YotaPhone 2 combines an AMOLED and an e-ink display, but at a hefty price
Who’s ready for another crazy Russian smartphone? The YotaPhone 2 may seem like a relatively standard smartphone running Android 4.4, but it harbors one major twist: it has a second display on the back, and it’s no ordinary screen. This oddball device effectively crams a five-inch AMOLED display and a 4.7-inch e-ink display into a single pocket-sized device. It sounds incredible at first, but the hefty asking price makes this phone a nonstarter.
So, why are there two displays? AMOLED and e-ink displays serve very different purposes. AMOLEDs offer bright and vibrant images, but the power cost is non-trivial. On the other hand, e-ink screens are comparatively limited, but use much less power when displaying static images. Shipping with both types of displays offers the user a ton of flexibility, and definitely sets the YotaPhone 2 apart from the crowd. Unfortunately, there are a few other aspects of this whacky smartphone that may keep you on the fence.
Yotaphone 2 The YotaPhone 2 sports a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 SoC, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. Those are competitive internals, but when you combine those with two whopping screens, it’s no surprise that the price tag is outrageous. In the UK, you’ll need to drop £550 to snag an unlocked YotaPhone 2. As of writing, that converts to roughly $863 USD — yikes. Even worse, it’s only currently available in 20 countries, and the US isn’t one of them. Supposedly, this phone will make its way to Asia, North America, and South America sometime in 2015, but will anyone even care by then?
Back in February, our very own Sebastian Anthony got his hands on a prototype YotaPhone 2. He wasn’t sold on the idea, and none of the reviews of the final product contradict his initial skepticism. This model is much better than the original YotaPhone, but it remains little more than a novelty. You’re still better off sticking with a Nexus 6 or iPhone 6.
Truth be told, I’d be more interested in a low-cost, low-power e-ink smartphone. It obviously wouldn’t be as versatile as a standard smartphone, but the battery savings alone might be worth the compromise. It sure would be nice to go two weeks between charging my phone. As it stands, I’m currently eyeing a battery case to last more than 10 hours at a shot. If nothing else, let’s hope that this niche Russian smartphone inspires other companies to step away from the iPhone mold.
Who’s ready for another crazy Russian smartphone? The YotaPhone 2 may seem like a relatively standard smartphone running Android 4.4, but it harbors one major twist: it has a second display on the back, and it’s no ordinary screen. This oddball device effectively crams a five-inch AMOLED display and a 4.7-inch e-ink display into a single pocket-sized device. It sounds incredible at first, but the hefty asking price makes this phone a nonstarter.
So, why are there two displays? AMOLED and e-ink displays serve very different purposes. AMOLEDs offer bright and vibrant images, but the power cost is non-trivial. On the other hand, e-ink screens are comparatively limited, but use much less power when displaying static images. Shipping with both types of displays offers the user a ton of flexibility, and definitely sets the YotaPhone 2 apart from the crowd. Unfortunately, there are a few other aspects of this whacky smartphone that may keep you on the fence.
Yotaphone 2 The YotaPhone 2 sports a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 SoC, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. Those are competitive internals, but when you combine those with two whopping screens, it’s no surprise that the price tag is outrageous. In the UK, you’ll need to drop £550 to snag an unlocked YotaPhone 2. As of writing, that converts to roughly $863 USD — yikes. Even worse, it’s only currently available in 20 countries, and the US isn’t one of them. Supposedly, this phone will make its way to Asia, North America, and South America sometime in 2015, but will anyone even care by then?
Back in February, our very own Sebastian Anthony got his hands on a prototype YotaPhone 2. He wasn’t sold on the idea, and none of the reviews of the final product contradict his initial skepticism. This model is much better than the original YotaPhone, but it remains little more than a novelty. You’re still better off sticking with a Nexus 6 or iPhone 6.
Truth be told, I’d be more interested in a low-cost, low-power e-ink smartphone. It obviously wouldn’t be as versatile as a standard smartphone, but the battery savings alone might be worth the compromise. It sure would be nice to go two weeks between charging my phone. As it stands, I’m currently eyeing a battery case to last more than 10 hours at a shot. If nothing else, let’s hope that this niche Russian smartphone inspires other companies to step away from the iPhone mold.
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