ones that benefit from mostly static images and text that need to be changed sometimes, but that don't require dynamic animations.

[@joepasqua1751]

A little more history: “The story of E-Ink begins in the 1970s when Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) started working on the development of electronic paper. The idea was to create a display that could be easily updated with new information, but still have the look and feel of traditional paper. This early research led to the development of Gyricon, a type of electronic paper that used rotating bichromal beads to display images and text. However, Gyricon was limited in its capabilities and never gained widespread adoption.”

[@mrjiophone4987]

Everywhere i hear about a new technology, it traces itself back to one name XEROX

[@Lukas-qy2on]

2:22. that illustration was seriously awesome. it's right out of science-fiction and steampunk blueprints

[@michaeljurwin]

E ink is honestly such a good technology. Right now the only thing for venting me from wanting to fully switch most of my every day things to it is that I am stuck in the Apple ecosystem.

[@Nayson]

I’m sure Apple will invent e-ink within a decade.

[@michaeljurwin]

xD I would love an e-ink iPhone and iPad.

[@tamie341]

I'm sorry but thats hilarious and ridiculous at the same time. Stop buying into the stupid marketing bs all these companies push. You can buy any products you want even if they aren't Apple products...

[@kittipai1632]

What a sad life you must lead to be caged into a commercial ploy by your own admission. Do what you want, use what helps you.

[@N33k5]

Early in the pandemic time frame I bought myself a digital audío device that ran Android so i could play both my large local collection of music and still stream if needed and an android based eink tablet. I wanted to get off my phone more, not be distracted by notifications coming on over w/e I was listening to and still be able to read when light sensitivity is high. Some of the best investments in myself I have made.

[@JustCallMeBen]

Aren't there transparent OLED displays? How about putting a transparent OLED display in front of a color eink display, and being able to switch modes between eink and oled, so when you wanna watch a video, you can use the oled, but for regular stuff you can use the eink display?

[@whiteglitch]

even better the switch could happen automatically depending on the app you run

[@ConfuSomu]

@@whiteglitchor the switching could automatically happen after a while of no change, also based on the current activity. maybe some parts of the display could be e-ink while other, changing parts, could stay OLED?

[@Thundertactics]

Pebble watches never used E Ink (unless there's a model I'm unaware of). [edit: I suppose the video phrases it as "paved the way for an E Ink smartwatch", rather than outright calling it E Ink] They all used transflective memory LCDs (sometimes branded as "e-paper"); meaning LCDs that could both reflect and transmit light (so you could use a backlight), and had on-board per-pixel memory to retain an image and allow for partial updates. They still require a(n extremely low) of current to keep displaying that image. (Nevertheless, that's close enough for similar kinds of "static image displayed continuously" applications, while having faster refreshes.) The Playdate uses the same screen tech (albeit purely reflective, not transflective).

[@TheManinblack1011]

Man meta manages to advertise everywhere dont they?

[@JR_______]

"Are you pausing this video to read these?" Owen knows us too well.

[@OwenGrove]

Lol ayyy

[@TheLazyNecromancer]

I still daily drive one of those old pre-Kindle Sony E-Readers, I had to replace the battery and the official store closed down years ago, but it's still going strong.

[@scaredyfish]

Love my e-ink device for reading and note taking. The problem comes with task switching - as soon as I need to do something that's not great on e-ink, I need to move to another device. I'm all for specialised devices, but they're also expensive.

[@ssamufan2386]

Waiting for dem Harry Potter newspapers to come to life

[@jeffersonmp4]

Exactly!

[@jgames01]

Purple is objectively the best color

[@jamesoloughlin]

The video I have been waiting for :). Love e-ink. Need more in my life lol

[@AnonymousFreakYT]

The only problem with the use of "electronic paper" is that other manufacturers (notably Pebble, as someone else also commented,) use the term "e-paper" or "electronic paper" to refer to completely different technologies.

[@thomas23brown]

would love a flip-esque phone with one oled and one e-ink display tbh

[@shubhpanwala]

how does something like VS code look on an e-paper display ? I imagine, Developers looking at code whole day could use this as it is mostly text

[@mansome_ham]

I'm in love with the narration in this video. I'm not sure what her name is, but I hope she does more videos in the future

[@shamshermann]

Loved the video. Very useful! Thank you

[@infectedmushroom3488]

Loving mny new Onyx Boox Palma! Installed KDE Connect and Syncthing, plus KOReader synced with Calibre on my laptop. Set up a virtual network with ZeroTier, so now all my devices are connected and in sync. Note-taking using Obsidian and KOReader for easy highlights export.

[@GeorgeWashingtonLaserMusket]

I've followed E-Ink since the original Kindle was released, I'd love to see reasonably high resolution with color displays, I don't need video I just want something that can display full sized textbooks, comics, etc.

[@anjelas2708]

5:44 I was surprised

[@CrescentRollCarl]

I have a new Boox color tablet. I really like it, and I like what its done for me too. I've developed a pretty alarming KZbin habit over the years. Before I got this tablet I was averaging over 70 hours a week watching KZbin. I wanted to get back to reading, writing, and more active ways of consuming. The Boox tablet has really helped in this regard. Now I'm averaging about 15 hours a week on KZbin, some of that on my Boox Note Air 3C. My reading has increased exponentially, and I'm actually working on writing projects I've been putting off for years. Eye strain is way down too. For me, the e-ink devices really might be able to replace traditional monitors.

