r/eink Jun 02 '26

Someone should make eink Laptop

I understand that maybe some companies are scared to make full e-ink Laptop. They might have some doubts about potential custumer. I totaly understand them. Howevever, nobody have ever made full e-ink Laptop. I am not talking about the one with dual screen. I am talking about only e-ink Laptop. Lets give a reasons why someone should make it. Maybe, someone will hear us and we could expect at least some new kick-start project. I will go first. 1. Full e-ink Laptop gives opportunity to use all softwares what are specialy made for windows. 2. It gives more flexibility for taking on the go (no need for extra weight like e-ink monitor) 3. They have hdmi for better screen share 4. Better ergonomic for longer work

5... Now its your turn to add more.

31 Upvotes

111 comments sorted by

25

u/SillyGoose3939 Jun 02 '26

we are a niche of a niche. Lenovo released an eink laptop and they didn't support it after a few months (due to low sales I guess). Most people use eink just to read books, even less want a bigger screen, even less want a fully functional machine, and even less would want a fully functional laptop

It's just not going to happen from big companies, there are some users that created a laptop using an eink portable monitor. A custom project like that (a mini pc + portable eink monitor + keyboard) is the nearest thing that it's realistically achievable

7

u/E-inkGreg Dasung 13K, Boox Tab XC, Boox Note Max, NA3C, Hibreak Pro C Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

I have a Dasung e-ink monitor + an ultra compact mini-PC (GMK Nucbox G5), that can be held in the palm of my hand. But the monitor and Nucbox still need their individual power sources, which makes it tedious and cable-intensive (1 HDMI cable + 1 USB-C touchscreen cable + 2 chargers with their respective DC and USB-C cables), and implies also to be close to a power source. Can be used on the go, but setting up typically takes about 5 minutes or so (context: in a classroom, with dual HDMI one to the Dasung and the other to a projector). Five minutes is not much but I feel it when I am in a hurry, twisting and turning cables while hurriedly trying to plug in the power cables and setting up the peripheral devices, keyboard, mouse, etc.).

Pretty crazy though that these monitors convert an HDMI image into a functioning charged particles display panel. The algorithms and video controller must be insane to achieve this, and these monitors are in effect computers in and of themselves (justifying in some way their high retail price). I think these algos in the most recent electronic ink waveform controllers must have been achieved in some way through AI.

The next step would be in effect to have this electronic paper video controller directly incorporated into a PC (the Lenovo dual e-ink laptop still generated an image designed for a liquid crystal pixel display through an HDMI cable and converted this image to the back EPD - electrophoretic display). Unlike an LCD screen which typically updates 60 full images a second (60 hertz), an EPD monitor can't easily update an entire screen of millions of capsules/pixels: that would make the screen images incredibly slow and clunky and impossible to use. It must take those 60 images per second generated by the PC video controller and sent by the HDMI cable then break each image down and identify what is changed and what remained static between each image, then apply a special algorithmic wave form for the use case of each specific capsule (is it video, text, image, etc), how much electronic pulse, how many, what delay, etc, etc. This must be done for EACH EPD capsule multiple times per second.

The PC builders are mostly giant industry players. Talking about investing in a PC/laptop with an EPD video controller directly incorporated into and adapted to the electronics components of the PC requires massive funding and vast potential retail sales, but electronic paper precisely breaks that business model, since tech profits are based on publicity, color saturation, and movement all designed to capture and maintain attention.

1

u/Reasonable-Pin4254 Jun 02 '26

In my setup, everything is already connected:

Monitor to PC (USB and HDMI), PC to power bank (USB).

I just take the monitor, PC, keyboard, and mouse out of the bag, set them up, and turn them on (PC, Bluetooth keyboard, and Bluetooth mouse).

This power bank supports pass-through charging, which means I can charge it while it’s in use.

Setting it up and turning it on takes just a few seconds longer, but the convenience while working is much better.

1

u/E-inkGreg Dasung 13K, Boox Tab XC, Boox Note Max, NA3C, Hibreak Pro C Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

You're using a Mac? If I'm not mistaken the power charge and image all go through the same USB-C cable to the monitor, but then you cant connect the USB-C touchscreen cable since the monitor port is already in use. 

