Got my Minimal Phone about a week ago. It's definitely a niche device, a cross between a e-reader and a smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard. I'll preface this whole "review" by stating that it's not for everyone. For me, though, it's almost perfect as I don't (nor want) to spend all day staring at my phone, doom scrolling, watching video after video, etc. I just need the basics, love e-ink displays and physical keyboards, and this has me covered.
I put each section into spoilers as I didn't want to throw out a full-on wall of text. If I left anything out or if you have any questions about it, just ask.
Overall / TL;DR
It's a solid, well-built device for people who want to minimize distractions and get down to business. The e-ink display is naturally gorgeous, and the keyboard a joy to use. Other than the lackluster camera, most of my gripes can be solved in future software updates.
Specs: https://minimalcompany.com/
I won't spend time going over the specs since they're readily available. Rather, I'll just give my experience with the major features.
Build Quality
Build Quality
Build feels solid but there definitely is a "fragile" feeling to it. It's a pretty thin device, made of plastic, and has corners that seem like they won't take a lot of abuse. That's not to say it feels "cheap" - it doesn't. But it does feel like you'll want to put it in a case (more on that below) and definitely avoid dropping it.
Display
Display
Like any e-ink display, the screen is crisp and easy on the eyes. The refresh rate is also about what you'd expect from and see in other e-ink devices such as a Kindle or a Kobo. The technology is what it is.
Minimal includes a "quick settings" app of their own design that will attempt to increase the refresh rate at the expense of image fidelity, but I've found it to be a bit buggy and leave it turned off.
What I believe it does, when set to either of the "fast" or "extra fast" settings, is only update every 2nd or 3rd line of pixels (not sure if "pixel" is the right word for e-ink, but it will have to suffice). This produces a very grainy image, but does, indeed, increase the apparent refresh rate. What I feel like it is supposed to do, and does at least part of the time, is do a full refresh after the contents on the screen stabilize in order to clear up the display. In practice, though, it doesn't seem to do that; even hitting the manual e-ink refresh button keeps the grainy image. The "fast" setting seems like it clears the image up more often, but not 100% of the time. The "extra fast" setting seems to always keep the grainy image.
So I do see what they're attempting to do here, but it just doesn't work quite right. Yet. This is something I feel they can and will eventually work the kinks out of.
That said, I just leave it on the "normal" refresh rate which keeps the display looking nice.
Other reviews have said they have to hit "refresh" repeatedly, but I've not had that issue. I've also tried to optimize things to reduce the number of things that change on the screen, so maybe that's a difference? It's not that I never have to hit the screen refresh button, but only occasionally.
Of note is that Minimal did so some tweaks to the base Android configuration to maximize performance of the e-ink display:
- Animations are disabled (confirmed in developer options)
- The color correction is set to grayscale
- Navigation mode is set to "3 Button" mode but the on-screen "soft" buttons are hidden (since it has capacative navigation buttons)
- Probably some other subtle config tweaks I may have missed.
Additionally, you will need to say goodbye to dark mode. On an e-ink display, "light" mode isn't the eye-searing problem it is with other displays, so an unusable dark mode isn't much of a loss. While dark mode is perfectly legible, due to the nature of e-ink, it will have to refresh more pixels every time something moves/scrolls. This causes the screen to both update slower and leave more "ghosts" requiring a manual press of the refresh button.
Sadly one place this is unavoidable is in the notification area quick actions. Organizing those was an exercise in frustration since the colors and fill of those buttons are fixed, and dragging things up and down was hindered by the darkness and slow refresh. Granted, organizing the quick actions is always frustrating in Android, but it's even worse here.
Keyboard
Keyboard
I love this keyboard. It took me a minute to get used to it, but that's true for most keyboards on any new gadget. The keys are responsive, have surprisingly decent travel, and a satisfying but quiet 'click' feeling.
I've noticed other reviews calling out the space bar for being "mushy". I can see their point while also not being as harsh in my critique of it. While the spacebar is presented as a 4 key-width single button, it is actually two buttons with a wide keycap. You'll want to hit it on either side rather than in the middle. When you press it in the middle, you're straddling the two keys underneath and hitting neither one fully. Once you get used to that, I've had no issues with it.
Minimal includes a settings app to customize the keyboard. I haven't messed with it too much yet, but one thing I did do was enable the option to switch the alt mode of the voice input button. Normally, to type a period you would need to press Alt+Voice, but enabling that option makes period the default. I appreciated that greatly.
Some common characters, especially the forward slash, are not mapped to physical keys and require hitting the "symbol" button to bring up the on-screen character map. Not a deal-breaker at all, but takes some getting used to. The character map shows where the on-screen keyboard would be with other phones, so it doesn't feel awkward or intrusive, and you can close it with another press of the "Symbol" button.
My only actual gripe with the keyboard is the placment of the Alt and Shift keys. The Alt key is where you would expect Shift to be, and vice-versa. There seems to be a way to re-map those in the keyboard settings app, but I haven't messed with it too much. My first attempt didn't work quite right, and I reset them back to default while I was still playing around and getting it setup to my liking. I'll probably double-back on that later.
