This new Ugreen case adds an E Ink screen to the back of your iPhone 18 Pro — but it’s no match for my Xteink X4 Pro

Ugreen has announced an iPhone 18 Pro case with an E Ink screen on it Rather than being an ereader, it's designed for displaying photos Pricing and availability are still to be confirmed I’m a big fan of tech innovation, so when a phone case that provides a second screen for the back of your device

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>Ugreen has announced an iPhone 18 Pro case with an E Ink screen on it</strong></li><li><strong>Rather than being an ereader, it's designed for displaying photos</strong></li><li><strong>Pricing and availability are still to be confirmed</strong></li></ul><p>I’m a big fan of tech innovation, so when a phone case that provides a second screen for the back of your device gets announced, I pay attention. And while that in itself isn’t a totally new concept, the new Ugreen Magic E Ink Screen Case takes a different approach from most.</p><p>While second screens designed for the back of phones are usually focused either on ebooks or — if they’re more tightly integrated into the phone’s operating system — widgets, this one, announced on <a href="https://weibo.com/2884361740/RilLT5wlW" target="_blank">Ugreen's Weibo feed</a>, is designed simply to show photos.</p><p>It’s a nice idea, delivering both the protection of a case — in both <a href="https://www.techradar.com/phones/iphone/iphone-18-pro-and-iphone-18-pro-max-review">iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max</a> sizes — and the ability to sync photos to the color E Ink screen built into it. But it also sounds quite limited compared to some e-paper accessories.</p><h2 id="e-paper-is-still-best-for-reading">E-paper is still best for reading</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1629px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.23%;"><img id="RSayAxyTzz8Nx2K5e7wqkN" name="20260826_092025" alt="The Xteink X4 Pro attached to an iPhone 16 Pro Max" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RSayAxyTzz8Nx2K5e7wqkN-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1629" height="916" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="caption-text">An Xteink X4 Pro on the back of an iPhone </span><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: TechRadar)</span></figcaption></figure><p>I’m thinking primarily of the Xteink line, and in particular <a href="https://www.techradar.com/tablets/ereaders/i-spent-a-month-with-the-xteink-x4-pro-and-while-i-love-this-tiny-usd99-ereader-it-wont-be-replacing-my-viwoods-aipaper-reader-just-yet">the Xteink X4 Pro</a>, which is currently stuck to the back of my iPhone. With this, I can read ebooks on an eye-friendly display, and while it doesn’t show color and wouldn’t be great for photos, I’m not convinced the Ugreen Magic E Ink Screen Case will excel at this either.</p><p>Images and especially color on e-paper screens tend to leave something to be desired, even on high-end products like the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/tablets/ereaders/amazon-kindle-colorsoft-review">Kindle Colorsoft</a>, which delivers quite muted shades. And we’ve seen image-focused e-paper accessories before, like the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/phones/these-e-ink-fridge-magnets-display-polaroid-like-photos-that-you-can-change-from-your-phone">VidaBay E Ink fridge magnets</a>, which in my opinion display most images quite poorly.</p><p>Still, you never know; the Ugreen Magic E Ink Screen Case might surprise me, and if the price is right, it could be more appealing to some buyers than an ordinary case anyway. The price, though, is still unconfirmed, as is availability, with this product so far only announced for China. So it remains to be seen whether you’ll even be able to buy it.</p><div data-widget-type="multimodelreview" data-widget-title="Today's best iPhone deals" data-model-name="Apple iPhone 17,Apple iPhone 17e,Apple iPhone 17 Pro,Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max,Apple iPhone Air,Apple iPhone 18 Pro,Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max,Apple iPhone Duo"></div> </article> ]]>