Color E-ink looks CRAZY Under a Microscope!

Taking apart our FIRST color E-ink Tablet! Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at www.stamps.com/jerryrig. Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show! The Boox Note Air 3 is a large electronic paper e-reader for graphic novels or colored comics. Is a color i-ink display any good? Are colored E-ink displays durable? Today we will find out!
Current pricing of the Boox Note Air 3C is here: amzn.to/3TZObuM
Watch my E-ink smartphone teardown here: • This E-ink Smartphone ...

[@AntVenom]

A long time ago, there actually was a smart watch that used a colored e-ink display. The Pebble Time. After Pebble was sold off, I was always amazed that the technology didn’t seem to get iterated on much. It seemed like it had a ton of potential, especially with how smooth the animations were on that watch.

[@RayRayIsCoolio]

man, an eink display on a smartwatch sounds amazing

[@LinkofLight]

Yes! It always amazed me how that watch's display seems to have been forgotten about. I still use it to this day (thanks Rebble) and it's honestly incredible smooth and colorful it is. It obviously isn't as vibrant as a traditional display, but it's still one of the best e-inks I've ever seen. I imagine it's small size has something to do with it, but I would have hoped that almost a decade of technological innovation would have made that technology more widespread in e-readers and such. Edit: After reading through some more comments, turns out the Pebble Time was an "e-paper" display which is a different technology. The more you know! I still think my last sentence still applies, that the low-power, paper-like display market should have developed so much more by now. Whether is issues with patents, lack of research or funding, or whatever reason, it's still a shame and I hope the slow uptick in these kinds of devices help push these technologies forward.

[@tjebutski8857]

@@RayRayIsCoolio it was

[@TamerChris]

I used to own a Pebble Steel which had the black and white screen but it didn't last long before the screen malfunction and the display fade away when I press the side botton. I got sent a replacement but the replacement suffered the same issue after a few weeks of usage.

[@elaquen7]

i feel like the fact that a single company holds all the patents to e ink technology makes innovation less likely to appear, since that company is the only source of advancement in this field and there is no competition.

[@sweetswing]

Can it run DOOM?

[@isaacdruin]

It's good to see people asking the important questions.

[@Psycheux_]

I would say and its current state His sure can’t

[@sagethelemur]

i bet and i want to see this done

[@EnriqueMcQuade]

Yes

[@Felenari]

Everything runs doom. It's like everything tastes likes chicken. It just does.

[@sudiprajbanshiii]

I loved that they're making and improving the e-ink technology

[@HansMilling]

The Pepple watch was eInk, but I don’t think they are produced any more.

[@Wo-Lad]

@@HansMilling e-paper, not e-ink, different tech

[@GalaxyFur]

​@Wo-Lad E-Paper is E-Ink. E-Ink is a type of E-Paper display technology. E-paper is a general terminology for any display technology trying to mimic actual paper. E-Ink just does the best job of mimicking Paper compared to any other display technology.

[@Wo-Lad]

@@GalaxyFur the e-paper used in the pebble time was an LCD panel, not the normal, licensed e-ink, that's what I meant

[@oladrolahola]

"Patient survival is optional" scariest words you can hear as a patient 😂

[@labiscotte5687]

9:40 that was a close call for your finger

[@JerryRigEverything]

its ok - I have spares.

[@khalidghazal4938]

@@JerryRigEverything 🤔

[@Frozty]

@@JerryRigEverything From someone who just got 9 stitches in his thumb from basically this same thing, BOY missing a functional thumb seems so much worse than missing any other finger lol. Also, the numbing of it to get those stitches put in... that was not fun.

[@EXG21]

@@Frozty I did it to my side palm in the fatty area of the palm. A lot of stitches and I could actually see the fat cells inside the side palm. Very cool and painful. Ha ha.

[@daltonlutat]

Do you now ​@JerryRigEverything

[@danbrownlee4400]

Just pretending to not be broken - Aren’t we all. Truer words never spoken

[@dgmojojojo]

Searching for this exact comment. Glad i found it.

