Hisense A10: the E-Ink phone with a color screen you can actually remove
Hisense has announced the A10, an E-Ink smartphone with a twist: a magnetic color LCD panel on the back that you can peel off entirely when you don't need it. Expected to launch at around CNY 3,999 (roughly $590), the A10 is aimed squarely at heavy readers who still want a full smartphone experience without permanently lugging around two screens.
The detachable difference
The front of the A10 carries a 6.13-inch E-Ink display — the kind that mimics paper, sips battery only when refreshing, and is easy on eyes during long reading sessions. The back hosts a color LCD panel held on by magnets. Snap it on for comics, social media, or video; pull it off when you want a lighter, glare-free reading device.
That's a meaningful departure from the Bigme HiBreak Dual 2, the closest competitor, which bolts a color screen permanently to the rear. Hisense's removable approach means you're not always carrying the extra weight and thickness — the core complaint that kept dual-screen phones niche for a decade.
The Hisense A10 with its detachable magnetic color LCD panel alongside the E-Ink front display.
Specs and availability
Under the hood, the A10 runs an 8-core Qualcomm chip built on a 4nm process — Gizmochina identifies it as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 — alongside Android 16, 5G, and Wi-Fi 6. Hisense has been building this line since the A9 launched in 2022 (re-released in 2025 with more RAM and storage), so this isn't an experiment — it's an incremental, committed niche play.
One catch: early reports suggest the detachable color panel may not be included in the standard box, meaning you could pay extra for the feature that defines the phone. Hisense hasn't confirmed that either way, per Good e-Reader.
For US and UK buyers, don't expect this in a carrier store. The A10 is a China-market launch, and import channels — AliExpress, eBay, and specialist traders — are the realistic route, mirroring how the A9 Pro reached Western hands. If you're comparing it to the Boox Palma 2 Pro ($279.99), the A10 costs twice as much but replaces a dedicated e-reader companion with a single all-in-one device. Whether that trade-off makes sense depends entirely on how much you read — and how often you need color.