The Daylight DC-1 is an e-ink pill with out the e-ink

The Daylight Laptop Firm’s first product, the DC-1, is an Android pill with an uncommon twist. It makes use of a proprietary show know-how known as “Dwell Paper,” mentioned to imitate the e-ink shows on gadgets just like the Amazon Kindle with none lag or flashing. Meaning whereas it is monochrome, it operates at 60 frames per second, and may run nearly any app that works on Android, together with issues like Spotify and Google Docs.

The pill’s 10.5-inch, 1600×1200 display screen does have a backlight, however one which intentionally omits blue in an try and be softer on the eyes. You’ll be able to swap off the backlight solely when you’re in direct daylight. The display screen additionally makes use of a matte panel with a textured floor, designed to copy the texture of paper. A bundled Wacom stylus would not have to be charged, because it’s purely passive.

Below the hood is a MediaTek Helio G99 processor paired with 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and stereo audio system. Which may not sound like a lot, however the DC-1’s customized model of Android 13 — Sol:OS — is intentionally minimalist, largely supposed to focus you on studying, writing, and notetaking, as you’d count on. The pill even has Kindle-style page-turning/customizable motion buttons. Different conveniences embody Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, a microSD slot, and a USB-C port. The machine is powered by an 8,000mAh battery, which Daylight says ought to final days on a single cost.

When is the DC-1 launching?

Daylight is taking pre-orders for the DC-1, however solely in batches, and the primary two — delivery in July and August — are already bought out. If you wish to get in on the September batch, you possibly can pre-order a Founders Version mannequin now for $729. A material case must be included within the field someday this fall. Notice that whereas some images present a keyboard accent, this is not bundled — it is really a separate Logitech product. You may have to purchase your individual Bluetooth keyboard.

Clean efficiency has been the hardest problem with real e-ink. Whereas framerates have improved, e-ink is determined by electrically charged capsules that “freeze” in place for every body. This eliminates energy consumption for static photographs, and is simpler on the eyes, however makes it inherently slower than applied sciences like LCD or OLED. That is why it is used primarily with e-readers and notetaking gadgets, since framerate would not matter while you’re a guide or PDF doc. Experiments with telephones, laptops, and standard tablets have but to realize a lot traction out there.