8 ms·

My phone is an ereader now

332 points by wonger_ 1y ago

walthamstow 1y ago
I really enjoy these posts where people use new or weird devices in their lives to see how they fit. That said, this is missing one crucial piece of information: the price. The Minimal Phone is 399 USD for 128GB/6GB and 499 for 256GB/8GB.
- chmod775 1y ago
  In world where you can get both a proper phone and an e-reader with better specs for less, the market for that kind of product isn't large. Though there's probably a decent overlap with the HN crowd, who thinks its neat and can afford to throw away money on something that will collect dust in a drawer a week later.
  - A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 1y ago
    Better specs should fit a specific use case. Now, I get that everyone gets excited for various specs ( in TVs, it was a simple 'biggest size possible' ). And it does not help that advertising effectively subsidizes lower price, and effective monopoly further locks users into 'better specs' stuff. Admittedly, I do have things that are collecting dust ( pinephone being one of the bigger disappointments thus far ), but without HN crowd testing those alternatives, non-HN crowd wouldn't even know firefox existed and now we would likely all be living in IE salt mines.
dandelionv1bes 1y ago
Great post, thanks to you I’ve realised I use the “how much am I reading” to how burnt out am I proxy. Quite tempted by the phone, but predominately a physical book reader.
cousin_it 1y ago
I've wished for years that there would be an actual e-ink only laptop. Or (even better) an aftermarket e-ink screen for my current laptop, because I'm quite happy with the rest of the machine.
- VoidWhisperer 1y ago
  Are there any e-ink displays with a reasonable enough refresh rate that aren't exorbitantly expensive? I know atleast as of a few years ago that was one of the issues that would've impeded an e-ink only laptop
  - Gys 1y ago
    From what I read some time ago, e-ink displays use almost as much energy as normal displays if the contents change all the time. The one benefit of e-ink is the ability to show static content without using energy.
    - VoidWhisperer 1y ago
      That is probably another reason that e-ink laptops haven't really become a thing then - practically any use besides maybe basic web browsing and emails would require a decent refresh rate to be reasonable, removing the benefit of using e-ink over the normal display
      - Xmd5a 1y ago
        I have a Hisense A5 cc pro, a color eink android smartphone. The refresh rate is good enough to watch a video
        Moru 1y ago
        How is the battery usage during the high refresh rate?
  - dvdkon 1y ago
    I feel like e-ink displays/EPDs are widely used, but underexplored, by major manufacturers at least. The person behind the Modos project already linked by someone else has put a lot of effort into pushing EPDs to their limits and put together the best technical documentation for EPDs that I know of: https://github.com/Modos-Labs/Glider https://github.com/Modos-Labs/Glider EDIT: Here's an older demo of theirs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XduK7wn9SE4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XduK7wn9SE4
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
mariusor 1y ago
The phone I loved the best was a Motorola F3, which was I think the first e-ink phone ever. It looks like this phone is an worthy successor.
- nullify88 1y ago
  Jeez that phone was available new for £10. Do such phones exist these days?
  - toast0 1y ago
    Maybe not quite that low, and not from established brands, but search aliexpress for lte phone and there's several for $30-$50. I didn't look at the lte bands they support, which is important if you're going to use one or these (but I have trust issues that would need to be solved first)
y-curious 1y ago
I was far from sold. The entire article feels more like a lifestyle challenge on YouTube than a convincing life change. The author makes great sacrifices to make the phone work in his life. He mentions: - The phone needs to be put in his pocket a certain way or it takes input - The phone loses keypresses when typing quickly - It can only render readable Google maps when set to the slowest setting - The phone forgets your fingerprint and requires pin, which suffers from dropped inputs The author brings up the point that 2 developers work on the phone. The author doesn't mention, but I think should mention, that this phone WILL have vulnerabilities not found on flagship phones. Anyone security minded is going to be lost here. Overall, I want a phone like this, but the sacrifices are way too numerous to justify it.
boomskats 1y ago
Wait, so this thing actually shipped? To real users? I remember looking into it and concluding that it'd probably be vapeware, given the aggressive pre-release marketing and the founder's track record. If it's a real device then that's awesome! If it wasn't for Zinwa I'd probably be getting one.
jbstack 1y ago
The keyboard is a huge negative for me. Why would I want a significant chunk of my screen space taken up by a keyboard on a device that I'm aiming to use primarily for reading?
- wkat4242 1y ago
  I guess it aims at the blackberry passport types. There's a lot of people still missing that one
  - afandian 1y ago
    We exist and have been unhappy with our iPhones ever since our BlackBerries died. Seriously. This thing makes me feel so clumsy.
    - wkat4242 1y ago
      Yeah I think I would have liked one too. It's just that when the passport came out, blackberry OS was already on its way out so I didn't buy it
      - afandian 1y ago
        You missed out! The Passport was an excellent phone. Great hardware and the OS was nice. And the KeyOne (android) was probably my favourite phone ever.