[@swaroopkamble6034]

2:38 Bro literally said "Rubber protection is always a good idea" ☠

[@riki_XD]

Yes it is No regrets 💀

[@jeremia9077]

The reveal that it was really just a normal E-ink display, but with a color-filter, was somehow mindblowing. Reminds me of how CRT screens did the same thing. Tho, it also explains the muted colors, and why they didn't go with a subtractive color scheme (CYMK) even tho they're dealing with physical pigments.

[@EnriqueMcQuade]

This shows that E-ink technology can be impressive.

[@SkeeziOS]

A

[@EnriqueMcQuade]

@@SkeeziOS A

[@user-rf5lf7cq5e]

@@EnriqueMcQuadeЕ

[@EXG21]

It is, especially when you optimize the settings to refresh on its own in the Air 3C settings.

[@SkeeziOS]

Wtf that wasn’t me 😭

[@christopherblack22]

E ink watch seems like a great idea! Battery life is way more important than refresh rate when it's just doing wrist watch things.

[@simmmomom]

Pebble Time smart watch used coloured eink

[@yensteel]

Agreed, companies such as Sony, Seiko, and Fossil Hybrid all use E-ink displays but the common consumer aren’t attracted to them so they got low sales and died out. Features/price is a common factor most people care about. Tech that looks old is unattractive to them. “If it looks old, it has to be cheap. If it’s not cheap, I would rather get a Samsung/Apple/Garmin instead”

[@Tomazack]

@@simmmomom No. It was coloured LCD disguising as e-paper, not e-ink.

[@StarkRG]

As an owner of several Pebble watches, @@Tomazack is correct, the screens are a very-low-power type of LCD. They don't have the ghosting problems that e-ink has, resulting in higher usable refresh rates (though "update rate" is probably a better term to use with e-ink), but they still require power to maintain a static image. I think some people were confused because they're transflective, meaning they use reflected ambient light most of the time but have a backlight if you need to see it in the dark (the slightly underhanded marketing didn't help).

[@JonnyFlash80]

Jerry's fingers must be immune to tiny glass shards.

[@RaumBances]

This display is much more snappy than others I've seen. Very cool. Thanks for the breakdown.

[@ADP4031]

Right ? it has more functionality, is more snappy and have more FPS, but I think the ghosting is quite a bit more present on the bad side, is it a setting that can be changed maybe ?

[@HenryLoenwind]

@@ADP4031 Yes, Boox devices have 5 levels of screen refresh. From "full refresh with black phase all the time" to a dithered high-fps mode that's suitable for video.

[@AltCutTV]

There are screen differences too of course. But usually it has less to do with the screen than the processing board. The more regular e-book focused readers mostly go for battery time and use as low power CPU and OS as possible. Like the typical Kobo. But some using the exact same screen (Tolino for example) have a more powerful CPU and run Android. They are perceived as updating faster because of this. The downside, battery time. Being counted in days instead of weeks.

[@questioncontrol6787]

"it's broken, but it's pretending to be ok" and I took that personally.

[@sungi7833]

If you've ever seen other eInk displays, the refresh rate on this screen is insane!

[@krelsen7]

i think some devices in the past have been able to do this, but the tradeoff is that the higher refresh rate leaves more ghosting, so it's usually a setting.

[@ziginox]

The refresh rate really reminded me of those awful passive STN displays from the early/mid-2000s. Honestly, not bad.

[@yensteel]

Boox’s super refresh technology is really good, the best in the industry but it is more intensive on the battery. What users are really complaining about is that BSR is always turned on. You get 10x more battery life on the Note Air 3 (B/W) than the Note Air 3C.

[@epaper_eink]

Dasung and hisense are even faster

[@Steamrick]

I have the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus G4 with colored eInk secondary display. The display is very much like the one shown here - probably from the same factory, too. The Lenovo has two options for driving the eInk: A high-refresh mode with 12Hz that has decent ghosting and very bad contrast and colours - as seen here. The other mode is called 'reader mode' with maybe 2Hz, long input lag and terrible ghosting, but the colours are *much* more vibrant. Great for reading books or comics, but useless for anything where the content changes with any regularity.

