the aurora store does not exist anymore, are there any alternatives to this?
@yooodam8467Ай бұрын
How did u get these theme mine doesnt look like that
@irvanarroshid6623Ай бұрын
what about chipset
@Y-SoightnieАй бұрын
I have a suspicion that this is a mining operation by the creators. Users go out scouring for information from everywhere, and it becomes human thought-maps that we pay them to collect. But that's just me.
@annafilouАй бұрын
Interesting. What would be their end game?
@WyvernDotRedАй бұрын
This was a great and incredibly informative review of a phone I am considering picking up soon. My current phone, a Moto G5 I picked up new old stock a few years ago is starting to struggle more with my day-to-day use and I think I would be okay with an e-Ink display. Neat how you have a similar selection of sideloaded apps, I use F-Droid, Aurora, KISS Launcher and OsmAnd~ and a half functional call recorder on my current phone. The Tencent location services are worrying though, as Tencent is a rather infamous large and evil Chinese company. The aggressive killing of background apps even with this disabled seems concerning, but it shouldn't be as broken as the Hammer Iron 4 phone I've considered switching to before. Otherwise the firewall feature seems great, my previous Huawei phone had this too, great for blocking adverts and increasing security. With the gestures navigation, is it possible to open the recent apps screen? This is the square button in the navigation bar and usually activated by swiping further and maybe shortly holding.
@annafilouАй бұрын
Isn‘t Google just as evil as Tencent though? Either way, some large corporation gets my data-either Google or Tencent. Feels the same from my personal POV… I so wish for a smartphone that *works* without *any* reliance on big tech. Would be awesome if you can point me to any relevant projects if you know of any. Heads up, the Hisense A5 is pretty outdated by today’s standards. Hisense has newer models with fingerprint sensors and some even with color E-Ink displays. The A5 still works fine though. And yes, you can open the recents view via the gesture navigation as in other phones.
@WyvernDotRedАй бұрын
@@annafilou thanks for taking the time to reply in such detail. While I dislike either and avoid them where this does not cause major inconvenience, I do consider Tencent as slightly worse than Google. There is the PinePhone for running a mobile Linux distro, but I personally don't feel confident switching to that nor want to deal with the limited software selection. Otherwise I've heard of the Volla phone having a fully de-googled Android fork, along with their hardware also working with mobile Linux. It's also possible to root an existing phone and install a different OS like LineageOS on it, but I have not explored this as I rather have my phone just work. Since I've more thoroughly examined Hisense's range of e-ink phones, of which the newer A5 Pro CC Colour seems like the one that'd work for me. It has Android 10, USB-C, a fingerprint reader and a colour e-ink display that still refreshes quickly (the non-pro version is sluggish by comparison). The problem with the newer models is that they are also too large for my taste and get significantly more expensive. I'm not afraid to buy an older phone as my current phone is from 2017, still runs Android 7, yet works reliably after side-loading alternatives to most included G-apps. Good to know, I asked as I saw another review mention that you can't go to the recent apps, this is evidently false unless changed in a newer release. And I will probably be able to change some of the gesture behaviour with SystemUI tuner, which can let you change some hidden settings. I am still somewhat worried of things they might have changed, but overall it seems to resemble my previous Huawei phone so it probably works fine.
@Bad-cat_qhuuuuhАй бұрын
I think i like it
@yooodam8467Ай бұрын
How did u get this icon pack it looks clean
@martondobay2 ай бұрын
Such refreshing style of video, thank you for the thorough and very easily digestible content!
@stefandjordjevic93 ай бұрын
Hi. Thanks for the great video. What about WhatsApp?
@annafilouАй бұрын
It worked normally last time I tried it.
@victormgc203 ай бұрын
I really wanted this phone, but the only place I can buy it is on Aliexpress, and the taxes in my country make it too expensive.. would love to own a "kindle phone"
@TheCameramanNeverDies4 ай бұрын
Hi great review! I’m considering buying it, I see they’re available on eBay unlocked for Google store. But I was just wondering is it possible to fully turn the device off or is it constantly on Lock Screen mode until the battery completely drains? It’d just be nice to know that I can turn my phone off if I ever needed to! Also I assume that the backlight can be turned off so that it wouldn’t be a problem at night? Thanks !
@annafilou4 ай бұрын
Ah, yeah, of course you can turn it off. The screen will be “on” in a sense but it will only display a message reading “POWER OFF”. ;) And yes, the backlight can be turned off.