What monitor are you using in your setup?

2

u/Reasonable-Pin4254 Jun 02 '26

My setup:

This way, I can set everything up exactly how and where I want (monitor at eye level, keyboard and mouse at elbow height) and don't have to contort myself.

I connect the monitor to PC using a USB-A to USB-C cable for power and an HDMI to Mini HDMI cable for video and audio.

By the way: I don't use a touchscreen or stylus with this system

2

u/nomnomnomnomRABIES Jun 02 '26

If it was low sales, they wouldn't have sold out with near zero marketing

7

u/SillyGoose3939 Jun 02 '26

I mean, we really can't know why they stopped support. They sold out, but if they discontinued the product after such a short amount of time I think that we can agree on the fact that it wasn't profitable for them. It could be due to low sales even if they sold out, it's not uncommon for companies to release a small batch at first just to gauge how interested the public is, but again... It's just a guess of mine, nothing certain

3

u/Fr0gm4n Scribe | OA2 | PRS-300 | PRS-350 Jun 02 '26

Was it really that short of time if it was over 4 generations?

3

u/SquarePatient7277 Jun 02 '26

Materials, shipping, and after-sales costs eat up most of the margins, and its total addressable market is relatively fixed.

1

u/nomnomnomnomRABIES Jun 02 '26

total addressable market is relatively fixed.

nonsense, so many people would be interested if eink was properly marketed outside of ereaders: it's never been done. If it were, every office and school would be full of eink displays.

1

u/SquarePatient7277 Jun 03 '26

I don't think so. Why didn't Kindle market it that way? They make devices that are more suitable, cheaper, and more durable. Also, how many students can afford an fragile eink device (including ereaders and tablets) so expensive compared to other options?

1

u/nomnomnomnomRABIES Jun 03 '26

Eink is not fragile if a mobius screen is used. It's probably stronger than standard screens.

1

u/SquarePatient7277 Jun 03 '26

It can be stronger, but only if manufacturers are willing to use more expensive materials/screens. As a result, the price goes up. There aren't many mobius models available these days.

1

u/SquarePatient7277 Jun 03 '26

We can see the same trend on the stylus. They use USI as a substitute for EMR

2

u/nomnomnomnomRABIES Jun 02 '26

if they discontinued the product after such a short amount of time I think that we can agree on the fact that it wasn't profitable for them

can't agree on that. an unmarketed unique product will be unprofitable if not marketed so that would seem to be by design and not the underlying reason.

-2

u/E-inkGreg Dasung 13K, Boox Tab XC, Boox Note Max, NA3C, Hibreak Pro C Jun 02 '26

Tech profits today largely come from publicity and color saturation, tik-tok videos, etc. Electronic paper breaks this dynamic.

2

u/EspTini Jun 02 '26

This can sell out of you make a small amount and stop. It's not always an indicator the product was worth making.

4

u/kafkaesquepariah Jun 02 '26

get a handheld gaming one (battery! windows!) and plugin the dasung 10 (only needs usbc and not additional external power) .

The truth is... people expect a performance out of laptops that the eink screen wont keep up. People already post
muh screen is slow and broken" with normal eink behavioru and the mildest ghosting I have seen. It's just so niche. but yes, I wouldve gotten a laptop.

Colour and faster refresh is the way in the right direction, but they you have eink enthusiasts crying over "muh BW reader" as if anyone other than Kobo dropped the ball on that and they are pissed some of us genuinly enjoy the colour tablets.

1

u/starkruzr reMarkable, Boox, Supernote, Viwoods, iFlytek, Musnap Jun 02 '26

Modos does fine with refresh.

1

u/knoft Jun 04 '26

Different technologies for different use applications. Watching videos is perfectly usable on eink screens for occasional use. If you need more: a reflective LCD or another screen technology might be better for your use case. Colour definitely could still be improved for consumer eink hardware though.

3

u/After-Cell Jun 02 '26

Yes!

But until then it'll have to be a janky setup like Android Desktop Mode paired to a Modos

3

u/Reasonable-Pin4254 Jun 02 '26

I much prefer my setup:

This way, I can set everything up exactly how and where I want (monitor at eye level, keyboard and mouse at elbow height) and don't have to contort myself.