[@hellfighter6745]

An e-ink smart watch would be genius! I'd definitely use one

[@doomguydike]

pebbles were e-ink, you can use rebble to keep em going in the modern day

[@you-5-iver804]

I have a fossil gen 6 hybrid. It uses an E Ink display, honestly love it

[@sukhpreetsinghmankoo]

Yes

[@yensteel]

@@doomguydike They’re e-paper, low power LCD like in Casio watches. More accurately, transflective LCD (it’s and LCD that reflects light with an optional backlight). E-ink is a company and brand name that uses the particle up/down system that the pebble did not use. (E-ink is now synonymous like Kleenex).

[@amilcargg]

Amazfit bip lite has a similar display. I had one and loved it!

[@edwardpaulsen1074]

This was a great video!! Al the little jokes and running commentary was priceless and had me snickering and outright laughing at several points... I also enjoyed the casual destruction and the soothing calm voice as you went through it like a wrecking ball... even more so with getting a much closer look and understanding of what they did with the tech. As always, great stuff!

[@vesuviantitan4911]

Now that's a great improvement to e-ink displays. Love these for books.

[@mr.seal.gaming_6810]

Comes with a little rubber sleeve on cap . “Rubber protection is always a good idea” 😂😂

[@Anas-1220]

lol how do I not see these 😂

[@kbhasi]

😆 (In reality, it's to protect the pen nib from being bent while not in use)

[@zwatotem]

Ironic, considering this cap has a through hole on the tip.

[@Kyezie131]

Omg is that a reference to a condom LOL !

[@Leanzazzy]

Burns like hell when I piss... shoulda worn a rubber. -bandits in Far Cry 3

[@delta_cosmic]

Now we need a 240hz E ink display

[@peoplez129]

Won't happen any time soon, because these involve moving material in the pixel, which means physical travel time.

[@cloidless]

check out daylight computer. they are making a 60hz non flicker e-ink tablet

[@ThisNoName]

E-Ink at 240Hz is just like an inferior OLED

[@Decenium]

why? that would defeat the entire purpose of it.

[@yensteel]

Even if it is accomplished, the power consumption would exceed an LCD display. A T-LCD or R-LCD could accomplish it. You could try a mixture of dithering + interlaced or mosaic technique on eink to increase fps, but that can look ugly.

[@bengt_axle]

Grocery stores now use this technology (they have been for a few years now) to display product SKUs and prices. When there is a price change the update can be made with a simple device like a smartphone. I think some are even wi-fi enabled so as to allow prices to be changed remotely. I would like the idea of an e-ink display on a transit pass, so that you can see how many tickets are left on the card, or even a credit card, so that you can selectively display information.

[@rogeliocano9536]

That would be really awesome if you can have your credit card numbers toggled on and off with an e-ink display and also have it show your balance. The displays can be very thin, so it could be possible.

[@Clanps]

I was actually planning on buying this exact tablet soon. Very nicely timed video.

[@Daniel-yy3ty]

Too bad it's now in pieces...

[@Clanps]

@@Daniel-yy3ty 😂

[@ra3rd99]

@@Daniel-yy3ty You win the internet today

[@Hedgeyy]

My e-ink smartwatch was the best purchase I've made in a long time. Would love a colour version.

[@mma93067]

@fluffy_unicorn859i have a fossil hybrid hr that lasts almost two weeks on a single charge with customisable watch faces

[@MartinzW]

@fluffy_unicorn859 Garmin has made both black and white as well as colored one. Not sure about their current line up but I owned a colored vivowatch for 3 years

[@Asparagus504]

Same

[@mrprongles9510]

It's probably the skagen gen 6 hybrid! It also has real clock hands above the e-ink display! It's amazing for what it is but a bit clunky. (Speaking after owning it for a bit less then a year.)

[@RaveN_EDM]

Garmin Fenix is color e ink.

