As a lot of you probably know already, Hisense has been releasing e-ink phones. The A5 has been a lifesaver for me, especially since I rooted and went full GApps.
I've seen reviews of the Q5 Tablet, and the RLCD looks to have far better reflectivity than a Pixel Qi. And it is seeming much better with light at low angles (i.e. you can look at it straight on with it lit by diffuse reflection. It's actually quite impressive.
Has anyone tried one yet? If so, any eye strain or headaches?
did you manage to get it properly functioning in English with the usual apps?
i have an a5c but half of it is in Chinese
Quad43 I rooted mine and have all the normal Google apps. I think the root method for the A5 might also work on an A5C, but not sure anyone has confirmed yet. Have a search maybe on xda.
To fix the Chinese just get GBoard or another keyboard installed. Either through Chinese app store or maybe also works through Aurora or any other app store you might have installed. I fixed the language packs in GBoard settings I think.
noigmn
Thank you for sharing more details!
Have you been able to install Google Play store on the A5? I believe Hisense promised to release international version of A5 and other dual-screen models in very near future, but it still did not happen. Maybe there are other ways of installing GPlay? Any ideas would help.
Many thanks!
randomboolean Check out here.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/hisense-a5-root-gapps-customizer-t4097951/amp/
I used that to root my A5 and install GApps. It runs better with full Google. I have play store any everything.
It went pretty smoothly for me and isn't very complicated once you have the right drivers in windows and the right software. But if you go ahead, have a quick read through the thread so you don't make some mistakes others did.
Does it really matter to have Google Play Services? I mean, I've gone without on other devices and didn't experience any hardship. F-Droid, Amazon app store both have plenty of apps in them. You can even get an app off f-droid to let you use the google play store if you don't want to use apkmirror for individual apps.
I wouldn't consider a lack of google an issue at ALL. My old tablet, I am able to install google play services, but I leave it off, better battery life since I only really use it for one thing only (it's old).
The only place where it might be an issue would be with some apps that insist on being closely tied to it, like maybe blackberry uem, but you wouldn't be using that on this device anyway (and shouldn't be using it, on your personal device unless you're ok with turning over management of your device to your employer).
Sunspark it is actually completely lacking in Google support. A few key apps like Gmail need Google services framework, and many apps that are nothing to do with google use Google frameworks for security, so don't function without it. GPS also doesn't interface with many apps correctly, and calendar, contacts, etc. won't sync. You can do without it to a point, but it's a far nicer experience with it.
I believe the Hisense actually blocks installation of any of this support without root. So not even a micro-G implementation of Google.