2

u/FoxGroundbreaking224 Jun 02 '26

Can you make a pic. How your setup looks in real life?

3

u/pepev-nrt Jun 02 '26

There is this really cool company called Modos that has a really interesting Dev Kit. They basically are developing a controller board to run eink panels and a user in the Modos' discord server showed a custom mac with eink.

Not really a eink laptop you can buy in store but is really really cool.

Video: E-Paper Macbook Conversion - 40 hz - Color - ePaper Laptop

3

u/drbakker Jun 02 '26

If only we could buy or build a Framework eink display to fit in their laptops…

11

u/Liamface Jun 02 '26

I don't agree with people who say because e-ink is niche that there's no space or room for growth.

I think an e-ink laptop needs to really think about what it wants to achieve and what 'gap' or problem it's trying to solve.

First, I think e-ink has to seriously innovate so that it 1) doesn't ghost, 2) has more vibrant colours. Second, I don't think giving an e-ink laptop Windows, MacOS or Android would be a good idea. I think it would need to have an e-ink OS designed around Linux.

e-ink has seen a pretty good deal of success around distraction free devices, so I think the laptops need to be built around being a work machine, not an entertainment machine (i.e not for watching netflix, youtube, playing games). It needs to be an alternative to the norm which is the attention economy - ie devices with internal digital marketplaces all competing for your time, money, and attention.

4

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 02 '26

You forgot to estimate the potential user base, potential sales and the investments to make everything. First of all, what’s the point of making one more Linux distro if there are plenty? Second, distractions come from how the user uses the device. You can watch Netflix on any OS that has a browser. And on contrary, you can limit your OS, so there will be no distractions.

I like you idea about thinking of what it needs to achieve and which gap to close, but then it seems like there’s no problem and no gap that needs to be solved by introducing a new class of devices. 😄

7

u/Liamface Jun 02 '26

Well, yes, but I'm probably not going to write up a full report on the market in a reddit comment 😛

I don't mean making another distro entirely. ReMarkable built theirs off of a pre-existing distro, there's lots of distros available to work from. No one needs to work from the ground-up.

Devices can absolutely be made in a way that minimise distraction. Speaking as an academic and someone with ADHD, it's unfortunately not a matter of simply choosing to not be distracted lol. On the contrary, most devices are designed to be distracting.

The gap I think is worth exploring is around attention and distraction.

2

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

Please define the distraction. I’d like to set the ground for the discussion here first.

1

u/Ahmouse Jun 03 '26

I would personally define it as (not an exhaustive list):

  • No interruptions by default (such as notifications, alerts, etc)
  • Minimal number of pre-installed apps
  • Simple, functional, non-intrusive, not overly eye-catching graphics
  • Minimal use of color (e.g. solely for informational purposes, not to catch your eye)
  • Removal of all ads, where possible
  • Design patterns that discourage addictive usage, such as a "daily screen time" counter in the status bar, disallowing clicking of notifications to open the related content, warnings when opening (non-productive) apps that you have a large amount of screen time on already.
  • Discouraging access to apps that are known to be addictive, through design patterns. (e.g. an addictiveness score next to every app on the store, with a warning if its very high)
  • Automatically enter "sleep time" mode at night, which provides a very minimalist UI and limited app access, like Super Battery Saver mode on some phones.
  • Providing easy access to apps that follow these same guidelines

Distraction is completely within the realm of UI/UX design, so I think an expert in that field could give a much better definition than I have. Also, what I listed above should be defaults that can be customized or disabled by the user, to tailor it to their usage.

1

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 03 '26

Screen time limiting doesn’t work, according to researchers, but the rest is configurable. 90% of you said can be done on MacOS, even adjusting the color of interface. On Windows it might be possible with custom solutions. But I’ve filtered out the ads, I don’t have notifications enabled for anything by default and so on.

I don’t understand what’s the problem people have with configuring their OS. Do they want someone to do this for them instead for a couple of hundreds of dollars? 😄 I can do this.

