Yota unveils the third generation of its dual-screen phone

midian182

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In a world where there are few differences between most flagship smartphones, the YotaPhone and its successor differed from the pack thanks to their second e-ink displays on the rear of the handsets. Now, a third generation of the device has been unveiled in China.

The Yota3 improves on its predecessors with a 5.5-inch 1080p Samsung AMOLED main screen and a 5.2-inch 720p E-Ink Carta II display on the back, which offers a sharper image than the previous 4.7-inch 960 x 540 rear screen.

Barring its famous feature, the Yota3 is a fairly mid-range affair that comes with a Snapdragon 625 SoC. But it does have some more modern hardware, including 4 GB of RAM, a 12 MP single primary camera with a 1.4um sensor, a 3,300 mAh battery, and Quick Charge functionality via its USB Type-C port. It also supports Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, and GPS, while running Android 7.1.1 Nougat. Sadly, as is the case with an increasing number of today’s devices, the 3.5mm headphone jack is absent.

The Yota3’s prices do seem a bit high for a phone containing a non-flagship chip from 2016. The 64 GB base model costs 3,699 yuan (around $560), while the 128 GB version is 4,299 yuan, which is about $655.

It’ll be interesting to see just how popular the Yota3 turns out. Any handset that tries to stand out in an increasingly homogenous smartphone market is a welcome addition, but most consumers are unlikely to pay so much money for a mid-range phone, even one with a unique feature like the rear e-ink display.

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I've always wanted one of these phones. However the lack of a headphone jack is a deal breaker for me. While my ears look normal (lol), earbuds always fall out randomly, I've tried so many different styles. I'm not going to get bluetooth earbuds only to constantly lose them. At least this means the Yota2 (with a headphone jack) will drop in price.
 
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