A short story about how I bought this phone, regretted it, then got rid of it, and regretted that too

[victorpure]

Last year, like all of us, I was looking for peace, quiet, and a real life. When I came across this project, I got really excited and ordered the phone in that gorgeous pebble color. After a while the experiments started: other launchers, extra apps that I thought would make my life better — and eventually I even managed to install and use my banking app, Kindle — yes, podcasts — yes! Music, radio, and so on. After a while the honeymoon phase ended and everyday married life began. And that’s when I started noticing various unpleasant quirks of the device. The first thing that jumped out at me was the awful white backlight — oh man, how mad I was at the company, like, how could you release a device that’s frying my brain with that damn blue light, would yellow LEDs really have driven up the cost that much? Why can Chinese brands like BigMe pull it off, but the European company I bet on and trusted — can’t? I should note I’m not the type who reaches for their phone at night like an addict — it’s just that I go running in the evenings and listen to music while I do, and every interaction with the Mudita at dusk is pure pain. Granted, once daytime comes, this little screen and I are made for each other.

Then a point came where I couldn’t stand the black bezels anymore, and I started cursing the manufacturer again: How could you?! — I’d say to myself, shaking my fists — how could you ruin such a clean, minimal, pleasant design like that? Soft-touch pebble-colored plastic on the back, nice and firm to the touch, the perfect size and thickness, the mesh keys, and a 3.5mm jack for my favorite headphones. And then you flip it over and see those black bezels — this little black coffin housing a gorgeous “newsprint” screen. It breaks my heart. Why not just make a version where the bezel and the screen are the same color? It’s such an obvious fix.

Sure, of course I would’ve liked a higher-resolution screen, a better audio chip, or a bigger battery — there’s clearly room for one in that casing — but there’s no point going into any of that, because it was really onl

y the first two things — the backlight and the bezels — that killed the emotional connection between me and the Kompakt.

Then came the breakup — I told myself I didn’t need this. And… I bought an iPhone…

Within a few days I realized it was a mistake, but what’s done is done… Back to scrolling, back to notifications, except now it’s all wrapped in gorgeous design, beautiful materials, and endless colorful ribbons and icons. And somehow you feel more satisfied, because for your money you’re getting a finished product — comfortable and beautiful — whereas with the Kompakt, I kept catching myself having to justify its price.

It’s been a year now since I held the Mudita Kompakt in my hands, and I really miss that feeling. I’ve looked at other “dumbphones” — there are quite a few of them now — but I don’t want to own any of them.

Unfortunately, I can’t afford a big purchase right now (and on top of that I live in a country Mudita doesn’t ship to, which drives the cost up even more) — otherwise I’d buy this wonderful device again in a heartbeat: controversial, overrated to some, underrated to others, but always lovable in its own way.

Thanks to the team for this experience — I’ve been fondly remembering it for a whole year now. Moments like these are what make you feel alive.

[smuch]

On the Kompakt, you were playing the blues. Now you got them, the blues.

[victorpure]

Ha, fair. Traded the blues for the blues.

[solv]

Thanks for sharing - I went through something similar where I owned it for a bit, then sold it out of annoyance and went back to my old phone. Then a year later my old phone broke, so I had another decision to make.

I was on call for work at the moment, so ran to the store and bought the cheapest unlocked phone - some Samsung monstrosity. It was large, there was so much software installed on it, it was confusing to use, and even after I got it all set up it was still buggy as heck. I regretted it immediately. So I ebay’d another Kompakt and returned the Samsung and I couldn’t be happier.

My initial issues with the kompakt were a lot different - primarily software-related, not with the hardware - and those have been fixed by community apps. My needs are pretty simple and I’m just reminding myself that this is pretty good, in terms of what all is out there. Small size, nice screen, headphone jack, decent software that isn’t spooky…

I keep having to remind myself - phones suck, but this is the least sucky phone out there right now, I think.

If you want to turn your iPhone into a focused device, take a look at this.

[sundancermartin]

Backlight brightness is easily solved, turn it down, I have mine permanently set at a smidge under off, it works in pitch dark and saves battery. The bezel is something I don’t even notice anymore. I run the excellent ink os in dark mode and it’s hardly noticeable.
When I first got my Kompakt, I was bothered by some of the things it can’t do, I now see them as a bonus, watching YouTube and scrolling Pinterest I no longer miss,. The more I use it the less I find I need from a mobile phone, even the Kompakt exceeds my needs now, many of my sideloaded apps and most of the stock apps I no longer use, the list of apps I regularly use now is -:
Phone
SMS
Signal
Kill apps
Ink os
Send anywhere
Fossify calendar
Ink bro (emergency use only)
I fell out of favour with my Kompakt after I’d had it about 6 months due to missed texts, this turned out to be due to a fault stemming from settings carried over from my iPhone. After a few months using a Graphene os I returned to the Kompakt
And have never regretted it

[urszula]

@victorpure Welcome back to the Mudita Forum…it’s been almost a year
We’re glad you’re back.

I really enjoyed reading your post and the picture is great too.

We really appreciate you coming back after all this time to share it with us, and especially for sharing the whole story, frustrations, breakup and all.