@porvoonosho4 ай бұрын
All the A5s sold in eBay are said to include Google Play.
@annafilouАй бұрын
That’s great!
@06howea14 ай бұрын
On the Google Maps segment you enabled "Tencent location services" do you realise that Tencent is a Chinese multinational conglomerate, has several CCP organizations embedded within its corporate structure. As of April 2020, Tencent reportedly had 13 CCP general branches, more than 200 party branches and thousands of party small groups. Tencent, the company that built the software for this phone works for the Chinese Communist Party!
@annafilou4 ай бұрын
Yes. I even mention in the video that I don’t really trust the phone, as I wouldn’t really trust any phone though. If you have an Android with Play Services, all the data goes to Google, and who knows how many subcontractors in multiple countries.
@KaNa2357KaNa5 ай бұрын
Great video, do you still carry the a5?
@annafilou4 ай бұрын
Yes, and it still works as it used to. I don’t use it very often though.
@duran985 ай бұрын
I think that use to begiiner and prime school student?
@annafilou4 ай бұрын
I don’t see why it would be more suited for kids to be honest. 🤔 It’s a fully featured smartphone-the only difference from a typical one is that it has a mobile screen. I imagine that you might be referring to how it might be less addictive because of the slow, monochrome screen, and how you don’t need to charge it as often.
@duran984 ай бұрын
It is like a test book (can also be a textbook) Lack of color (no eye fatigue) no social media It can be used like a phone....@@annafilou
@azhar68575 ай бұрын
Can you do banking on it ? Banking apps work? Also do you still use it as a smartphone replacement, does WhatsApp work, video calls etc. thanks for the review
@annafilou5 ай бұрын
Yes, I still use it. Banking apps generally do NOT work because they rely on Google Play services which this phone does not have. WhatsApp and pretty much every typical app that's not a banking app works. Keep in mind that if a bank's application does not work, you could probably do everything you need to via the bank's website (but it depends on the bank).
@azhar68575 ай бұрын
@@annafilou thanks for that Anna. Just happen to see that all Hisense phones as of recently, their entire lineup provides google play out of the box, which is good to have I bet.
@alejandrovelazquez65166 ай бұрын
Were can i buy this?
@iamblindaf3058 ай бұрын
Does it have a DAC? Some sites say yes others no
@annafilou8 ай бұрын
I don't know how to check whether it does. I had to Google what DAC is just now
@elpaco95878 ай бұрын
Alright, but, can it run Doom?
@annafilou8 ай бұрын
Probably yes 😂 But the framerate of the screen would make it a pain to play
@jjjjjjj46108 ай бұрын
Do you still use it? How has it held up? :)
@annafilou8 ай бұрын
I do! Mostly as a holiday phone, when there's a lot of sun and it's hard to see regular screens. Also as a GPS navigator in the same situations. It's held up perfectly. It works just as well as it used to. No updates though (expected).
@abutaher-yk6ef9 ай бұрын
Thanks for the great review. But it is like primitive technology in an smartphone! Really funny.
@annafilou8 ай бұрын
Heh, I really wouldn't call it primitive. In my eyes at least, E-Ink screens ≈ moving drawings (like the newspapers on Harry Potter), which seems a lot more impressive. And when you factor in the extremely good visibility of E-Ink screens and how little energy they consume, they don't seem like a primitive tech, but rather on par with LCD and OLED where they excel in different areas.
@abutaher-yk6ef8 ай бұрын
Thanks for the excellent reply. Kind regards.@@annafilou
@ronsinger11259 ай бұрын
How would this compare to Evernote- I am looking to start with something
@annafilou8 ай бұрын
Well, it's totally different. You can think of Evernote as a bunch of notebooks in which you can write and stick anything (photos, videos, documents, audio tapes). Napkin would be a bunch of sticky notes that you take out of the box every now and then, shuffle and read in semi random order (but similar sticky notes somehow magnetically attract each other). So it really depends on what you hope to get out of your note taking. And of course you can use both Evernote and Napkin at the same time for different things. If you're interested in easily linking your notes to each other, also also look into Obsidian, which is completely free, unlike Evernote.
@otigirteker9 ай бұрын
Can you use WhatsApp?
@annafilou8 ай бұрын
Yes
@WhereGascoyneGoes9 ай бұрын
Hi Anna. I loved your review. I'm looking at purchasing the A5 pro and your video has definitely inspired me. One question. Is it possible to delete the pre-installed apps? My aim is to create a super minimalist smart light phone and wondered what your thoughts would be on achieving this with the Hisense.