Camera
Camera
While I've only taken a few test pictures, the camera on this seems like an afterthought. That, or it's just there to allow scanning QR codes. There are other reviews for the Minimal's camera (none of them particularly flattering), so I'll let those speak for me as well. The main problem is it's incredibly hard to tell if you got a good picture or not because of the e-ink display.
So if you require an excellent camera, this probably isn't for you.
Software
Software
Aside from using the Minimal Launcher as default (more on that later) and a few settings apps specific to the device, the phone runs vanilla Android 14 and has absolutely no bloatware other than what Google mandates (Keep, Meet, YouTube, YouTube Music, et al).
By far, the software is where this phone needs the most work. That's not to say any of it is bad, just a little rough around the edges with room for improvement.
Minimal Launcher
I like the idea of the Minimal Launcher. It's a text-only list of apps with an optional clock and date display. Up to 8 (or maybe 7?) apps can be "pinned" with the rest available by swiping up. It's distraction-free and works very well with the e-ink display. But...that's about it.
It will let you rename apps, but sometimes they'd revert to the original app name. Sometimes my pinned apps would disappear. Sometimes newly installed apps woudln't show up until after a reboot. The launcher's settings panel is supposed to be accessible by swiping left or right on the home screen, but it only registers 4 out of 10 times.
You can install other launchers if you want. At first, I used my old favorite FastDraw but eventually settled on NeatLauncher.
NeatLauncher is what the Minimal Launcher should be, and I kind of wish Minimal would just fund that developer and adopt that as the official one. It does everything Minimal's launcher does, plus more, and is more stable and intuitive. If you're like me and like the idea of the Minimal Launcher, then give NeatLauncher a try.
"Lock" Screen
This quirk caught me by surprise. You would think that when you lock the phone, the lock screen would remain visible on the e-ink display. Maybe it updates the clock every minute, maybe it doesn't, but you'd still think the lock screen would be what's displayed when the phone is in standby.
Nope. It switches to whatever the screensaver is set to. By default, it's the Minimal logo with a white background. It also includes the same but with a dark background and another one with a Panda as alternatives. You can also use Google Photos's screensaver and show images you want.
Okay, so if I turn the screensaver off, it'll show the lock screen in standby, right?
Again, no. If you disable the screensaver, whatever was on your screen last will be what's displayed in standby.
I made a "Screensaver" galery in Photos and assigned that as the screensaver for a while, but when it's on charge, sometimes that causes the backlight to stay on. I also used a clock screensaver, but it doesn't update and shows the time as of when you put the phone to sleep. Not great if you want to just glance and check the time; it won't be right.
It does show the lock screen and notifications as they arrive, so that does fit expectations. If you have the screensaver enabled, it'll return to that after a timeout period (similar to other phones turning the display back off), but if the screensaver is disabled, then the lock screen remains visible.
In the end, I just set it back to the Minimal logo with the white background.
Again, this is a quirk/annoyance that can and hopefully will be addressed in a later software update.
USB-C Port
USB-C Port
The USB-C port is listed as full featured (including video), but I have not been able to get any kind of video output from it. I hooked it to my USB-C dock, and it happily recognized the flash drive, keyboard, mouse, SD card reader, and ethernet port. The phone powered the dock and connected devices just fine, and it properly started charging when I plugged a USB-C charger into the dock. But the HDMI output on the dock never displayed video. I tried also to hook the phone into my USB-C travel monitor. It powered the monitor just fine and detected the USB devices connected to the monitor's hub, but no video.
I'm not sure if this is a software/firmware limitation or the specs on Minimal's website were incorrect about video output. I'm probably going to email support and ask for clarification.
This isn't a deal-breaker for me, but I was hoping to be able to dock it to my travel monitor for more intensive tasks and have it in something of a "Maximal Phone" mode lol.
Call Quality, Data Speeds, and Cellular Performance
Call Quality
I've only done a few test calls with it, but they all came through loud and clear on both sides of the call.
Data Speeds
The radio is only 4G, so that's probably a bit limiting for some people. I knew that going in, but for the use-cases involved with this device, 4G is acceptable for me.
Using speedtest.net in a web browser (which only tests download speeds), I got about 35 Mbps down with what I'm guessing is 3 bars of signal (not that Android's signal indicator is useful in any way).
Cellular Performance and Compatibility
When I installed my SIM card, I got an SMS from T-Mobile that the device wasn't supported and may experience reduced speeds, gaps in coverage, etc. I'm not sure if it's because the radio lacks some bands T-Mobile uses or if it's just because the device isn't in their database and the message was just a "CYA". Regardless, there were no impediments to using it, just that warning text message. It does seem to support all the bands in my area, though. One of my older phones would lose signal when I was downstairs in the basement, but this one switches to the lower 4G band seamlessly.
Cases and Accessories
Cases & Accessories
Cases
Unless AliExpress has some options (I didn't look there), then cases are slim pickings. The official, first-party case is $30 and has the same "ships in batches" delivery as the devices themselves. I sadly opted out of ordering the case assuming I'd find one elsewhere.