[@dedomenici]

I’ve been waiting decades for E-Ink tattoos to exist.

[@edoardo849]

Nice and relevant ad-break!

[@toadlguy]

What we need is an e-ink display that also has OLED. So when off or running an app that doesn’t require low screen latency (like an eReader app) it will use e-ink. Huge battery savings if we could get this to work.

[@jacobpro_]

Samsung Alias 2. My first cellphone back in 2009. Had an e-ink keyboard.

[@spiritfox6066]

I love how long they last. I could see this technology being good for long trips, camping, and survival.

[@darrishawks6033]

I want an e-ink monitor and I want color e-ink to be as vibrant in contrast as black and white e-ink. But, most importantly, I want them to make it feel suuuper close to paper. Even the highest end e-notes still feel slightly off

[@Tempora158]

Anyone remember Western Digital's My Book Elite drives? They were external USB drives that have e-ink displays so you can digitally label the drive and also shows how much storage space is left. I wish this was a standard feature by now.

[@gabrielmoro3d]

Great video as always!

[@AdamSchlesingerD]

All I want is (affordable) e-ink wallpaper. Is that so much to ask for?

I am fascinated by e-ink, but here in Brazil we have few options regarding e-readers. Kobo came to Brazil some ten years ago and I bought a Kobo Glo that already had internal lights and read epubs. Kindle came down here a few years later, but I was very happy with my Kobo. Problem is that Kobo left the country, so it´s just Amazon and Kindles now. I like Kindle, but Amazon is too comfortable and the Kindle hasn´t changed that much if you compare it with other companies. We should be able to buy a colored Kindle by now, at least.

[@Big007Boss]

They should put e-ink on the back of an iPhone

[@luckycatdad8369]

There's a case you can buy that does that.

[@JK-xz1lt]

I think the MS Surface Duo should've had an e-ink display on the outside. That would have been cool.

[@57z]

We just need an e-ink phone case… ie one side of your phone and then there is a companion app for the opposite side… your case. Would be rad for book reading, and fun dynamic wallpapers or various informational widgets

[@luckycatdad8369]

It exists already, has for years.

[@neef1532]

Been using the remarkable for almost a year as a student. Definitely agree with the final point she made at the end.

[@paulwood1449]

Fab video, super interesting and educational! Apropos of nothing, why two watches??

[@FranciscoAreasGuimaraes]

Great video! Hate the ads in the middle

[@luckycatdad8369]

You got ads? You don't use Sponsorblock?

[@Patheticbutharmless]

What would be great to know is wether the display has to refresh all particles on the entire screen if movement occurs or only those part of the screen where it does.

[@obvinpro]

Dope and Quality content right here

[@ilkoderez601]

Finally bought a 11th gen Kindle, it's amazing.

[@JohnDoe-xc5kn]

I wish they had a back link note taking app (like Logseq or Obsidian) that supports writing with a pen in a seamless way.

[@Gkitchens1]

It’ll never replace much better displays. But its features make it amazing enough for me at least. Really want to get an affordable e ink android to mess with but mainly use for reading the news.

[@pdubplaw]

At around 6:14 I seen a smaller Kindle Oasis. Is there two different sizes now? 😮

[@lambgoeswoof]

I really enjoyed this. Victoria’s great.

[@cooluser23]

Can't wait for the innovation once rhe patents run out in 2026. Also prices will come down as the bulk of the cost is the single supplier screen.

[@ego_gamer2497]

as a musican i would like to use a e-ink tablet to replace my 10kg of sheet music i carry around with me regularly

[@MeRenegade]

I want a colour e ink phone so bad

[@6tom1g]

put this on front part of fold able phones. it would be perfect in battery life.

[@Yaa7700]

For a very large device just for reading (needing large text) any suggestions?

[@tuananhcu8011]

Tcl has one advance technology called Nxtpaper. Basically an LCD display with advantage of E ink

[@Axunen]

They had a real Facebook ad in the video? That is dystopian in the way it was made.

[@RobinThomson277]

I'm going to be shopping for an e ink phone this year. I want android but I don't want to get sucked Into scrolling tik toks for hours. I started a college course and seeing the grip oled videos can get over you, and feeling it a bit, is scary. That intentionality is so important

[@luckycatdad8369]

Boox Palma.

[@RobinThomson277]

@@luckycatdad8369 the Palma has everything EXCEPT a network radio and SIM card. It's beautiful... I wish I could phone people on it.

[@luckycatdad8369]

@@RobinThomson277 oh right, it can't take a sim card. You could still phone people over wifi, but that's not as convenient I suppose.

[@RobinThomson277]

@@luckycatdad8369 true and tragic. Hopefully there's a new hisense eink phone they did a few a couple years ago 🤞🤞🤞

[@qiii]

This is a V Song ink appreciation comment

[@Patheticbutharmless]

Dasung has a new tablet/secondary monitor(quite small) that "seems" to have a really, really good refresh rate. Non color. The videos framerates look very good.