@annafilou9 ай бұрын
Thanks! Yes, you can delete *most* pre-installed apps. (I think you couldn't in the past? But I just checked and it’s possible now.) You can't delete the basics, like the Gallery though, as well as a couple of the Chinese-name apps (I don't know what they do). Since you’re going for a minimalist phone though, I image you’ll install a custom launcher, so you won't have to see the few apps that you cannot uninstall.
@WhereGascoyneGoes9 ай бұрын
@@annafilou thank you for your reply. That’s good about installing a minimalist launcher, i noticed you touched on that at the end of the video. Great review, it was very help.
@GreekBeastable10 ай бұрын
B O T T E N
@oleronparapente822811 ай бұрын
Hi, Can you tell me where to buy a Hisense A5 or A5 pro CC - Best Regards, François
@annafilou11 ай бұрын
Sorry, I don't know. I bought it many years ago from cect-shop.com BUT they no longer sell retail. :(
@anthonyreed480 Жыл бұрын
I inherited the identical coffee cup from my grandmother who must have had it for decades! Where'd you get it?!
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
I don’t know! I got it from my parents who must have gotten it before I was born! It’s my favorite cup! I got excited to hear there are more! I’ve seen another one in the wild in Greece (where I’m from too). Thanks to Google Lens, I just now identified it as a “Churchill Staffordshire Earthenware Mug”. Somebody sells it on Etsy and notes: “Vintage from before 2000”.
@anthonyreed48011 ай бұрын
@Anna Ha! Well I'm in Sydney, Australia, but my grandparents were from Ireland and may have picked it up in the UK before they came here 🤔 funny that pre-2000 is basically vintage now, which makes me feel old 😄 Great review by the way. Love the coffee and chat vibe.
@Patrick76399 Жыл бұрын
Hello. What is the yellow tape for at the top of the card in the Stacks feature?
@annafilou11 ай бұрын
It was just a visual thing to differentiate between Napkin cards/ideas/thoughts and plain notes that only showed within stacks. But they’ve since removed that feature entirely and stacks look different now. I’ll be making a newer video at some point!
@namele55777 Жыл бұрын
how;s the experience like to text on this? seeing that most of the time e-ink screens would need time to respond to your input and update the message accordingly - is it tolerable or it is just downright unworkable?
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
It's totally fine. Obviously a bit slower than on an LCD and I wouldn't really try the swiping method to type. I use a keyboard called Fleksy (it's free) which was originally made for blind people so it's very forgiving. In short, you can text on it just fine, no complaints and I've done it a lot.
@dimachesebastian6407 Жыл бұрын
pleasant voice indeed
@JonDotExe Жыл бұрын
What... This is what I always wanted obsidian to be, but the manual upkeep of connections worked against my neurodivergence, so I just stayed in the more visual apps like google keep and trello. This should be fun to try. It just look so.... refreshing? I also agree that having a place to work towards turning notes into long form research right in the app would be great. Usually my notes are all disjointed snippets working towards different larger goals and they just need a place to coalesce.
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Then Napkin sounds like just the app for you! I use Obsidian too, because I think I'll always need an offline-first note taking app for the long form stuff I cannot lose. But I also use Napkin to collect stray thoughts and quotes and then see them come together in the app.
@tonyg4387 Жыл бұрын
Thank you for this well-thought-out review. I have been struggling to get into Napkin - I like the concept of it. I think you showed me how to use this appropriately. I like your analogy of getting ingredients to make soup. Great visualization! I have been struggling to find other videos on Napkin so again thank you and keep posting great content.
