E Ink unveils Kaleido 4 color e-paper, promising richer hues and faster refreshes

E Ink introduced Kaleido 4, the next iteration of its color e-paper technology that sits atop a black-and-white e-ink layer with a color filter. Compared with the existing Kaleido 3 panels found in Kobo, PocketBook, Boox and Amazon’s Kindle Colorsoft, Kaleido 4 claims to double the color gamut volume, increase white reflectance by 15% and boost contrast by 50%, addressing the muted tones and darker text of earlier models.

The display still supports only 4,096 colors and a lower resolution than monochrome e-ink, but its refresh rate jumps to up to 18 frames per second thanks to a new oxide TFT backplane, enabling smooth video playback. The first device to adopt the screen will be Hanvon Technology’s M10C II tablet, a China-only note-taking device with a micro-etched tempered-glass surface and a battery-free pen. Other companies such as Amazon and Kobo have not yet announced products featuring Kaleido 4, and the older Gallery 3 technology remains limited by slower refresh speeds despite offering full-color pigments.