When it comes to display technology, the two most important and prolific technologies are LCD and OLED. E-Ink is a completely different approach to creating images on a screen, but no one thinks of it in the same breath as LCD or OLED.
However, E-Ink technology has been steadily improving, and now there are E-Ink displays that are getting closer to something you could consider as an alternative to the one in your phone or your laptop.
A twenty-year “overnight” success story
The development of E-Ink technology has been quite slow compared to most modern technology. The idea of electronic ink has been around since the early 2000s, and it started out as a sluggish gray-on-gray screen that struggled to find a market.
In the end, it was the eReader that kept E-Ink alive and poured money into further development. Products like the Amazon Kindle or the Rakuten Kobo found a strong niche. Great sunlight readability, battery life for weeks or even months, and a lack of eye fatigue made E-Ink perfect as a modern replacement for paper books.
Since then, modern E-Ink displays have kept pushing for higher resolutions, faster refresh rates, and now even full color. There are now E-Ink displays that are fast enough to display real-time animation and even video.
Color and speed have changed what’s possible
There are now E-Ink platforms, like the Gallery 3, that can update the display in just 350 milliseconds for grayscale images, and full-color transitions that happen in less than a second. That’s still much, much slower than an LCD, but it’s fast enough to enhance interactivity a lot.
7/10
- Brand
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Boox
- Storage
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128GB
- CPU
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2.8Ghz Octa-core + BSR
- Operating System
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Android 13
There are also experimental projects, like Modos, that have shown LCD-like performance with a 75Hz E-Ink display fast enough to play a video game on.
Samsung’s Color E-Paper and E Ink’s Spectra 6 signage allow for large, vivid color signage. So one day we might see widespread use of large E-Ink displays for advertising or things like building signs.
E-Ink is scaling up and branching out
While big E-Ink billboards are an awesome, futuristic path for this technology, advances in E-Ink technology are helping it branch out in many different directions.
For example, Dasung has started to offer color computer monitors you can buy for your desktop PC. It “only” offers a 33hz refresh rate, but that’s fast enough to edit text live with all the visual contrast benefits of E-Ink.
There are even some E-Paper smartphones, though the tech is far from ready to take center stage on mobile phones.
The rise of distraction-free and sustainable tech
Writers, students, and coders are rediscovering the focus that comes from slower, quieter tools. E-Ink fits perfectly into that mindset: no blue light, no notifications, no endless scroll—just the task at hand. I don’t see E-Ink screens replacing LCDs or OLEDs tomorrow, but I can absolutely see myself using one of these monitors as a secondary display.
People are also becoming much more conscious of energy usage, and device manufacturers are taking note. Even video game consoles like the PlayStation 5 are getting optional power-saving modes to cater to those types of customer.
E-Ink monitors can both boost battery life enormously, and lower energy use for plugged-in systems. It might also turn out to be the ideal display technology for smartwatches, which don’t strictly require the capabilities of OLED or LCDs.
From niche curiosity to mainstream contender
E-Ink displays aren’t going to replace LCD or OLED technology, but there are plenty of applications where it would be better or even complementary. Remember the MacBook Touch Bar? That’s an OLED strip, but it could very well be a high-refresh E-Ink display if Apple or another company wanted to give the concept another shot.
When Valve showed off its new Steam Machine, with customizable front panel, one of the potential mods (that’s not for sale) was an E-Ink display that showed live statistics for the machine.
These types of E-Ink mods are getting more popular with modders and those who like to play around with single-board computers and microcontrollers like those from the ESP32 family. There are many wonderful E-Ink projects out there, even ones perfectly suitable for beginners.
I also expect that investment in large-format E-Ink displays will keep pouring in, and this technology might literally change the way our world looks. From signage outside and inside public spaces, to the interiors of our homes. Thanks to E-Ink technology, the future might end up looking more like Harry Potter with its moving photos and paintings, than Blade Runner, with its glowing neon signs.
Now I just need those E-Ink displays to come down in price so I can go about making my own smart home screens. Maybe I’ll even get to do some in color one day.