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What are the benefits of dual screen phones?

AndiSeptember 1, 2015

What are the benefits of dual screen phones? Oukitel have made a video which they hope will teach us the features and benefits of having a second e-ink display, but is it enough?

In the following video, the team at Oukitel try and demo some of the benefits of having a secondary e-ink display on the rear of your phone like the one on the recently released Oukitel U6.

Take a look at the features they show, keep reading and let us know what you make having a second display.

If you are like me then you are probably unsure about this whole e-ink display phase the Chinese phone industry are taking. I do see some of the benefits of the e-ink panel on the rear of a phone. First of all there is a battery saving to be had. If you can switch your viewing from the front panel to the rear then that e-ink screen is surely going to use less of your precious battery charge. Another benefit is viewing and reading. No matter how good a regular colour panel is or how high the resolution, nothing quite beats an e-ink display for reading.

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But is that enough? I’m still wondering just how useable a second display might be? How convenient is it to switch from one screen to the next? Have Oukitel made the process seamless enough to actually be a benefit?

Also, surely adding that second display just takes up space that a larger battery could accommodate? And doesn’t the second panel mean twice the chance of an expensive trip to the repair store?

What are your opinions of dual screen phones? Are there any other benefits of such a design other than battery life and easy reading? Let us know in the comments below.

The Oukitel U6 in the video is a quad-core MT6735 phone with 2.5D glass display, alloy chassis and IR remote. Online resellers are taking pre-orders for the device now.

[ Oukitel ]

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About the author
Andi

jolu
September 1, 2015
I think it can be a powersaving function too. I can imagine that the e-ink display uses less battery than the lcd.
One downside is covers will have to change to fit this device.

balcobomber25
September 1, 2015
The only thing I would use it for as a replacement for my Nook, provided it was on a screen that was at least 5 inches. It would just eliminate one device from my tech bag.
- waterresist
  September 2, 2015
  Same here. The only problem is the size of the secondary e-ink screens. I think they should be the same size as the original screen – and go to 5.5 inches. 🙂
  - balcobomber25
    September 2, 2015
    I imagine there would technical issues with having the same screen size front and back because of the placement of the camera and interference with the antennae. It would have huge bezels up top and bottom on the front to make it work.
    - waterresist
      September 2, 2015
      I see. I think the phone could be like 9-10 mm “fat” – I could live with – instead of 5-8 mm and that should do the trick. According to tear down pictures that could be a lot of space to fill with stuff even on a 5 incher. Maybe the next generation… they even tend to leave out nfc.

10basetom
September 1, 2015
Having spent some time with the YotaPhone 2, I know the back screen is permanently “on” without using any power (unless you have widgets that constantly force a screen refresh), so this opens up a lot of possibilities. For example, you could set the back screen wallpaper to be a subway map.
Angry Mobile Nerd
September 1, 2015
It’s more gimmick than anything.

jolu
September 1, 2015
I think it can be a powersaving function too. I can imagine that the e-ink display uses less battery than the lcd.
One downside is covers will have to change to fit this device.
justyfier
September 1, 2015
Why not just make a phone with an e display? Or een ereader with phone functions?
- waterresist
  September 2, 2015
  Someone did it a few years ago. It was a simply design. I just cannot recall the name. I saw a video. It was slow as hell (e-ink vs lcd) , but had an insane battery life.

balcobomber25
September 1, 2015
The only thing I would use it for as a replacement for my Nook, provided it was on a screen that was at least 5 inches. It would just eliminate one device from my tech bag.
- waterresist
  September 2, 2015
  Same here. The only problem is the size of the secondary e-ink screens. I think they should be the same size as the original screen – and go to 5.5 inches. 🙂
- balcobomber25
  September 2, 2015
  I imagine there would technical issues with having the same screen size front and back because of the placement of the camera and interference with the antennae. It would have huge bezels up top and bottom on the front to make it work.
- waterresist
  September 2, 2015
  I see. I think the phone could be like 9-10 mm “fat” – I could live with – instead of 5-8 mm and that should do the trick. According to tear down pictures that could be a lot of space to fill with stuff even on a 5 incher. Maybe the next generation… they even tend to leave out nfc.

jasneskis
September 1, 2015
I often use 2 devices to see 2 screens at once. I wouldn’t like to have to switch. That’s like switching tabs when browsing. It would be better for me to have dual screens in book form. I do like the idea of reading books in sunlight. It is a definite problem now.
Bigger problem… I wish the manufacturer would work on by defauly all apps go to SD card. To have no storage when storage card is empty is a pain. Apps all want to be on internal storage. I can’t change, nor delete installed apps that are useless.
Space is a big internal problem.

10basetom
September 1, 2015
Having spent some time with the YotaPhone 2, I know the back screen is permanently “on” without using any power (unless you have widgets that constantly force a screen refresh), so this opens up a lot of possibilities. For example, you could set the back screen wallpaper to be a subway map.
Angry Mobile Nerd
September 1, 2015
It’s more gimmick than anything.
justyfier
September 1, 2015
Why not just make a phone with an e display? Or een ereader with phone functions?
- waterresist
  September 2, 2015
  Someone did it a few years ago. It was a simply design. I just cannot recall the name. I saw a video. It was slow as hell (e-ink vs lcd) , but had an insane battery life.
jasneskis
September 1, 2015
I often use 2 devices to see 2 screens at once. I wouldn’t like to have to switch. That’s like switching tabs when browsing. It would be better for me to have dual screens in book form. I do like the idea of reading books in sunlight. It is a definite problem now.
Bigger problem… I wish the manufacturer would work on by defauly all apps go to SD card. To have no storage when storage card is empty is a pain. Apps all want to be on internal storage. I can’t change, nor delete installed apps that are useless.
Space is a big internal problem.