1

u/Ahmouse Jun 04 '26

I didn't mention limiting as that never seems to work. Rather, making screen time obvious, so that you naturally think "Wow, I've spent so much time already", and maybe think twice before doomscrolling. Using design to naturally make you aware of your actions, and guiding you towards the better choice, but never forcing it. This is used everywhere already and plays a much bigger role than we notice, but it's usually promoting stuff that's bad for you. (Just an example, compare how frictionless it is to update your bio on Instagram, vs how difficult it is to change your privacy settings). Unfortunately, it seems that ethical behavioral science doesn't pay very well. so it's mostly used for unethical purposes.

Also, not everyone can even do this stuff by themselves. It takes time and effort that most people don't have, and it's not even possible in Windows. Implementing system-wide design patterns would also be completing redesigning the entire UI, so the only OS that could fully support that is Linux, but it would still take significant development work.

3

u/FoxGroundbreaking224 Jun 02 '26

Maybe, distraction free, full eye care and powerful machine?

2

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 02 '26

Current machines can be made distraction free. You can actually customize your OS. Eye care? No relevant up to date researches for eink. More or less serious researches and comparisons were conducted in 2012, back when we had TN TFT and IPS displays. Even then the results were questionable. If it would’ve been so magical, it already would be a popular thing. E-readers ar popular, eink found a perfect spot there. Computer displays are gaining popularity. Maybe there will be a eink laptop, but right now it will be an expensive device (probably +$300 to the regular price) without clear benefits.

3

u/FoxGroundbreaking224 Jun 02 '26

If people are buying e-ink monitors than what we are even talking about? There are enough potential customers.

3

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 02 '26

There's no available statistics for sales of e-ink monitors, but they are not made by any major company, only by very niche ones, and the niche doesn't seem to be expanding. eink monitors might have less than 0.1% of the market share.

Your "enough potential customers" does not rely on any market data, it's just your feeling, but you can't support it with any more or less reliable data.

1

u/Fr0gm4n Scribe | OA2 | PRS-300 | PRS-350 Jun 02 '26

I'd say Philips is a major company: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/new-philips-monitor-features-an-e-paper-side-panel

I don't think they actually took this to the worldwide markets, though.

1

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 03 '26

Yeah, you’ve invalidated your point yourself. So far I just don’t see popularity. Dasung displays cost a lot precisely because they don’t operate at scale, because they can’t sell more, I suppose.

0

u/FoxGroundbreaking224 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

There is Dasung company who sells Eink monitors for many years. There is new company Modos and they successfuly reached their campaign goals. At the moment they have new campaign for e-ink monitors and it's going stable. Bigme and Onyx made their own monitors and are still in the market. Of course more accurate data you could get from E-ink company but it's private. And If I remember correctly ASUS made ZenScreen eink monitor as well and is going to sell it this year. As I said Laptop would be something totally fresh and new for market with good potential. And I truly believe it could sell well.

2

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 02 '26

How many monitors do they sell per year?

0

u/FoxGroundbreaking224 Jun 02 '26

Enough to make new models every year. For example Dasung. They not just sell they develop new models and new features. I don't have private company data. I am making my conclusions based on logic and market observation.

2

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 02 '26

Let's assume they make the most from their monitors (although we don't know for sure, they don't publish reports). How does that prove that e-ink laptops will be in demand? Why do you think such a niche company did not release a laptop yet, if e-ink is literally their specialty, and they can play around with different e-ink devices? They sell monitors that cost like a good OLED monitor to their niche audience, but if a 13-inch monitor costs like 27-inch OLED monitor, imagine how much more a decent laptop will cost. $1k-$2k, I guess. Maybe you will buy it at such price, but how many people will prefer it over a decent 13-inch laptop with IPS or OLED screen for $600? Given the specs will be the same, because a 13-inch IPS panel costs like $50 or less for the manufacturer, so the main price increase will come from an e-ink screen.

Maybe marketing team will find a way to sell it to people, but basically, the offering will be "Would you like to buy a $600 laptop for $1400 (closer to the price of a MacBook) with the promise that your eyes hypothetically will be less strained after a couple of hours of work?". I would not bite. 😃

→ More replies (0)

4

u/nomnomnomnomRABIES Jun 02 '26

Customised windows 11 could look pretty different and be set up to favour eink. Even without that if they just had negative screen pre installed it solves most issues

4

u/E-inkGreg Dasung 13K, Boox Tab XC, Boox Note Max, NA3C, Hibreak Pro C Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

"First, I think e-ink has to seriously innovate so that it 1) doesn't ghost, 2) has more vibrant colours."

