What would it take to get you to put down the iPhone and switch to an Android alternative as your main smartphone? It's the question that every Android phone maker obsesses over, and the typical answer is a combination of higher specs, bigger screens, and even louder hyperbole. But the truth for most people is that they grow accustomed to whatever phone and software they are using and it takes a lot to get them to look elsewhere. It takes something unique.

The YotaPhone is most definitely unique. You might not be able to tell from the front, but flip this handset over and instead of a plastic flap or a stitched leather cover, you're faced with... another front, this time made up of an E Ink display much like the one in Amazon's Kindle e-reader. There have been numerous gimmicky attempts at making Android run on an electronic paper display, but what sets the YotaPhone apart from them is that it actually works. The second generation of this phone was introduced in December of last year and made massive strides forward in ergonomics and functionality. Now that it's received a hefty price cut, a new white version, a comprehensive Android Lollipop upgrade, and a tentative July release date for the United States, it's time for us to put the YotaPhone 2 to the test.

The essence of the YotaPhone's appeal lies in its combination of an extremely energy-efficient E Ink display with all the modern versatility of an Android smartphone. Think about how many commutes to and from work you can while away with the help of a Nook or a Kindle, and then imagine not needing a separate e-reading device at all. You have your smartphone with you all the time anyway, why not build the e-reader right into it, the same way that cameras, music players, and GPS units have already been integrated? another step forward in the ceaseless march to smartphone convergence That's what YotaPhone 2 gives you: another step forward in the ceaseless march to smartphone convergence. It's not the first Android device with an E Ink screen, but it is the first to make that duo work harmoniously. Instead of trying to jam the full-fat Android experience onto the slow e-paper display on the rear, Yota has wisely contented itself with adding useful widgets and interactive panels. There is a Yota Mirror mode that allows you to run Android entirely on the back, but this is strictly optional and mostly to be used when trying to extend battery life (such as by reading an article in the browser without deploying the full-power display). On the other side of the 4.7-inch E Ink screen is a 5-inch AMOLED display. The latter has a 1080p resolution, but suffers from poor color accuracy: it tends to oversaturate the picture and renders tomato reds in a carrot-like orange. These aren't new issues for OLED displays, and they're certainly tolerable in daily use, however the recent excellence of the Galaxy S6 has raised the bar of expectations and the YotaPhone 2 just can't compete. Yota clearly had to cut some corners in order to fit within budget, and it's elected to sacrifice some quality at the front for the greater versatility of having a display at the back. The same is true of the YotaPhone 2's design. Much like its display, the phone's construction is just okay, nothing especially premium. It has a well rounded, uncomplicated shape that makes for comfortable ergonomics, but it also has a slight rattle in the volume rocker and a shallow power button that offers little tactile feedback. Competently made, though not something I'd ever fall in love with. But the YotaPhone 2's design story doesn't end when you buy the phone. The best part of it is only beginning.

Motorola's Moto Maker will let you customize your smartphone only once, whether it be through the addition of pink accents or a wooden back or some classy leather, but the YotaPhone has no such limitations. Yota Covers convert the E Ink display into a canvas for expressing yourself. They can be cutesy, artistic, funny, or professional, it doesn't matter — when the screen isn't being used for information, it serves as an instant outlet for personalization and creativity. This is what makes this otherwise unremarkable phone so appealing to me: it's ridiculously easy to make it feel like it's my own, special device. It's ridiculously easy to make it feel like it's my own, special device Back in December, the original YotaPhone 2 software had a confusing nomenclature for its E Ink elements, distinguishing between images that served as Covers and widget-laden Panels that did something more than just look good. Transitioning between the two was awkward and unintuitive, however the new YETI (Yota E Ink Technology Integration) 2.0 update rectifies that by treating both categories pretty much like an Android home screen. There's a nice customization app, accessed via the regular OLED display, where I was able to quickly set up a couple of utility Panels and one image-cycling Cover. Switching between them is done via lateral swipes, and there's now a familiar Home button at the bottom of the E Ink display that always brings me back to my starting screen. With the new software, I can also access and manage my Android notifications directly on the back of the phone. One of my big frustrations with smartwatches is how often they instruct me to open something on my phone instead of taking care of the task directly. It rather defeats the purpose of transposing the interaction away from the phone. I've found a few instances of that same issue with the YotaPhone 2, but they're the exception rather than the rule. For such a small company, Yota has done a remarkable job of quickly creating widgets for some of the most popular social clients like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and also building up its own app portfolio with things like YotaFit, YotaRSS, YotaSports, and even Yotagram. The latter is a customized version of Telegram — which happens to be my favorite messaging app — that allows me to carry on a conversation entirely on the E Ink screen. And it's not just limited to typing out missives: there's a one-tap voice response option, which I found useful when conducting casual chats while doing something else. Most of the attention has been lavished on the back, leaving stock Android on the front The YotaPhone 2 successfully offloads a number of the most common smartphone interactions from the main, power-hungry display to one that barely uses any energy at all. It tells me the time, lets me know about upcoming calendar events, and keeps me socially connected, all without necessitating that I flip the phone around and get back into the conventional smartphone experience. In fact, the issue I have more often is about sending stuff from the front of the phone to the back — such as a particular map area or an article I want to read — which is still not as easy and straightforward as it could be. The YETI 2.0 software adds a dedicated Gmail widget for the E Ink screen, however the one piece of Google software that seems tailor-made for a device like the YotaPhone — Google Now cards — isn't coming anytime soon. Yota CEO Vlad Martynov tells me that the company would love to implement Now cards, but it's up to Google to make them compatible with always-on displays of this kind.