[@doctorbeanis]

This was sooo cool to see. Thanks Jerry!

[@gforever1000]

Great move with the carton shipping bags, love that ❤

[@matthewsabin]

Wow! Thanks as always for the teardown

[@androlee_]

I always love the last word "Thanks a ton for watching, I will see you around" always satisfying to hear and let's thank Jerry for his consistency.

[@jacobchalut706]

I have one of these and it's probably my current favorite tech device.

[@leifhietala8074]

My son recently got hold of a color e-ink tab, he uses it for all his reading anymore. He's in love. He's eriously jazzed about the on-but-unpowered nature of the display between refreshes.

[@rgomes88]

I have a pebble time smartwatch, which if I am not mistaken uses the same technology. The battery life after all these years still beats my android based smartwatch. I always wonder why no other smartwatch companies continued using the tech.

[@jaikishorsharan5971]

Actually that's a bit different, the pebble has a better refresh rate without ghosting but the screen does not stay on without power. However it is very energy efficient too.

[@KegRaider]

Yeh I have both the kickstarter models. The OG was a lot easier to read, but having colour was cool for almost 10 years ago. Both batteries expired, so i am reluctantly wearing a galaxy. I think i'll upgrade and get a garmin next, I think they have something similar to the eink, at least that's my understanding of the outstanding battery life they exhibit.

[@rogeliocano9536]

The pebble watch used a type of LCD screen that had chips next to every pixel that allowed it to save power not e-ink. The reason not many companies use e-ink is because one company owns the patents on e-ink and that means that no other company can use it without paying exorbitant amounts of money for something that may not sell.

[@ChalidRaqami]

Awesome video! Just a note: E-Ink devices have frontlights, with LEDs sitting in the bezel either on the side or bottom/top of the screen. The light is guided by a light carrier film on top of the e-ink screen, so the screen is evenly lit.

[@jugendrathakur3352]

6:31 bro literally said "my Note 24 ultra", lol 😂

[@Ayushmaan-oh1ug]

bro he is technacaliy not wronge

[@Ayushmaan-oh1ug]

as s24 ultra is also sometimes refferd as note 24 ultra

[@starboy10z]

Thank you I was waiting for this product

[@theplayernine8116]

Love the transition of you still talking on the E-ink!

[@wesleyhale4472]

Keep the e-ink content coming! I want it to get good enough so I can replace my phone.

[@silentvoidx9267]

I loved Posy's video on the displays, of course I'd love your video on them too

[@TheOnlyName]

Your device already being on while its shipped to you is always a nice touch.

[@Mircloudy]

Best channel tech wise, subscribed 👍🏻

[@ZeroAlpha1173]

My daughter dropped a glass on the floor and when it shattered I told her it’s ok because glass is glass and glass breaks.

[@Lildroptopw]

Wow! 😮

[@leoshork]

Video suggestion: try reviewing a Gallery 3 e-ink product! Those have colored particles and no filter, but a way slower refresh rate. The Bigme Galy is a device using this technology, but it flopped and was discontinued

[@isi_kebulan]

Rubber protection is always a good idea. Will keep that in mind. Thanks Jerry

[@Stengry]

Bro ngl this thing is 🔥🔥🔥im really looking to change to e ink soon , thanks jerry stay safe man

[@azenyr]

I see a lot of people in the comments commenting on how Pebble was the first to introduce color e-ink to the market with their watches. You are wrong. Pebble color screens were not e-ink, just normal LCDs with reflective backplates like a gameboy color. It uses very little power but it still uses power and is not e-ink. Another similar and still updated watch with similar screen as the Pebble is the Xiaomi Amazfit Pace aswell as some other cheaper xiaomi watches. They have a "always on display" that is a reflective lcd screen. Pretty cool nonetheless.

[@leoshork]

I have this tablet! It's an amazing productivity machine

[@user-lu1nh9sy4l]

Pretty interesting video. Thanks Jerry! I hope we see more e-ink color tablets in our daily life

[@minidee2194]

This is revolutionary! Displays will never be the same again thanks to JerryRigEverything efforts. Cheers.

