Notes on E-Paper Display Computers
For More Than Just Reading
This one’s not a tip, it’s my notes on something I’d be interested in that I can’t seem to find:
A low-powered Linux laptop with an e-ink display, that I could use for long-form writing or coding.
Why?
- Sunlight. OLED screens look great until you try to read them in bright sunlight. Especially if they’re glossy. My work MacBook is almost unreadable on a clear day, even in light mode with the brightness turned way up. The reflection of the sky is still brighter than the display.
- Battery life. Active displays are a huge battery drain. E-ink displays only use power when they change.
- General-purpose. Not just an e-reader. Not just a word processor. Something I could use for writing, for programming, as a terminal to SSH into a remote computer. Something I can install third-party software on, maybe even an IDE. Linux would be ideal. Android might do for some of it.
- OK, almost general. I wouldn’t expect to run games or videos on it, so the low refresh rates wouldn’t be so bad. Black and white / grayscale would be fine too. I’d figure on mostly text, some drawing.
There’s a strong overlap with the WriterDeck concept, but that’s focused more on eliminating distractions. I want to be able to to more than just write, under a wider array of lighting conditions.
What I’ve Found So Far
- Tablets intended for hand-written note taking (like the reMarkable or BOOX’s various lines)
- Higher-end laptops where the e-ink display is an extra (like Lenovo’s swivel designs where you rotate the display to use either an OLED or e-ink).
- Prototypes like the Modos Paper Laptop.
Some of the tablets do have keyboard cases, which would be better than just hooking up a random Bluetooth keyboard, but it doesn’t look like I can just install programs on them, except for the Android ones, which aren’t going to be ideal for things like coding or running build scripts, depending on how well they run Termux.
Tablets
reMarkable is an e-ink note-taking tablet with stylus and optional keyboard. It’s got a dedicated OS and can sync with various cloud services and corresponding desktop/mobile apps. But you can’t install other software on it.
Boox has a whole line of Android-based eInk tablets, some meant for reading (I’ve been quite happy with the Poke3 and now the Go 7 as multiplatform e-readers), some for note-taking (my son saved his allowance and bought one!). They run a customized version of Android, but you can install apps and hook it up to Google Play, Aurora or F-Droid and install just about anything, even a custom launcher. The Tab Ultra C Pro and the Note Max have corresponding keyboard covers with a built-in trackpad, making them the closest things I’ve found actually in production.
Daylight Computer is an Android tablet with a “LivePaper” display, which is LCD-based but targets the same use cases as eInk. It has a Wacom stylus and Bluetooth support, so you can connect a keyboard. (via)
Pine64 is still working on the PineNote, which will be a Linux-based eInk tablet with stylus.
eWriteable is a news and reviews site on eInk tablets and readers.
Engadget: Best E Ink tablets for 2025 updated last year’s article.
Laptops
Modos is an Open Hardware company that wants to build an e-ink laptop. It’s taking a while. So far, they’ve launched (in 2026) an external monitor, which is actually kind of tempting in itself.
Lenovo ThinkBook Twist and similar devices are expensive laptops with a primary OLED screen that swivels and has an eInk display on the back. Aside from being more expensive, it sounds like a durability problem waiting to happen.
A very sparse E-paper laptops category at E-Ink Info.
Other
Freewrite makes dedicated word processors with e-ink displays. They call them “smart typewriters.”
ZeroWriter is a DIY project using a Raspberry Pi 0 (via)
E Ink is the trademarked name for the specific brand that’s also the most commonly used. It looks like e-paper, electronic paper, and e-ink are generic. Not clear about epaper, ePaper, or eInk.
WriterDeck features a bunch of do-it-yourself projects on their site, and some commercial devices like Freewrite and ReMarkable. Again, it’s more focused on distraction-free writing, but some of them do have LCD or e-ink displays. The DIY collection is giving me ideas…