Pocketable ‘Hi Reader Pro’ hands on review

[rowe]

TL;DR The Hi Reader Pro is a really nice premium pocket reader. If you want something cheaper/smaller/lighter get an InkPalm but the screen won’t be as good in all lighting conditions.

After a couple of years of heavy use my much loved Xioami InkPalm 5 main reader needed replacing (scratched and sun damaged screen, loose usb-c socket).
I decided to try something different and get a Hisense Hi Reader Pro as my main reader. It’s a ‘candybar’ style device - they’re thinner, and usually more robust than typical e-readers. I do most of my reading on pocket devices, and prefer them to larger e-readers. Reading novels and non-fiction books that are primarily text for a few hours a day.

Overview compared to my other pocket readers:
* The Hi Reader Pro is bigger and heavier than I’d prefer (6.1” 183g) but a premium device
* The InkPalm was ok (5.2” 115g) - main drawback is its glossy screen
* The Yiben 47L size and weight are ideal (4.7” 100g) - extremely comfortable to read for long periods handheld but a very basic device
* The Corogoo (2.9” 60g) screen is a little too small

Display quality:
The e-ink panel is 300ppi - sharper than the panel in the 284ppi InkPalm 5.
Ideally for me, it would have either a bare e-ink panel (like the P47L) or a flush micro-etched glass front (exclusive to the Kindle Voyage in e-readers).
But the Hi Reader Pro has a glossy plastic layer over the e-ink and a factory applied semi-matte screen protector.
However, unlike the Inkpalm or Hisense A5 the clarity of the Hi Reader Pro is pretty good with the provided screen protector. This is a big deal, and what I was hoping for.
It is much more usable that an Inkpalm without screen protector in situations with hard lighting, while being almost as sharp in situations with soft lighting.
This improvement is partly due to the higher PPI of the panel, but also a lower matte screen protector (and possibly improvements to the gloss screen layer).

Lighting:
* The lighting on this generation of Hisense devices seems at least on a par with current Xiaomi/Boox readers
* Unlike the older Hisense A5 the light can be set to warm and goes down low enough to be used optimally in a dark room
* It also has automatic lighting settings but I haven’t used these much

Buttons:
As with all the pocket readers mentioned it has physical page turn buttons. I massively prefer e-readers with this feature. They’re also in an ergonomic position - a rocker at the top right.
A button on the left is customisable, I have it set to ‘up a level’.

Other hardware:
It has bluetooth, cellular capability, a speaker, mic, and headphone socket. I’d prefer it to be smaller, lighter and cheaper instead as I will never use any of these elements. I only use the WIFI for software updates so usually leave that off too.

Software:
It’s Android 11, so can run pretty much any Android app. Many android e-readers are stuck on older versions, but this isn’t a major issue for my purposes.
Despite being in a sealed box, mine came with software modifications beyond the stock factory setup to enable Google services. I just want this to be a reader, so I reset to the bare factory software.
It’s easy to setup in English via the UI, although some apps and occasional messages are in Chinese.
It comes with lots of apps - some in English, some in Chinese. I will never use any of them.
I’ve set the lock screen to a nice image, the time, date, and battery level.
I side loaded the amazon App Store so I could install a legitimate version of Moon+ Reader Pro - I’ll never leave this app.
The e-ink controls are good, with different modes and fine settings. I’ll probably keep the default settings and use ‘clear’ mode in Moon+ Reader.

Speed:
The Hi Reader has much more grunt than the Inkpalm but I have no use for it. Page turns are a little quicker than on the Inkpalm but not enough to make a practical difference to reading.

Battery:
The battery on the Hi Reader Pro (4000mAH) is much larger than the Inkpalm 5 (1300-1400mAH). I was happy with the Inkpalm battery, so I would have preferred a smaller, lighter device instead of this increase. That said, my main reader is now a pretty useful power bank for my iPhone.

Storage:
It’s 128GB. 2GB user accessible storage is more than enough, so overkill as a reader. I transfer my books via USB-C.

Manga:
I saw a review saying this would be a great device for manga. Yes it can run all the best manga software but it’s the wrong aspect, and too small. You could use a panel-by-panel viewer, but you’re much better off using a 8” reader with a typical e-reader aspect ratio.

Extras that came in the box:
* a high quality case
* spare screen protectors
* a large notebook (WTF)

I bought mine from Aliexpress for £294 (366USD). You could buy 3 InkPalms instead.

Overall, a great but expensive pocket reader. Probably worth it, but there’s no perfect pocket reader yet.