[@femiewegbenroayomide8097]

Every year something interesting comes up, great videos Zack

[@Natsukashii1111]

Color eink is actually pretty old already but it has a hard time since ppl don't really buy eink for colors haha

[@bpexodus]

"JERRY BREAKS EVERYTHING"

[@ThierryC-te3rx]

The video I was waiting !

[@DaveKerk]

I got this exact tablet about 2 months ago and I have fallen in love it, it's an amazing little tablet.

[@sassproton]

9:07 *me every morning

[@krys4207]

6:32 ah yes, the note 24 ultra, once again, jerry doesnt know about tech, he just takes them apart

[@thetiger9133]

nooo coz it's realy like the note so he's right 👍🏼😅

[@prateekpanwar646]

It's intentional

[@RandySasquatch]

This was absolutely fascinating

[@IanGacek]

I ordered your knife and appreciated the eco-friendly packaging. Thanks bro

[@sushisoup6840]

That was genuinely hard to watch. I felt bad for the device. 😢

[@macosbyanthony896]

I'm surprised at saying this. I have missed you, Zack. These videos really calm me down. Thank you

[@JerryRigEverything]

Thank you for watching!

[@bhxlegend]

The best channel for durability no doubt 🎉

[@TherionRO]

It will be good to see a video testing out the Unihertz tank 3 Pro phone,its a beast and it will be nice seeing it on ur channel. Keep it up

[@inertiafn1k641]

2:45 That joke flew over everybody's head

[@justohall]

Nah, pretty sure most adults will get it - you would need to be pretty sheltered not too.

[@abhisheknavgan6829]

9:55 reality check 😭😭

[@480brad]

Technology is absolutely amazing. I can’t wrap my head around the manufacturing process.

[@rayproductionsbackupchanne3862]

i love the muted colors to be honest. feels really pleasing to the eyes.

[@samuelmutesasira4594]

😂😂Jerry chose to call S24 ultra the note 24 ultra because it's technically a Note 😅😅😅

[@Someshsunariwal]

Noticed the same 😂

[@GimmeTaxShelter]

Why is no one mentioning that sick intro?

[@JerryRigEverything]

Thank you!

[@ColdPotato]

Hearing that razor blade slide along an aluminum edge scratching off paint is the most satisfying sound.

[@micheskillz]

Love how you are proud of being green with the packaging etc and then makes for ewaste of the product, like any other product you destroy.

[@panagiotispappas1001]

Bus stop displays finna get colourful

[@Dogappel]

I see them a lot with orange leds or a lcd

[@yensteel]

Color eink are popping up in some cities. Traffic signs, bus arrival schedules, traffic lights… there’s some shops that fully replace their price labels with b/w eink. And they sometimes have a solar panel to assist them (no they’re not fully reliant on them, but they’re connected for fallback)

[@BurntFaceMan]

The irony of Zack talking about saving the environment via packaging, whilst he literally turns brand new items into Ewaste daily is astounding!

[@TheRocco96]

He sure likes to virtue-signal.

[@knic__8799]

So... you would rather have him not make eco friendly packaging???? So easy to criticise but you're not morally perfect either. Do what you can

[@Apathy474]

They would have been e-waste at some point in time regardless of what he did to them

[@TheNiteNinja19]

I agree, a color e-ink smartwatch would be an amazing use for this tech.

[@HDefectus]

These displays are pretty mind-blowing. Posy have some fantastic more in depth videos about e-ink and other types of displays. Well worth a watch!

[@AyushKumar-tm1zn]

6:32 Jerry got a galaxy note 24 ultra. 🗿

[@eridionkiorai]

S24 ultra is also called note 24 ultra

[@Wolf66487]

2:40 Rubber protection is always a good idea😂😂😂

[@illuminate4]

I've become mildly obsessed with e-ink because of screens burning my eyes out constantly from the light emmited. hopefully the tech will improve! its awesome to see that color versions are possible!

[@paulhimle3102]

I’ve been waiting for a good color E Ink watch for years!!

