Modos Flow Is a Promising 13.3” ePaper Monitor for Portable and Desktop Use
The upcoming Modos Flow is perfect for anyone who has ever wanted an ePaper computer monitor.
I really like ePaper/E Ink displays. Every night for 15+ years, I’ve spent an hour or two (or four) reading on a Kindle, because the ePaper display is easy on the eyes and maximizes battery life. I’ve also spent a lot of time wishing that ePaper displays were more common in other devices, because they’re so good — even writing this article would be better on ePaper. So, I’m pretty excited about the upcoming Modos Flow 13.3” ePaper monitor.
Modos Tech first hit my radar about four years ago when I covered a prototype ePaper laptop they built in the shell of an old IBM Thinkpad, which I loved. I even met with Alexander Soto and Wenting Zhang, with the idea that I might do some work with them (sadly, I didn’t have enough time to devote to Modos). I haven’t heard much about Modos since then, which is why it was a real treat when I saw the Modos Flow page on Crowd Supply today.
Modos Flow is large for an ePaper screen, but small for a desktop monitor at 13.3”. It is portable and you could bring it with you to a coffee shop or library, but I imagine that most users will keep theirs on their desks next to their primary monitors. As amazing as ePaper displays are these days, there are still many situations in which LCDs and OLEDs make a lot more sense. Playing games and watching videos, for example.
But the specs here are pretty fantastic and eliminate many of the issues associated with ePaper screens. The resolution is 3200×2400, at 300 PPI. It has a blazing-fast refresh rate of 60Hz and latency under 100ms. It will support touch and stylus input. It has front lighting and the display will be available in monochrome or color — though the latter will, presumably, dramatically affect that refresh rate.
60Hz is very fast, but actual speeds will depend on the amount of the screen being refreshed and the display content itself. To help make the Modos Flow comfortable for different use cases, there will be for different modes: reading, browsing, watching, and writing. Each will balance quality and refresh characteristics in different ways.
If you’re as intrigued as I am, you can sign up for updates on the Crowd Supply page to get a notification when the campaign launches.