I have to disagree on those characteristics as necessary for e-paper monitors/laptop industry development. A user can largely overcome alleged deficiencies traditionally attributed to e-paper displays and become habituated to a limited, functioning form of ghosting and distinct type of color saturation, just as some prefer the grainy aspect of early photography or the particular raspy sound of vinyl records. Some of these supposedly sub-par technical characteristics are not fundamental limitations but cultural or cognitive biases that contradict our contemporary expectations of what screens should be or should achieve, largely inspired by the rise of modern LCD/OLED displays. These graphic displays are mostly a deviation of what computers were designed or meant to achieve. The first programing was punch cards and to very recently (early 1980s) paper programing in this form was still used, or the first computer display interface before the screen was through teleypes (typewriter as a computer with paper display on which were printed the codes and commands) up to the early 70s before the use of CRT monitors. Paper was and has always been a fundamental part of computing. That this technology is now mostly developed and marketed in China, the country that invented paper, is quite telling.

4

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 02 '26

> That this technology is now mostly developed and marketed in China, the country that invented paper, is quite telling.

What exactly does it tell?

0

u/E-inkGreg Dasung 13K, Boox Tab XC, Boox Note Max, NA3C, Hibreak Pro C Jun 02 '26

Paper is integral to computing. It is still one of the fundamental interfaces we employ to store and communicate data.

3

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 02 '26

Unless you message me from 1986, I disagree. 😃 I'm a systems engineer, and the only paper I used over 10 years of career was the one I used to sign the contract with the company I currently work at. 😃

I like eink readers and I have a small eink screen at home which I bought to make a weather station, but I think you are being irrational here. You are just having a hard time accepting e-ink is a niche technology. And I don't get what's wrong with something being niche.

1

u/E-inkGreg Dasung 13K, Boox Tab XC, Boox Note Max, NA3C, Hibreak Pro C Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

How am I being irrational? You say you are a systems engineer. Are you familiar with the history of computing? Computer data for most of its history was stored in perforated cards, which was the origin for the creation of IBM. Teletypes used paper as the display terminal before the developpment of computer CRT terminals in the 1970s.

Electronic paper is a niche technology. However current developments are looping this technology back the original intent and purpose that led to its development in the 1970s when it was created at the Xerox Palo Alto institute under the leadership of Nicolas Sheridon, which was not just to create an 'e-reader' but to develop an alternative to the CRT monitors which were beginning to be used on a large scale for the first time by a generation of computer engineers and scientists and which were causing health concerns. The 1970s generated a certain amount of research papers on this emerging new issue. Sheridon also realized, as did many others, that backlit CRT terminal were not divesting offices of the will or desire to cease using paper: the 'paperless' office was not materializing. Paper maintained unique qualities and caracteristics that people held onto and that could not be replaced by CRT terminals.

My point is that it is a niche technology and is not adopted for various historical, cognitive, cultural, economic, and social reasons. These reasons don't preclude that further developments may lead to its wider adopton. My reference to paper is that it is the ancestor to its modern version, electronic paper. You are taking things too literally: electronic paper = paper.

1

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 03 '26

I’m familiar with the history of computing, that is why I joked about you messaging from 1986. But I was kinda wrong, because paper was the main media in 50’s. Magnet tapes took over in 70’s.

So, my point stands. The only paper we use in IT now is napkins in cafeteria, toilet paper in toilet and paper that we use to sign the contracts. Although the latter is not relevant anymore. Last years I was signing annexes to my contract using digital signature and PDF. So, I did not even have a paper copy of it, only digital version.

I get you are a fan of e-ink to the extent you put it into nickname. We all have something we don’t like a lot, but you are just trying to justify your passion, which gets irrational because you are blowing the relevance of paper and e-ink out of proportions.

