E Ink Kaleido 4 was officially unveiled alongside Hanvon's M10C 2nd Gen on October 15.

We've been following Kaleido 4 developments at Read with Pro, an independent e-paper research site based in Taiwan.

After reviewing the E Ink and Hanvon launch presentations, here are some of the most interesting findings.

What's confirmed:

• Color gamut: More than 2× that of Kaleido 3
• White reflectance: 15% improvement
• Contrast ratio: 50% improvement
• Graininess: Reduced through changes to the display structure
• Display technology: Updated color filter, frontlight, and Oxide TFT backplane

These improvements are particularly interesting because Kaleido's biggest limitations have traditionally been its darker background and reduced contrast compared with monochrome E Ink.

What remains unknown:

E Ink has not yet confirmed the color PPI or total number of displayable colors for Kaleido 4.

So it's too early to conclude that Kaleido 4 offers higher color resolution than Kaleido 3.

An interesting detail from Taiwan:

Netronix, a major e-reader manufacturer and longtime Kobo supplier, had already mentioned Kaleido 4 in its September investor presentation.

This suggests the technology is being discussed beyond Hanvon, although no future Kobo product using Kaleido 4 has been confirmed.

First devices:

Hanvon announced three new products:

• M10C 2nd Gen — Kaleido 4 color e-reader
• M10 Max — 13.3-inch monochrome device
• M6 Pro — 6-inch writing device

The M10C 2nd Gen is expected to become available in early December.

My biggest takeaway:

Kaleido 4 appears to focus on improving the actual reading experience rather than simply increasing the number of colors.

Better reflectance and contrast could make a meaningful difference, especially when reading without the frontlight.

Of course, we'll need independent hands-on comparisons before drawing conclusions.

We compiled the technical details, launch information, and remaining questions here:

Full Kaleido 4 analysis — Read with Pro

What improvement matters most to you: better contrast, brighter backgrounds, higher color resolution, or faster refresh rates?

Admins, please delete if not allowed!

I accidentally got two of these, and they're so low-cost I decided to give one away through my site here. Posting here because I know people have questions about it and want to try it.

An important note: This is done through an email newsletter giveaway. I want to be clear about that because I love this community and engaging with it, and I don't ever want to post or share something that smells fishy, email is just how I communicate with my community. Please don't feel pressured to do so, I just thought this is one place people might be interested in getting a Sticky :-)

Just got my Hisense A10 8+256GB today that’s replacing the BigMe HBP.

Read books and comics on the Kobo Clara, then journal/reflect on the Supernote

Now that it's been announced, I'm wondering how long it will take for Kaleido 4 to reach devices available in western markets and if that's impacting anyone's buying decisions right now?

Hi all, I’m choosing between a Supernote Manta and a reMarkable Paper Pro. My previous e-ink tablet (Boox Note Air 6c) felt clunky, so I returned it. If you own a remarkable or supernote (or both):

1. Do you often have to redo actions because they don’t register properly? For example, tapping a tool, or starting to write while a menu is still open.
2. Do you use it for fast note-taking during lectures? How does it hold up when you’re writing quickly?

Disclaimer: used voice to text into AI and got it to tidy up my messy jumbled up thoughts. Also edited on it.

Hi! I’m looking to buy my first E Ink writing tablet and would love some advice from this awesome community!!

I’ve been a Kindle user for years, and one thing I’ve realized is that a front light is basically non-negotiable for me. (I’m very used to adjusting the brightness on my Kindle and actually prefer having the screen illuminated even when there’s enough ambient light. I’ve tried using my Kindle with the front light completely off to see whether I could get used to an unlit E Ink screen, and I really don’t enjoy it.)

So unfortunately that seems to rule out quite a few otherwise-great writing tablets.

My main use case would be:
- Handwritten journaling and general note-taking
Something relatively small and portable that I can easily carry in a sling bag or backpack
- Close to A6 (I know this is very small but as close is good)
- fairly normal notebook shape. I looked at the reMarkable Paper Pro Move and really dislike the weird size.
- Reading is nice to have, but writing/journaling is the main purpose (I’m not sure if I would read on I after having it because I still love my kindle for that!)