        swores 1y ago
        Had you used any BlackBerry phones before it? In my opinion the Passport was considerably better than other BlackBerry phones from the couple of years before it, but it was so much worse than the older BlackBerries were (at least in the context of what was available at the time) so much better that people who had used BBs for years found the Passport frustratingly bad in comparison.
        1y ago
A_Duck 1y ago
e-Ink seems like the perfect solution to : how do I make my phone functional for when I need to use it, but unpleasant enough I don’t want to use it At the moment I have my iphone set to black-and-white but still find myself idly browsing I think I’ll buy this phone
- colingauvin 1y ago
  I can confirm that this phone is perfect for it. Everything is there and usable if you truly need it, but I cannot wait to put the phone back in my pocket because of unpleasant it is to use.
jeeezus 1y ago
Ditch the keyboard and price it like a kindle and I'm sold.
- pjerem 1y ago
  You may try to import Hisense e-ink phones from china. They can be flashed with Lineage OS and have a standard smartphone form factor but with an e-ink screen. Pay attention that they also exists with color eink screen and that those versions are more expensive.
  - Seattle3503 1y ago
    Is there a guide you followed?
- ipcress_file 1y ago
  Check out the Mudita Kompakt.* *not priced like a Kindle :)
marticode 1y ago
Reminds me of that phone that had a regular screen on one side and e-ink on the other side. Maybe someone should make a foldable where the outside screen is an e-ink and the inside a regular foldable OLED.
- chossenger 1y ago
  YotaPhone? Looks like the went bankrupt in 2019, unfortunately. I was always intrigued by them.
  - dddw 1y ago
    Hisense A6 came out with that idea too not superlong ago
jokethrowaway 1y ago
We really need better software for this type of phone to take off. The technology is needed to avoid short video / social media addiction but a working map app is a must.
nesk_ 1y ago
I've been searching for dumb phones these last weeks to avoid using my phone too much. But it comes with issues: - my bank requires a smartphone - whatsapp desktop requires a smartphone too This smartphone could be an alternative: no videos, you can still use third party applications, perfect for reading. Thank you for sharing!
- walthamstow 1y ago
  The WhatsApp thing can be worked around now. If you have one compliant device logged into WhatsApp as the main device, you can access that account and messages from any other device, including smartphones. I have a WhatsApp device that just stays at home.
  - nesk_ 1y ago
    But you need two devices, and this seems overkill. Without this limitation you could have only one phone.
- carlosjobim 1y ago
  You are allowed to have more than one phone.
  - nesk_ 1y ago
    You're right, but I don't appreciate to be enforced to.
    - carlosjobim 1y ago
      Who is forcing you to do anything? You can do what you please.
      - nesk_ 1y ago
        If I want a dumb phone for my daily needs, I have to keep a smartphone at home to stay in contact with my friends that are using Whatsapp. I don't really feel free here.
jokoon 1y ago
1. I type faster with a touchscreen because I use the swipe finger thing, so a physical keyboard is not really that interesting 2. I doubt that keyboard will last forever, it will probably get quite dirty or tired. 3. I don't think an ink screen saves that much power. 4. I just have a cheap smartphone without 4G internet, 2 euros/months, 50MB in case I need to read some email. That way I will not stay on my phone for long. 5. I watch movies and shows on my phone, actually. 6. Physical books feel better, honestly. Although I can find it useful to write code with it, but again, apps are not tailored to write code, the toolchains are not made for it.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
LightBug1 1y ago
Can't win ... I really want to go this direction. Someone mentioned the Boox Palma which looks great ... and then I imagine taking or viewing photos/videos with it. And then I get back to - ok, just get a normal e-reader and normal mobile phone. Someone school me on why I'm wrong, thanks.
- ImPleadThe5th 1y ago
  Sounds like 2 devices is the solution for you. I'm considering this phone because I'd like to box my media consumption to when I'm at home (at my desk). I however still need a device with Whatsapp + Authenticator to go about my day to day life. Honestly if I could get one of those not taking paperwhites with a sim, Whatsapp and my authenticator app I would just run that.
swores 1y ago
> "why would it format "city Hall" with just one capital? Commit to capitals or no capitals, don't do this awkward mix!" I don't have a great solution but I suspect I do know the cause of this on iPhones, which I'll mention for anyone else curious: I'd bet that he has a contact saved called Something Hall, and the autocorrect isn't clever enough to realise that he isn't typing the name of that contact and just automatically capitalises the H. (It's not 100% of the time, but it is ridiculously often that it wrongly assumes you're using the name from a contact, in my experience.) I wish there was a way to turn this off, but afaik there isn't - I've removed or edited a contact's surname for a few words that I type as non-name nouns often enough that it got annoying. Of course I might be wrong, maybe there are other causes for incorrect capitals.
- lucasban 1y ago
  On a related note, I have a Korean friend who’s name sounds similar to a floor number in the parking garage I use. When I use Siri or VTT to record where I parked, I often end up with his name instead.
  - BonitaPersona 1y ago
    Thinking of a possible example of that in spanish, I ended up with "Juan Fortín", 114.
