BigMe has launched the HiBreak Dual 2 on Kickstarter, and the pitch is simple: an e-ink phone that does more than read ebooks badly in bright sunlight. The company is calling it the world’s first large dual-screen color e-ink phone, and the real upgrade is that both sides now feel like full devices rather than a novelty front and a tiny rear screen.
The front uses a 6.13-inch color e-ink display aimed at reading, note-taking, and long sessions that are easier on the eyes. Flip the phone over, and you get a 5-inch LCD panel for video, apps, and photos in full color. That is a far more practical split than the original HiBreak Dual, whose back display was just a 1.85-inch circular LCD – more afterthought than second screen.
HiBreak Dual 2 specs and screen setup
BigMe is clearly chasing a niche that mainstream phone makers still ignore: people who want a device that can act like a focused reading slate without giving up normal smartphone basics. Stylus support is part of that story, letting users jot notes or sketch directly on the e-ink panel, which is the sort of feature that makes sense on paper and on a Kickstarter page.
- Front display: 6.13-inch color e-ink
- Rear display: 5-inch LCD
- Stylus support: yes
- Chipset: Dimensity 8300
- Connectivity: 5G
- Software: Android 16
Dimensity 8300 and Android 16 give it more bite
Under the hood, the leap matters just as much as the screens. The original HiBreak Dual used a MediaTek Dimensity 1080 and Android 14, while the Dual 2 moves to the Dimensity 8300, adds 5G, and ships with Android 16. That puts it closer to a serious premium Android phone than the usual crowdfunding oddity, even if the e-ink display still sets the pace for what you actually do with it.
Kickstarter pricing starts at $699
Pricing is very much in Kickstarter territory. Early bird backers can get in at $699 and $769, while standard pricing rises to $899 for the Standard Edition and $989 for the Kickstarter Exclusive Edition. That is not impulse-buy money, but it is the kind of figure these specialty devices routinely ask when they try to sell two phones in one shell.
- Early bird pricing: $699 and $769
- Standard Edition: $899
- Kickstarter Exclusive Edition: $989
BigMe has spent the past year expanding beyond phones into tablets, readers, monitors, and digital photo frames, so the HiBreak Dual 2 looks like the company leaning hardest into its e-ink identity. The open question is whether buyers want a genuinely useful dual-screen phone or just another clever hardware experiment that makes sense right up until you have to explain why your phone needs two screens.