For daily productivity, work, web browsing, and entertainment, eReaders can’t compete with the crisp colors and high refresh rates of LCD displays. LCDs (and increasingly OLEDs) have and will be center stage for monitors and laptops. But that doesn’t mean LCDs can’t share some of the spotlight. There have been various attempts to unite LCD and E Ink technology for computer users over the years. But with limited selection and the offerings typically involving sacrifice in other parts of the product, this hybrid display category hasn’t become mainstream.
Even as the iPad and other tablets have become common household gadgets, eReaders have maintained value among certain technologists. Analysts say the market’s declining, with Statista showing an expected fall from $396.4 million in 2021 to $204.7 million by 2027. But there are still exciting eReader releases, like the Kindle Scribe that came out in November. And as people grow increasingly concerned about preventing eye strain from screens, some are turning to E Ink for reading sessions over bright LCD screens.
But as stated, there are plenty of experiences that suffer on an eReader compared to a traditional computer display. And that’s why some products try to offer both.
For example, in October, Philips started selling an ultrawide desktop monitor that has an IPS section and an E Ink section. The 24B1D5600’s left side is a 23.8-inch LCD with 2560×1440 resolution, a 75 Hz refresh rate, 99.8 percent sRGB coverage, and up to 250 nits, according to Philips. Attached by a hinge is a 13.3-inch Carta E Ink display with 1200×1600 pixels (no other specs provided).
You can find the monitor in the US for $1,500.
Enlarge / You can find the monitor in the US for $1,500.
Philips
The 24B1D5600 stands out by letting users access a typical PC screen and eReader simultaneously. Different screens can prioritize different types of tasks, and you don’t have to pick one technology over the other.
More hybrids
Philips’ monitor is just one example from the past few years of a company trying to merge LCD and eReader experiences into a single product.
Since 2018, Lenovo has been steadily trying to sneak E Ink into laptops alongside integrated LCD displays with the expected specs and capabilities. Its Yoga Book C930 replaced a traditional keyboard and touchpad for an E Ink screen that, with help from haptic feedback, surprised me when it came to typing accuracy but was an overall downgrade from the tactility and reliability of a “real” keyboard and touchpad.
Lenovo has since focused on making E Ink an amendment to the traditional laptop design, rather than a replacement part. It has been pushing ThinkBook Plus laptops since 2020 with an eReader on the back of the traditional display. The idea is to give people a regular laptop that can pull double-duty as an eReader. In 2023, it announced an upcoming update on the idea with the ThinkBook Plus Twist, which allows users to swivel their LCD-E Ink hybrid screen, à la 2005.
Reading Ars Technica on the ThinkBook Plus Twist display’s E Ink side.
Enlarge / Reading Ars Technica on the ThinkBook Plus Twist display’s E Ink side.
And in 2019, BenQ started selling 24- and 27-inch LCD monitors with an “ePaper mode” accessible via the on-screen display menu. You can still buy the FHD monitors for under $200 each.
OEMs like Philips, Lenovo, and BenQ have been looking to expand the use of E Ink in a way that still lets people use LCD for, likely, the majority of the time. At first blush, that seems like a reasonable approach; however, there have been other attempts at uniting LCD and E Ink that were met with failure.
Remember YotaPhone?
In 2012, a Russian company called Yota Devices started making a name for itself with the YotaPhone, a dual-screen phone with an eReader on the back. By 2019, though, the company was bankrupt, allegedly stemming from its first two devices reportedly selling just about 75,000 units and a partner lawsuit over alleged failure to meet minimum order requirements.
It’s okay if you don’t remember YotaPhone, since it doesn’t exist anymore.
Enlarge / It’s okay if you don’t remember YotaPhone, since it doesn’t exist anymore.
YotaPhone
There have also been LCD-E Ink combo device attempts via crowdfunding, like the EEwrite Janus tablet, which never seemed to come to fruition, as well as dual-screen demos at trade shows and budget LCD/E Ink phones from Hisense that are only available in China.
But when it comes to premium options for critical devices with broad availability, gadgets combining LCD and eReaders are far from mainstream. And those that exist have room for improvement.
Dual-screen sacrifices
eReaders’ declining market paints a broad picture of how consumer interest has generally declined. For remaining interested parties, though, companies like Philips are asking a steep price for the honor of using a technology that dedicated users can get for under $100.
The Philips 24B1D5600 is atypical, and without some DIY hacking, you can’t get the same experience elsewhere. But as of this writing, it’s selling for $1,500 in the US. Considering Philips’ 13.3-inch ePaper standalone monitor goes for (a hefty) $800, according to PCWorld, that’s like paying $700 for a 24-inch, 1440p IPS monitor with unimpressive brightness and color claims.
BenQ still sells its ePaper-mode monitors but hasn’t updated the design since their initial release. Further, both use a twisted nematic (TN) tech, which has lost favor among users over poor viewing angles and color reproduction compared to VA and IPS alternatives. TN monitors can be super fast, but the BenQ displays max out at 75 Hz.
Philips and BenQ’s monitors appear to make it so users don’t have to choose between an LCD and eReader experience. But to get there, users must sacrifice LCD image quality.
Lenovo’s ThinkBook Plus Twist laptop isn’t expected to release until June, but it’s a hopeful option for people after LCD-E Ink combos. The laptop is decently specced, including Intel’s 13th-Gen U-series CPUs and up to 1TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage. Critically, the primary display specs are competitive. It’s a 13.3-inch OLED with 2880×1880 resolution and claims 400 nits and 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage.
The ThinkBook Plus Twist will have a 12-inch E Ink display that supports pen input.
Enlarge / The ThinkBook Plus Twist will have a 12-inch E Ink display that supports pen input.
Scharon Harding
However, spending at least $1,649 (the Twist’s starting price) on a machine with an always-exposed display is a risk many won’t be willing to take. There’s also the question of how laggy things may or may not get when switching from LCD to E Ink (I noticed some during my demo, but I used a prototype).
Meanwhile, dedicated eReaders are making their own pull for the spotlight as they evolve, including around color. That could make standalone eReaders a preferred option to some shoppers and raise expectations for E Ink screens.
The LCD-eReader hybrid is a niche design that has been looking for its moment in the spotlight. But unless tech makers can really offer the best of both worlds, it’s hard to justify the oft-associated high prices or convince eReader users that the investment is worthwhile, considering the low-priced portable eReaders they’ve been using for years.
