Firstly there are lots of things that are great about this little device, so thank you. However there are some serious oversights/unfinished parts which I would like to see change.
Apps should be able to be added to home screen and reorganised.
Apps should be able to be reordered in the app list.
Basic gestures such as double-press power button should be available and customisable to streamline use. I would set mine to quickly switch backlight on/off.
A battery percentage indicator in the top bar would be nice.
The symbol showing H+, 4g, 5g etc would be useful also.
Custom lock screen instead of the large Mudita logo and lettering. Even being able to remove the little padlock and arrow symbol would be enough for me…
Power button should require a proper press to unlock so that accidental unlocking does not occur every time your hand touches the phone’s side.
4 digit pin should be an option. I want my phone secure but I am not concerned with the additional security of two more digits.
And the biggest one for me:
Notifications of sideloaded apps should be able to be displayed on the lock screen. I have read the other posts where this is described as a deliberate feature, however if this were the case then the missed call and SMS notifications would have been also omitted. It should be a discreet symbol showing the app name or logo and that’s all that is needed.
There are other issues such as completely non-functional music player etc, however I don’t really care or want to see the dev team wasting their time developing these apps when they are already out there and can be sideloaded, whilst there are more glaring issues with the device.
I couldn’t agree more. I could totally live with the Mudita logo on the lock screen, if only that lock and arrow didn’t completely ruin the look. It’s so unnecessary!
I disagree with that. I think the opposite is true: The logo should go, the padlock and the arrow, or rather the padlock without the arrow (the latter is superfluous), should stay, as it servers its purpose of indicating the side unlock button. Or simply: Everything should go.
+1 Everything should go. Only the lotus flower logo is something I wouldn’t mind staying, I don’t want to read “Mudita Kompakt” all the time on the screen
Yes, only the flower logo serves no purpose, the padlock does.
More importantly, however, the SMS app, which has issues / bugs, and the phone app with contacts are finally fixed — the essential ones, since it is a phone after all. Phone, SMS, please!
@schmudita Hi, thank you for taking the time & sharing your feedback.
You’ve raised some very valid points, and I’d like to address a few of them:
Home screen customization & app reordering: These are both features we’ve received multiple requests for, and they’re on our radar. We want the interface to remain simple and distraction-free, but also intuitive and flexible enough for users who want more control. I’ll be sure to pass your thoughts along to the UX team.
Gestures like double-pressing the power button: That’s a great suggestion & I will pass this one. Also, our team is working on improving the Fingerprint sensor, which others have also mentioned.
Battery percentage and network type indicator: You mentioned 5G- Mudita Kompakt does not support 5G, but it does support 4GLTE. I don’t know what the experience is of other users- but I see the network type indicator. I have to be honest- I’m in a good service area, so I see LTE (which is 4G) almost all the time. I don’t recall NOT SEEING it.
I’ll ask about the battery indicator (I’m thinking you’re looking for the same thing you see in a smartphone- info on the top line).
Lock screen customization: We’ve kept it minimal by design, but we hear you (and you’re one of the many people who have mentioned this ) . Our team is currently exploring ways to offer more flexibility without compromising Mudita’s clean aesthetic.
Power button sensitivity & PIN options: We’re aware of the accidental unlocks some users have reported, and the suggestion for a shorter PIN has been passed down to the team (I’m waiting for an answer).
Notifications for sideloaded apps: This is a very nuanced one. Our decision to limit lock screen notifications was guided by our goal of encouraging mindful tech use, and not just replicating smartphone behavior. That said- it’s not always simple with sideloaded apps, because they don’t always function the same way as they do on smartphones. I will definitely bring this feedback to our team and ask for some clarification.
Built-in apps like the music player: Your perspective here is completely valid. We are currently in the process of refining the music player and we agree that getting the basics right is key.
Again, we’re grateful for your engagement with the Mudita community & we do plan on sharing our roadmap, so our community can be informed about all the updates and when to expect them.
Oh yes, personal preference. What informational value does the logo have, and what does the padlock symbol with the narrow bar at the edge of the screen have? Minimalistic means, among other things, omitting superfluous elements, limiting them to the bare essentials. Is a logo on the device, on the screen, essential? No.
The device is advertised as minimalist – hopefully, that doesn’t also refer to the effort involved in developing its software.
I’m out. Please forgive my little dig at obvious problems. There are great things about the device, like outdoor readability, Offline+ switch, form factor, the reduced settings (A., G., M. are becoming increasingly tedious), omitting things in general, etc.
I think Michal Kiciński replied somewhere last month that they overlooked ditching the product name from the lock-lock screen he’s not a fan either and so it’s looked after.
I don’t have any hard feeling here but yeah, the logo might be of personal preference (like logo on polo shirts or cars), someone might not give a damn about phone name on the screen (I am going to remove it when possible but again - no hard feelings). The padlock could be potentially useful as a reminder if someone presented this phone to someone elderly.
To sum up - possibly pleasant to someone, barely informational to anyone, possibly off-putting to someone.
It kinda shows that how we understand “minimalist” can also slightly vary coming from different worldviews. I remember a thread here where someone insisted that any phone that uses any data is a smartphone (so that would apply to plenty historical dumbphones as well).
I fully agree. The logo has no value for customers. It had value mostly for the developers, who were proud to develop such a nice device, but I completely agree. Soon it will be gone ;-). By coincidence, it had some value for PR purposes as it appeared in many video reviews, but this wasn’t consciously planned ;-).
However, regarding the padlock, I kind of disagree. It just shows where the unlock button is located. For some people, it may have value, and I’m not thinking only about my 80+ parents
Regarding the padlock, I completely agree. My subordinate clause on that is misleading without considering my previous replies. I chimed in on this topic because I disagreed with removing the padlock but keeping the logo.
However, the logo doesn’t bother me; at least it’s sightly. For me, the Kompakt’s phone and text messaging apps are the most important things right now, and I hope these are improved and the issues resolved soon. (Group Messaging is not an issue for me; I do not use it.)
I think especially the ability to turn on/off the backlight using the power button would be nice. I use the Kompakt mostly without backlight, but when I want to know the time at night, I first have to turn on the lights because I cannot find the backlight controls in the dark.
Accidental unlocks are a problem for me as well. I have already called my girlfriend once by accident due to this. I was very confused when I heard her voice knowing she is 300 km away from me…
Apart from that, I would love to see some refinement in the included apps, e.g. adding a Timer, it’s a bit unnecessary having to sideload that.
Thank you for posting this! I often leave the backlight enabled because I always fail at enabling the backlight in the dark. My guesses in the dark at where to tap on the screen always fail.
Leaving it on the lowest brightness seems like a decent workaround. Not burning much extra energy for the little amount of time I’m actively interacting with the phone but plenty bright when it is dark enough to need it. Granted, I’m not using it as a ereader either so understandable to not want to do this if you’re actively reading material on it for that long.
) . Our team is currently exploring ways to offer more flexibility without compromising Mudita’s clean aesthetic.
