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# E Ink’s Kaleido 4 Promises Better Colour E-Readers, but Only One Tablet Has It
- URL: https://averagetechnerds.com/e-ink-kaleido-4-color-e-readers/
- Published: 2026-10-15T20:33:22.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T20:39:28.000Z
- Description: Kaleido 4 is brighter, punchier and faster by E Ink’s numbers, but it says nothing about resolution, and no Kindle, Kobo or Boox uses it yet.
- Author: Victor
- Tags: News, Everyday Tech

[E Ink announced Kaleido 4](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/e-ink-launches-latest-version-of-color-epaper-platform-e-ink-kaleido-4-302910326.html?ref=averagetechnerds.com) on October 15, and this is something I’m very interested in. It’s the successor to Kaleido 3, the colour e-paper that Kobo’s and Boox’s colour e-readers use today. E Ink says it’s brighter and faster. The catch is that the only device with it so far is Hanvon’s M10C II, a note-taking tablet announced for China only.

Bottom line up front

## So what does this mean for the *Average TechNerd*?

Nothing yet, because no reader you can buy uses it. On paper it’s a real upgrade, going by E Ink’s own numbers: 15% whiter, 50% more contrast, double the colour gamut volume and video at up to 18 fps. What E Ink didn’t announce is a resolution, so nothing says colour gets any sharper than the 150 pixels per inch that today’s Kaleido 3 readers list.

No Kindle, Kobo or Boox reader with Kaleido 4 has been announced. The Kobo and Boox colour readers on sale use Kaleido 3, and the Kindle Colorsoft lists the same 150 pixels per inch for colour. There’s no Kaleido 4 date to wait for.

At a glance

What it is

The newest version of E Ink’s Kaleido colour e-paper, the colour-filter screen type used in colour e-readers.

E Ink’s claims vs Kaleido 3

- Double the colour gamut volume
- 15% higher white reflectance
- 50% more contrast
- Video at up to 18 fps
- New oxide TFT backplane (the transistor layer that drives each pixel) and front light

First device

Hanvon M10C II note-taking tablet, China only; no price or release date announced.

Still unknown

- Colour resolution
- Which e-reader brands use it, and when
- Prices

## What does Kaleido 4 change vs Kaleido 3?

More brightness, contrast and colour, plus faster refresh, according to E Ink. Compared with Kaleido 3, E Ink says Kaleido 4 has double the colour gamut volume, reflects 15% more white light and has 50% more contrast. It also says new algorithms let it play video at up to 18 frames per second. And it says the changes make the screen look less grainy. E Ink pitches all of this at colour PDFs, slides, charts and illustrations as much as at books.

Part of the faster refresh comes from a new oxide TFT backplane, the layer of transistors that drives each pixel, which E Ink says supports higher driving voltages. Oxide backplanes aren’t new to colour e-readers: Amazon [built the 2024 Kindle Colorsoft on one](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/kindle-color-specs-price-announce?ref=averagetechnerds.com) for sharper contrast and faster page turns. E Ink also redesigned the front light, which it says makes colour clearer and more natural.

E Ink says the gamut volume doubles “to more than 40K” without saying 40K of what. Its own [Kaleido page](https://www.eink.com/brand/detail/Kaleido?ref=averagetechnerds.com) lists 4,096 colours for current Kaleido screens. [Engadget](https://www.engadget.com/2288006/e-ink-kaleido-4-could-inch-us-closer-to-the-perfect-color-e-reader/?ref=averagetechnerds.com) read it as more than 40,000 colours, but doubling 4,096 doesn’t get you there. Until E Ink explains it, treat 40K as E Ink’s own gamut measure.

![Exploded diagram of a Kaleido 4 e-reader screen: front light, touch panel, colour filter array, ink layer and oxide TFT backplane](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/23/b323103c-90c0-46a8-9230-7d317a5ebaf3/content/images/2026/10/e-ink-kaleido-4-layers.jpg)

Kaleido 4’s layers, with the colour filter array over the ink layer (FPL) and the new oxide TFT backplane at the bottom. Image: E Ink

## Is colour any sharper on Kaleido 4?

E Ink hasn’t said: its announcement gives no resolution at all. Today’s colour readers, such as the [Boox Go Color 7 (Gen II)](https://shop.boox.com/products/gocolor7-gen2?ref=averagetechnerds.com), list 300 pixels per inch for black and white and 150 for colour. E Ink’s only claim on this front is less visible graininess.