It feels like iflytek ainote air is the closest fit for me.

Is there anything else I should be considering that fits these requirements?

And for anyone who owns an AINOTE Air 2, are there any downsides or annoyances that aren’t obvious from reviews/spec sheets? (Especially trade offs with other models as I would have to make this choice)

I’m particularly interested in the actual handwriting experience, software limitations, exporting/backup, longevity/software support, offline functionality, subscriptions, and anything you only discovered after owning it for a while.

My plan is to buy it and try it with 30 day satisfaction guarantee and perhaps also buy the remarkable (since everyone raves about its writing feel). It seems like both their policies are pretty good. Theres also super note and boox and manta but dont wanna have so many to test at once.

I’m also completely open to lesser-known brands/models if there’s something I’ve missed.

Thanks!

Hi everyone! We're Kinesus Technologies, a small hardware start-up from Amsterdam. Our project BenchPad is a public bench with colour E-Ink screens: anyone can send a photo or a short message from their phone and watch it appear on a real 13.3" Spectra 6 display in our 24/7 YouTube live stream. The display side of our working prototype runs on the Seeed Studio XIAO ePaper DIY Kit EE02.

How a photo travels to the screen

1. A visitor publishes a photo or message in our web app. The cloud backend moderates it, prepares a 1600 x 1200 JPEG and puts it in a queue.

2. The main controller (ESP32-S3 with Wi-Fi and LTE) polls the cloud and downloads the next job.

3. The main controller runs its own Wi-Fi access point; the XIAO EE02 joins it and talks to it over a simple TCP protocol (magic header + packet type: test / image / acknowledgement).

4. The EE02 decodes the JPEG into RGB565 in PSRAM and maps every pixel to the nearest of the six Spectra 6 pigment colours. A small brightness boost before colour matching compensates for the naturally muted pigments.

5. The EE02 pushes the frame to the panel and triggers the refresh (about 30 s for a full colour refresh). After that the image stays on screen without using any power.

6. Only when the panel really reports that the refresh is finished does the EE02 send an acknowledgement back, and the next post in the queue can follow.

Inside the panel driver

The 13.3" panel (1600 x 1200) is driven by two controllers (upper and lower half), each with its own chip-select line, plus a power-enable pin for the panel. We wrote a lightweight direct SPI driver for the EE02 that initialises both halves, streams the 6-colour frame to each and powers the panel only when needed.

Reliability was the key lesson: E-Ink gives no visual feedback to the code, so the driver watches the BUSY line and only counts a refresh as successful when BUSY really goes low and then high again. If the panel doesn't respond (e.g. a loose ribbon cable), the EE02 reports an error instead of a false "done", and the cloud automatically re-sends the job.

Why the XIAO EE02

- Compact and ready to wire straight to a large colour E-Ink panel

- Enough PSRAM to hold and decode a full 1600 x 1200 image

- Wi-Fi on board, so it sits next to the display and gets images wirelessly from the main controller

- Over-the-air firmware updates - important, because our prototype is currently on show abroad and streaming live from there

See it live

- Live stream (send your own photo and watch it appear): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22EOUyBI_8w

- Send a photo: https://benchpad.pages.dev

- Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1394689056/benchpad

Happy to answer questions about the driver, the colour mapping or the TCP protocol!

Thanks to Seeed Studio for the XIAO EE02!
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seeedstudiosz/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SeeedStudioSZ
- X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/seeedstudio

Hi all! I have severe light sensitivity and get a lot of pain when using any normal device, so I’ve been looking into e ink tablets that have android on them so I can just do normal stuff like google, go on some apps, read books etc. I don’t care about any note taking abilities so that isn’t a deal breaker for me. I also don’t mind if it’s colour or black and white.

The ones I’ve been considering are

Boox go 6

Boox go 7

I’m honestly just looking for something to get me started with e ink devices, just to see if they’re something that would be helpful!

