Greetings all. I’m astrolander. Here’s my background leading up to why I’m here:
Approximately a year and a half ago, I had the sudden realization that I was suffering from smartphone addiction. Probably to a similar degree that I believe most people suffer from their own smartphone addiction, but it took me a long time to realize how it had been affecting me and my mental state for so many years. Once I figured out how my smartphone addiction was negatively affecting my entire life, I decided it was best to ditch my Samsung Galaxy and I began a year-long research journey into alternate options for my everyday mobile device. I wrote a list of tasks that I had been using my smartphone for, a list of which of those tasks I needed to be able to perform on the go at any given moment, and a list of which of those tasks could be performed on a non-mobile device (i.e. tasks that could wait until I was at home on my PC). Using that information, I took a deep-dive into research on various mobile devices. Dumb phones, flip phones, older used phones, pocket PCs, and minimalist phones. I was almost decided on the Light Phone II until the Mudita Kompakt suddenly appeared on my radar.
The Kompakt checked every box on my final list. It does everything that I need a mobile device to do, and it does very few things that I don’t need a mobile device to do. I quickly made the decision that the Kompakt was the perfect device that I had spent the past year looking for and in my opinion it fully delivered. I have no regrets whatsoever switching over to the Kompakt from my Galaxy. It was simply a good decision.
With all that said, I received my Kompakt at the beginning of September this year and started using it as my one-and-only mobile device right away, so I’ve had at least a full month of everyday use with it by now. I started with Mudita OS K version 1.2.0 and now version 1.3.0 of course. This post is not just to express my love for this device, but to also share my personal list of requests for features/fixes that I and many others would absolutely love to see in future updates. I’m positive some of these requests have already been shared, perhaps several times over, by several other users, but if anything this post will just pile on to previous requests from others and hopefully make such requests a lot louder on Mudita’s radar to prioritize certain things. If at some point in the future, everything on the following list is implemented on the Mudita Kompakt, then in my opinion it will be pretty much the perfect minimalist phone.
Features and Fixes that I would love to see in future updates of Mudita OS K:
System:
E-ink refresh options, automatic and manual
Expanded volume side bar (like on Samsung) that can be clicked to adjust individual volume levels across the system, rather than only adjusting the notification volume, so that I don’t have to go into the settings menu every time I want to adjust volumes
On-screen screenshot indication (like a graphic or pop-up message) to let you know you have just taken a screenshot
Option to show battery percentage number on home screen
Option for a 4-digit security passcode (at least on NA optimized devices)
Option for wi-fi auto-off if not connected to any wi-fi network
Improve the icon visibility of sideloaded apps
Allow re-naming sideloaded apps on home screen
Auto-name photos taken in Camera with a full date+timestamp filename rather than the current “IMG_00001, IMG_00002,” etc. file naming scheme
Add a fast shortcut to open the Camera, perhaps by double-clicking the lock button or a small icon on the main home screen
SMS:
Support for Group SMS (such as starting a group chat) and expanded MMS support (not necessarily video support, but at the very least support for animated GIFs would be a great touch)
Support in SMS app for emoji reactions to messages, as well as a more expansive built-in emoji selection
After opening a chat in SMS app, it always shows the beginning of the chat for a brief moment before then jumping all the way down to the last message in the chat. Fixing this would improve the overall feel of the SMS app for me personally
When sending a message that may incur extra charges by your mobile carrier via SMS, a pop-up message appears asking you to confirm your choice to send the message. Add a “Do Not Ask Again” checkbox to this pop-up message
Improve the overall typing experience with the keyboard. I have to backspace to correct missed keystrokes very frequently and it is kind of a pain to use. I have heard that alternate keyboards may offer a smoother experience, for example Fleksy
(Not something I require but would be nice) Add voice input for speech-to-text, and add swipe typing
Calculator:
I’m not sure exactly how to explain this one. Calculating percentages on my Samsung Galaxy was very intuitive, but I can’t figure out how to do it on the Mudita Calculator. Also the +/- option doesn’t seem to do anything at all. I could use a tutorial to gain a better understanding on how to use this calculator, and some expanded scientific calculator features could be very useful as well. To put this one simply: I would like to see Mudita really build up this calculator from where it is right now
E-Reader:
There is a bug that causes eroded visibility on e-book pages after device lock and unlock. Everything becomes dark and loses its detail. This requires me to press the back button to view my library and then re-open the e-book I was reading
Notes:
Expanded text formatting options, such as bulleted lists and checkboxes
Vastly increase the maximum length of notes
(Not something I require but would be nice) Ability to draw in Notes app
Music Player:
Add folders
Display album art
Add Sorting and displaying of song metadata (this would allow you to sort your albums, sort songs by track number, and allow you to see their album art, duration, and other information)
[As of Mudita OS K version 1.3.0 update, we now have playlists, and that was the only other thing on this part of my list!]
