14 DAY TRIAL // Chinese device manufacturers seem to copy everything. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that a Chinese alternative to the YotaPhone 2 handset has been announced recently.
A few days ago, we were telling you that the YotaPhone 2 got a price cut in Europe, but the device still remains quite an expensive piece of gadgetry, nonetheless.
It isn’t a phone with the most advanced specs either, but the presence of the atypical secondary E-Ink display is something the company is betting on to push sales.
However, if you don’t have €599 / $672 to spend, which is the phone’s announced price for Europe, but still like the E-Ink display, we are here to bring you word of a much cheaper alternative that even offers better specs.
The Siswoo R9 Darkmoon is a Chinese YotaPhone 2
Naturally, you don’t need to look further than China to find a YotaPhone 2 lookalike. Introducing the Siswoo R9 Darkmoon - a phone that brings all that E-Ink goodness in your life.
The phone arrives with a 5-inch laminated IPS display with 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution, while the secondary display arrives with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels. So far, the Siswoo is on par with the YotaPhone 2.
But under the hood, the Chinese model bundles an octa-core MediaTek MT6752 chip clocked at 1.7GHz and fitted with 3GB of RAM, while the YotaPhone 2 only takes advantage of a quad-core Snapdragon 800 chip in combination with 2GB of RAM.
The Siswoo also brings into the equation 32G of internal storage, a 13MP main camera (while the YotaPhone 2 only has an 8MP model), dual SIM connectivity, 4G LTE support for FDD-LTE B3/B7/B20, TDD-LTE B38/B39/B40 bands, a 3,000 mAh battery (the Yota has a smaller 2,500 mAh unit), and support for Qi wireless charging.
Has Siswoo made the E-Ink display more useful?
However, there’s a caveat to the whole Siswoo story. We’re not told whether the company behind the phone has managed to bestow increased functionality on the E-Ink display compared to the YotaPhone 2.
With Android 5.0 Lollipop now running through the veins of the YotaPhone 2, the secondary screen can handle Facebook, Instagram and Twitter notifications. But we don’t know whether the Siswoo can do the same.
The DarkMoon dual-screen phone is not yet available for purchase, but when it does go on sale, it will certainly sell for a lot less than the YotaPhone 2.