Thanks so much :)

For a while I’ve been handcrafting stylus grips for eink tablets such as the remarkable. I’ve noticed styluses tend to have plastic or rubber texture which doesn’t feel too premium or much like any real pens/pencils I use.

Are there any other eink devices this community would recommend I could look to try make these for?

Market Research

Hey everyone,

I'm a high school student looking for an e-ink tablet to practice math and physics problems and take study notes.

I know most STEM students use an iPad, but I really want to reduce my eye strain during long study sessions and avoid getting distracted by apps.

Here is what I'm looking for:
- Full support for Traditional Chinese PDFs (reading and making notes)
- Good for quick math calculations, rough scratchwork, and drawing simple diagrams
- Simple UI so I don't have to spend hours tweaking settings

I originally wanted a reMarkable, but found out its Traditional Chinese support and multi-window features are pretty limited. Now I'm split between the BOOX Go 10.3 (for the sharp screen and split-screen feature) and the Supernote (for its simplicity and pen feel).

For those who use e-ink for math or science practice, which one would you recommend? Is split-screen really a game-changer for solving math problems?

Thanks!

Draftling is a firmware project for a number of esp32-s3 devices, implementing a modern typewriter: you add an MicroSD card and a Bluetooth keyboard, and you're ready to write. A phone stand would also be useful. The firmware synchronizes your work with a Git server. With some devices, you can see the contents of your SD card via USB connection.

Project homepage

More details at r/WriterDevices

On the photo: a Seeed reTerminal Sticky on a magsafe stand.

It’s a pocket-sized screen with two buttons and a rechargeable battery that hangs off your keys or lanyard. The screen keeps its image without using power, so it’s always readable, and the whole thing goes to sleep when you’re not using it to save battery. The home screen shows the time and battery level, and there’s a dark mode.

What it does:

• Timetable: shows your next class, room and a countdown by using your real calendar (Apple, Google or Outlook: export a file, or sync it when you plug it in). Tap for the full details, location and notes, or see the rest of your day.
• Pet: a little creature you dress up and name. Pick a body (blob, cat, bear, bunny, frog or robot), eyes, a mouth, a hat and an extra. You can design it on the device or on my website.
• Make friends: put two devices next to each other and the pets visit each other’s screens and chat in speech bubbles. If you both say yes, they become friends, and friends can send each other badges. It all happens straight between the two devices, with no internet and no app.
• Name badge: upload any image to a website I made and it appears on the device. Flick through your designs or open a grid of thumbnails to pick one. Good for socials and society events.
• WiFi collector: a super nerdy game where you collect the WiFi networks you find around campus and the city. Every new one gets a rarity, and it only listens, it never connects.
• Games: four one-button games (a flappy-style one, a dino runner, a stacker and a jetpack game) that keep your best scores.
• Chooser: pick how many options (up to 6), press a button, and it spins and lands on one. Settles any “where should we eat” argument.
• Voice notes: hold a button and talk, and it turns it into tidy text with a title and a short summary. To read your notes on your phone, the device makes its own WiFi, you scan a QR code, and they open in your browser with no extra app.
• Also: set the time yourself, choose how long it stays awake, and install or update it from your browser with no coding. If the battery gets low, it protects itself and switches off before it’s completely flat.

The small print

• It uses a microSD card for the timetable, badges, WiFi collector and notes.
• Setting up badges, your calendar and settings happens in Chrome or Edge on a computer, over USB.
• Voice notes need your own OpenAI account and WiFi. Your recording is sent to OpenAI to be turned into text. I’d like to add local AI models in the future.

I’m not selling anything yet. If you’d want one, there’s a waitlist here: https://www.unidex.shop
It’s free to join, there’s no payment and no commitment.

The project is open source, feel free to tinker.

GitHub: Forrest404/unidex

I’d also love your opinions in the comments:

• Would you actually use something like this?
• What would you want it to do that it doesn’t?
• What would you pay for it? I’m thinking somewhere around £25 to £35.

