Kaleido 4: The next generation of the colorful e-paper display brings many improvements
Higher color gamut, no more reduced resolution for colors, brighter white, more contrast, and video playback: The new Kaleido 4 display from E Ink offers numerous improvements.
Those who want to do more than just read text on their eReader can look forward to the Kaleido 4 display. Its manufacturer, E Ink, is promising numerous improvements for the next generation compared to previous color e-paper displays. Among other things, the resolution now remains consistent and no longer drops when switching from black and white to color.
Color display or reduced resolution
Color e-paper displays bring comics to eReaders and are generally suitable for viewing PDFs, data presentations, or drawings. With Kaleido 4, E Ink aims to further increase their usability and, consequently, their adoption.
For example, the color gamut or color gamut volume is expected to more than double. The manufacturer specifies a new value of 40,000, but does not state the unit of measurement used or the measurement method. A direct comparison with standard color gamut specifications is therefore not possible. The number of displayable colors, however, appears to remain unchanged at 4096.
Source: E Ink
E Ink confirmed an important new feature to Good E Reader that does not appear in their official press release: unlike before, the resolution no longer halves when switching to color mode. Kaleido 4 is intended to offer a pixel density of 300 ppi at all times.
Furthermore, the contrast of Kaleido 4 is expected to increase by 50 percent, and white areas without ink are set to appear 15 percent brighter. There is also progress in video playback: the e-paper display can play videos at up to 18 frames per second (fps). While still unusable for gaming, this is getting close to the 24 fps standard for movies. However, Kaleido 4 will not yet be suitable for a movie night.
Many new devices with Kaleido 4 coming in 2027
The first eReader with the new display is scheduled to be the M10C II from Hanvon Technology, the market leader in China, arriving in December. The first devices from other manufacturers such as Kobo, Boox, Onyx, or Bigme are expected in the spring of 2027.
Source: Hanvon
As a primary school pupil, I used to sit in a friend's living room with many of my classmates to play the Super NES. Now I get my hands on the latest technology and test it for you. In recent years at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, now at Digitec and Galaxus.
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