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Thanks a lot for the kind words! I'm glad you liked the analogy. I've fallen behind a bit on processing my inbox in Napkin with "life getting in the way" and stuff, but I know the tidbits I save daily are safely stored and linked. So when I come back to make some soup, my ingredients will be waiting for me. 😁
@mew199mew Жыл бұрын
Hey, could you maybe share the fan-made android app please? 😁
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Sure! Here's the link → github.com/TaQuangKhoi/Napkin-Collect-Android
@nimbus2146 Жыл бұрын
you should checkout MyMind
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Thanks! I made an account back when they launched and have been checking on it every few months. Sadly it's still too buggy and never worked for me, even though I love their approach. I've sent feedback on multiple occasions and hope to see mymind grow into a helpful tool, but it's just not there yet. I've been thinking about making a video about it, but I feel kinda guilty about sharing negative stuff about a product when I love the philosophy of the makers…
@nimbus2146 Жыл бұрын
@@annafilou i've shared plenty of feedbacks. They never respond. idk what philosophy you're talking about. dark mode is only in 12$ plan. 6$ extra to not burn their user's eyes?! And their data export doesn't include AI generate tags. The tags u paid 6$ extra for. I hate them, but i'm stuck with them until another tool can replace their AI organizing features
@dottorpalmito Жыл бұрын
What about keyboard? Usefull? Thz
@kiri151 Жыл бұрын
I bought the hisense A5 after watching both your reviews on this phone . It's a great review and it's a great phone for me. I would really like to see another review on any further apps that you think work well on this phone if you have time. Thanks
@Robin_NX Жыл бұрын
Hi friend, first of all, thank you so much for this review. I loved it! Your pleasant voice and the way you explain everything so well give me the satisfaction of knowing that I'm going to buy something good and well-recommended. I was looking for information about this phone because I also checked out the Light Phone, but I needed something with at least WhatsApp and Spotify, and I think this is the best option, even though this model is a few years old. It seems to have everything I was looking for, and my eyes can rest a little from so many screens with exaggerated lights. I have a question about WhatsApp. You mentioned that even when you set the option not to kill the application in the background to save battery, sometimes it still does it and you lose notifications. Have you been able to fix this in any way to not miss them? I hope you make more videos about this model or any newer ones if you have changed phones. They are a delight to watch. Thank you very much, and I hope you have a good day :)
@annafilou11 ай бұрын
If you disable all background restrictions, apps should work fine! Thanks for the kind words. I still have the phone! It’s my secondary device and I mostly use it in summer months when I spend a lot of time outside in bright sunlight.
@Robin_NX11 ай бұрын
@@annafilou very thanks,have a nice day ☺
@lorentsenjr Жыл бұрын
Is it possible to update the android version on this phone?
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
I haven't received any updates in… years? And it never got a version upgrade. There are people talking about custom ROMs for the Hisense A5 in xda developers. I haven't personally tried any of the advice of those threads and so I cannot recommend them, but you might want to take a look: forum.xda-developers.com/search/60029915/?q=Hisense+A5&o=relevance
@fightingfalcon5694 Жыл бұрын
Just 8 minutes into the video I said to myself “forget Hisense A5” this the best phone review I ever watched. No dramatic intro or background music no quick scene cuts. Everything is going so smooth. I couldn’t help myself to stop eating my breakfast, paused the video and leaving this comment. This girl deserves a lot more subs so I just subscribed. Keep up the good work!
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Damn, this is the kindest comment ever! Thank you so much ❣️
@fightingfalcon5694 Жыл бұрын
@@annafilou I really do mean it! Will have a look at your channel later on.
@lasanguinaire43314 ай бұрын
true!
@MMABeijing Жыл бұрын
100 euros? where? Looked for that price but could not find it.
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Who said 100 €? Listen again. ;) At around 31:00 I say "at this time it's around 200 €". Mind you, that was almost 3 years ago. I bought it for 215 €, shipping included, back in 2020.
@om6418 Жыл бұрын
This seems Like a Note taking Dream comes true. I love Obsidian. But this napkin app could be a great Addition less confusing than obsidian. I guess Magic Tagging Just works in English language?
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
It actually works in most languages but: it's not as accurate if it's not English, and the tag names will be in English even if the input language is different. The team hopes to add support for more languages at some point. Regarding Obsidian, I also use it (need an offline-first app too), but it's more for long form stuff and learning notes, while Napkin is for developing ideas.
@johncarloroberto2635 Жыл бұрын
Thank you for this review! Helped me a lot in getting a feel of the phone's features. Keep it up! :D
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@adrianadeluca1896 Жыл бұрын
Thank you a lot for thise video! Keep it up, you seem like a fantastic youtuber and I'd love to see more of your opinions about minimal apps and how to build a useful and healthy digital environment. I feel like my smartphone has been ruining my life for a while and I really need to get to know more simple devices and apps that can enrich my life instead of inducing mindless scrolling for hours...
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Thank you! That's so nice to read 🙏 Being busy with work, I find it hard to make the time to make videos or to even try out new devices and apps. I love tech and have struggled (sometimes still struggle) to prevent it from sucking my life, but I don't want to go full digital minimalist either. My position is somewhere in the middle and I really like devices and software that respects my time and enriches my life. I hope to reflect that in my work as a digital designer too.
