E Ink Kaleido 4 doubles the color range of e-paper

E Ink announced Kaleido 4, the next version of its color e-paper screen, on October 15, 2026. The company says it doubles the range of colors the screen can show and raises contrast by 50%. That matters because Kaleido is the color screen inside most color e-readers sold today, so its upgrades decide what the next Kobo, PocketBook or Boox device can do.

What changes on the screen

E-paper is the low-power screen used in e-readers. It reflects room light like paper instead of glowing like a phone. Its weak spot has been color. As The Verge explains, Kaleido screens put a color filter over a black-and-white panel, which mutes colors and makes plain text look darker.

E Ink's announcement compares Kaleido 4 with the previous generation:

Measure	Kaleido 4 change
Color gamut volume	Doubles, to more than 40K
White reflectance	Up 15%
Contrast	Up 50%
Video playback	Up to 18 frames per second

Color gamut volume is the range of colors a screen can show. White reflectance is how much light the white areas bounce back, so a higher number means brighter-looking pages.

The hardware change behind this is a new oxide TFT backplane. A backplane is the layer of tiny transistors that switches each dot on the screen. E Ink says the new one supports higher driving voltages and faster screen refresh. The video figure comes from new algorithms, the company adds.

Johnson Lee, E Ink's Chairman and CEO, framed the goal in the release: "Color ePaper needs to deliver more than simply 'color.'"

The first device

The first product with Kaleido 4 is the M10C II, a smart e-paper notebook from Hanvon Technology. E Ink calls it the world's first end product with the new screen. The release says it turns pages and scrolls 27% faster, though it does not say what that is compared with.

The M10C II also has a battery-free digital pen with 8,192 levels of pressure. Its micro-etched tempered-glass surface is meant to cut glare and the small gap between the pen tip and the line it draws. Wang Jie, a vice president at Hanvon, said the launch "is not simply a screen upgrade."

The Verge reports that the M10C II will be sold only in China and has no ship date. Neither Amazon nor Kobo has announced a Kaleido 4 device.

How big is the upgrade?

The figures come from E Ink, and outside testing has not started. Nathan Groezinger of The eBook Reader wrote about photos from a Chinese presentation before the official launch. The comparison shots looked like a typical generational step, Groezinger said, but the photos were poor quality.

The post also expects a wait: device makers usually take one to two years to switch to a new screen. Groezinger doubts that Amazon's new Kindle Colorsoft uses Kaleido 4, because Amazon's product page does not mention color screen improvements. The Verge notes that the Colorsoft uses a customized version of the current Kaleido screen. Amazon refreshed the Colorsoft in its 2026 Kindle lineup earlier this month.

What this means for developers

For teams that build reading apps, comics viewers or note-taking software for e-paper devices, Kaleido 4 changes what is worth designing for. Brighter whites and higher contrast make color highlights, charts and covers easier to read. The 18 frames per second figure opens the door to simple animation.

If you buy e-readers for a classroom, library or office, there is no reason to wait for Kaleido 4 yet. The only announced device is sold in China, and Western brands have announced nothing. Going by The eBook Reader's one-to-two-year estimate, a Kobo or PocketBook with Kaleido 4 may be a year or more away.

Watch for independent reviews of the M10C II. They will be the first test of whether E Ink's lab figures hold up in daylight and under a reading lamp.