While E-Ink is an excellent display for many different applications, it’s still not a universal solution for low-cost display needs. These are some of the advantages and disadvantages of E-Ink for different applications.
Advantages
1. Low-power: Due to how they work, E-Ink readers are compared to backlit displays; E-Ink devices consume approximately 40 percent less power
2. Less eye strain: While e-readers produce a fair amount of blue light, it is much less than what LCD and OLED displays produce. You can read for longer without experiencing eye strain on e-readers.
3. Paper-like experience: Nothing can replace the feel of a paper book, but e-readers come reasonably close, at least in appearance. This means that reading on one feels more natural than reading from a computer screen (even though both are digital).
Disadvantages
1. Sluggish refresh rate/updates: Numerous improvements have been made to e-readers over time, but they still take a long time to refresh compared to LCD and LED devices. This makes them unsuitable for playing animations and videos. Nevertheless, new E-Ink devices, like the Kaleido 3, are said to be responsive enough to play fast animations and high-quality videos.
2. Price: E-Ink displays are pretty pricey compared to LCDs, especially as they increase in size and resolution. This is because E-Ink displays are produced by a limited number of manufacturers who cannot take advantage of economies of scale.
While a standard e-reader such as the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite costs much less than, say, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the latter can be used in multiple applications, unlike the Kindle, which can only be used to read e-books. This means that e-readers remain a luxury purchase for most people.
