Honor Life S3: 3.68-inch e-ink reader that snaps to phones

The Honor Life S3 has a 3.68-inch e-ink display at 259 pixels per inch and snaps to the back of a phone using magnets.

Announced as a tiny, attachable ebook reader, the Life S3 measures 5.6 millimeters thick and weighs 61 grams. If a phone or case lacks magnetic mounting, Honor bundles a magnetic ring in the retail box along with a screen protector and a USB-C charging cable.

Hardware and usage

The device packs a 650 milliamp hour battery that Honor says supports up to 30 hours of continuous reading. Charging is through the device USB-C port; there is no support for phone reverse wireless charging. Page turns are handled by the touchscreen, while two physical keys flank the chassis: a function key on the left and a power key on the right. The e-ink panel does not include a front light, so the Life S3 is intended for reading in well lit interiors or outdoors in daylight.

Connectivity and formats

The Life S3 receives new books over Wi-Fi 6 (ac) via the Honor Smart Space app. Supported file types include EPUB and MOBI, plain text files, and documents in DOC, DOCX and PDF formats. Local storage can be expanded with a microSD card up to 1 terabyte, allowing a large offline library.

Tiny attachable ebook readers are already on the market; Honor’s S3 is comparable in size to Xteinkk’s 3.7 inch X3 model, while the larger Xteinkk X4 Pro uses a 4.3 inch panel and can be awkward on smaller phones.

The Life S3 is available in China for CNY 360, which the source lists alongside conversions to other currencies: $54, £40, €47, and ₹5,150. Honor’s published details were machine translated.