Yota Devices is a Russian smartphone manufacturer and has announced its latest model of dual-screen phone in the United Kingdom. The new smartphone is called YotaPhone 2 and it was first unveiled at the Mobile World Congress ten months ago.
Like the previous model, the new YotaPhone 2 has a normal smartphone display on its front side and an e-ink display like the ones used for Kindle readers, on its back side. The cool thing about the e-ink back display is that it’s always on and allows its user to receive important notifications even when the main screen is in standby mode.
YotaPhone 2 is a little bigger than its predecessor; it features a 5 inch HD display, while the first YotaPhone smartphone had a 4.3 inch LCD display. The new YotaPhone 2 is suitable for watching videos, view photos at a better resolution, browse the internet and play games.
The screen on the back is 4.7 inch e-ink display and was upgraded to be fully touch-responsive. On the previous YotaPhone model you had to tap and swipe a panel and flick between the screens. The new touch responsive screen allows the user to respond immediately to emails and text messages, accept invites and post on different social media platforms without activating the main color display on the front.
The e-ink display can run any Android app, including e-reading apps for Amazon Kindle, messaging apps like WhatsApp and music apps like Spotify. The user can keep a map on the e-ink screen even if the phone doesn’t have any battery life.
YotaPhone 2 features a Smart Power Mode which can be used to turn off the energy of the main color screen and perform functions like making or receiving calls, thus preserving battery life. The new YotaPhone 2 smartphone can last up to 50 hours if used on the e-in display.
Vlad Martynov, the CEO of Yota Devices said in a statement:
“We believe our technology constitutes an entirely new species of mobile device, not just by integrating a power efficient electronic paper display but by making two screens work in harmony.”