Mudita Center:
When creating backups of Kompakt in Mudita Center, add checkboxes for: [all personal system settings] and [apps] if this is possible. Not really a deal-breaker either way for me
Add option to uninstall apps in Mudita Center
Other:
Make an Etch-A-Sketch app
That about does it for my requests. I feel that most of these requests (obviously not all) are minimal and will vastly improve the overall experience of using the Kompakt. I would absolutely love to see most, if not all of these features be implemented over future updates of Mudita OS K. @urszula and the rest of the team: I would love to know which of these features Mudita has no intent to implement, which of these features Mudita does intend to implement, and which of these features Mudita is undecided on implementing. Thank you all so much for helping me curb my smartphone addiction by making such a fantastic and minimal mobile device.
@astrolander This was such a wonderful read & thank you for taking the time to share your story and this incredibly thoughtful feedback.
We’re so glad to hear that Mudita Kompakt has helped you move away from smartphone dependency and that it fits so well into your daily life. Stories like yours remind us why we do what we do. It’s always inspiring to see how intentionally people are approaching their digital habits and reclaiming focus and peace of mind through devices designed for simplicity.
Your feature list is detailed, constructive, and spot-on in many areas. Some of the things you mentioned are already on our internal roadmap, while others are under discussion or being evaluated for future releases. (And I have to say, “Etch-A-Sketch app” kinda made me smile.) I remember it from childhood, however, I don’t know how it would work on the Kompakt. I’m not sure shaking a phone is recommended But, nevertheless, I will ask the team.
We’ll be sure to share more insights into upcoming improvements as we continue developing MuditaOS K.
For now, thank you again for this kind of feedback. I keep saying it, BUT it really helps us shape Mudita Kompakt’s evolution in a direction that supports mindful, intentional use rather than digital excess.
For anyone reading this who may be interested in the alternate home launcher InkOS by user @gezimos , I want to show that some of the items in the “System” section of my above list are actually addressed by switching to the InkOS home launcher. I have been using the InkOS home launcher for several days now, and it’s been great. So, for each item on my above list that InkOS addresses, I will add a “” next to the item.
System:
E-ink refresh options, automatic and manual
Expanded volume side bar (like on Samsung) that can be clicked to adjust individual volume levels across the system, rather than only adjusting the notification volume, so that I don’t have to go into the settings menu every time I want to adjust volumes
On-screen screenshot indication (like a graphic or pop-up message) to let you know you have just taken a screenshot
Option to show battery percentage number on home screen
Option for a 4-digit security passcode (at least on NA optimized devices)
Option for wi-fi auto-off if not connected to any wi-fi network
Improve the icon visibility of sideloaded apps (this one is kind of addressed in a certain sense in that InkOS is a text-based launcher so there are no app icons)
Allow re-naming sideloaded apps on home screen
Auto-name photos taken in Camera with a full date+timestamp filename rather than the current “IMG_00001, IMG_00002,” etc. file naming scheme
Add a fast shortcut to open the Camera, perhaps by double-clicking the lock button or a small icon on the main home screen
howdy, i am here to add a couple of requests. decided to add it on this forum to consolidate my requests with another’s.
another vote for…
group messaging: i cant access all of the participants in a group message. i click the button but it does not list all participants and i cant easily edit the new numbers into my system.
copy and paste: i cant copy text messages in a group chat at the moment. this left me unable to access a link to even send that link to my computer.
Just now saw this, you are absolutely right. It should have been obvious, and I imagine this is generally how people calculate percentages on most calculators that don’t even have a % button.
The Mudita Calculator app also works with the % button in the exact same way, just type in [your number] x [percentage] [%] [=]. I guess it’s just another way of doing it. I work in retail in the US where we don’t include taxes in the pricing of our merchandise, so you go to pay and it’s at that point when we calculate our taxes. I often have customers asking me how much an item will cost with taxes, so it’s great for me to be able to calculate it at any moment. The Samsung Calculator app did this a bit differently, if I recall correctly you had to type in [percentage] [%] [your number] [=] which made sense as well but I’m glad I now know how it works!
I’ll second the vote for a VAST expansion on the character limit for notes. I’m a writer, and when ideas come suddenly, I need the space to take the notes on my phone. I’ve had to create multiple (ultra-short) notes in the past, which absolutely crashes my brain and flow-state, killing the ideas before I can even get them down properly.
Do you mean the bold text input on top? That’s just the note title, just saying. When you tap below that, you’ll get into the note input piece.
I’d vote for a dashed/dotted line to distinguish that in the app.