@MK-yg6eu Жыл бұрын
Great review! Thanks for covering main features of the app. Want to try it for collecting notes for further writing
@DavidFaulk Жыл бұрын
Great review. Thanks.
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Thank you. I'm now planning on making a follow up video with more thoughts and ideas for improvement ^^
@arcadiangiant5795 Жыл бұрын
Watched this around 10 times i reckn
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Why? 😆
@menky8546 Жыл бұрын
Can u also use whats app on the E ink phone
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Yes, WhatsApp can run without Google Play Services. I tried it and it works!
@rhamlet5290 Жыл бұрын
12:40 I thought "crank call" is a mistake too, but I found out people really call prank calls that
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Seriously? 😂 Alright, even so, that leaves countless other mistakes
@rhamlet5290 Жыл бұрын
@@annafilou I googled it when I heard it on the radio. I thought Fry on Futurama was just wrong.
@DJAxantle Жыл бұрын
Can you use the data stored on Notion? How does the export work?
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
Hey, I show exactly how the export works in the export options chapter. You click a button and it gives you a CSV or JSON with your notes. You cannot import data in batches, so that rules out using data stored on Notion.
@om6418 Жыл бұрын
In which languages does napkin Work?
@annafilou Жыл бұрын
It should work in most languages but: it's not as accurate if it's not English, and the tag names will be in English even if the input language is different. The team hopes to add support for more languages in the future.
![[ENGLISH] Hisense A5 - E-Ink Smartphone - FULL Review](/img/d.gif)
Пікірлер
the aurora store does not exist anymore, are there any alternatives to this?
How did u get these theme mine doesnt look like that
what about chipset
I have a suspicion that this is a mining operation by the creators. Users go out scouring for information from everywhere, and it becomes human thought-maps that we pay them to collect. But that's just me.
Interesting. What would be their end game?
This was a great and incredibly informative review of a phone I am considering picking up soon. My current phone, a Moto G5 I picked up new old stock a few years ago is starting to struggle more with my day-to-day use and I think I would be okay with an e-Ink display. Neat how you have a similar selection of sideloaded apps, I use F-Droid, Aurora, KISS Launcher and OsmAnd~ and a half functional call recorder on my current phone. The Tencent location services are worrying though, as Tencent is a rather infamous large and evil Chinese company. The aggressive killing of background apps even with this disabled seems concerning, but it shouldn't be as broken as the Hammer Iron 4 phone I've considered switching to before. Otherwise the firewall feature seems great, my previous Huawei phone had this too, great for blocking adverts and increasing security. With the gestures navigation, is it possible to open the recent apps screen? This is the square button in the navigation bar and usually activated by swiping further and maybe shortly holding.
Isn‘t Google just as evil as Tencent though? Either way, some large corporation gets my data-either Google or Tencent. Feels the same from my personal POV… I so wish for a smartphone that *works* without *any* reliance on big tech. Would be awesome if you can point me to any relevant projects if you know of any. Heads up, the Hisense A5 is pretty outdated by today’s standards. Hisense has newer models with fingerprint sensors and some even with color E-Ink displays. The A5 still works fine though. And yes, you can open the recents view via the gesture navigation as in other phones.
@@annafilou thanks for taking the time to reply in such detail. While I dislike either and avoid them where this does not cause major inconvenience, I do consider Tencent as slightly worse than Google. There is the PinePhone for running a mobile Linux distro, but I personally don't feel confident switching to that nor want to deal with the limited software selection. Otherwise I've heard of the Volla phone having a fully de-googled Android fork, along with their hardware also working with mobile Linux. It's also possible to root an existing phone and install a different OS like LineageOS on it, but I have not explored this as I rather have my phone just work. Since I've more thoroughly examined Hisense's range of e-ink phones, of which the newer A5 Pro CC Colour seems like the one that'd work for me. It has Android 10, USB-C, a fingerprint reader and a colour e-ink display that still refreshes quickly (the non-pro version is sluggish by comparison). The problem with the newer models is that they are also too large for my taste and get significantly more expensive. I'm not afraid to buy an older phone as my current phone is from 2017, still runs Android 7, yet works reliably after side-loading alternatives to most included G-apps. Good to know, I asked as I saw another review mention that you can't go to the recent apps, this is evidently false unless changed in a newer release. And I will probably be able to change some of the gesture behaviour with SystemUI tuner, which can let you change some hidden settings. I am still somewhat worried of things they might have changed, but overall it seems to resemble my previous Huawei phone so it probably works fine.
