I finally received my
Hisense A6. Believe the hype. This eink screen is high resolution and lovely to read on. The frontlight works pleasantly and is easy to adjust. It's actually possible to use the device without looking at the OLED display at all.
The only concern is that there is no way to install Google Play right now. However this is not replacing my main phone, this is just my ereader substitute, so it's still a viable device for me.
Although Google Play doesn't work, I've been able to use
FDroid,
Amazon Store for Android and
APKMirror to install Firefox, Libby, Kindle and Moon+ Reader (free version). The volume buttons work to turn pages in the Kindle app and Moon+ too. How nice it is to have
physical buttons for a Kindle. I haven't run into any compatibility issues so far.
Anybody else get one?
No, but I've considered one. Nice to hear from an actual user.
I'm super keen to get an A6, it's just no Google Play that is stopping me. Are you able to install the Yalp Store from F-Droid?
Is there any decent GPS Navigation option?
Quote cartz
I'm super keen to get an A6, it's just no Google Play that is stopping me. Are you able to install the Yalp Store from F-Droid?
Is there any decent GPS Navigation option?
Thanks I didn't think of Yalp Store! I am able to install that. Through Yalp, I also installed GBoard successfully. However it can't install Google Maps. A6 is not rooted and I can't work around that. Which other GPS Nav app should I try?
There's a XDA
rumor posted yesterday that official gapps version is coming soon and the ROM will work on current hardware. You might want to wait for that. Even without Google Play I'm happy with mine though; the hardware is solid.
My only niggle is it's a little weird having that flash/camera module in my face all the time. I might put tape over it.
Without Google Map then the best GPS Nav you're going to get is likely OsmAnd+ from F-Droid -
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.osmand.plus/Fingers crossed the rumor becomes fact.
Is the eink front light adjustable or is it limited to a static brightness level when turned on?
I have built a wiki page for this product
Hisense A6@Wiki »Dale
Quote eldon
Is the eink front light adjustable or is it limited to a static brightness level when turned on?
It's adjustable. You can see a demo
here (start at 23:25)
Quote DaleDe
I have built a wiki page for this product
Hisense A6@Wiki »Dale
NB: gizmochina is wrong; the A6 does NOT have a 3.5mm headphone jack. It supports USB-C headphones and a pair is included in the box.
I've had the A6 for over a week. Libby is the only Reader app I've installed that doesn't enable using the physical volume buttons to turn pages. It didn't seem possible to rectify without root nor access to paid Play apps. I finally found
MacroDroid which I set up to simulate a swipe gesture (the free version is limited to five macros but I only need two for Volume Up and Volume Down) so that's sorted.
This is my basic setup so far:
- FDroid, Yalp Store, Amazon Store for Android: installing apps
- Kiwi Browser: apkmirror, general browsing
- GBoard: keyboard
- Libby: public library
- Kindle, Kobo: ebook stores
- Bookari, PocketBook: ePub reader
- Moon+ Reader: PDF reader
- Aard 2: dictionary
- MacroDroid: volume key paging in Libby
- VolKey: volume key scrolling/paging in Kiwi Browser
I've dabbled with Comixology, VizReader etc but I don't think this is the right device/display (aspect ratio) for comic books. I also dipped into Netflix, Crunchyroll, Newpipe (for Youtube) etc and while there's a charming novelty in watching anime on the eink screen I don't this is the best device for that either. The OLED display is great for video but I want to focus on books instead.
My next objectives will be setting up Calibre Companion/Dropbox then organizing my catalog (I got the 64GB version and still have a lot of space) and figuring out paid apps through Yalp Store
Quote pata
Anybody else get one?
I have placed an order for an A2 Pro. I very nearly canceled that order to get an A6 for the fronlight, but then had to reconsider when I discovered that the A6 does not currently support the Google Play Store.
It was a really hard decision to make as I would love the frontlight as well as the extra RAM and extra battery capacity... However, I have a few paid-for apps that I would really like to have installed and so I opted for the A2 Pro instead... It also happened to be half the price which was a definite plus.