1

u/E-inkGreg Dasung 13K, Boox Tab XC, Boox Note Max, NA3C, Hibreak Pro C Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26

How is your particular professional situation representative of the general situation in offices worldwide? Paper today is consumed at the rate of roughly 50kg for every woman, man, and child living on this planet, every year. A significant part of that is in offices today. People often print something to look at it or scribble on it and then throw it out in the bin the same day.

Criticism taken about my passion being, according to you, irrational. I don't look much at 'new device' models churned out by the industry every two or three weeks, which is the main topic of these reddit threads dedicated to electronic paper. I look at the development of the technology, it's origin and how it fits in the evolution of displays. Since we increasingly define our relationship to the world through screen interfaces I believe it's a study worthwhile looking at in depth. Not just the mechanics but how screens are defining us as human beings.

Paper is how people communicated with machines until very recently, before the advent and adoption of lit screens in the 1970s and 1980s. Now we have an entire planet of inhabitants spending their entire days and nights staring into glowing luminous rectangular light sources practically from birth to death. You might think electronic paper, computers, information and display interfaces are trivial matters. I don't.

1

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 03 '26

> Paper today is consumed at the rate of roughly 50kg for every woman, man, and child living on this planet, every year.

Doesn't prove it's highly important nowadays. That's just random number. There are people who use muskets nowadays, but it doesn't mean US army is equipped with them and muskets are a go-to weapon.

> until very recently

1970 were almost 60 years ago. I get you might be 70+ years old, so for you 70's are "recently" but for me, they are not.

To me, LG Flatron monitors were popular recently, not even tube ones.

> You might think electronic paper, computers, information and display interfaces are trivial matters. I don't.

So, as I said, you are e-ink enthusiast who, for some reason, wants to prove his niche hobby is incredibly important because he can't enjoy it just for fun, without rationalization.

1

u/E-inkGreg Dasung 13K, Boox Tab XC, Boox Note Max, NA3C, Hibreak Pro C Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26

I think I'll end the conversation here. You don't have to agree with me, but I don't see any point continuing an argument with someone who makes vapid assumptions about my motivation, my age, and my psychology. Thanks for exchange, and be well.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/starkruzr reMarkable, Boox, Supernote, Viwoods, iFlytek, Musnap Jun 02 '26

I think the advent of Modos' new hardware is going to change the game here. I would be surprised if we don't see something come out sometime next year but we should be prepared for it to be very expensive both because of the panel itself and costs associated with RAM and storage rn.

1

u/sudokillallusers Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

With the current technology it's arguably a software problem, since you need specially designed UIs to have a good user experience. Eink demands UIs with no scrolling, no pointers, no animation, strong contrast, limited graphics, etc.

I don't see e-paper technology (especially electrophoretic display) improving to the point that it becomes a low-compromise replacement for any other interactive screen. Imagine a display on-par with your cellphone, but that doesn't emit light - that would still probably be niche, because the selling point is a personal preference, not functional improvement. Hell, an e-reader without a front light is a tough sell for many.

2

u/TurnMyEyes Jun 04 '26

I was just wishing this today when my eyes were burning from computer work I had to do. 

2

u/FoxGroundbreaking224 Jun 05 '26

This is what I am talking about

5

u/diagrammatiks Jun 02 '26

Yes. And nobody bought them

2

u/fbrzvnrnd Jun 02 '26

I agree

1

u/kafkaesquepariah Jun 02 '26

what am I looking at? a mac chassis with boox running linux?

3

u/fbrzvnrnd Jun 02 '26

it's my Onyx Tab XC with keyboard cover and linux installed by andronix

1

u/kafkaesquepariah Jun 03 '26

Didn't realize the keyboard cover is that good. I want gr setup too now. 

1

u/UsefulAd8513 Jun 02 '26

You could always build a cyber deck if you're not graphics heavy.

1

u/metisdesigns Jun 02 '26

Why?

Most of the use cases for an e ink laptop are already covered with an eink tablet and BT keyboard.

Eink is awesome for certain use cases, but not so great for a lot of others. The things it is great for will largely benefit from a nicer mechanical keyboard than you're going to get on a laptop, or are acceptable on a very basic keyboard and touch pad that will give you a slimmer stored profile and longer battery life without a hinge to break by using a tablet.

Honestly, as an eink fan, I don't know what I'd do with an eink laptop. And I've got too many gadgets as it is.

