Screens are everywhere now. Notifications popping up, bright colors, endless scrolling. It’s a lot. The TRMNL is different though. It doesn’t want your attention. It actually wants you to ignore it until you need it.
I’ve been using this for a while. It’s not like a Google Nest or a smart hub. It’s just a “calm” screen for your desk or wall. It shows you info when you look, but otherwise, it just fades into the background.
So what is it exactly? Basically, it’s a 7.5-inch e-ink screen. Same tech as a Kindle. It looks like paper and doesn’t glow. It uses zero power to keep an image on the screen. It wakes up, grabs data like weather or calendar from wifi, updates, and goes back to sleep. Because of this, the battery lasts 3 to 6 months.
Here’s what I liked First, the battery. You set it and forget it. I didn’t want to use an old iPad because you have to keep it plugged in and it looks cluttered. This is wire-free. You charge it maybe twice a year.
Also, it’s pretty easy to use. You don’t need to know how to code. You just log into their site and pick plugins. I use the weather and todo list ones mostly. But there’s stuff for Stocks, Google Calendar, news, all that. You can even split the screen to show four things at once.
And honestly, I like that it’s open source. A lot of gadgets become trash if the company goes under. But with this, the firmware is open. If they disappear, you can run your own server and keep using it.
But it’s not perfect The wifi was a bit annoying for me. It uses an older chip that only likes 2.4GHz networks. If you have a modern mesh router that mixes bands, it might struggle to connect at first. I had to fiddle with settings to get it working.
Also, don’t expect it to look like an LCD. E-ink screens have to flash black and white to clear the image. It takes a few seconds. If you put this next to a TV, that flashing every 15 minutes is going to get annoying. Keep it on a side wall.
And you can’t read it in the dark. No backlight. It’s useless at night without a lamp. Great for an office, bad for a bedside clock.
So who is this for? I think it’s for people who want to stay organized but hate distractions. It’s like a digital picture frame for your work stuff.
If you like tinkering, you can pay extra for a “Developer Edition” to write your own code for it. But for most people, the regular one is fine.
One last thing. They announced a new one called the TRMNL X. It’s bigger and has better wifi, but it costs way more and won’t be here until 2026.
But if you want something now, the old model is still good.