- andai 1y ago
  I don't have a contact called University but it always capitalizes it. It probably appears that way most frequently in the text the predictive model was trained on.
finaard 1y ago
I'm currently also considering if I should go to that, or not. Most of my life I've been using phones with keys - the Treo/Centro series with PalmOS, then (due to working there) the Nokia N900, N9 and Jolla devices. The best ever on screen keyboard I've encountered was on the N9, followed by Jolla (unfortunately, we never implemented swype there). A had a regular Android phone for a while after that, but pretty much all Android on screen keyboards are just horrible - so I went from actively doing stuff on my phone to just reading stuff, and using it as notifier for getting my computer. Things changed when some companies did end up doing new phones with keyboards: I had the Planet computers Gemini, followed by the Cosmo. Both had great keyboards, but a lot of other issues. Next were Unihertz Titan and Titan slim (which I'm still using) - both also nice devices, but starting to age, not really getting updates anymore, and putting something else on there is problematic due to Unihertz not releasing kernel sources. The way I'm using my phones also changed again - I fully stopped using banking apps on the phone. The modern way is to combine an authenticator into the banking app, and treat the banking app as having built in two factor auth, which is just stupid. I can use a separate token with all of my banks - but using the smartphone app would forcefully sign me up to using them as authenticator, so I can't use them anymore. A lot of other applications also are pretty much useless nowadays - most are just wrapped web pages anyway, and even for the ones which are not: Nothing has long living auth tokens anymore (which used to be one of the main selling points ) - and if I have to log in to not regularly used applications every time I use them it's easier and more convenient to just use the corresponding website on the computer anyway. So we're back to just wanting a phone I can read on, and that sends me notifications - and the keyboard should allow me to even respond without taking out my computer. The main issue with the device is that I don't need Android for doing that - and with the ongoing enshitification of Android I'm not really sure anymore if it's worth the trouble of getting another device, or if I should just go towards "when I'm not on my computer I'm offline" again.
colingauvin 1y ago
I picked up one of these and have been having a number of issues, but have somehow managed to stick with it and my life is much improved as a result. Device usage has been much, much more intentional. I wouldn't say I'm cured of my scrolling addiction, but the time I spend scrolling has been relegated to just the latest hours of the night, and even then, significantly less. The trick about this phone is that because it is full fat Android, everything is possible. But because it is low refresh rate black and white screen with a physical keyboard, everything is also a pain in the ass. Rather than hear a chat message notification and immediately get the urge to pull out my phone and engage, I actually now get slightly annoyed because typing out a proper response with proper grammar is going to be a pain in the ass. The company is pretty lousy and doesn't communicate well. They have missed every single deadline they've ever set for themselves. The software is glitchy but usable (I have all the same issues mentioned in the article with the autocorrect, refresh settings, fingerprint, etc). All those things are fixable and hopefully do. The phone itself is very weak hardware and the screen protector and case still haven't shipped. I had my phone in my back pocket and it did not survive that, I got two cracks along the edge and a slight bend. Still works though, but I have switched it to my front pocket. Android Auto works great in both my vehicles, so maps/navigation are not an issue. Bitwarden works. Duo auth works. Banking apps work. Roon works. Podcasts work. Things that I need, that other dumb phones can't provide. But the critical thing is, I am trying to avoid using the phone because it is just a pain in the ass to do things on. For this, honestly, I'd pay 10x the list price because it has given me so much of my life back. I actually had a mini crisis when I realized I was bored, with nothing to do in the evenings after work, because I had so much time back. (Don't worry, channeling that time into productive hobbies now). I would highly highly highly recommend this if you want to spend less time on your phone but need certain functions a smartphone provides.
- grim_io 1y ago
  This self-sabotage of self-sabotage is not something I can do. My brain has too much agency for its own good. It would not let itself be constrained in its pursuit of scrolling bliss.
- smusamashah 1y ago
  Can you browse HN on it? If you do, would you do it with a client or with plain old browser?
billy99k 1y ago
I have bought multiple ereaders over the years and i always go back to my phone. The main reason is convenience. I always have my phone with me and usually don't have room or forget the ereader.
rsanek 1y ago
After I bricked my pro max in the sauna last month, I bought a used 13 mini to test out how using a much smaller phone would be. Learnings after a ~month so far is that, it's not much less distracting and the tiny battery + poor perf are real limitations when travelling. Going to buy the new pro max when it comes out next month.
4ggr0 1y ago
reading the comments and link on my minimal phone :D hope they soon fix the bugs and finally ship the accessories, love the phone so far. my main device for two months now.
netfortius 1y ago
