I truly like this device. The in-hand feeling is surprisingly great, particularly the rubbery back. I love the e-ink screen, though I wish we had the ability to manually refresh the screen because ghosting is a bit of an issue. So, here are some thoughts:
The good
- I love the OS and the Mudita UI. The UI language isn’t being praised enough, IMO. I own quite a bit of e-ink, including the Supernote, and Mudita is the only company that I feel has put a lot of thought into the UI language. It’s beautiful while maintaining minimalism and practicality. I wish I had coding knowledge so I could create my own apps in the Mudita language.
- The GPS on my phone has yet to work. I first thought it was broken, but after research, I now know that you need to be outside for several minutes for the GPS to kick-in (it has yet to do so for me, which could be a device issue at this point). Mudita needs to include this information when a user first opens the Maps apps or Weather app. Otherwise, many are going to think they have a faulty device.
- I wish we had an option to have the lock screen be an always-on-display. I’m spending too much time unlocking the phone to see what notification mysteriously beeped. It would be nice to see that without constantly reaching for the phone. It would also be nice to to always see the time and date and control the media without having to press the unlock button every time. At least give users that option.
- I wish we could have a notifications center. There are a few apps that I have that I really need to see notifications for; my only option thus far is to use InkOS for that functionality. Again, at least offer users that option. I feel like sometimes dumb phone companies refuse to provide users the basics (such as notification center) without acknowledging how impractical that is for many users, especially in 2026.
- It would be great if the media widget would be work for other apps, such as CalmCast. It would make the experience more seamless.
- It would be helpful if North American users could have the date in U.S. format (e.g., “Tuesday, April 7,” and not “Tuesday, 07 April” as it is now) throughout the OS, such as on the lock screen, widgets, calendar, and etc.
- I wish the calendar app would be more robust, such as being able to sync it with iCloud mail or at least Google. I also wish we could have more granular control of the time selection when adding an event; only having 15-minute increments don’t work for all situations, particularly for certain appointments. Additionally, having just a 5-minute reminder option doesn’t help at all; other options such as an hour or two before the event or the day before or morning of the event would be nice.
- I’m using the InkOS launcher right now because the Mudita launcher is a bit too restrictive. I wish we could customize the two apps on the home screen rather than being forced to have just the Phone and SMS apps as our only two options. Folders would be nice to have in the apps section.
- One glaring app that I’m missing is a checklist app as I use one often. I’m sure Mudita could make a nice one. Folders and a reminders option would be great in the app as well. A notification option (like in the Calendar app) would be helpful as well for items with a due date.
- I’m using KOReader, but I would use the provided reader app instead if we had the option to (1) left-align the text instead of just having text justification, (2) have bold text, (3) have a folder option on the home page, and (4) having a “Currently reading” status in the filter. I read quite a bit of books, and the current app implementation provides no organization.
- A sudoku app in the Mudita UI language would be nice!
- Also, I’ve already addressed this with Urszula, but it would be nice to have an easy, seamless way to create icons for sideloaded apps that match Mudita’s app icon language.
The bad
- Honestly, just security concerns. * I’ve already wrote a post about my concerns with the phone being on Android 12. Mudita, we need further transparency about this issue. Will you update the OS to Android 13 or higher so this phone and sideloaded apps stays extra secure?
- Also, we definitely need further clarification as to * when the webview will be updated.
I really like this device. I don’t want to return it. The only reason I would do so if my security concerns aren’t addressed.