Using E-Ink tablet as monitor for Linux
23 comments
·December 9, 2025niceguy1827
cmrdporcupine
I want one of those but I keep waiting for the price to drop significantly. Seems like it'll take forever.
ChuckMcM
I backed this project: https://www.crowdsupply.com/modos-tech/modos-paper-monitor on Crowd Supply to see how close they can come to a "monitor" experience with an e-paper display.
skeptrune
Ooh, crowdsupply looks interesting. This is my first time seeing it.
disdi
Same here. I saw a demo in Fosdem which was pretty smooth.
jwrallie
I’d really like a Linux laptop with an e-ink screen. I’m well aware of the downsides.
It seems Android tablet with a keyboard or Windows laptop with double screen exist but to live with the limitations of such a screen, nothing would top having full control of the OS interface.
larodi
incredible, isn't it, that no single usable e-paper device is being sold. like no Mac with e-ink, no Surface with e-ink, no ASUS with e-ink, even though this is the best thing an operator can do to his tired eyes.
ablob
I'd wager that the whole modus operandi for desktop environments is not made with e-ink in mind. E-ink fits in a situation where only a few updates are ever required, and completely breaks down for anything requiring higher framerates.
The market might just not be big enough to warrant creating a product.
fragmede
https://shop.dasung.com/products/dasung-paperlike-103-the-wo...
This is that product. A 60 Hz eink monitor, for $340.
knubie
I've tried this setup (and a different setup using a capture card) with a BOOX Note Max but the input latency is just too high to be usable, even for simple cli work.
Are the dedicated eink monitors (like Dasung) better in this regard?
ahamilton454
Reading this on my eink Bigme Hibreak pro :).
hartator
There are directly ekink monitors now.
Dasung 13k color is workable-ish even on MacOS with no tweaks.
RossBencina
The main thing I'd miss with this, versus using an actual e-ink monitor, is the ability to refresh/clear ghosting from a keyboard hotkey.
bee_rider
So it is vim on the eink screen, mostly?
When writing a lot of LaTeX I wished I had an eink monitor. LaTeX already takes a moment to compile. I’d probably want vim on a conventional monitor.
simlevesque
I see btop in the video, I'd like to see a video of btop on that screen.
moneywoes
Any suggested eink tablet with higher refresh that this would work better for?
RossBencina
Many if not all of the current generation Boox devices. Choose comparison category "Refresh Time" here:
https://www.mydeepguide.com/daf-tool
Be aware that Boox runs Android apps. Many other brands do not.
cons0le
I use the Boox 10.3 for reading emails, text-based sites like this, and manga. Its bliss and has replaced 80% of my ipad. The experience of using it outside completely trounces normal screens.
As soon as they make larger, better 60hz panels I will 100% switch all my monitors over. I think making videos look worse is a positive. We don't need doomscrolling. We don't need 60fps react buttons with smooth gradients. We don't need to HDR the entire web. I primarily use text based sites anyways, so eink is perfect for me.
exasperaited
How long will the display last like this?
edent
I've been using an eInk screen for over 12 years - it is refreshed multiple times per day.
It is as crisp and clear as the day I got it.
Admittedly, I'm not trying to run video on it constantly and it doesn't get hot. But eInk seems remarkably durable.
ashirviskas
from 6.7 to 42 would be my guess.
But being serious, I personally have not seen a degraded e-ink display.
Groxx
I've seen a couple minor, older-hardware cases when they've been powered off with something on the screen for years, but that's about it. in theory they can also "burn in" by not clearing the display occasionally (afaict it has something to do with accumulating charge) but most or all of those should clear eventually after cycling a bunch (afaict, though it can definitely persist to a minor degree for dozens of full refresh cycles). extreme ghosting, basically.
they seem pretty durable to me.
Dasung 253 is a 25.3 inch eink display.
https://shop.dasung.com/products/dasung-25-3-e-ink-monitor-p...
I bought it two years ago for over $1800, and I have to say, it was worth every single dollar.
I can read on it, work on it, (kind of) watch youtube videos on it, play (some) RTS game on it. And mine only had 33hz refresh rate, not the latest 60hz.