The Daylight DC-1 is an e-ink tablet without the e-ink

The Daylight Computer Company’s first product, the DC-1, is an Android tablet with an unusual twist. It uses a proprietary display technology called “Live Paper,” said to mimic the e-ink displays on devices like the Amazon Kindle without any lag or flashing. That means while it’s monochrome, it operates at 60 frames per second, and can run just about any app that works on Android, including things like Spotify and Google Docs.

The tablet’s 10.5-inch, 1600×1200 screen does have a backlight, but one that deliberately omits blue in an attempt to be softer on the eyes. You can switch off the backlight entirely if you’re in direct sunlight. The screen also uses a matte panel with a textured surface, designed to replicate the feel of paper. A bundled Wacom stylus doesn’t need to be charged, since it’s purely passive.

Under the hood is a MediaTek Helio G99 processor paired with 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and stereo speakers. That might not sound like much, but the DC-1’s custom version of Android 13 — Sol:OS — is deliberately minimalist, mostly intended to focus you on reading, writing, and notetaking, as you’d expect. The tablet even has Kindle-style page-turning/customizable action buttons. Other conveniences include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, a microSD slot, and a USB-C port. The device is powered by an 8,000mAh battery, which Daylight says should last days on a single charge.

When is the DC-1 launching?

Daylight is taking pre-orders for the DC-1, but only in batches, and the first two — shipping in July and August — are already sold out. If you want to get in on the September batch, you can pre-order a Founders Edition model now for $729. A fabric case should be included in the box sometime this fall. Note that while some photos show a keyboard accessory, this isn’t bundled — it’s actually a separate Logitech product. You’ll have to buy your own Bluetooth keyboard.

Smooth performance has been the toughest challenge with genuine e-ink. While framerates have improved, e-ink depends on electrically charged capsules that “freeze” in place for each frame. This eliminates power consumption for static images, and is easier on the eyes, but makes it inherently slower than technologies like LCD or OLED. That’s why it’s used primarily with e-readers and notetaking devices, since framerate doesn’t matter when you’re looking at a book or PDF document. Experiments with phones, laptops, and conventional tablets have yet to gain much traction in the market.