Happy to answer any questions :)

Hi everyone, I'm hoping to get some recommendations for Color Tablets.

I had a remarkable pro and I liked it alot. But on about the second month of having it, it started glitching alot - pen being unresponsive, page skipping, etc. It made it feel not worth the price, when the whole point of the device was writing and struggling to do so.

I recently got a Boox Note Air 6c. I like it alot, but its soo small. So I am looking for something bigger, ideally around legal notepad size - the RPP was a good size.

I was debating the Boox Tab X C. But I have read not great reviews about it and I really need a pen that has an eraser.

I specifically need COLOR. It seems there are very limited options. I've done a good bit of research. It seems that maybe the Kindle Scribe thing might be the next best option... I'd rather not buy from Amazon tbh but mostly because the main point of the device is for writing, I wont be doing much reading on it. Boox had a good pro of having access to Google Play and a web browser, and I didnt mind the writing experience (I did have to pay the Kindle pen though for an eraser).

Maybe I should just stick with the Remarkable (I have it in the box ready to be returned lol).... BOOX definitely feels like an actual tablet rather than paper like writing tool like the RPP.... any thoughts are appreciated!

Hello!
i have memory loss and i have been using regular paper journals daily to journal and write down memories and it’s been amazingly helpful. I love putting in pictures, stickers, doodles, and it has helped me a lot to be able to go back to read what happened. I have now realized that as time goes on, i won’t be able to efficiently search my written journals, looking for specific info.

I’m looking for a device that:
has a good handwriting experience (i use felt tip or ballpoint in my journal now)
***has a search function***
Ability to insert images into the pages.
Medium size, as I will be taking it with me everywhere. I normally carry an A5 journal with me.

Can anyone recommend anything that fits those parameters?

I appreciate your time, thanks!

For the past month, I’ve been wrestling with the decision of which E Ink tablet to buy. I’ve been leaning toward the Supernote Manta, but lately I’ve found myself considering other brands as I figure out which features are most important to me.
I could be wrong about some of the Manta’s limitations, so I’d appreciate any feedback or corrections from people who have experience with it.
I enjoy reading Kindle books, EPUB files, and PDFs. I’m looking for a device that allows me to highlight passages, write directly on book pages, use a dictionary, and read and take notes in split-screen mode.
I’d also like to link my handwritten notes to specific passages or pages in books and PDFs, organize my notes into notebooks, and search for handwritten words and headings across all my notes.
My goal is to use the tablet not just for reading, but also for studying, learning, and organizing information.
The Manta still appeals to me, but I’m beginning to wonder whether it’s the right device for my needs or whether another brand would be a better fit. Lately, I’ve been leaning more toward the BOOX Go 10.3 Gen II Lumi, as it seems to offer more of the features I’m looking for. However, I’m still undecided and would appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with either device.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences, especially if you use your E Ink tablet for reading, annotating, and studying.

A bit old and rusty as a device but still a very white eink display

inkHub on Kindle 4

Apologies if this isn't the correct place for this question.

I love calibre, but whenever I use calibre to convert a PDF to a MOBI it just ends up being unreadable. Converting other formats to MOBI is no big deal.

I assume that with AI there has to be some sort of tool that works better here -- do y'all have any recs? Or if you don't know do you have a rec on a better place to ask this question?

Just wanna read some books I can only find PDFs of on my kindle!

Thanks c:

I was thinking of building a wall clock. Run by a Raspberry Pico or so. Using a display may be too slow.

So could I just buy a big screen lcd clock and connect that to a pico instead? Anyone ever done this or have some thoughts about this?

Hello all,

We've made whole Gutenberg library conveniently accessible on Kobo!

https://bandarlabs.github.io/Cobalt

If you have any new app request for Kobo, feel free to post here.

Also, you can join r/CobaltForKobo to keep updated.

Found this during a walk in Hong Kong and it was so cool to see they opted for an e-ink screen!