I have a few side loaded that I’ve really enjoyed.
-For looks and launching, KompaktX and Katapult. KompaktX gives me banner notifications, a notification center with shortcut tools like wifi toggles and a flashlight button, and a spot to go in to see recent apps and kill them, and a couple shortcut buttons/actions. Katapult is a launcher that is meant to build off the stock Mudita launcher and adds an extra row of apps to the home screen and some small widgets and more customization. The “why use them” for me is that both help me get to my information quicker. The less time I spend searching for an app or a notification, the less time I spend on my phone.
-Via web browser. It’s a lightweight browser that I use for quick searches like store hours, phone numbers, quick questions, etc. If I want to deep dive into something I make a note of it in the notes app and go on my computer when I’m home later.
-Minimalist. Which is a to-do list with reminders built in if you choose to set one. I do like how the notes app recently added a task list to it however I don’t like how when you clear one it doesn’t move itself to the bottom out of the way and Minimalist does. I also make a lot of lists and reminders so the workflow of this app is much better for me.
-CalmCast by Jacob Moss is a free Podcast app build specifically for de-googled e-ink devices to play Podcasts.
-I use OpenBubbles for iMessage chats. Really just for my friends group chat since no matter what I do, group chat still does not work on my Mudita with Verizon (US). I can send a group chat/start one, but if someone replies to it I never get the message. The problem only seems to be with iPhone users.
-For my Calendar I use OneCalendar which is basic and syncs to my Gcal. Looking forward to the update to calendars with 2.0 and hope it works well so I can ditch this app. It works but it’s pretty slow.
-Same as Spark for my email. I’ve been using it for years on my previous iPhone and on my Mac and it runs very slow but it also works well.
-AroundMe is one just to make quick searches about different businesses around me. Useful if I’m in a new city or town and am looking for somewhere to eat, get gas, coffee whatever.
-Pandora Radio. I ended up dumping Spotify to have Pandora on this phone instead for music. Spotify’s black UI is awful to use on this phone. It’s very laggy and slow. Pandora has a clean white background and works much better. It’s also cheaper per month to use than Spotify so that wasn’t a hard choice. Most of the time when I put music on, it’s a station or a playlist anyways which Pandora is very good at. I’ve recently started collecting CD’s and once I establish a larger music library I’ll start importing them to the phone and cancel streaming services altogether. I’ll probably keep Pandora for streaming stations, but I’ll just use the free version.
-Then I have a few that are just there when I want them like Merlin Bird ID for walks, Venmo, Waze for directions, and a few small games like the NY Times crossword and other word games. I’d love to see more e-ink games similar to the Chess app available. Like checkers or crosswords etc. Great for doctors office waiting rooms when I don’t feel like reading.
I’d love to see an update to the e-reader to at least show page numbers or a function to search for text. I read a lot on the phone but also have a Remarkable Paper Pro Tablet that I read on when I’m home. The Remarkable has a search function so I can just type a few words from the page on my phone into it and it’ll find my place. However if I read ahead on my tablet then I have to tap tap tap away on the pages until I can find my place again.
Personally, I think the e-ink screen itself does a really good job at deterring endless scrolling and video watching, so I don’t mind having a few extra apps on it. I just didn’t want social media on it mostly. I run a small business and still need access to things like Email, Google Calendar, and reminders. The only thing I do really miss is tap to pay though.
I think technology is so embedded in our society now that not having access to certain tools or functions can make life a little harder too. It’s important to find a balance that works for you. I wanted tools without distractions and ads everywhere. The purpose of a tool in general is to make a task easier to accomplish. Whether it’s a nail gun instead of a hammer or a laptop over a phone. That’s a big reason I went Mudita instead of the light phone because I wanted to disconnect and simplify, but also have some additional apps/tools. Plus the e-ink I think is just so cool.
We totally understand.
(plus/minus relatively very very quite precisely)
Besides I already listed 3 