[@TornadoesGaming234YTB]

Interesting color E-link display I never seen one before at all

[@GaryBeltz]

I thought the ill-fated Pebble Time had a color E-Ink display.

[@andreychik32]

But it did actually.

[@orijimi]

Amazfit Bip too.

[@yensteel]

It has a low power LCD like Casio watches. Called transflective LCD. This tech, color e-ink is just a few years old. It’s a carta e-ink panel with a color filter over it. It’s confusing because e-ink is synonymous every e-paper tech just like Kleenex for tissues.

[@andreychik32]

@@yensteel didn't know, thanks for the info. I'm still loving my Pebble Time regardless :D

[@DanielPoxV]

Interesting to see the technology up-close! The scratch test though was essentially made on the screen protector, and not the glass itself. I wonder how scratch resistant the device would be if the screen protector were to be removed.

[@ahsanahmedzai6257]

8:27 Was he drawing a butt? O.o

[@noritsukenji]

Thats a peach

[@dachiiiii]

2:39 "rubber protection is always a good idea" 💀

[@abhisheknavgan6829]

e-ink display wrist watch would be so unique and fascinating to me, I would love to buy one

[@Yrael222]

That subtle "arent we all?" Is exactly on point!

[@akselamsrud8299]

Bro has the note 24 ultra 🤯

[@ibrar6364]

I ate my airpod now what should i do? Wait?

[@Shreyas-S]

Play some music

[@YOH_MUSIC]

Slowly gets out jerryrig kni f e, (I’m a med student lol)

[@Phootaba]

I'm running A Fenix 6 watch, It's some sort of e-ink display (memory in pixel). It is absolutely amazing, especially when there's external light sources, you know, like the sun!

[@MarcinSzyniszewski]

Very cool! I would definitely like a smart watch with this :D

[@stardustastro]

even after so many years it still hurts to watch your videos :')

[@Pssst.ByTheWay]

Jerry in his linus tech tips innuendo era. Rubber protection is always a good idea 2:50

[@wking8]

I've had it for 6 months. I love it. Change the refresh setttings and you can mitigate the ghosting

[@kokop1107]

Amazing video. Just bought mine two weeks ago and I've always been curious what the screen exactly looks like irl

[@pranavpise6952]

Always been a fan of e-ink. It needs to become more mainstream. Amazing device for studying without distractions.

[@user-nl4rs4nt6i]

I'd be glad to finally meet a smartwatch with such display type. Pebble watch were glorious.

[@Sembazuru]

Design-wise, I like that this tablet actually has a handle (a place to pinch-grip the device without touching the screen) on the side.

[@CedroCron]

Pretending to be ok... "Aren't we all" 😂😂😂 Thanks for the laugh. This Paraplegic needed it!

[@bipolarpolarbear7801]

I have the non-coloured version of this, so it was interesting to see it taken apart

[@kvipul]

Rubber protection is always a good idea!😂 I understand where you are going.

[@Swianto]

colored e in watch sounds like the perfect use of the tech. Finally a watch that'll last days on one charge !

[@Chick3nluvver]

this stuff is actually fascinating

[@genius1a]

Great review! Seems it would make sense to get a removeable / attachable filter, to change between B/W text reading and color benefitting applications. So we could adjust it to our needs!

[@picblick]

These are awesome devices, my wife and I own 3 different models in total to cover different use cases and all are perfect for us. Taking notes, practising to write a different language, reading books and comics,... sometimes I love the future!

[@MrMoney331]

I honestly might rock a color e-ink Watch. As long as it can still do some stuff like steps and notifications. That would be sweet

[@sekanuel]

I'm hopefull that technology goes further, I love e-ink and its long lasting capabilities

[@GCAT01Living]

I have one of these tablets, and I use it for reading a lot of colored comic books. It's not as vibrant as an actual printed comic book, but it's still really good for reading comics, and I absolutely love it. I take my entire comic collection with me wherever I go. I have poor eyesight, so I love the big screen and the fact that you can pinch to zoom.