Hisense A2 / A2 Pro with e-ink rear display

[tracey1]

Apparently some users (in Europe) seem to have diffuculties with getting whatsapp to work properly like unregistered calls. Google Play and and other services seem to cause some trouble, too. Do you find this to be accurate ?

On another note : is the english on the phone really that poor ? Is there german ?

[eReader fan]

How is the firmware update frequency?
Are the problems related to google apps or whattsapp fixed?

I read Android oreo can be installed there. Any experience?

Originally Posted by Jmirko

I will update this post in case anything new pops up. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask - I will happily check it and share the results.

I would love to see a video of this device playing video. Can you record it and upload it to youtube?

Some updated info would be great!
Thanks

[eldon]

I have just last month purchased the Hisense A2 Pro from Aliexpress.

The seller had added multilanguage support and Google Play.

So far the English language support has been great and all Apps seem to work fine including Whatsapp.

It was $215 USD with a matte plastic screen protector, two cases, and two glass screen protectors. I do not like screen protectors in general so have taken off.

This phones runs much faster than the Yotaphone 2 (I have two of those). I use split screen alot on my S8 so it is nice to have it in the A2 Pro.

I love the Infrared emitter. My kids are always losing the remotes and now I can turn the tv on off at home, at the airport, and on the local BC Ferry.

Camera is just ok. Not as good as my Samsung S8 but miles better than the Yotaphone 2.

The eink screen is fast and clear but I still prefer the Yotaphone 2's matte eink display.

The phone is also really large. It is almost the exact same length and width as the iphone 6/7 plus. Just thicker. I use an iphone 6 plus leather case for the phone.

Has anyone tried to have their HiSense A2, A2 Pro or Yotaphone 3 shiney screen sandblasted to give it a frosted matte surface like the Yotaphone 2?

I still use and love the Yotaphone 2 even with all of its quirks. I cannabize the one phone for parts as the better Yota2 has had issues... Replaced battery, two omeleod screens...

To eReader fan - Are you wanting a video of video played on the eink screen? It works well for video but the colour screen is much nicer to look at and uses about the same power for video when playing video.

[eReader fan]

Originally Posted by eldon

Camera is just ok. Not as good as my Samsung S8 but miles better than the Yotaphone 2.
(...)
The eink screen is fast and clear but I still prefer the Yotaphone 2's matte eink display.
(...)
To eReader fan - Are you wanting a video of video played on the eink screen? It works well for video but the colour screen is much nicer to look at and uses about the same power for video when playing video.

Thanks for the info.

I have a strange issue watching screens, that makes me dizzy, so I need powerfull android devices. I still use the Yotaphone 2, but it's time to upgrade. As you have a lot of phones maybe you could do a video comparision about the video playing with the YP2 and the HIsense A2 Pro. Or you acn do it by yourself and tell to us if its the same in both devices or in one or the other is better. Both options are very good for me.

Another question I have to you is if it is possible to only use the eInk screen. This is how I use the Yotaphone 2 and I need a new phone which is able to do the same. So no need to go to the LCD screen changing between apps

[eldon]

eReader fan -

Video

I played some Netflix and YouTube on both the Yotaphone 2 and HiSense A2 Pro.

I was surprised at the difference. If video is important to you I would suggest that you stay with the Yotaphone 2 or check out the Yota3+ or the new HiSense phone with the smaller bezels and the backlit eink screen. They might display video similar to the Yotaphone 2.

The waveform HiSense uses for their 'smooth' mode does not work as well as the Yotaphone 2 for watching video. Video plays back smoothly on the hihsense but I see lots of dithering and only a few shades of grey black are displayed. It is not a nice experience for watching video. I will try to upload a video.

Eink Only

Yes you can only use the eink screen. I do that often.

The fingerprint reader is on the side of the device and you can program the device to open one screen or the other based on which finger on a specific hand is coded to the AMOLED or eink screen.

The phone can also be set so that if flat on a table whatever screen is up will be live when unlocked.

Finally if you press and hold the virtual button on the widget screen while the phone is locked the eink screen will unlock.

Shortcuts to any android app can be added to the widget screen that when touched will open those apps without having to get to the android desktop first.

Pressing on the bottom right icon of the widget screen after unlocking gives you the choice of "Switching to Android" which works the same as it does on the yotaphone 2.

