A phone case that doubles as a second screen sounds like something you’d scroll past and forget. But Ugreen’s latest accessory is actually more interesting than the usual gimmick. The company launched the Magic E-ink Screen Case for Pro iPhones in China, and the concept is simple: slap a 3.7-inch color e-ink display on the back of your case and use it to show whatever image you want.
Back-mounted accessories have been picking up steam lately. Dockcase’s Selfix case gave the iPhone 17 Pro a second screen for selfies using the main camera. Xteink makes tiny e-readers that snap onto iPhones via MagSafe. Ugreen isn’t trying to compete with those. There’s no camera feed, no reading content. You pick an image from your gallery, send it to the case through the Ugreen app, and that’s your display. It’s closer to a personalized e-ink photo frame stuck to the back of your phone.
The display uses six particle colors: black, white, red, yellow, blue, and green. Ugreen says it stays clear in direct sunlight, which is one of the core strengths of e-ink tech. Updating the image takes roughly 40 seconds total, split between upload and refresh time. That’s not fast, but e-ink was never built for speed. It was built for efficiency. Once the image is on the screen, it stays there without drawing any power at all. The display even holds the image when the phone is completely off.
Image transfer happens over NFC, pulling only a small amount of power from the phone during the process. If you’d rather keep the NFC antenna off, a long-press on the side button disables it. Ugreen says that won’t mess with contactless payments or card tapping, which is a fair concern worth addressing.
The case itself comes in matte black, fog white, and burgundy. It uses a mix of TPU, PC, and microfiber, with a metal camera button and a separate NFC button on the side. Protection specs include:
- Airbag-style cushioning on all four corners
- Edges raised about 1mm above the phone screen
- Camera area raised 0.7mm above the lenses
Pricing sits at 279 yuan, which works out to roughly $40. That’s a reasonable ask for what you’re getting. So far it’s only available in China, and Ugreen hasn’t said anything about a wider release. If this one sells well, a global version seems likely. But for now, international buyers will have to wait and see.