For me it's not an either-or scenario. I use my Kindle when I'm bed, my Calibre e-reader (or preview, if pdf) on my MBP, and Moonreader+ on my Android phone. I'd say the ratio of usage goes like 10-15% for the Kindle, 25-35% MBP, and the majority of time Moonreader. I wish I could find a way to sync book status and highlights across the three platforms, but...
- johnjeremy 1y ago
  Koreader my friend
  - TiredOfLife 1y ago
    I have tried Koreader multiple times. They somehow have made CoolReader that was pleasant to use on an eink device 16 years ago, painful to use on a modern much faster device.
CommenterPerson 1y ago
Sure the device may have some rough edges. But any sand thrown into the addiction/ enshttification engine is great.
layer8 1y ago
It doesn’t seem to have page flip buttons, which is a pity.
locusofself 1y ago
I could probably live without iMessage (though I wouldn't love it), but the one thing I really cannot live without is a great camera. My child is still young, my wife and I are still enjoying ourselves (when we have time), and I really do cherish the photos. I know I could get a separate camera, but it's not the as being able to snap photos spontaneously. What I really want is a super reliable way to block social media from my iPhone, only allowing a short window per day. I use "Freedom", but it doesn't reliably block things, and I end up cheating.
- CharlesW 1y ago
  Screen Time can work well for this. Block both apps and websites (the "Social" category makes this straightforward), then ask your gatekeeper tp "Lock Screen Time Settings" on your phone and keep the PIN to themselves.
- const_cast 1y ago
  I "solved" this by using a black and white screen always and just checking social media on a web browser on my computer whenever I feel like it - usually once a month or so. Its great because I can turn off the black and white for pictures. This isn't a real solution because you still have to take deliverate action and you're still just trusting your own behaviors. But, it's a great middle ground. For social media - you don't actually need the apps. Like, at all. They work just fine in a browser and they can't send you notifications that way. So just delete them altogether.
WXLCKNO 1y ago
> I now feel weird posting Nice Photos to social media. Who are those for, really? I have a private Instagram account with ~100 followers of people I actually know. And I still agree with this although I'm trying hard not to. I'm just trying not to be cynical. But I hate this feeling of my life experiences seeming like they require external validation. Am I doing things just so that others know I did them? Is it just a curated feed I can look back on by myself? Social media feels like it steals our lives away from us.
octoberfranklin 1y ago
Oh my god a physical keyboard phone in 2025, I just got up and danced around the room. Sanity is returning to our world. There is hope. WAGMI.
octoberfranklin 1y ago
Can you get root on this thing? Can I recompile all (or at least most, modulo firmware blobs) of the software running on it? Obviously I'm not expecting Pixel/GrapheneOS levels of openness. But I'm hoping it's not Samsung-level icky.
owenversteeg 1y ago
The device in the article is $400 (and obviously requires migrating to a new phone.) Don't get me wrong, it does seem like a decent solution - but for those looking for a lower friction (or lower cost) way to use your phone less, this is my system, which works very well: 1) lock away your phone in a separate box or room away from where you are, 2) make the phone as unappealing as possible (grayscale, disable animations, don't upgrade models, fill up storage so it's very slow), 3) increase friction on the device itself; uninstall any interesting apps and use "one sec" to block stuff in the browser. With these interventions I went from using my phone for hours a day to using it (most days) only when necessary, and some days not at all. Feels very liberating! As far as reading goes, I switched back to physical books.
- floundy 1y ago
  Since these E-Ink phones all suck in specific ways or have uncertain compatibility with US cell carriers I carry 2 devices, my Android smartphone (which I've dumbed down in a similar way to you) and a Boox Palma 2 (which I use for reading articles and books). I pretty much use my Android in grayscale only for texting/2FA, phone calls, and occasionally email. I entirely disabled the web browser. If a restaurant has QR code menus I don't care anymore, I'll just leave. If I'm "bored" I'll pull out my Palma and get some reading in.
  - owenversteeg 1y ago
    That's a nice combo. Disabling the web browser is a good idea, thanks :)
utf_8x 1y ago
Can anyone with one of these confirm if Android Auto works with it?
StevenNunez 1y ago
I've been using a BigMe HiBreak pro and it's pretty good! I have had issues with the usb port but after removing some cruft I really like it. Easy on the eyes, full android and I can watch videos in a pinch. I find it makes it easier to do something else with my free time.
amilios 1y ago
Personally I've downgraded my phone intentionally, from an iPhone 14 Pro to an iPhone SE 2020 (the previous iPhone I had). It's slow, it overheats, the battery is short. But that's what I want -- the friction makes me really consider every use of the phone, and the occasional slowdowns frustrate me just enough to reconsider taking it out of my pocket for everything. It kind of "works" for me. Might get a battery pack though hahah
kristianp 1y ago
I like the novelty of a phone with a real keyboard. And also the joy of having real buttons to press when wanting to type something in. I made 3 errors in typing up to this point, and I had to go slowly to get things input that well. I miss keys all the time, despite each successive phone being bigger than the last.