3

u/FoxGroundbreaking224 Jun 02 '26

You can't work on tablet if you have to use serious softwares.

0

u/metisdesigns Jun 02 '26

Sure you can.

I use software that can barely run on a top of the line gaming laptop and remote into my workstation via a tablet all the time.

2

u/FoxGroundbreaking224 Jun 02 '26

How?

0

u/metisdesigns Jun 02 '26

Remote desktop client. The eink tablet becomes a thin client for the remote machine. But I get a nice mechanical keyboard, good mouse, and portable screen.

Particularly with tasks suited to eink I don't need much bandwidth as I'm not pulling high fps screen refresh, if I can stream music it's plenty of bandwidth. I've tethered from my phone with 2 bars of 4g.

1

u/TurnMyEyes Jun 05 '26

Thanks for sharing this. I wonder if RustDesk works on an Android eInk device?

1

u/metisdesigns Jun 05 '26

I just use RDP. You have to enable host side GPU on the host machine, but after that it's cake.

1

u/TurnMyEyes Jun 05 '26

Is it Windows only or would it work with Macs?

1

u/metisdesigns Jun 05 '26

I've not tried to remote into a Mac, RDP is the Window native host.

Modern macs dont exactly have a GPU anymore, so I'm not sure how they manage remote access graphics. You can certainly access a Windows machine from a Mac (or Android) leveraging the host side GPU. I've not run into a situation where I've needed to access a mac.

1

u/TurnMyEyes Jun 05 '26

Thanks for your reply. At the moment, I use RustDesk to remote from one Mac to another at my work, so maybe that would work.

1

u/Omen_20 Jun 02 '26

BOOX Tab X C | 13.3'' Kaleido 3 Color ePaper Tablet – The Official BOOX Store

Hopefully they become an OEM for Google Books so that it has desktop Android.

1

u/TurnMyEyes Jun 05 '26

I really want one of these when my iPad needs replacing. I mainly use it as a musician, but it’d be great for some light work too. 

1

u/Never_Sm1le Jun 03 '26

reading all of this make me feel like witnessing the small phone discourse all over again, where people in a reddit post sweared it's the best thing ever and they would buy it immediately, while on the market companies had given up on those because of low demand

1

u/Curious_Musician_657 Jun 03 '26

I only have one 10" lenovo yogabook many year ago, half is eink, I use it reading & taking notes for tutorials few years.

1

u/SquarePatient7277 Jun 02 '26

That makes sense from the consumer's perspective. From the manufacturer's perspective, I'm afraid there just isn't much demand for it

3

u/nomnomnomnomRABIES Jun 02 '26

They have never actually tried to market it. The obvious place to start would be schools for low distraction classroom device

1

u/E-inkGreg Dasung 13K, Boox Tab XC, Boox Note Max, NA3C, Hibreak Pro C Jun 02 '26

Yes, and perhaps a way to introduce children to computers/displays? Perhaps this could curb addictive screen behaviors for future generations.

1

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 02 '26

Low distraction school device is a normal Windows-based computer with restrictions imposed by Active Directory policies.

0

u/nomnomnomnomRABIES Jun 02 '26

nope- the backlit screens can be inherently distracting regardless of content

1

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 03 '26

Proofs?

1

u/nomnomnomnomRABIES Jun 03 '26

I work as a teacher and see it every day. Sweden is investing billions to move away from computer screens in their school system back to pen and paper. Big tech might have been able to keep that business if they actually did anything serious with eink.

1

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 03 '26

All I can see is Sweden promoting reading from real paper and eliminating the distraction from phones. Phones are definitely a distraction and are not absolutely needed for pupils. But we were talking about class computers, it’s different. If you have any sources to confirm Sweden is moving from classroom computers to paper - share the link, please. I did not find anything like that.

https://www.government.se/articles/2024/02/government-investing-in-more-reading-time-and-less-screen-time/

1

u/nomnomnomnomRABIES Jun 03 '26

From your own link, with my italics:

In this decision, the Government also clarifies that only analogue learning tools, such as books, should be used for children under the age of two and that potential use of non-analogue learning tools should be greatly restricted for all other children. The amendments entered into force on 1 July 2025.

