Hands-on Review of the Bigme HiBreak Color E Ink Smartphone

It isn’t every day that you come across a smartphone that features an E Ink display. Only Hisense has been the sole player in this segment, and now, Bigme is eager to have a piece of the pie. It isn’t that the segment is enormous, but what also can’t be denied is that a dedicated user base likes to have an e-paper smartphone instead of the conventional ones with LED or LCD panels. It is this group that Bigme wants to address with its HiBreak. How? The HiBreak is the first smartphone to feature a Kaleido 3 colour e-paper display. All this makes us eager to get to the bottom of all the device offers. So, let’s dive right in.

Style and build

It is a bit of a disappointment here for something that is supposed to be a trendsetter. There is nothing special about the looks. Instead, it looks dated, with its thick bezels, even more so for the chin and the forehead. The relatively thick bezels make the 5.84-inch display look all the more smaller. The display has a 720 x 1440 pixel resolution, translating to a B/W and colour resolution of 275 and 91.9, respectively. The display also has a 36-level adjustable front light for optimum reading experience.

When viewed from the front, the Power and Volume Up and Down buttons are on the right, while at the bottom lies the USB-C port flanked on either side by a pair of mics. On the left lies the memory card, SIM card slot, and a special E Ink button for quick access to several features. The top has been left clean. It measures 76.8 x 154 x 8.6 mm and weighs 170 grams, making it handy and comfortable to hold and operate with your hands.

The top bezel accommodates the front camera and the earpiece, which also doubles as the speaker. While an earpiece/ speaker combo unit is an excellent design feature, remember to be wary of the sound levels you have set for the notifications. If that is set high and a notification streams in when, say, you are speaking on the phone, and it is held close to your ears, you will have a nasty sound byte hitting your ears.

The rear offers a leather-like feel on the plastic surface with the company logo etched at the center. At the top left corner lies the camera bump, which includes the LED flash. The rear pattern does not attract fingerprints and offers a non-slippery surface to hold the phone. Also, while still on cameras, the rear has a 13 MP unit, while the front gets a 5 MP shooter.

As a smartphone

As already stated several times, the HiBreak is a smartphone that turns into one once you have inserted the SIM card into the slot and turned the ‘Use Sim’ toggle switch to the On position. With that done, the connection provider’s name will be shown at the top, along with the signal on the left, as with all conventional smartphones. You can make phone calls or use cellular data to do things you usually do on a smartphone. That includes surfing the web, doing online searches, and so on. You can turn on Wi-Fi or use the device as a Hotspot.

User Interface

The phone runs Android 11 and behaves like any other Android device. So, when you swipe down from the top, the familiar notification bar is displayed. The notification bar is a narrow strip along the right for a change and a welcome one. You have all the usual stuff here, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Mobile data, Airplane mode, etc.

There is also the Torch button and buttons for location services, screen recording, screenshot, battery, cast settings, and e-paper settings. You can also set the volume and glow light slider controls according to your preference by swiping down from the top.

While all settings are familiar and self-explanatory, the E Ink Center deserves special mention. Here, you have access to all the phone’s e-paper features. Several pre-set display settings exist, including Default, Magazines, Comic, Video, and Custom. You are supposed to activate the particular display feature depending on the content you are viewing or set it on your own using the Custom button.

In addition, there are the Anti-shake and Auto-clean toggle switches, as well as the Refresh mode, Color adjustment, and Full refresh frequency controls.

Under Refresh mode, you have the following settings – HD 256, Regal, Fast, and Extreme in ascending order of speed, though each higher speed setting leads to deteriorating image quality. So, you have the fastest display when set to Extreme, though that comes at the cost of image quality. Nevertheless, that is the setting to be invoked if you wish to have an experience closest to what you have with a conventional smartphone.

Refer to the video review below to better understand the different speed modes or features like anti-shake.

Many have qualms, and rightfully so, about E Ink phones, considering that these have refresh rates much slower than the slowest that LCD/ LED displays are capable of. However, with the option to select specific refresh rates, with each refresh rate having a direct bearing on the image quality, you can opt for the setting that you feel is apt for the content you are viewing. If it’s video content, the best option is the Extreme setting, though it won’t be comparable to conventional smartphones.

When reading e-books, you might as well opt for the HD 256 setting for the best image quality. Go for any intermediary settings when viewing comics, magazines, and such. As already stated, you won’t have the same feel as conventional phones. However, the apparent advantage is the glare-free display with markedly less blue light emission, making the phone eye-friendly.