332 points by wonger_ 1y ago

I really enjoy these posts where people use new or weird devices in their lives to see how they fit. That said, this is missing one crucial piece of information: the price. The Minimal Phone is 399 USD for 128GB/6GB and 499 for 256GB/8GB.

chmod775 1y ago
In world where you can get both a proper phone and an e-reader with better specs for less, the market for that kind of product isn't large. Though there's probably a decent overlap with the HN crowd, who thinks its neat and can afford to throw away money on something that will collect dust in a drawer a week later.
- A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 1y ago
  Better specs should fit a specific use case. Now, I get that everyone gets excited for various specs ( in TVs, it was a simple 'biggest size possible' ). And it does not help that advertising effectively subsidizes lower price, and effective monopoly further locks users into 'better specs' stuff. Admittedly, I do have things that are collecting dust ( pinephone being one of the bigger disappointments thus far ), but without HN crowd testing those alternatives, non-HN crowd wouldn't even know firefox existed and now we would likely all be living in IE salt mines.

dandelionv1bes 1y ago

Great post, thanks to you I’ve realised I use the “how much am I reading” to how burnt out am I proxy. Quite tempted by the phone, but predominately a physical book reader.

cousin_it 1y ago

I've wished for years that there would be an actual e-ink only laptop. Or (even better) an aftermarket e-ink screen for my current laptop, because I'm quite happy with the rest of the machine.

VoidWhisperer 1y ago
Are there any e-ink displays with a reasonable enough refresh rate that aren't exorbitantly expensive? I know atleast as of a few years ago that was one of the issues that would've impeded an e-ink only laptop
- Gys 1y ago
  From what I read some time ago, e-ink displays use almost as much energy as normal displays if the contents change all the time. The one benefit of e-ink is the ability to show static content without using energy.
  - VoidWhisperer 1y ago
    That is probably another reason that e-ink laptops haven't really become a thing then - practically any use besides maybe basic web browsing and emails would require a decent refresh rate to be reasonable, removing the benefit of using e-ink over the normal display
    - Xmd5a 1y ago
      I have a Hisense A5 cc pro, a color eink android smartphone. The refresh rate is good enough to watch a video
      - Moru 1y ago
        How is the battery usage during the high refresh rate?
- dvdkon 1y ago
  I feel like e-ink displays/EPDs are widely used, but underexplored, by major manufacturers at least. The person behind the Modos project already linked by someone else has put a lot of effort into pushing EPDs to their limits and put together the best technical documentation for EPDs that I know of: https://github.com/Modos-Labs/Glider https://github.com/Modos-Labs/Glider EDIT: Here's an older demo of theirs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XduK7wn9SE4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XduK7wn9SE4

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

mariusor 1y ago

The phone I loved the best was a Motorola F3, which was I think the first e-ink phone ever. It looks like this phone is an worthy successor.

nullify88 1y ago
Jeez that phone was available new for £10. Do such phones exist these days?
- toast0 1y ago
  Maybe not quite that low, and not from established brands, but search aliexpress for lte phone and there's several for $30-$50. I didn't look at the lte bands they support, which is important if you're going to use one or these (but I have trust issues that would need to be solved first)

y-curious 1y ago

I was far from sold. The entire article feels more like a lifestyle challenge on YouTube than a convincing life change. The author makes great sacrifices to make the phone work in his life. He mentions: - The phone needs to be put in his pocket a certain way or it takes input - The phone loses keypresses when typing quickly - It can only render readable Google maps when set to the slowest setting - The phone forgets your fingerprint and requires pin, which suffers from dropped inputs The author brings up the point that 2 developers work on the phone. The author doesn't mention, but I think should mention, that this phone WILL have vulnerabilities not found on flagship phones. Anyone security minded is going to be lost here. Overall, I want a phone like this, but the sacrifices are way too numerous to justify it.

boomskats 1y ago

Wait, so this thing actually shipped? To real users? I remember looking into it and concluding that it'd probably be vapeware, given the aggressive pre-release marketing and the founder's track record. If it's a real device then that's awesome! If it wasn't for Zinwa I'd probably be getting one.

jbstack 1y ago

The keyboard is a huge negative for me. Why would I want a significant chunk of my screen space taken up by a keyboard on a device that I'm aiming to use primarily for reading?

wkat4242 1y ago
I guess it aims at the blackberry passport types. There's a lot of people still missing that one
- afandian 1y ago
  We exist and have been unhappy with our iPhones ever since our BlackBerries died. Seriously. This thing makes me feel so clumsy.
  - wkat4242 1y ago
    Yeah I think I would have liked one too. It's just that when the passport came out, blackberry OS was already on its way out so I didn't buy it
    - afandian 1y ago
      You missed out! The Passport was an excellent phone. Great hardware and the OS was nice. And the KeyOne (android) was probably my favourite phone ever.
      - swores 1y ago
        Had you used any BlackBerry phones before it? In my opinion the Passport was considerably better than other BlackBerry phones from the couple of years before it, but it was so much worse than the older BlackBerries were (at least in the context of what was available at the time) so much better that people who had used BBs for years found the Passport frustratingly bad in comparison.
        1y ago