I think i like it
How did u get this icon pack it looks clean
Such refreshing style of video, thank you for the thorough and very easily digestible content!
Hi. Thanks for the great video. What about WhatsApp?
It worked normally last time I tried it.
I really wanted this phone, but the only place I can buy it is on Aliexpress, and the taxes in my country make it too expensive.. would love to own a "kindle phone"
Hi great review! I’m considering buying it, I see they’re available on eBay unlocked for Google store. But I was just wondering is it possible to fully turn the device off or is it constantly on Lock Screen mode until the battery completely drains? It’d just be nice to know that I can turn my phone off if I ever needed to! Also I assume that the backlight can be turned off so that it wouldn’t be a problem at night? Thanks !
Ah, yeah, of course you can turn it off. The screen will be “on” in a sense but it will only display a message reading “POWER OFF”. ;) And yes, the backlight can be turned off.
All the A5s sold in eBay are said to include Google Play.
That’s great!
On the Google Maps segment you enabled "Tencent location services" do you realise that Tencent is a Chinese multinational conglomerate, has several CCP organizations embedded within its corporate structure. As of April 2020, Tencent reportedly had 13 CCP general branches, more than 200 party branches and thousands of party small groups. Tencent, the company that built the software for this phone works for the Chinese Communist Party!
Yes. I even mention in the video that I don’t really trust the phone, as I wouldn’t really trust any phone though. If you have an Android with Play Services, all the data goes to Google, and who knows how many subcontractors in multiple countries.
Great video, do you still carry the a5?
Yes, and it still works as it used to. I don’t use it very often though.
I think that use to begiiner and prime school student?
I don’t see why it would be more suited for kids to be honest. 🤔 It’s a fully featured smartphone-the only difference from a typical one is that it has a mobile screen. I imagine that you might be referring to how it might be less addictive because of the slow, monochrome screen, and how you don’t need to charge it as often.
It is like a test book (can also be a textbook) Lack of color (no eye fatigue) no social media It can be used like a phone....@@annafilou
Can you do banking on it ? Banking apps work? Also do you still use it as a smartphone replacement, does WhatsApp work, video calls etc. thanks for the review
Yes, I still use it. Banking apps generally do NOT work because they rely on Google Play services which this phone does not have. WhatsApp and pretty much every typical app that's not a banking app works. Keep in mind that if a bank's application does not work, you could probably do everything you need to via the bank's website (but it depends on the bank).
@@annafilou thanks for that Anna. Just happen to see that all Hisense phones as of recently, their entire lineup provides google play out of the box, which is good to have I bet.
Were can i buy this?
Does it have a DAC? Some sites say yes others no
I don't know how to check whether it does. I had to Google what DAC is just now
Alright, but, can it run Doom?
Probably yes 😂 But the framerate of the screen would make it a pain to play
Do you still use it? How has it held up? :)
I do! Mostly as a holiday phone, when there's a lot of sun and it's hard to see regular screens. Also as a GPS navigator in the same situations. It's held up perfectly. It works just as well as it used to. No updates though (expected).
Thanks for the great review. But it is like primitive technology in an smartphone! Really funny.
Heh, I really wouldn't call it primitive. In my eyes at least, E-Ink screens ≈ moving drawings (like the newspapers on Harry Potter), which seems a lot more impressive. And when you factor in the extremely good visibility of E-Ink screens and how little energy they consume, they don't seem like a primitive tech, but rather on par with LCD and OLED where they excel in different areas.
Thanks for the excellent reply. Kind regards.@@annafilou
How would this compare to Evernote- I am looking to start with something
Well, it's totally different. You can think of Evernote as a bunch of notebooks in which you can write and stick anything (photos, videos, documents, audio tapes). Napkin would be a bunch of sticky notes that you take out of the box every now and then, shuffle and read in semi random order (but similar sticky notes somehow magnetically attract each other). So it really depends on what you hope to get out of your note taking. And of course you can use both Evernote and Napkin at the same time for different things. If you're interested in easily linking your notes to each other, also also look into Obsidian, which is completely free, unlike Evernote.
Can you use WhatsApp?