First, compliments! I believe deeply in this product. 98% of my generation owns a smartphone. I totally get it - smartphones are fun - but I’m surprised that more people aren’t reflecting on…
~4.5ish hours/day spent on a smartphone
~1 pick-up/10 waking minutes
~1/2 of all pick-ups occur within 3 minutes of putting down your smartphone
Basal attentional resources are expended on ignoring your smartphone when it’s nearby, even when it’s turned off
The average human attention has finally decreased to less than that of a goldfish
Not to mention the other behavioral and mental effects associated with smartphones: depression, loneliness and so on. At any rate, I think we are all in agreement in this forum!
I received my Kompakt a few weeks ago and my iPhone has been in a closet ever since. I’m thrilled with it. There’s nothing else like the Kompakt on the market: e-ink, plus the flexibility of side-loading (but that leash isn’t tooo long given that the Kompakt is de-googled).
Only because I am overall enjoying myself, and feel invested, do I pipe up with a few quibbles…
You can’t receive videos through the native messaging app.
You can take videos, if you sideload something like Open Camera. But you can’t send them through the native messaging app.
I’ve tried sideloading other messaging apps, but starting missing messages due to the crashing of the native messaging app. Some fixes have been reported, but I never found a solution that worked long-term, and ultimately I need a 100% reliable phone. So, back to native messaging app for me.
Whatsapp works fine for this purpose, but I would still like to be able to rely on MMS for all of the above.
When I view files on Mudita Center, I don’t see videos. (Perhaps if I tried saving the videos off to an SD card? Haven’t tried that yet.)
Separate, but related:
Besides the sharing of content that I’m discussing, I’d also like somewhat improved ability to capture content. If I could describe a more perfect device, it would include a speedier camera shutter. (And, if Mudita wanted to include video capture in the native camera app, by all means!) I have a little baby who moves very quickly.
Further into left field:
It’d be nice if I could more readily view the media that people send me once I’m on my computer and hooked into Mudita Center. Maybe messaging on Mudita Center? I think I’ve seen that mentioned somewhere, sometime.
Alternately, color e-ink might solve this. I’d have to think about which I’d prefer…
Thematically divergent:
It’d be nice if I could silence notifications from texts and calls, except for those from a subset of privileged numbers (e.g., allowing for emergencies from loved ones overnight).
Notes and a calendar app that sync.
Any rate, thanks to @Urszula, as well as everyone else here! Part of what I like about this phone is the community, and developers’ engagement with said community.
@calmfruit Thank you so much for your kind words and thoughtful feedback! We’re thrilled to hear how much you’re enjoying your Kompakt and living with less digital noise. I will pass on your suggestions about MMS, camera performance, and notifications to the team.
We truly appreciate your support and the time you took to share your experience with the community.
hiya, im wondering if you would be interested in or have already tried switching over to a digital point-and-shoot for yourself? You could potentially build up new habits for taking pictures completely separate from your phone life and managing files that way, sending via email etc. Would this be too cumbersome?
I am a photographer who became very dependent upon my iphone and amassed around 10,000+ images and videos a year on the phone and created an awful mess of managing that archive. I have already started to depend less on my phone for capturing special moments and want to return to using a separate digital camera.
any thoughts? curious about what didnt work for you if youve tried it already, too!
In addition/replacement to that, I think the battery icon could be a shortcut to the battery menu that we find in the settings (as the date is a link to calendar, and the clock is a link to alarm).
I would LOVE to switch to a digital camera! thank you for reading my long comment and engaging with me on this. 100%, this is on my mind, and I’m paralyzed about what to do
briefly, I don’t like the idea of taking my iPhone back out just for photos. feels like a slippery slope. I dug a 20 year-old digital point and shoot out of my closet. I can handle the lower quality - it’s pretty nostalgic - but it bugs me that the shutter isn’t quick enough to catch my baby in motion. I have an old canon rebel xsi that won’t turn on~ I could take it to a repair shop. it probably just needs a new battery. so my options are, make either of these two cameras work, or go get a new one
thoughts? or, do you have a recommendation for a camera? your advice might be the advice I’ve been waiting for lol
I have a Fuji X series for times I want to take family or other quality pictures. I stay away from camera phones although I’ve used the Kompakt camera more often than I would have anticipated.
I was actually decided on buying myself a new digital point and shoot when I was researching the Mudita Kompakt as my phone replacement! I work at Costco and we have a pretty decent Minolta digital point and shoot that reminds me a lot of the digital cameras I had in the 2000s. This one advertises the ability to record “4K video” but what they don’t tell you is that it will only record 4K video at 10 frames per second, lol. But it’s like 48 megapixels which is really good, and it also has a selfie lens. No Internet connection whatsoever, just like the good old days, you just have to pop the SD card into your computer. It’s only 99.99 USD but… I’m waiting until it goes on sale
But, nevertheless, I will ask the team.
” next to the item.
I have an old canon rebel xsi that won’t turn on~ I could take it to a repair shop. it probably just needs a new battery. so my options are, make either of these two cameras work, or go get a new one