A_Duck 1y ago

e-Ink seems like the perfect solution to : how do I make my phone functional for when I need to use it, but unpleasant enough I don’t want to use it At the moment I have my iphone set to black-and-white but still find myself idly browsing I think I’ll buy this phone

colingauvin 1y ago
I can confirm that this phone is perfect for it. Everything is there and usable if you truly need it, but I cannot wait to put the phone back in my pocket because of unpleasant it is to use.

jeeezus 1y ago

Ditch the keyboard and price it like a kindle and I'm sold.

pjerem 1y ago
You may try to import Hisense e-ink phones from china. They can be flashed with Lineage OS and have a standard smartphone form factor but with an e-ink screen. Pay attention that they also exists with color eink screen and that those versions are more expensive.
- Seattle3503 1y ago
  Is there a guide you followed?
ipcress_file 1y ago
Check out the Mudita Kompakt.* *not priced like a Kindle :)

marticode 1y ago

Reminds me of that phone that had a regular screen on one side and e-ink on the other side. Maybe someone should make a foldable where the outside screen is an e-ink and the inside a regular foldable OLED.

chossenger 1y ago
YotaPhone? Looks like the went bankrupt in 2019, unfortunately. I was always intrigued by them.
- dddw 1y ago
  Hisense A6 came out with that idea too not superlong ago

jokethrowaway 1y ago

We really need better software for this type of phone to take off. The technology is needed to avoid short video / social media addiction but a working map app is a must.

nesk_ 1y ago

I've been searching for dumb phones these last weeks to avoid using my phone too much. But it comes with issues: - my bank requires a smartphone - whatsapp desktop requires a smartphone too This smartphone could be an alternative: no videos, you can still use third party applications, perfect for reading. Thank you for sharing!

walthamstow 1y ago
The WhatsApp thing can be worked around now. If you have one compliant device logged into WhatsApp as the main device, you can access that account and messages from any other device, including smartphones. I have a WhatsApp device that just stays at home.
- nesk_ 1y ago
  But you need two devices, and this seems overkill. Without this limitation you could have only one phone.
carlosjobim 1y ago
You are allowed to have more than one phone.
- nesk_ 1y ago
  You're right, but I don't appreciate to be enforced to.
  - carlosjobim 1y ago
    Who is forcing you to do anything? You can do what you please.
    - nesk_ 1y ago
      If I want a dumb phone for my daily needs, I have to keep a smartphone at home to stay in contact with my friends that are using Whatsapp. I don't really feel free here.

jokoon 1y ago

1. I type faster with a touchscreen because I use the swipe finger thing, so a physical keyboard is not really that interesting 2. I doubt that keyboard will last forever, it will probably get quite dirty or tired. 3. I don't think an ink screen saves that much power. 4. I just have a cheap smartphone without 4G internet, 2 euros/months, 50MB in case I need to read some email. That way I will not stay on my phone for long. 5. I watch movies and shows on my phone, actually. 6. Physical books feel better, honestly. Although I can find it useful to write code with it, but again, apps are not tailored to write code, the toolchains are not made for it.

deleted 1y ago
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LightBug1 1y ago

Can't win ... I really want to go this direction. Someone mentioned the Boox Palma which looks great ... and then I imagine taking or viewing photos/videos with it. And then I get back to - ok, just get a normal e-reader and normal mobile phone. Someone school me on why I'm wrong, thanks.

ImPleadThe5th 1y ago
Sounds like 2 devices is the solution for you. I'm considering this phone because I'd like to box my media consumption to when I'm at home (at my desk). I however still need a device with Whatsapp + Authenticator to go about my day to day life. Honestly if I could get one of those not taking paperwhites with a sim, Whatsapp and my authenticator app I would just run that.

swores 1y ago

> "why would it format "city Hall" with just one capital? Commit to capitals or no capitals, don't do this awkward mix!" I don't have a great solution but I suspect I do know the cause of this on iPhones, which I'll mention for anyone else curious: I'd bet that he has a contact saved called Something Hall, and the autocorrect isn't clever enough to realise that he isn't typing the name of that contact and just automatically capitalises the H. (It's not 100% of the time, but it is ridiculously often that it wrongly assumes you're using the name from a contact, in my experience.) I wish there was a way to turn this off, but afaik there isn't - I've removed or edited a contact's surname for a few words that I type as non-name nouns often enough that it got annoying. Of course I might be wrong, maybe there are other causes for incorrect capitals.

