Android phones usually have LED displays which are not super eye friendly; e-ink displays as known from e-book readers come to the rescue. E-ink phones are rare but they do exist. My personal list:
At 155x80mm and with 9mm thickness, the Bigme Hibreak [no specs] [shop] [blog] [liliputing] [androidpolice] [goodereader] [notebookcheck] [vid] is again too big for one-handed use, like the A9. Android 11 (API 30), with Google.
With Hisense stopping e-ink phone development and any Boox phone delayed indefinitely, there is not much choice in 2024. Comes in basic and extended versions, and only the former is available as of 2024-08. Both can have either monochrome or color e-ink.
At 160x80mm and with 8mm thickness, the Hisense A9 [specs] [shop] [liliputing] [qucox] [ereaderx] [goodereader] is too big for one-handed use. Android 11 (API 30), no Google.
It has a 1600x800 monchrome e-ink 6.1" screen, with better reflectivity than color e-ink unless ACeP panels were used. Also, it is unclear what the "z-axis linear motor" [qucox] should be.
Only officially available in China, not in Europe.
At 145x75mm and with 7mm thickness, the Xiaomi Moaan InkPalm 5 [no specs] [shop] is close to fitting into one hand. Android 8.0 (API 26), no Google.
With a 1280x730 monochrome e-ink 5.2" display, it is more compact than contemporary Hisense offerings. The comparatively old Android version is somewhat surprising, as is the lack of cameras.
At 155x75mm and with 9mm thickness, the Hisense A5 Pro CC [specs] [shop] [mine] is quite big for one hand; I certainly wish it was a small phone. Android 10 (API 29), no Google.
With 4096 colors enabled by Bayer filter, it reflects only 30% of the light that the monochrome HiSense A5 Pro [specs] [shop] would. So while having colors is quite awesome, I do use the backlight a lot more than I expected. For completeness: 1440x720 on a 5.8" display.
At 145x70mm and with 9mm thickness, the Yotaphone 2 [specs] [mine] fits into one hand. Android 4.4 (API 19).
With both an AMOLED screen on the front and e-ink on the back, you get the best of both worlds. The monochrome e-ink screen is curved which does not matter in practice, and the low 960x540 resolution is also enough. There is no backlight, though.
At 135x70mm and with 10mm thickness, the Yotaphone 1 [specs] [review] is almost a small phone and fits comfortably in one hand. Android 4.2 (API 16).
The mother of all e-ink smart phones, the Yotaphone has both an LED screen on the front and e-ink on the back, the latter monochrome with 640x360 resolution, which I imagine could be a little coarse.
E-ink phones are incredibly eye-friendly and encourage book reading instead of web surfing; that alone is one reason why they will always be awesome in my mind. I hope you enjoyed our tour -- have a nice day!
EOF (Aug:2024)