Yes
Hi Anna. I loved your review. I'm looking at purchasing the A5 pro and your video has definitely inspired me. One question. Is it possible to delete the pre-installed apps? My aim is to create a super minimalist smart light phone and wondered what your thoughts would be on achieving this with the Hisense.
Thanks! Yes, you can delete *most* pre-installed apps. (I think you couldn't in the past? But I just checked and it’s possible now.) You can't delete the basics, like the Gallery though, as well as a couple of the Chinese-name apps (I don't know what they do). Since you’re going for a minimalist phone though, I image you’ll install a custom launcher, so you won't have to see the few apps that you cannot uninstall.
@@annafilou thank you for your reply. That’s good about installing a minimalist launcher, i noticed you touched on that at the end of the video. Great review, it was very help.
B O T T E N
Hi, Can you tell me where to buy a Hisense A5 or A5 pro CC - Best Regards, François
Sorry, I don't know. I bought it many years ago from cect-shop.com BUT they no longer sell retail. :(
I inherited the identical coffee cup from my grandmother who must have had it for decades! Where'd you get it?!
I don’t know! I got it from my parents who must have gotten it before I was born! It’s my favorite cup! I got excited to hear there are more! I’ve seen another one in the wild in Greece (where I’m from too). Thanks to Google Lens, I just now identified it as a “Churchill Staffordshire Earthenware Mug”. Somebody sells it on Etsy and notes: “Vintage from before 2000”.
@Anna Ha! Well I'm in Sydney, Australia, but my grandparents were from Ireland and may have picked it up in the UK before they came here 🤔 funny that pre-2000 is basically vintage now, which makes me feel old 😄 Great review by the way. Love the coffee and chat vibe.
Hello. What is the yellow tape for at the top of the card in the Stacks feature?
It was just a visual thing to differentiate between Napkin cards/ideas/thoughts and plain notes that only showed within stacks. But they’ve since removed that feature entirely and stacks look different now. I’ll be making a newer video at some point!
how;s the experience like to text on this? seeing that most of the time e-ink screens would need time to respond to your input and update the message accordingly - is it tolerable or it is just downright unworkable?
It's totally fine. Obviously a bit slower than on an LCD and I wouldn't really try the swiping method to type. I use a keyboard called Fleksy (it's free) which was originally made for blind people so it's very forgiving. In short, you can text on it just fine, no complaints and I've done it a lot.
pleasant voice indeed
What... This is what I always wanted obsidian to be, but the manual upkeep of connections worked against my neurodivergence, so I just stayed in the more visual apps like google keep and trello. This should be fun to try. It just look so.... refreshing? I also agree that having a place to work towards turning notes into long form research right in the app would be great. Usually my notes are all disjointed snippets working towards different larger goals and they just need a place to coalesce.
Then Napkin sounds like just the app for you! I use Obsidian too, because I think I'll always need an offline-first note taking app for the long form stuff I cannot lose. But I also use Napkin to collect stray thoughts and quotes and then see them come together in the app.
Thank you for this well-thought-out review. I have been struggling to get into Napkin - I like the concept of it. I think you showed me how to use this appropriately. I like your analogy of getting ingredients to make soup. Great visualization! I have been struggling to find other videos on Napkin so again thank you and keep posting great content.
Thanks a lot for the kind words! I'm glad you liked the analogy. I've fallen behind a bit on processing my inbox in Napkin with "life getting in the way" and stuff, but I know the tidbits I save daily are safely stored and linked. So when I come back to make some soup, my ingredients will be waiting for me. 😁
Hey, could you maybe share the fan-made android app please? 😁
Sure! Here's the link → github.com/TaQuangKhoi/Napkin-Collect-Android
you should checkout MyMind
Thanks! I made an account back when they launched and have been checking on it every few months. Sadly it's still too buggy and never worked for me, even though I love their approach. I've sent feedback on multiple occasions and hope to see mymind grow into a helpful tool, but it's just not there yet. I've been thinking about making a video about it, but I feel kinda guilty about sharing negative stuff about a product when I love the philosophy of the makers…
@@annafilou i've shared plenty of feedbacks. They never respond. idk what philosophy you're talking about. dark mode is only in 12$ plan. 6$ extra to not burn their user's eyes?! And their data export doesn't include AI generate tags. The tags u paid 6$ extra for. I hate them, but i'm stuck with them until another tool can replace their AI organizing features
What about keyboard? Usefull? Thz
I bought the hisense A5 after watching both your reviews on this phone . It's a great review and it's a great phone for me. I would really like to see another review on any further apps that you think work well on this phone if you have time. Thanks
Hi friend, first of all, thank you so much for this review. I loved it! Your pleasant voice and the way you explain everything so well give me the satisfaction of knowing that I'm going to buy something good and well-recommended. I was looking for information about this phone because I also checked out the Light Phone, but I needed something with at least WhatsApp and Spotify, and I think this is the best option, even though this model is a few years old. It seems to have everything I was looking for, and my eyes can rest a little from so many screens with exaggerated lights. I have a question about WhatsApp. You mentioned that even when you set the option not to kill the application in the background to save battery, sometimes it still does it and you lose notifications. Have you been able to fix this in any way to not miss them? I hope you make more videos about this model or any newer ones if you have changed phones. They are a delight to watch. Thank you very much, and I hope you have a good day :)
If you disable all background restrictions, apps should work fine! Thanks for the kind words. I still have the phone! It’s my secondary device and I mostly use it in summer months when I spend a lot of time outside in bright sunlight.