lucasban 1y ago
On a related note, I have a Korean friend who’s name sounds similar to a floor number in the parking garage I use. When I use Siri or VTT to record where I parked, I often end up with his name instead.
- BonitaPersona 1y ago
  Thinking of a possible example of that in spanish, I ended up with "Juan Fortín", 114.
andai 1y ago
I don't have a contact called University but it always capitalizes it. It probably appears that way most frequently in the text the predictive model was trained on.

finaard 1y ago

I'm currently also considering if I should go to that, or not. Most of my life I've been using phones with keys - the Treo/Centro series with PalmOS, then (due to working there) the Nokia N900, N9 and Jolla devices. The best ever on screen keyboard I've encountered was on the N9, followed by Jolla (unfortunately, we never implemented swype there). A had a regular Android phone for a while after that, but pretty much all Android on screen keyboards are just horrible - so I went from actively doing stuff on my phone to just reading stuff, and using it as notifier for getting my computer. Things changed when some companies did end up doing new phones with keyboards: I had the Planet computers Gemini, followed by the Cosmo. Both had great keyboards, but a lot of other issues. Next were Unihertz Titan and Titan slim (which I'm still using) - both also nice devices, but starting to age, not really getting updates anymore, and putting something else on there is problematic due to Unihertz not releasing kernel sources. The way I'm using my phones also changed again - I fully stopped using banking apps on the phone. The modern way is to combine an authenticator into the banking app, and treat the banking app as having built in two factor auth, which is just stupid. I can use a separate token with all of my banks - but using the smartphone app would forcefully sign me up to using them as authenticator, so I can't use them anymore. A lot of other applications also are pretty much useless nowadays - most are just wrapped web pages anyway, and even for the ones which are not: Nothing has long living auth tokens anymore (which used to be one of the main selling points ) - and if I have to log in to not regularly used applications every time I use them it's easier and more convenient to just use the corresponding website on the computer anyway. So we're back to just wanting a phone I can read on, and that sends me notifications - and the keyboard should allow me to even respond without taking out my computer. The main issue with the device is that I don't need Android for doing that - and with the ongoing enshitification of Android I'm not really sure anymore if it's worth the trouble of getting another device, or if I should just go towards "when I'm not on my computer I'm offline" again.

colingauvin 1y ago

I picked up one of these and have been having a number of issues, but have somehow managed to stick with it and my life is much improved as a result. Device usage has been much, much more intentional. I wouldn't say I'm cured of my scrolling addiction, but the time I spend scrolling has been relegated to just the latest hours of the night, and even then, significantly less. The trick about this phone is that because it is full fat Android, everything is possible. But because it is low refresh rate black and white screen with a physical keyboard, everything is also a pain in the ass. Rather than hear a chat message notification and immediately get the urge to pull out my phone and engage, I actually now get slightly annoyed because typing out a proper response with proper grammar is going to be a pain in the ass. The company is pretty lousy and doesn't communicate well. They have missed every single deadline they've ever set for themselves. The software is glitchy but usable (I have all the same issues mentioned in the article with the autocorrect, refresh settings, fingerprint, etc). All those things are fixable and hopefully do. The phone itself is very weak hardware and the screen protector and case still haven't shipped. I had my phone in my back pocket and it did not survive that, I got two cracks along the edge and a slight bend. Still works though, but I have switched it to my front pocket. Android Auto works great in both my vehicles, so maps/navigation are not an issue. Bitwarden works. Duo auth works. Banking apps work. Roon works. Podcasts work. Things that I need, that other dumb phones can't provide. But the critical thing is, I am trying to avoid using the phone because it is just a pain in the ass to do things on. For this, honestly, I'd pay 10x the list price because it has given me so much of my life back. I actually had a mini crisis when I realized I was bored, with nothing to do in the evenings after work, because I had so much time back. (Don't worry, channeling that time into productive hobbies now). I would highly highly highly recommend this if you want to spend less time on your phone but need certain functions a smartphone provides.

grim_io 1y ago
This self-sabotage of self-sabotage is not something I can do. My brain has too much agency for its own good. It would not let itself be constrained in its pursuit of scrolling bliss.
smusamashah 1y ago
Can you browse HN on it? If you do, would you do it with a client or with plain old browser?

billy99k 1y ago

I have bought multiple ereaders over the years and i always go back to my phone. The main reason is convenience. I always have my phone with me and usually don't have room or forget the ereader.

rsanek 1y ago

After I bricked my pro max in the sauna last month, I bought a used 13 mini to test out how using a much smaller phone would be. Learnings after a ~month so far is that, it's not much less distracting and the tiny battery + poor perf are real limitations when travelling. Going to buy the new pro max when it comes out next month.

