iPhone 6 Case Provides Second Display

[Suika]

(click for sauce)

This is a familiar technology... but it's still neat!

 

For those who aren't blessed with a smartwatch (and I do mean blessed), you have to turn on your phone, open apps, and so on to check notifications or just the time. It consumes battery to do such small things, and having had the Nexus 5, it sucks not having battery throughout the entire day. Instead of a clunky wearable, there's another solution: an e-ink display!

 

The $129 Popslate case puts an E Ink display on the back of your iPhone, which can be used to display images and text in a black-and-white format that doesn't drain your phone's battery. It's not unlike having a miniature Amazon Kindle clipped to the back of your smartphone and is very similar to the integrated system used by Russia's YotaPhone.

It's kind of like a Mophie battery case, but while it doesn't directly provide more battery power, it does aim to improve battery life. It's coolio to think of all the things you could do with the e-ink display, such as weather, notifications, thingies like that. As with most first gen products, it's not perfect. In fact, I'd say it will require some work before it becomes a considerable option for $129.

 

But the first version of the Popslate, which is shipping now, doesn't quite live up to that potential. While it would be great for the Popslate to automatically update itself based on time of day or your location, right now all you can do is push static images to it from a companion app on the iPhone. You can display screenshots, pictures, or graphics in glorious grayscale, but you have to manually change the image anytime you want to display something different. A button on the side of the Popslate lets you cycle through the last eight images stored on it, but there's no function to automatically rotate through them. 

 

With that said, it seems like a neat toy... but I'd prefer going back to the original Pebble for the functionality this provides, in all honesty. Either way, cases like these make me wish I had an iPhone 6...

[W-L]

That's different at least I don't think I've seen that on a case before other than the old flip phone that have a top screen.

[TheKDub]

Its a nice idea, but its not something that I'd personally use as my phone is face-up pretty much all the time when its on a table or something, and I hold it with the front towards me, not the back..

 

And I don't have or want an iPhone, so just another reason as to why I wouldn't use it

[TheSLSAMG]

Reminds me of that Russian Yotaphone thing. Pretty cool, would probably try it out if I had an iPhone 6 and not an iPhone 5.

[Suika]

Reminds me of that Russian Yotaphone thing. Pretty cool, would probably try it out if I had an iPhone 6 and not an iPhone 5.

Actually the Verge mentioned it, and I like the YotaPhone's implementation a bit more.

 

Either way, it's neat to see the extra functionality a phone case can provide, asides from standard protection.

[MblaZe7run]

Ugh.. I hate seeing such cool things available to the (mostly) brainwashed Apple crowd. I'd love, for once, to see a badass case or peripheral come out exclusively for Android devices (aside from flagships like the Galaxy S series, HTC One series, etc.). I have yet to find an awesome gadget for my Note 3 that makes me drop everything I'm doing, and spend way too much money. It almost feels like many Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry users are being punished for not using Apple.

 

And I know that not all iPhone users are brainless drones, and that it is more profitable to follow mainstream trends, but still... Pet peeves, man.

[terrytek]

Ugh.. I hate seeing such cool things available to the (mostly) brainwashed Apple crowd. I'd love, for once, to see a badass case or peripheral come out exclusively for Android devices (aside from flagships like the Galaxy S series, HTC One series, etc.). I have yet to find an awesome gadget for my Note 3 that makes me drop everything I'm doing, and spend way too much money. It almost feels like many Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry users are being punished for not using Apple.

 

And I know that not all iPhone users are brainless drones, and that it is more profitable to follow mainstream trends, but still... Pet peeves, man.

I agree. I wished they made more of these awesome things for other flagship Android phones other than the SG series, HTC One, etc. like the LG G3, Sony Xperia, etc.

[TheSLSAMG]

Actually the Verge mentioned it, and I like the YotaPhone's implementation a bit more.

 

Either way, it's neat to see the extra functionality a phone case can provide, asides from standard protection.

But can you crack it (probably), and if so, how easily (hopefully not too easily)?

[MblaZe7run]

I agree. I wished they made more of these awesome things for other flagship Android phones other than the SG series, HTC One, etc. like the LG G3, Sony Xperia, etc.

And Note 3. It's still a pretty badass phone, regardless of Samsung being the manufacturer. With that said, I won't knock the phones you've mentioned (aside from the G3, because I just don't like it).

 

WE NEED COOL UNNECESSARY ITEMS TOO DAMNIT!

[bcredeur97]

this is really cool. but im not gonna pay $129 for a phone case.

[terrytek]

And Note 3. It's still a pretty badass phone, regardless of Samsung being the manufacturer. With that said, I won't knock the phones you've mentioned (aside from the G3, because I just don't like it).

 

WE NEED COOL UNNECESSARY ITEMS TOO DAMNIT!

don't be hating the g3, my dad has it and loves it.