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If you're considering E-Ink for environmental/ethical reasons, keep in mind that electricity may eventually come from renewable resources, while materials that

If you're considering E-Ink for environmental/ethical reasons, keep in mind that electricity may eventually come from renewable resources, while materials that go into electronics like E-Ink devices and tablets are definitely finite (and people die every day in Africa because of that). If you need to reduce eye strain and headaches because you read a lot, that's another story (blue light filtering glasses help, BTW). But if you already have a decent tablet, you're not doing the planet or anyone else a favor when you also buy an E-Ink device. Edit: subaquamille raises great points about battery life and obsolescence which strengthen the argument for E-Ink.

yayadarsh 6y ago
Consumption decisions made by individuals will never solve this problem, as it is more of a problem with labor/industrial regulation and corporate governance.
subaquamille 6y ago
Consider also batterie life and how it's affected by load cycle numbers: ablets get charged one every second day and e-ink devices once a month. Consider also technologie obsolecsence: estimate the times it will take in 10 years for your devices to open a book, change pages, mark highlights. I hardly open a pdf now on my iPad mini and my e-ink device from the same period seems to do the same operation at lighting speed.
- ralmidani 6y ago
  I've never owned an E-Ink device, and didn't know they outlived tablets by such a wide margin. That's a sizable plus in the E-Ink column.
  - input_sh 6y ago
    I mean there's no real innovation that will make your device anywhere near obsolete in a few years. My Paperwhite from 2015 is pretty identical to ones sold now, and unlike with phones and tablets, software support is still there. So unless you break it, it's probably gonna outlive your phone/tablet/laptop. Mine for sure did.
    - robinsoh 6y ago
      > My Paperwhite from 2015 is pretty identical to ones sold now Yes, you're right if you're looking at update time of the display, which I have. There's pretty much no improvement. That's due to the physics of pigment particles. I don't see a way for them to improve that. They have improved contrast ratios. The whites of their carter displays are much better than the previous gen pearl and vizplex before that.
ymbeld 6y ago
Pretty much correct. It’s a bit ridiculous that high-tech gadgets (rare earth metals and all that) are sometimes considered to be environmentally friendly. Still though, consumption choices will ultimately never save the environment.
bogwog 6y ago
Do people really think E-ink is environmentally friendly? I've never heard that angle before. The appeal of E-ink style displays always seemed to me to be the battery life and visibility in sunlight.
- kgwxd 6y ago
  Is it wrong to associate low energy consumption with environmentally friendly? I don't follow e-ink news much, but I feel I've seen at least that angle somewhere.
gjs278 6y ago
you have zero impact on the environment and never will. buy whatever technology you want.

yayadarsh 6y ago

Consumption decisions made by individuals will never solve this problem, as it is more of a problem with labor/industrial regulation and corporate governance.

subaquamille 6y ago

Consider also batterie life and how it's affected by load cycle numbers: ablets get charged one every second day and e-ink devices once a month. Consider also technologie obsolecsence: estimate the times it will take in 10 years for your devices to open a book, change pages, mark highlights. I hardly open a pdf now on my iPad mini and my e-ink device from the same period seems to do the same operation at lighting speed.

ralmidani 6y ago
I've never owned an E-Ink device, and didn't know they outlived tablets by such a wide margin. That's a sizable plus in the E-Ink column.
- input_sh 6y ago
  I mean there's no real innovation that will make your device anywhere near obsolete in a few years. My Paperwhite from 2015 is pretty identical to ones sold now, and unlike with phones and tablets, software support is still there. So unless you break it, it's probably gonna outlive your phone/tablet/laptop. Mine for sure did.
  - robinsoh 6y ago
    > My Paperwhite from 2015 is pretty identical to ones sold now Yes, you're right if you're looking at update time of the display, which I have. There's pretty much no improvement. That's due to the physics of pigment particles. I don't see a way for them to improve that. They have improved contrast ratios. The whites of their carter displays are much better than the previous gen pearl and vizplex before that.

ymbeld 6y ago

Pretty much correct. It’s a bit ridiculous that high-tech gadgets (rare earth metals and all that) are sometimes considered to be environmentally friendly. Still though, consumption choices will ultimately never save the environment.

bogwog 6y ago

Do people really think E-ink is environmentally friendly? I've never heard that angle before. The appeal of E-ink style displays always seemed to me to be the battery life and visibility in sunlight.

kgwxd 6y ago
Is it wrong to associate low energy consumption with environmentally friendly? I don't follow e-ink news much, but I feel I've seen at least that angle somewhere.

gjs278 6y ago

you have zero impact on the environment and never will. buy whatever technology you want.