• E Ink has announced the next generation of its color ereader screens
• Dubbed Kaleido 4, this technology promises improved clarity, less graininess, and double the colors
• So far, it's only been announced for a single ereader, but it's sure to come to others

Hot take: I don’t think color ereaders are very good in general. The colors themselves are muted, and typically — such as with E Ink’s Kaleido 3 tech — they make the screen darker and grainier even when just viewing text. They generally cost a premium, too. As such, I’d always pick a black-and-white ereader for standard books, and a tablet (or actual paper) for anything heavy on color.

But E Ink might soon win me over to color ereaders, as it just announced a new Kaleido 4 display that it claims is brighter than Kaleido 3 and delivers “greater clarity, while reducing the perception of screen graininess.”

If that's true, normal text might actually look up to the standards it does on black-and-white e-readers.

Double the colors

Of course, the color element has also been improved here, with E Ink claiming its Kaleido 4 display can produce over 40,000 colors, which is double what the previous generation can manage.

It also has a higher refresh rate, increases white reflectance by 15%, and improves contrast by 50%, while videos can be played at 18fps — though I’d question why anyone would regularly be watching videos on an E Ink screen.

Still, this sounds like a comprehensive upgrade, and one that might make the next generation of Kindle Colorsoft and other color ereaders substantially better. Though since a new Kindle Colorsoft model has only just launched, it might be a while before we see this tech used by Amazon’s ereaders.

For now, Kaleido 4 is only available on Hanvon Technology's M10 C II — a China-only E Ink tablet. But hopefully, some global brands such as Kobo, Boox, and ViWoods will embrace this tech soon.

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