minimal phone can still run apps like navigation and ride-sharing even on its e-ink display

Minimal phone packed with selected apps

Startup The Minimal Company introduces the Minimal, a compact phone with a tactile keyboard and E-ink display that can still run selected third-party apps, including ride-sharing and GPS navigation. Phones with E-ink displays are slowly popping up, hoping to hush down the hustle of the digital screens along with the eye strain and sleep disruption that the bright and vividly colored displays feed the users. The Minimal Phone aims to give users better visibility and battery efficiency but with added touchscreen functionality.

images courtesy of The Minimal Company

E-ink display combined with tactile keyboard

Even if it has an E-ink display, the Minimal Phone still pretty much works like its digital siblings since it comes with SIM capability, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth for calling, texting, and essential email functionality, which are all pre-installed. Apps designed to boost productivity, including a calendar, notes, and basic task management, are also included along with an E-book reader and a simple music player. The Minimal Phone revives the joy of click-clack typing too since it features a tactile, QWERTY keyboard, so the users can feel the buttons they are pressing and hear their clicky sounds, just like in the old days.

the Minimal Phone with E-ink display also revives the joy of click-clack typing with its tactile keyboard

The Minimal Company’s Founder Andre Youkhna took the progressing developments of the Minimal Phone with an E-ink display to Reddit where he answered queries from interested users about his less-glare device. So far, the compact phone is set to be installed with a 4,000 mAh battery that can offer the device up to four days of usage. Since it has an E-ink display, Andre Youkhna believes it can be rapidly charged, reaching 80 percent in just 30 minutes and a full charge in around an hour.

the Minimal phone with E-ink display runs on a streamlined version of Android called MnmlOS

streamlined version of Android for OS

The Minimal Phone is also going to run on a streamlined version of Android called MnmlOS, which can offer an operating system that gives the phone an overall familiar feel to the users all the while still being fine-tuned to reduce visual distractions common in smartphones these days that may seem to bring. This can allow for a user-friendly experience without the complexity and temptation of reverting to smartphones with vibrant displays. The Minimal Phone with an E-ink display is also believed to be built with high-quality, eco-friendly materials, for less frequent replacements, but Andre Youkhna has yet to disclose what materials these are.

close-up view of the tactile keyboard

As of publishing the story, Andre Youkhna says that the Minimal Phone with an E-ink display is touchscreen even if there’s a tactile keyboard, has a backlit screen for visibility in the dark, and can stream music from YouTube Music along with its built-in media player. The design has been finalized, and the manufacturer is now in the research and development phase to build out molds. Its own Play Store will be installed, and a crowd campaign for the Minimal Phone may begin in the first week of February 2024. The team is exploring 5G technology, has not yet indicated their production timeline, and currently sets the price of the phone with an E-ink display at 400 USD.

as of publishing the story, the design team is currently in the research and development stage