The first foldable e-reader reminds me of an ancient technology — books

Taiwan-based company Readmoo just debuted the first foldable e-reader. Here's everything we know about the new color e-reader.

Apr 18, 2025 - 18:06

The first foldable e-reader reminds me of an ancient technology — books

Among the eerie, slow-moving horrors of the 2014 film It Follows, the image I can't stop thinking about years later is that famous seashell e-reader. Unfortunately, its genius design was made just for the movie, but a new e-reader just debuted that may get us one step closer.

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This week, Taiwan-based company Readmoo debuted its latest color e-reader at the 2025 Touch Taiwan Exhibition. The mooInk V is a color e-reader that has a center hinge (à la the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7) so it folds in half. This reminds us of another innovative technology — something called a book.

While specific dimensions of the e-reader have yet to be revealed, based on images released from the event, it appears to fold up smaller than a paperback book. However, it is slightly heavier than a Kindle at 225 grams, likely due to the mechanics of its hinged aluminum-magnesium alloy build. While we can't testify to its durability, the company claims it can handle more than 200,000 bends.

A person holding the mooInk V folding e-reader

The mooInk V can bend at a 90-degree angle or lay flat. Credit: Readmoo

Press photos from the mooInk V's debut show an ultra-saturated color screen, but I'm cautiously optimistic about just how bright it will actually be. So far, the color e-readers on the market don't quite live up to their vibrant hype.

Current color e-reader models like the Kobo Libra Colour and Kindle Colorsoft use a Kaleido 3 display, which is a color filter layered on top of a black and white E-Ink panel. That limits the shades that those e-readers can display, usually resulting in slightly muted tones.

a close-up look at readmoo's foldable color e-reader

Another look at the mooInk V from Readmoo Credit: Readmoo

The mooInk V will instead feature E Ink's Gallery 3 display, which contains colored ink capsules to produce up to 50,000 shades. Like Kindle and Kobo e-readers, the mooInk V will have a screen resolution of 300ppi.

There's still a lot we don't know about the mooInk V, like its specific dimensions, cost, and release date, but we're curious about its promises.