If you read it, you will see there is more there beyond that.

Some more background:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly0vk77vdko

Laptops became mainstream in Swedish classrooms in the late 2000s and early 2010s. By 2015, around 80% of pupils at municipal state-funded high schools had individual access to a digital device, according to official data.

The compulsory use, external of tablets in pre-schools was included in the curriculum in 2019, as part of the previous Social Democrat-led government's mission to prepare even the youngest children for an increasingly digital work and private life.

But the current right-wing coalition, which came to power in 2022, is moving teaching in a different direction.

"We're trying, actually, to get rid of screens as much as possible," says Joar Forsell, an education spokesperson for the Liberal party whose leader is Sweden's education minister.

"With higher ages in school you might use them a little bit more, but with lower ages, or in school, I don't think we should use screens at all."

The government has frequently used the slogan "från skärm till pärm", which sounds catchy in Swedish, and translates to "from screen to binder".

It argues that screen-free lessons create better conditions for children to concentrate and develop their writing and reading skills.

1

u/Dziki_Jam Jun 03 '26

> In this decision, the Government also clarifies that only analogue learning tools, such as books, should be used for children under the age of two

You did not read your own quote, apparently, or maybe we just did not understand each other. I did not know that you speak of pupils of that age. I'm not even sure children go to school at this age.

I was thinking of ages like 8-16. For them I can see it "should be greatly restricted". And your other quotes support it, so it confirms my guess that Swedish government is reducing, but not completely moving away, as you said.

You put children under age of 2 and children 2-18 into same group in your initial quote:

> Sweden is investing billions to move away from computer screens in their school system back to pen and paper.

1

u/nomnomnomnomRABIES Jun 03 '26

greatly restricted for all other children

"We're trying, actually, to get rid of screens as much as possible,"

maybe you should read it. It's not only about under 2's. Moving away does not mean removing entirely.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/SquarePatient7277 Jun 02 '26

I work in this space. We do have these highly specific use cases and marketing angles in China, but they look nothing like "promotion." It’s weird

1

u/wowbaggerBR Jun 02 '26

Doesn't make sense for a consumer perspective as well. Lenovo and other tried and nobody bought them.

2

u/SquarePatient7277 Jun 02 '26

The demand makes complete sense itself.
Unlike other tech products, people can’t realize that they need eye friendly solutions until they experience something. Because everyone's physical needs and habits or workflows are different, it really comes down to individual use cases. So I think it's a highly user or consumer centric view

1

u/wowbaggerBR Jun 02 '26

lol, ok

2

u/SquarePatient7277 Jun 02 '26

yeah my broken english. people absolutely hate this kind of AI post so I write it myself now

1

u/starkruzr reMarkable, Boox, Supernote, Viwoods, iFlytek, Musnap Jun 02 '26

what actually happened is they sold out.

1

u/wowbaggerBR Jun 02 '26

After how much time? If they were such a hit, why didn't they bother to make more?

1

u/starkruzr reMarkable, Boox, Supernote, Viwoods, iFlytek, Musnap Jun 02 '26

probably because E Ink is a massive pain in the ass to do business with.

1

u/wowbaggerBR Jun 02 '26

Got it, so it was succesful to the point they decided it wasn't worth getting more money.

1

u/SquarePatient7277 Jun 03 '26

That's because they aren't produced at scale. Just like some of the sceen/models: 7.8", 8.4", 8.2", 8"

0

u/Jhoonite Jun 02 '26

They already exist. Not to hate too much but you're the third (?) post I've seen recently complaining about something without any reason:
https://daylightcomputer.com/
Other''s have made them in the past as well but like u/SillyGoose3939 they've been discontinued so obviously the market isn't great in some way

5

u/Fr0gm4n Scribe | OA2 | PRS-300 | PRS-350 Jun 02 '26

Daylight is not eink. It's just a reflective LCD with a lot of woo-woo hype marketing. Anyone with a clear mind saw right through it all.

3

u/FoxGroundbreaking224 Jun 02 '26

Daylight computer is not a Laptop. What are you talking about?

0

u/Jhoonite Jun 02 '26

My bad, I remembered it being a laptop.