@@annafilou very thanks,have a nice day ☺
Is it possible to update the android version on this phone?
I haven't received any updates in… years? And it never got a version upgrade. There are people talking about custom ROMs for the Hisense A5 in xda developers. I haven't personally tried any of the advice of those threads and so I cannot recommend them, but you might want to take a look: forum.xda-developers.com/search/60029915/?q=Hisense+A5&o=relevance
Just 8 minutes into the video I said to myself “forget Hisense A5” this the best phone review I ever watched. No dramatic intro or background music no quick scene cuts. Everything is going so smooth. I couldn’t help myself to stop eating my breakfast, paused the video and leaving this comment. This girl deserves a lot more subs so I just subscribed. Keep up the good work!
Damn, this is the kindest comment ever! Thank you so much ❣️
@@annafilou I really do mean it! Will have a look at your channel later on.
true!
100 euros? where? Looked for that price but could not find it.
Who said 100 €? Listen again. ;) At around 31:00 I say "at this time it's around 200 €". Mind you, that was almost 3 years ago. I bought it for 215 €, shipping included, back in 2020.
This seems Like a Note taking Dream comes true. I love Obsidian. But this napkin app could be a great Addition less confusing than obsidian. I guess Magic Tagging Just works in English language?
It actually works in most languages but: it's not as accurate if it's not English, and the tag names will be in English even if the input language is different. The team hopes to add support for more languages at some point. Regarding Obsidian, I also use it (need an offline-first app too), but it's more for long form stuff and learning notes, while Napkin is for developing ideas.
Thank you for this review! Helped me a lot in getting a feel of the phone's features. Keep it up! :D
Thank you!
Thank you a lot for thise video! Keep it up, you seem like a fantastic youtuber and I'd love to see more of your opinions about minimal apps and how to build a useful and healthy digital environment. I feel like my smartphone has been ruining my life for a while and I really need to get to know more simple devices and apps that can enrich my life instead of inducing mindless scrolling for hours...
Thank you! That's so nice to read 🙏 Being busy with work, I find it hard to make the time to make videos or to even try out new devices and apps. I love tech and have struggled (sometimes still struggle) to prevent it from sucking my life, but I don't want to go full digital minimalist either. My position is somewhere in the middle and I really like devices and software that respects my time and enriches my life. I hope to reflect that in my work as a digital designer too.
Great review! Thanks for covering main features of the app. Want to try it for collecting notes for further writing
Great review. Thanks.
Thank you. I'm now planning on making a follow up video with more thoughts and ideas for improvement ^^
Watched this around 10 times i reckn
Why? 😆
Can u also use whats app on the E ink phone
Yes, WhatsApp can run without Google Play Services. I tried it and it works!
12:40 I thought "crank call" is a mistake too, but I found out people really call prank calls that
Seriously? 😂 Alright, even so, that leaves countless other mistakes
@@annafilou I googled it when I heard it on the radio. I thought Fry on Futurama was just wrong.
Can you use the data stored on Notion? How does the export work?
Hey, I show exactly how the export works in the export options chapter. You click a button and it gives you a CSV or JSON with your notes. You cannot import data in batches, so that rules out using data stored on Notion.
In which languages does napkin Work?
It should work in most languages but: it's not as accurate if it's not English, and the tag names will be in English even if the input language is different. The team hopes to add support for more languages in the future.