[cartz]

Originally Posted by eldon

...or the new HiSense phone with the smaller bezels and the backlit eink screen.

Do you have any links or further details on this device? I assume you mean front light rather than back light. This sounds like exactly what I've been waiting for. A phone with front light for e-ink would be a dream. Please point me to a place where I can buy such a device. Thanks.

[eldon]

It is the Hisense A6.

Yes good catch. It is of course a front light.

Here are some links related to the A6. I do not know if there are any yet with Google play. It is a newer phone.

Demos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f83g0_OBft0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwyCSChnElg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KJURAgSYEk

A little blurb about the phone.

https://eyestraintreatment.com/news-...y-on-the-back/

http://www.leadershiponline.co.za/ar...018-26635.html

[eldon]

I forgot to add that I see the Hisense A2 advertised on Aliexpress for about $540 USD.

I bought by Hisense A2 Pro on AliExpress. Canada was going through a postal strike so I had them ship via DHL. It took about 7 days to arrive to Vancouver.

[cartz]

Originally Posted by eldon

It is the Hisense A6.

Brilliant. Thanks so much. Looks like my next phone when I can be sure to get Google Play Store. Just wish it wasn't so big.

[Question Mark]

Well, my A2 Pro finally arrived the other day... My initial impression was that Apple and Samsung needn't worry too much about losing market share to this device... However, those first impressions were based primarily on the poor English of the interface and the cheap case and trinkets which I received with it.

Having since uninstalled or disabled many of the unnecessary apps, and having now installed my preferred ones as well as some content, the A2 Pro has begun to really impress me.

It is surprisingly fast and responsive. Because of this, reading Japanese on it is actually quite pleasurable. If a word or phrase does not register in the look-up dictionary in Moon+ Reader, I can can readily copy and paste it into one of my other apps. Hopping between apps like that is really not much of an issue. My KA1, which I use primarily for reading Japanese, might soon get relegated to a bookshelf.

Also, although not a huge fan of computerized voices, the TTS functionality on the device works quite well. At least for my limited trial with English and Japanese.

One feature which I really like is being able to so easily pin a screenshot to the lockscreen on the eink side of the device. I can see that coming in very handy when one wants to have certain information such as a map available, but also wants to conserve the battery life. I hope that Onyx will eventually borrow that idea and incorporate it into their larger devices where it would be incredibly useful.

And although I would ideally prefer a dedicated eink device with a frontlight, the colour amoled screen does not annoy me as much as I expected it to.

With each passing day, I am becoming more and more pleased with this purchase.

[Question Mark]

Here are a few pictures comparing the A2 Pro with my Sony Xperia XA1 which has an LCD screen.

[Antonio7]

Hi,

I would love if someone having the hisense a2 pro or the hisense a6 could help me with these 2 questions:

1- On the LCD screen, does the Hisense UI offers a "night mode" (or "dark mode") feature ?
Samsung offers such a feature, and it is so much easier on the eyes that I think I couldn't use a phone without it now:
https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00082645/

2- If not, is there an easy way to invert colors (white color turns into black) ?

Thank you for your help

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by Antonio7

Hi,

I would love if someone having the hisense a2 pro or the hisense a6 could help me with these 2 questions:

1- On the LCD screen, does the Hisense UI offers a "night mode" (or "dark mode") feature ?
Samsung offers such a feature, and it is so much easier on the eyes that I think I couldn't use a phone without it now:
https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00082645/

2- If not, is there an easy way to invert colors (white color turns into black) ?

Thank you for your help

1. Yes, there is a night mode option available from the Display section in Settings.

Haven't used it so can't speak to how well it works in comparison to the Samsung feature.

There are also ways in which you can manually adjust the display, choosing a warmer colour setting etc.


2. Haven't seen a feature to invert colours. Some reading apps have this feature and there may be some app which you could download to invert the colours in other apps.

[tracey1]

Can somebody answer this question for me ?

Which out of these phones ( A2,A2pro, A6, A6L and A5 ) support google play services and has a matte E-ink Display ?

Also : Does the A6L have a EPD at all ?

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by tracey1

Can somebody answer this question for me ?

Which out of these phones ( A2,A2pro, A6, A6L and A5 ) support google play services and has a matte E-ink Display ?

A2 Pro supports Google Play Store, but it doesn't have a matte e-ink screen and sadly no light on the e-ink side which is why I'm now hoping to get an A5.