Inkplate 6COLOR is a 5.8-inch color e-paper display equipped with ESP32 WiSoC to provide WiFi and Bluetooth LE connectivity, and programmable with the Arduino IDE or MicroPython.
We’ve covered Inkplate ESP32-based e-paper displays since Inkplate 6 was launched in 2019, and since then the company introduced a larger model and an upgraded variant with a touchscreen display and higher resolution. But so far, all were grayscale models, and Inkplate 6COLOR is the first to come with color, or more exactly 7 colors.
Inkplate 6COLOR specifications:
- Wireless module with dual-core ESP32 processor, Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE) connectivity
- External storage – MicroSD card socket
- Display – 5.8-inch, 600 x 448 e-paper display with 7 colors (Black, White, Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange)
- 128 DPI
- 25 seconds refresh time (manufacturer); tested by Inkplate: 10 to 11 seconds
- USB – 1x USB Type-C port for programming and power
- Expansion – Headers for GPIO pins, I²C, SPI, and easyC/Qwiic connectivity
- Misc – RTC and backup battery, 3x capacitive touch pads, power and user/wake push-buttons
- Power Supply
- JST input and MCP73831 charger for Lithium battery power
- Power consumption – 18 µA sleep state that can work for months on a single charge
- Dimensions – 145 x 116 x 6 mm
- Weight – 95 grams
On the software side of things, Inkplate offers Arduino libraries with dithering algorithms that are 100% compatible with Adafruit GFX graphics library, a MicroPython module that facilitates the rendering of text, images, and line art, and is working on an ESP-IDF driver for more advanced users. The same tools are still used to prepare content or design a user interface for the display: Online Image Converter and a GUI Designer.
Inkplate 6COLOR is currently offered on Crowd Supply with a $9,900 funding target that has already been surpassed. Two rewards are available with the display only for $99, and the display with a 3D printed enclosure for $119. Prices include shipping to the US, but the rest of the world has to add $8 for shipping. Backers should expect to get their perks shipped sometime in mid-September 2022.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
e-paper certainly seems to have a future but right now it feels too much like 2010.
It needs to mature before it has a hope of mass appeal.