Under Color Adjust, you have controls for adjusting Contrast, Vivid enhancement, and Color brightness. Depending on what you are viewing, you can choose the setting that best suits you.

Lastly, there is also the floating button on the display, which can be shifted around. When pressed, it reveals a circular array of buttons for quick access to different functions. Those can be Home, Back, Screenshot, and so on.

Reading experience

Manga

The 5.84-inch display is naturally too small for viewing manga. It might be okay to read e-books where a small portion of the book is rendered on display each time. However, things are slightly different with manga or other graphic content, which you can’t view in portions. Instead, you must view the entire page to feel the whole thing. Fortunately, the colour e-paper display makes things much more colourful and bright.

Also, a nice thing here is that the volume control buttons can serve as page-turn buttons. The one thing that applies more to manga or comics from Google Play Books is that volume controls can also be used to expand speech bubbles. This makes it easier to read and will save you from having to zoom in and out of the entire thing each time you need to read what’s in the speech bubbles.

e-Books

When reading e-books, it’s similar to what you’d expect from an e-paper device. Things will be as good or bad as the app you use to read. As an Android device, you can install any app you want for reading. However, you need to adjust to the smaller and rather longish display. Also, the volume buttons will serve as the page turn buttons, which you will need more often, considering that a relatively small chunk of reading content gets displayed each time.

However, as applies to colour e-paper display, the background will never be white. Instead, owing to the colour array filter, you have a grayish background with black text. This might be okay when viewed in isolation, though you will immediately know the difference when set against something genuinely white. Otherwise, the reading experience is right up to the mark. Also, it is a smartphone that you are likely to have with you at all times; you can always continue reading almost anywhere and anytime. That’s the beauty of an e-ink smartphone.

Audiobooks

Forget about listening to audiobooks via the native speaker, as the sound output is horrible. The volume is too low, and the voice quality is not up to the mark. Instead, use Bluetooth speakers or headphones, providing a better experience.

E Ink button

You can set the little button on the device’s left to perform different tasks. Here is all that it can do.

For long press action, you can set it to the following functions:

• None
• Back Home Screen
• Back
• Screenshot
• Multitasking switcher
• Clear cache
• Full Refresh
• E Ink Center
• Previous page
• Next page

For the single click action, you can set it to perform functions that include:

• None
• Back Home Screen
• Back
• Screenshot
• Multitasking switcher
• Clear cache, and so on.

Conclusion

The HiBreak is a game-changer of a device. Since 2015, there has been only one manufacturer to occupy the e-ink smartphone market, Hisense (2019 to 2023)

The Dark Moon R9 tried and failed.

The Light Phone 2 was just a cell phone.

The Kyocera Docomo was just a cell phone.

Onyx tried for two generations but only had prototypes.

Hisense and its 12 models are the only brand and line of devices to satisfy people’s need for a smartphone with an e-paper screen.

So here comes Bigme to the rescue, yet again, it seems. This unit features a SIM card slot, which changes the dynamic of “mini e-readers.”

That means you can use mobile cellular data, send text messages, use location and GPS services, and make phone calls. This does everything a smartphone can do yet has all the benefits of an e-book reader.

It’s preloaded with many colour modes, speed modes, microphones, two cameras, a flash package, a proprietary e-ink button on the left, and USB-C.

The back features a black premium leather simulated plastic cover with a sizable camera bump, giving it a lot of personality.

The unit can play video games, watch movies, watch Netflix, or use any social media application you wish, as this is loaded with GPS and location services and satisfies every stipulation of certified application requirements.

That this unit is less than $220 is an absolute godsend.

There are only two downsides. One of the major

1. The unit from the front offers zero stylistic properties whatsoever and is completely devoid of any character or design to any degree
2. The audio is horrid on this device.

The main problem with the audio situation is that it doesn’t have speakers. The audio comes from the earpiece speaker pack; everything is shared through the same module. If you are on a call and your notification volume is higher than your call volume, a blaring media blast could damage your ear drum.

Outside, the audio is quiet, tinny, devoid of base, and one of the lowest quality we’ve heard in years.

However, this unit is 90 percent perfect and only 10 percent flawed.

Bigme HiBreak Phone

$244.00

Pros

• Google Play
• GPS
• SD + 4G
• Turning off animations makes phone smoother
• Color E INK Phone

Cons

• No headphone jack
• No warm light
• No Touch ID
• Only has Android 11
• Software Bugs

With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I’ll likely make a film sometime in the future.