We know Mudita Kompakt isn’t perfect, and there are things we continue to learn from and improve. That’s why it means so much to hear that, even a year later, the experience of using it stayed with you. Sometimes a device becomes memorable not just because it does everything (hello feature creep), but because of how life feels while you’re using it.

And that last line really got to me: “Moments like these are what make you feel alive.”

Thank you for taking Kompakt along for part of your journey. We hope your paths cross again someday.
Please check out the r/MuditaKompakt subreddit, you might be able to pick one up at a deal.

Additionally, we are running our Back-to-school sale until Sept 30th, so maybe you might be able to take advantage of that.

[zyny]

Hi everyone,

I started drafting a new thread to share my experience with the Kompakt. Still, since this reflection is so overdue—and because Victor’s post resonated so deeply with me—I’ve decided to respond here instead.

Reading Victor’s journey brought back waves of recognition. That cycle of hope, frustration, and ultimately returning to clarity—that’s familiar territory. What struck me most was his honesty about the emotional relationship we form with devices, and how easily it can fray when expectations collide with reality.

My own path with the Kompakt has been longer, more circuitous—almost like a monastic conversion experience, if I may borrow that framing. I had an iPhone for more than a decade before attempting the switch, and it took me a few years to finally make that move. I left the Kompakt at one point, then decided to come back to it. Looking back, I realize I didn’t allow myself enough time and faith in a digital tool that was fundamentally different from what I’d grown accustomed to. The return was justified because I let the adjustment breathe.

I also came close to switching to Fairphone before settling on the Kompakt. Ultimately, I chose to stay the course—and I don’t regret that decision.

Living and working in the southern United States added another layer: the pace of life here, the constant connectivity expectations, the way technology permeates even our quietest moments—it all made the decision to use a minimalist phone feel both more necessary and more difficult.

I spent considerable time weighing the positives and negatives of the Kompakt experience:

On one hand, yes, there are practical friction points. Some of the technical limitations still bother me—the responsiveness of certain features, occasional usability hiccups, and hardware quirks that remind you this isn’t a conventional smartphone. These affect day-to-day practicality in ways you can’t entirely dismiss. I have recently inquired about some of them in my latests posts.

On the other hand, the company’s commitment to listening and improving has been tangible. Many of the early issues have been addressed through updates. More importantly, the philosophical core of what Mudita offers has remained consistent—and increasingly meaningful.

None of this would have felt possible without the support from Mudita’s customer service. I want to give special thanks to Michael, who patiently walked me through this entire journey—from my initial doubts, through my departure, and recently ensuring I stayed on it. Thank you, Michał. Your guidance made all the difference.

What I’ve come to realize is that the Kompakt isn’t just a tool for digital minimalism in the utilitarian sense. It challenges us to carve out a spiritual space in 21st-century life, not by rejecting technology outright, but by engaging with it intentionally—leveraging what technology offers while protecting our capacity to embrace our humanity. This includes having the courage to be present, to connect in ways significantly compromised by default modern behavior, and to rely on one another rather than outsourcing our attention to algorithms and notifications, but taking advantage of those in the ways that enrich our human existence.

I’m grateful for what Mudita has delivered so far, and I look forward to what they have in store for the future. I’d love to see a few practical software additions that would align the device more closely with something like the Supernote Manta in terms of reading capabilities and organizing materials—both books and music. These enhancements would help bridge some of the functional gaps while preserving the minimalist ethos. I must say, though, I like the Mudita display (without any background lighting) much better than Manta’s!

Mudita Lokus - a new Mudita 10.3 e-ink tablet? Locus, Latin for “place”—your designated mental territory.

In brief, Victor’s observation about the breakdown of emotional connection mirrors my own struggle. Yet returning to the Kompakt wasn’t about fixing every flaw; it was about choosing a different rhythm: one that honors slowness, attention, and the quiet dignity of undivided presence.

For anyone else wrestling with similar doubts: the discomfort is part of the work and its challenge! And the payoff—a reclaimed interior life—is worth the friction.

One last question for Victor, since I noticed the earphones in your picture—they look nice. What brand are they?

Thanks to the Mudita team for continuing to listen, and to fellow users like Victor and Michał for their honest reflections.

[kirkmahoneyphd]

@zyny

I want to give special thanks to Michael, who patiently walked me through this entire journey—from my initial doubts, through my departure, and recently ensuring I stayed on it. Thank you, Michał. Your guidance made all the difference.

Three cheers must go to Mudita Customer Support Agent Michał Brzozowski as well as to Urszula! He and @urszula helped me to resolve ordering issues for my second Kompakt, which I received last Friday.

Three cheers also must go to @chadp, the developer of the MK Volume+ app. Chad, thanks only to your MK Volume+ app, I was able to use my new Kompakt yesterday in a speakerphone mode, something that I never was able to do last year with my first Kompakt, simply because the stock audio driver is not configured to maximize what the Kompakt speaker can handle.

I often prefer to use cellphones in speakerphone mode, and your MK Volume+ app now makes it possible on the Kompakt!

Kudos, too, must go to the Mudita design team for the stock Phone app’s easy-to-use during-a-call GUI. Until yesterday, I never paid attention to this GUI because I never used my previous Kompakt in speakerphone mode.

[chadp]

It fills my heart with joy any time I see my little app helping people! Welcome back into the fold!