Finally, some smartphone innovation. Even if it’s not likely to be particularly fast. The HiBreak Plus, a smartphone from BigMe, features an e-ink display, stylus support, and dual-SIM support, and is currently available for pre-order.
The price tag? R4,300, or $250. And, unlike many of the wackier takes on your phone, this one ships directly to South Africa. Shipping is free; customs duties are your problem. They could be worth surmounting, based purely on the price tag. And the features, of course.
HiBreak Plus reading
BigMe hasn’t announced all of the phone’s details, but the big ones are mostly known. The display is a 6.13in colour Kaleido 3 affair — very similar in nature to Kobo and Amazon’s colour e-reader screens. Even the size is similar to Amazon’s default Kindle.
4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage are promised, while the screen is apparently capable of 53 frames per second. It’s an odd way to list the refresh rate, but we’d expect that. Details in hertz won’t look quite as good. An unspecified eight-core processor runs the Android 14 OS.
GPS, a fingerprint sensor, and 4G connectivity are all supported. There’s a 4,500mAh battery, and then there’s the stylus to play with. Sadly, it looks like the capacitive implement is a paid-for extra instead of included in the box. Still, at this price, it would be worth adding.
Also included are cameras on the front and rear. The back sensor is 20MP in size and… that’s about all BigMe has revealed. Even that is only from the device’s visuals. They’re probably dreadful, but since you’ll be looking at the images on an e-ink display…
The HiBreak Plus isn’t the first phone of its type. It likely won’t be the last. But it is the most ‘ships-to-South-Africa’ device we’ve seen from this product category. Pre-orders are open, with shipping expected later this month. Buyers can nab the pricier bundle that includes a case and stylus for R4,900. That’s… still rather affordable.