Colour costs sharpness and brightness because of how Kaleido works. A Kaleido screen is a black-and-white E Ink panel with a colour filter laid over it. Each colour dot is built from a group of side-by-side filtered pixels, which is why these readers list half the black-and-white resolution for colour. E Ink’s [page for Gallery](https://www.eink.com/brand/detail/Gallery?ref=averagetechnerds.com), its other colour e-paper, says a colour filter attenuates light, “which can be quite significant”, and that light loss is what makes a Kaleido page look darker and greyer. Kaleido 4’s contrast and white reflectance claims go straight at that weakness.

## How is Kaleido different from Gallery 3?

Kaleido filters its colour, while Gallery 3 makes colour with coloured ink. Gallery 3 puts cyan, magenta, yellow and white particles in every pixel with no filter on top, which E Ink says avoids the light loss and gives full colour at 300 pixels per inch. The reMarkable Paper Pro is one tablet that uses it.

The trade-off is speed. E Ink [lists](https://www.eink.com/brand/detail/Gallery%5F3?ref=averagetechnerds.com) Gallery 3’s black-and-white page updates at 350 milliseconds, but colour takes 500 milliseconds in its fast mode, 750 to 1,000 in standard and 1,500 for its best colour.

## Which e-readers use Kaleido 3 right now?

The [Kobo Libra Colour](https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ereaders?ref=averagetechnerds.com) ($259.99), Kobo Clara Colour ($179.99) and [Boox Go Color 7 (Gen II)](https://shop.boox.com/products/gocolor7-gen2?ref=averagetechnerds.com) ($269.99) all list an E Ink Kaleido 3 screen outright.

Amazon doesn’t name the panel in the Kindle Colorsoft, though Engadget reports it’s a Kaleido screen Amazon modified. Amazon announced a [new Colorsoft](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHT5P56N?ref=averagetechnerds.com) two weeks before Kaleido 4, at $289.99 for 16GB or $319.99 for a 32GB Signature Edition. Both are out October 28\. Its spec sheet still lists 300 ppi for black and white and 150 ppi for colour, the same split as Kaleido 3.

## Should you buy a colour e-reader now or wait for Kaleido 4?

Buy now if a colour reader on sale today suits you, because Amazon, Kobo and Boox haven’t announced a Kaleido 4 reader and there’s no date for one. Nathan Groezinger of [The eBook Reader](https://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2026/10/15/kaleido-4-color-e-ink-screens-coming-out-soon/?ref=averagetechnerds.com) notes that companies usually take a year or two to switch to a new screen. Some keep selling the old one.

Waiting makes sense if the dim, grainy look of today’s colour screens is what bothers you, because that’s what E Ink says it improved. If it’s colour sharpness, nothing announced so far says Kaleido 4 changes that.

## What’s the only Kaleido 4 device so far?

Hanvon’s M10C II, a note-taking tablet that Engadget reports is coming to China only. It follows Hanvon’s [10.3-inch M10C](https://www.ithome.com/1/010/955.htm?ref=averagetechnerds.com) from May 2025, which used Kaleido 3\. E Ink says the new screen, together with Hanvon’s own “Enhanced Pressure Floating” technology and T2000 timing controller, makes page turns and scrolling 27% faster on the M10C II.

The rest of the M10C II is aimed at work: a battery-free pen with 8,192 pressure levels, a micro-etched tempered-glass surface for a paper-like feel, and Hanvon’s OCR, voice and AI office apps. Neither E Ink’s announcement nor Hanvon’s preview gave a price or release date.

## Will Kobo or Boox use Kaleido 4?

Neither has said so. Both build their current colour readers on Kaleido 3, and neither has announced a Kaleido 4 model or a date.

## What don’t we know yet?

When Kaleido 4 readers will arrive, and at what price. E Ink hasn’t published a colour resolution, and nobody outside E Ink and Hanvon has measured the screen. Groezinger says the early side-by-side photos aren’t very good, and that they make the difference hard to judge.

## What does Kaleido 4 mean for my manga?

Better colour, and for manga, that’s great. I do read books, I do read light novels, and I do like manga. Books and light novels aren’t affected so much. But I do prefer the colour option for manga and comics.

I have the Amazon Kindle, but I hate the Kindle ecosystem, and I’ve stopped using it. Kobo and Boox colour readers aren’t tied to the Kindle store: Kobo’s readers support a wide range of ebook formats, and Boox runs Android with Google Play.

Would Kaleido 4 get you to buy a colour e-reader, or is Kaleido 3 already good enough for your comics and manga?

Based on E Ink’s announcement and brand pages, Kobo’s, Boox’s and Amazon’s store listings, and the reports linked above, as of October 15, 2026.