When you serve a niche market like e-reader enthusiasts – people who can name five different e-ink devices that aren’t an Amazon Kindle – you’d be wise to pay attention to your customers and respond accordingly. That’s what Chinese tech firm BigMe had to do this week: The announcement of its latest smartphone was so poorly received that the company has now issued an apology.
If you somehow missed this particular teapot storm, BigMe teased the new device a few weeks ago, calling it the “world’s first” dual-screen color e-ink and LCD smartphone. It seems like most BigMe fans have envisioned exactly the kind of device you’re probably picturing: a phone with a full-size LCD screen on the front, and a full-size e-ink screen on the back. But when the company actually unveiled the so-called Highbrake Dual last Monday, it didn’t look like that at all.
Oh look, a watch! It is very useful! Never mind that the e-ink screen also has a clock.
Credit: BigMe
The Hybrake Dual technically has both e-ink and an LCD display, but the latter is a weird 360×360 circular screen. Instead of covering an entire side of the phone, it looks like a sticker that your teacher stuck on the back for making a nice effort. Bigmy’s efforts to publicize its usefulness (whether for displaying notifications, capturing selfies, or, for example, creating an interactive AI-powered pet) did not go over well with the main demos from users on the r/Bigmy subreddit.
Here are the details of the reactions this revelation received (and I promise you I’m not singling out only the negative ones):
The reaction was so uniformly negative, in fact, even today BigMe issued a long statement Both apologized for missing the mark, promised to do better and defended the controversial design.
What do you think so far?
BigMe’s dual-screen smartphone apology letter
The statement begins with a fairly obvious mea culpa: “Recently, we released our new dual-screen smartphone featuring an E Ink main screen and an LCD sub-screen, and we received a significant amount of criticism and suggestions. First and foremost, we want to thank you for your passionate feedback on this new product. We have carefully read and recorded every comment. We sincerely apologize for any disappointment or frustration this may have caused you.”
From there, the company highlights all of the device’s features — but most of them are product specifications applying to the e-ink side of the device, including improved refresh rates, 5G connectivity, stylus functionality, support for specific phone features like Bluetooth and NFC, and the option to pay more to get some extra RAM. That’s all well and good, but I don’t think many users had a problem with the concept of an e-ink capable phone.
The part of the statement actually defending the obscure design decision – that circular LCD – is less convincing (and a bit defensive): “As for the LCD sub-screen, it may not be needed all the time, but when you need it, it’s there. Though small, the sub-screen offers plenty of features…it assists and entertains, while the main screen remains committed to an eye-friendly e-ink experience. One device, two screens, each shining in its own way.” You say so.
Was this statement necessary? Probably not—customers who don’t want the Hybrake Dual can’t buy it. But it shows that the company is listening to its most important fans, too, which probably matters. And it seems like those loud voices have indeed been heard: “As a brand, we have reflected deeply on our shortcomings,” BigMe wrote. “Moving forward, before launching any new products, we will conduct more in-depth market research and engage in in-depth communications with users to better understand and meet your actual needs. Regarding the ‘E Ink + LCD dual-screen’ smartphone that many of you have been waiting for, it has now been officially included in our R&D roadmap, and we will do our best to pursue it.
