Review: Harbor Innovations Paper 7 tablet with RLCD
Review unit provided by Harbor Innovations
Harbor Innovations Paper 7 is a 7.8-inch Android 14 tablet with a Reflective LCD (RLCD) display. This is a niche product within the already niche e-reader market.
Price of this tablet at the time of review is USD 369 and it comes with the MediaTek Helio G85 processor, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage.
Bottom line
The display has no backlight and no front light, so there's no flickering to irritate sensitive eyes. The display is still LCD so it can produce 16.7 million more colours than colour e-ink displays. Another advantage over colour e-ink displays is the 60Hz refresh rate.
The downside is viewing angles are limited and display looks good only under high ambient lighting, e.g. under or near sunlight. The display looks dark and has limited contrast at night, and indoors unless the display is facing the window.
This is my first time using a tablet with RLCD and I'm not sure who's the target market for this tablet. One thing for sure if you'll need to be someone who enjoys being outdoors under the sun in order to use the tablet properly.
See the comparison table below for RLCD vs colour e-ink:
| Feature | Color E-Ink Displays | Reflective LCD (RLCD) Displays |
|---|---|---|
| Eye Comfort | Excellent for long reading sessions; minimal blue light and flicker-free | Better than backlit LCDs, but may still cause some eye strain depending on lighting |
| Power Consumption | Very low; only uses power when changing content | Low, but higher than E-Ink due to constant refresh needs |
| Color Vibrancy | Muted colors; not as vivid as LCD | More vibrant colors than E-Ink, though not as bright as traditional LCDs |
| Refresh Rate | Slow; not suitable for video or fast interactions | Faster than E-Ink; supports smooth scrolling and basic video playback |
| Sunlight Readability | Excellent; performs well in bright outdoor conditions | Good, but depends on ambient lighting and screen angle |
| Use Case | Best for reading, note-taking, and static content | Better for mixed use: reading, light video, and interactive apps |
There even a RLCD sub reddit so you can head over to see what other people think about this technology.
How does RLCD work
Linus Tech Tips talks about how RLCD works in this video below, starting at 03:01
The gist of the video above is, RLCD works great as outdoor displays because signage can have higher visibility under direct sunlight. But this technology is now being put into tablets that are in many different environments, which means the display will not perform well in many use cases.
Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Display | 7.8-inch Color RLCD, 1024 × 768 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate |
| Blue Light Emission | Zero blue light, no backlight |
| Color Support | 16.7 million colors |
| Processor | Octa-core 2 GHz |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Storage | 256 GB internal |
| Operating System | Android 14 |
| Stylus Support | USI 2, 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Battery | 3100 mAh, up to 12 days standby |
| Front Camera | 5 MP |
| Rear Camera | 8 MP |
| Audio | Built-in speakers, Bluetooth audio support |
| Weight | 242 g |
| Thickness | 5.5 mm |
| Color | Jade Forst (White) |
Things included
- Tablet
- USB-A to USB-C charging cable
- User guide
- Flip case
The USI 2 pen is an optional purchase that cost USD 30 more.
The flip case is nice but does not support auto-wake and sleep.
Design
Design of the tablet looks good. Build quality feels solid.
There's a 5MP front camera, no fingerprint scanner.
The leather-like sticker that's pasted on the back of my review unit has some bubbling. The rear camera is 8MP.
The tablet is just 5.5mm thin and weighs 242g. The slim body can't fit a big battery so the battery capacity is limited to just 3100 mAh.
USB-C charging port and one speaker is located at the bottom. Audio is loud enough but sounds hollow.
Display
The photo above shows the display under my LED spotlight. Taking photos of this tablet is difficult as the display can look very different with slight changes in viewing angle and lighting.
And this is how the tablet looks without my LED spotlight.
This is how text looks under good lighting. The photo above makes the display looks like e-ink but in reality the display is actually reflective and contrast changes easily with lighting.
Display resolution is 1024 x 768. Pixel density is 164 PPI. Pixelation is noticeable if you look close pixels are not chunky.
Here's how the display looks under direct sunlight.
Note the colours aren't exactly accurate due to the canvas colour of the RLCD.
This is also under direct sunlight but with my camera directly in front of the display. For some reason the display looks better when the camera is pointed from the side angle.
This is how RLCD looks beside colour e-ink (left) and BW e-ink (right). The displays are all facing my window. RLCD looks darker due to limited viewing angles as my camera is pointing from the side, not front directly in front which will block the light.
The colour e-ink display uses Kaleido 3 has darker canvas compared BW e-ink.
The anti-glare of the Paper 7's display works well and looks much better compared to the matte surface of the two phones beside.
And here I've used my LED spotlight again on the RLCD. You can clearly see there are more colours compared to colour e-ink (left) and the anti-glare works great.
Here's a close up of colour e-ink vs RLCD without my LED spotlight.
And this is with my LED spotlight on the RLCD. The display would look like this when facing a bright window. The colour e-ink looks washed out due to the anti-glare and diffused light.
Contrast is affected very easily by the limited viewing angle of the display. Reading experience varies significantly depending on the contrast, the time of the day due to where the sun is, and how cloudy the sky is. Even indoors when the room is bright, the display can be difficult to see when viewed at less than ideal angles.
And there's no backlight or front light to help make the display brighter.
Performance
The tablet comes with the MediaTek Helio G85 processor which isn't that powerful but performance of the tablet seems smooth enough to me, probably because the lower display resolution isn't too demanding to drive.
However when waking the tablet from deep sleep, it would take a second or so before the icons appear on.
OS and software
The tablet runs on almost stock Android 14 and there's no bloatware.
There aren't many features but there's Google Play Store so you can always install an app to get whatever feature you want.
There's no mention of future Android OS updates so I don't expect any.
Note taking performance with the USI 2 pen is alright. The display is really smooth for writing. There is some latency but it's not a big issue. My handwriting can still be captured quite accurately.
The only thing affecting note taking performance you have to angle the tablet towards light so that it's bright enough for you to see what you're writing.
Battery life
Battery capacity of the tablet is 3100 mAh and I was able to get around 10 hours of battery life. I'm not sure whether 10 hours for a tablet without backlight is considered long or short.
Conclusion
This is a niche product for people have eyes that are affected by PWM or brightness of traditional LCDs but for some reason do not want to get colour e-ink or BW e-ink. Maybe it's because they want higher refresh rate or more colours.
The main limitation with this tablet is the display only looks good with high ambient light, near or under direct sunlight. This limitation limits when and where you can use the tablet. And then there's the other issue with limited viewing angles.
Pros and cons at a glance
+ Beautiful design
+ Lightweight, portable
+ Solid build quality
+ Decent note taking performance
+ Has Google Play Store
+ Display does not have flicker that affects sensitive eyes
+ Pricing does not feel excessive for a niche product
+ 10 hour battery life
- Limited viewing angles affects contrast easily
- Display looks good only under strong lighting
- Don't expect future Android OS updates
- No auto-wake and sleep with the flip case
- No fingerprint scanner
- After a long sleep, home screen icons take longer to appear
Availability
The Harbor Innovations Paper 7 is available from their online store.
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