Bigme’s HiBreak Dual 2 smartphone, featuring a dual-screen design centred on a fast-refresh E Ink panel and a mainstream hardware suite, could disrupt the foldable phone market with its lower price point and unique approach to display technology.
Bigme’s HiBreak Dual 2 is attracting attention for a reason that has little to do with folding screens. While the market fixates on foldables from Samsung and the rumoured arrival of Apple’s first folding iPhone, the Chinese device maker is pushing a different idea: a dual-screen smartphone built around E Ink rather than a hinged OLED panel. According to Kickstarter and Android Authority, the campaign reached its funding target within minutes of launch, suggesting that there is real demand for an alternative approach.
The handset pairs a 6.13-inch E Ink display with a 5-inch LCD panel. Bigme says the E Ink side supports refresh rates of up to 80 frames per second, which is unusually fast for this kind of panel and should make the screen feel far less sluggish than older e-paper phones. That matters because traditional E Ink devices have usually been limited by slow updates, muted colour and a reliance on text rather than motion-heavy content.
Bigme has also positioned the HiBreak Dual 2 as a proper smartphone rather than a niche reader. CNX Software reports that it uses MediaTek’s Dimensity 8300 chip, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage and Android 16, with dual 5G SIM support. Kickstarter materials say it also includes NFC, a fingerprint sensor and stylus support. In other words, this is not a pared-back e-reader with calling functions bolted on, but a full-spec handset with an unusual display strategy.
Pricing begins at $599 on Kickstarter, which places it well below many flagship foldables. That gap may be the device’s strongest selling point. Hisense has sold similar dual-screen phones, and YotaPhone was an earlier example of the concept, but Bigme appears to be aiming for a more mainstream pitch: a phone that can switch between eye-friendly e-paper and conventional LCD use without forcing buyers into foldable-phone pricing. Whether it becomes a lasting product line is unclear, but the early response suggests the category still has an audience.
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