I Want an Apple E-reader

On October 16th, I queued up with millions of others for the iPhone Duo preorder. During the checkout phase, however, I hesitated—I was on the fence between the Duo and 18 Pro—and by the time I decided to take the risk of ordering a $2000, first-generation phone, deliveries were pushed out to January. I cleared my cart and ordered the 18 Pro.

Despite all the trade-offs and concerns (which appear to be justified based on early reviews), the Duo was enticing because it is the closest thing to a device I have wanted for a long time: an Apple e-reader. At a hair smaller than an iPad Mini when unfolded and equipped with nano-texture glass, it looked to be a great reading device. But, it’s missing the defining feature of e-readers—an e-ink display.

I have been a long-time fan of e-ink; I bought the first generation Kindle and have owned multiple iterations of Kindle and Kobo devices since. When it comes to reading text or viewing any static content, e-ink displays are more pleasant on the eyes. The screens don’t flicker or emit light; they reflect ambient light like normal paper. These qualities have the bonus of using less power, and many e-readers are able to go for 10–15 or even more days without needing to be charged. Less power requirements result in lighter devices, which adds to the better reading experience relative to screen size. The paper-like experience extends to writing. In more recent years, e-readers have been popular for note taking and drawing with many devices specializing in this, such as ReMarkable and Supernote. Popular e-reader brands all have devices with pen or stylus support.

But a piece of technology being great does not mean it makes sense for Apple to get involved. For many, Apple’s iPads (or the iPhones) are good enough or even better reading and writing devices. The Retina displays are sharper, making text and images pop in a way e-ink displays cannot replicate.

Then there is the issue of software. E-ink displays have a notable technical limitation—the refresh rate. One of the reasons that e-ink doesn’t drain the batteries as much is because it displays a static state while traditional displays are constantly redrawing what you see even if it appears as if nothing has changed. E-ink uses power to change what is displayed but not to hold that image. There are e-ink based digital signs that can load an image and go without charge almost indefinitely.

This is perfect for text and images. You only need the display to refresh when flipping the page. But, when dealing with videos or interactions, the display needs to refresh constantly. Every modern device has at least a 60 hz display that is able to refresh 60 times per second. The Pro lines for iPads and iPhones are 120 hz. Videos are shot at 24–60 fps, requiring that many refreshes. E-readers are closer to 15 hz. E-ink displays with high refresh rates are available, but due to how the technology works (along with ghosting), they aren’t nearly as smooth as traditional displays, and e-ink has a limited lifespan in regards to refreshes.

Slapping on an e-ink display on top of iOS or iPadOS would be clunky. Day-to-day interactions would feel frustrating, unoptimized third-party applications will not work as expected, and many of the benefits of e-readers (such as high battery life) will not exist on such a device. The flexibility afforded by the OS may appear nice on paper, but it would contribute to the subpar experience. Companies like Boox do something similar by putting Android in their devices, but they serve a more niche audience who understand they need to dig for e-reader optimized apps and are ok trading refinement for flexibility. That’s not the Apple way. Apple would need to commit to an OS centered around e-ink’s strength: reading and writing. But what would an Apple specific e-reader offer that would differentiate itself not only from their own devices but from established players like Kindle and Kobo that have the weight of their large bookstore ecosystem behind them?

Ironically, I don’t think it’s books. Books will have to be a core focus—both in marketing and in features—but Apple has tough challengers there with Kindle, Kobo, and physical books (which many people, including e-reader fanboys like myself, prefer over any electronic device). I think the pitch and the appeal is plugging in an e-ink display onto the refined Apple ecosystem experience.

Besides books, we consume a ton of text-based and “still” content. News, blogs, e-mails, notes, calendar/reminders, work reports, text/Slack/Teams messages, documentations, slideshows, and the list goes on. It would be unsurprising if for a majority of people, it’s a majority of what they do on computing devices. And Apple commits a ton of resources into these areas. They have native applications and first-class services such as Notes, Mail, Reminder, News, and iMessage. Lesser-known features like Safari’s Reading List and Apple’s Journal application fit well into e-readers. Then it would all sync and integrate with other Apple devices you own through iCloud. Devices and an OS centered around these types of applications, optimized around e-ink’s strengths and weaknesses and backed by Apple’s influence and ecosystem could yield a more focused, less distracting experience while not being overtly restrictive. It would be a more intentional device for office professionals, students/academics, readers, and writers.

The chances of Apple getting into e-readers are almost zero. There are no known rumors or reports, and journalists have been good at getting leaks early. But I think we’re closer than ever before in theory. Apple has a new CEO in John Ternus, who is a hardware guy. The company released several products this year that all do something uncharacteristic of Apple. The MacBook Neo, iPhone Duo, and the recently announced MacBook Pro with a touchscreen all encroach on the territory of a different product line—the iPads. More than ever, iPads are sitting in a blurry area between iPhones and MacBooks, and this may get blurrier as Apple will have a harder time justifying iPads without MacOS or MacOS-like capabilities. An Apple e-reader would breathe fresh air into their product catalogue. More important for them, it would give consumers a unique and purposeful second+ Apple device to purchase.

John, I want an Apple e-reader.