4ggr0 1y ago

reading the comments and link on my minimal phone :D hope they soon fix the bugs and finally ship the accessories, love the phone so far. my main device for two months now.

netfortius 1y ago

For me it's not an either-or scenario. I use my Kindle when I'm bed, my Calibre e-reader (or preview, if pdf) on my MBP, and Moonreader+ on my Android phone. I'd say the ratio of usage goes like 10-15% for the Kindle, 25-35% MBP, and the majority of time Moonreader. I wish I could find a way to sync book status and highlights across the three platforms, but...

johnjeremy 1y ago
Koreader my friend
- TiredOfLife 1y ago
  I have tried Koreader multiple times. They somehow have made CoolReader that was pleasant to use on an eink device 16 years ago, painful to use on a modern much faster device.

CommenterPerson 1y ago

Sure the device may have some rough edges. But any sand thrown into the addiction/ enshttification engine is great.

layer8 1y ago

It doesn’t seem to have page flip buttons, which is a pity.

locusofself 1y ago

I could probably live without iMessage (though I wouldn't love it), but the one thing I really cannot live without is a great camera. My child is still young, my wife and I are still enjoying ourselves (when we have time), and I really do cherish the photos. I know I could get a separate camera, but it's not the as being able to snap photos spontaneously. What I really want is a super reliable way to block social media from my iPhone, only allowing a short window per day. I use "Freedom", but it doesn't reliably block things, and I end up cheating.

CharlesW 1y ago
Screen Time can work well for this. Block both apps and websites (the "Social" category makes this straightforward), then ask your gatekeeper tp "Lock Screen Time Settings" on your phone and keep the PIN to themselves.
const_cast 1y ago
I "solved" this by using a black and white screen always and just checking social media on a web browser on my computer whenever I feel like it - usually once a month or so. Its great because I can turn off the black and white for pictures. This isn't a real solution because you still have to take deliverate action and you're still just trusting your own behaviors. But, it's a great middle ground. For social media - you don't actually need the apps. Like, at all. They work just fine in a browser and they can't send you notifications that way. So just delete them altogether.

WXLCKNO 1y ago

> I now feel weird posting Nice Photos to social media. Who are those for, really? I have a private Instagram account with ~100 followers of people I actually know. And I still agree with this although I'm trying hard not to. I'm just trying not to be cynical. But I hate this feeling of my life experiences seeming like they require external validation. Am I doing things just so that others know I did them? Is it just a curated feed I can look back on by myself? Social media feels like it steals our lives away from us.

octoberfranklin 1y ago

Oh my god a physical keyboard phone in 2025, I just got up and danced around the room. Sanity is returning to our world. There is hope. WAGMI.

octoberfranklin 1y ago

Can you get root on this thing? Can I recompile all (or at least most, modulo firmware blobs) of the software running on it? Obviously I'm not expecting Pixel/GrapheneOS levels of openness. But I'm hoping it's not Samsung-level icky.

owenversteeg 1y ago

The device in the article is $400 (and obviously requires migrating to a new phone.) Don't get me wrong, it does seem like a decent solution - but for those looking for a lower friction (or lower cost) way to use your phone less, this is my system, which works very well: 1) lock away your phone in a separate box or room away from where you are, 2) make the phone as unappealing as possible (grayscale, disable animations, don't upgrade models, fill up storage so it's very slow), 3) increase friction on the device itself; uninstall any interesting apps and use "one sec" to block stuff in the browser. With these interventions I went from using my phone for hours a day to using it (most days) only when necessary, and some days not at all. Feels very liberating! As far as reading goes, I switched back to physical books.

floundy 1y ago
Since these E-Ink phones all suck in specific ways or have uncertain compatibility with US cell carriers I carry 2 devices, my Android smartphone (which I've dumbed down in a similar way to you) and a Boox Palma 2 (which I use for reading articles and books). I pretty much use my Android in grayscale only for texting/2FA, phone calls, and occasionally email. I entirely disabled the web browser. If a restaurant has QR code menus I don't care anymore, I'll just leave. If I'm "bored" I'll pull out my Palma and get some reading in.
- owenversteeg 1y ago
  That's a nice combo. Disabling the web browser is a good idea, thanks :)

utf_8x 1y ago

Can anyone with one of these confirm if Android Auto works with it?

StevenNunez 1y ago

I've been using a BigMe HiBreak pro and it's pretty good! I have had issues with the usb port but after removing some cruft I really like it. Easy on the eyes, full android and I can watch videos in a pinch. I find it makes it easier to do something else with my free time.

amilios 1y ago

Personally I've downgraded my phone intentionally, from an iPhone 14 Pro to an iPhone SE 2020 (the previous iPhone I had). It's slow, it overheats, the battery is short. But that's what I want -- the friction makes me really consider every use of the phone, and the occasional slowdowns frustrate me just enough to reconsider taking it out of my pocket for everything. It kind of "works" for me. Might get a battery pack though hahah

kristianp 1y ago

I like the novelty of a phone with a real keyboard. And also the joy of having real buttons to press when wanting to type something in. I made 3 errors in typing up to this point, and I had to go slowly to get things input that well. I miss keys all the time, despite each successive phone being bigger than the last.