[@vedangjadhav3036]

Using E-Ink gadgets gives vintage vibes

[@rezonthe]

This video ironically gives me eye strain and makes me realize how much I could benefit from getting back into e-ink.

[@smashhead9728]

Why hasn't anyone yet used it as a display for synthesizers. Would be great.

[@lyfandeth]

Magnadoodle? Oh you KIDS, you should remember ETCH A SKETCH!

[@abhiseckdev]

E Ink display in a Smart watch is really good

[@UXXV]

Pebble didn’t use E ink. It was low power lcd btw.

[@NathanMilkie1]

Why are you wearing two smart watches?

[@saminnippon]

yas get that meta money

[@deathblade909]

Honest e ink readers are dope

[@TheNetbug]

Is there a colour e-ink tablet/reader in the 10-12" range? Really hoping for one for magazines and comics.

[@Alexchii]

Onyx boox note air 3 c

[@DunnickFayuro]

Now do the pico projectors. They were to be *the* thing back in the days. We were told they'd be embeded inside our phones. What happened?

[@TheWebgecko]

Tbh epaper displays don’t give me motion sickness while on a train but light emitting displays do

[@helloimedden]

More of this host! I didn’t really like the whole screens comparison but I get that the general public needs to understand the difference to be able to understand that it’s not a replacement for smartphones/tv’s. I think it would be helpful to have talked about what it could be used for in the future. I think all the examples of its current use in products and prototypes is interesting but if we are talking about the future then we should be looking at the reality that this will be the cheap alternative for alarm clock display like appliances. That real mass adoption will be everywhere that no one will notice it or care. Right now it’s not cheap enough or high tech enough and it’s corporate branding under E Ink, so people will add it to their branding but I think most of the tech will be in devices like a microwave and dishwasher where they don’t put “capacitive touch” in the name or even the main marketing. It will just be a tech spec, with as much relevance to consumers as types of Lithium batteries. One is obviously better for an iPhone vs a pacemaker but no mainstream consumer knows what battery their device has or what the drawbacks/benefits of the options are. They don’t even care about battery replacement lifespan. They just throw it away or take it to the Genius Bar. Look at AirTags. Battery life is a couple years and the batteries need to uncoated. This leads every Amazon review section for CR2032 batteries to be spammed with 1 star “doesn’t work for AirTag” comments. My point is, that like batteries, people won’t care about the display type for 99% of the consumer products that e-ink will be used for commercially in the future. E-Ink will be a huge company but its technology will be invisible. People might google LED vs OLED if they’re buying a TV but they won’t google “E-Ink” vs LCD for their washing machine or air fryer.

[@dastafford]

I have always though E-Ink would be great for school textbooks. Especially the color ones since it would be kept to scientific drawings and diagrams for the most part. In addition to that, you can have simple animations for math problems and other concepts.

[@jonaswinkler_dp]

I love my remarkable. Such a nice viewing experience.

[@CadyCadwell]

06:04 please tell me where to buy this

[@BrianHartman]

E-ink makes a lot of sense for signs, and it's obviously great for long form content on e-readers. I'm not sure color e-readers make a lot of sense until the technology improves. All the color e-ink displays I've seen have looked washed-out, which isn't ideal for things like comics and newspapers, for example.

[@Clownmeati8]

When they can get the price down a little more on tablets this will probably do a lot better

[@davidalearmonth]

We need it for Sheet Music.

[@stefanosk27]

We need an iPad mini with a hybrid lcd / e-ink display

[@heidelbergaren5054]

It’s Remarkable too

[@LeoMkII]

I had no idea there were e ink smartwatches, I reckon they probably look better than lcd/oled

[@LackofFaithify]

There weren't. The verge is made of idiots. Pebble was as much of an E-Ink display as Flipper the dolphin was a grey nurse shark.

[@dsrainingit]

Is there a tablet or monitor that i can use google on??

[@thewanderer4509]

E-ink tech gadgets has the potential for future widespread mass adoption, if more and more of members of the public become aware of its advantage (for sound deep sleep at night) over the sleep-disruptive aspect of blue-light emitting current computer screen tech (utilised by modern smartphones, tablets, LCD-LED tvs, laptops, and desktops among others).

[@rowanstrang8072]

I just want a 5” display i can attach to my fridge that can alternate between showing a calendar in the morning and whats for dinner like a restaurant menu in the evening. Something that looks inoffensive (no visible branding on the outside) mounts simply, charges simply and i can customise/control from my phone through a wifi connection. Does this exist? Not that I’ve seen 😢

[@luckycatdad8369]

Boox Palma is closer to 6" but it's essentially a fully fledged Android tablet that can do everything a phone without a sim card can do.

[@MarkMark]

Wait… what was that weird meta-Facebook infomercial / 25th frame?

[@eink-reviews]

No discussion of eink smartphones like Hisense A9?

[@franko1642]

too bad pebble didn't made it. i Really loved that watch. I was so excited to have the one with colors on it.