Thankfully, I do own a 3D printer and found this case on Printables: https://www.printables.com/model/1336645-minimal-phone-cushy-case
This was the first time I'd printed in TPU, so it took a few iterations to get something usable. The end result is far from perfect, but it's "good enough" until I get better at printing in TPU, some 3rd party cases pop up on Amazon, or I break down and order an official case.
The post photo shows my "best" 3D-printed case. If you think that one looks bad, you should see the reject pile 😂
Sceen Protectors
Amazon does have screen protectors for it, though they're not the tempered glass ones. Will probably pick up a pack of those soon to protect the screen from everyday wear-and-tear.
Tips and Tricks
Tips & Tricks
Launcher
Replace the default Minimal Launcher with NeatLauncher. It's almost functionally identical but better in every way.
- Set Neat's color scheme to Achromic (black and white which looks great on the e-ink display)
- Set the background to transparent (any kind of background image is just "noise" when the screen has to refresh)
Screen Brightness
Note: E-ink displays are illuminated from the front, but saying "front light" sounds weird, so I will call it "backlight". Just in case anyone is feeling pedantic; I hear you, lol, but "backlight" sounds better.
The screen brightness controls could use some help out of the box. While Android and the device do support adaptive brightness, it doesn't take into account that e-ink needs less backlight the brighter the ambient light is. So you'll probably want to leave that off. Hopefully a later software update addresses that.
Minimal's "Quick Settings" app is always accessible by long-pressing the "refresh" button for the display. It's got 3 presets with individual options for screen brightness, color temperature, and keyboard backlight brightness. You can also set custom values and save it to the "custom" slot.
Because I only want the backlight on when the ambient light is insufficient, I found that I was going into the quick settings too often which annoyed me. So I set the brightness to 0 and saved it to the "custom" profile and used KeyMapper to bind the brightness controls to the long-presses of the volume keys. Any brightness above 0 in Quick Settings would act as the minimum brightness when adjusting it with Keymapper. The volume keys also do not "repeat" (holding them down only increases/decreases the volume by one increment), so no functionality was lost by re-mapping them to brightness.
- Install KeyMapper
- Bind a long press of "Volume Up" to increase the display brightness
- Bind a long press of "Volume Down" to decrease the display brightness (will go down to 0)
In the end: Single-presses of the volume key adjust the volume. Long pressing the volume up will increase the brightness 20% (can't find a way to control the increments) while long-pressing volume down will decrease the brightness by 20% or turn the backlight off completely.
Termux
What good is a phone with a QWERTY keyboard without installing Termux, am I right? Out of the box, Termux isn't a great match for the e-ink display because it defaults to white on black. Download the Termux Styling add-on and set it to "black on white" theme and your experiece will be MUCH better.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why spend money on this rather than just uninstalling stuff from a regular smartphone?
I've tried that and failed. What ultimately worked for me was when I bought a semi-dumb phone (Cat S22 Flip) that could only really do my bare essentials effectively. Now that I've cut all but the necessary apps out of my life, I really don't want to go back to a regular smartphone. The S22 Flip is also getting a bit long in the tooth with its Android 11 and no manufacturer support. I've flashed newer GSI-based images onto a secondary S22 I bought, but those have their own quirks and issues that aren't present on a stock device and have proven unreliable as a daily driver. I need a successor to my beloved S22 Flip, and this was the primary contender.
More than that, though, I am beyond tired of the "tall, skinny rectangle" form factor. Phones keep getting taller, skinnier (screen width), and thinner (thickness), and I've reached my limit. I miss my old OnePlus 3 with it's 16:9 screen that didn't feel cramped like the CVS-receipt screens on current gen phones.
This one has a portrait-oriented 4:3 display as well as a physical keyboard (something I miss greatly on phones).
Can it run Doom / play YouTube / etc ?
Yes. But you're not going to want to. The refresh rate is way too slow, and the images get all strobe-y.
What's the battery life like?
Honestly, I don't know yet. It's packing a 3,000 mAh battery which is tiny for a smartphone, but with the e-ink display sipping power, it evens out.
This early on, where I'm still setting it up and just seeing what it can do, I'm probably using more battery than I would under normal usage.
That said, I've been trying to use it "correctly" and have seen pretty decent battery life. Using it as an e-reader, for example, it only draws power when I turn a page (minus any Android background tasks). With the backlight off, I've read 5 or 6 long chapters with the battery only going down a percent or two (which is comparable to my Kobo).
Bottom line is: The less the screen changes, the longer the battery will last. I don't know if it'l get days of battery life with actual usage, but I've never obsessed over that; as long as it gets me through the day with normal usage, and so far, that's what I'm seeing (plus some).
Is it your daily driver?
Not yet. I'm still putting it through its paces, getting to know it, customizing it, etc. Unless my primary device meets a catastrophic end, it usually takes me 1-2 weeks to "provision" a successor. For now, I have my second line SIM card in it, so it's something of a secondary device at present. I also really like the S22 Flip I have now, so parting with it is going to be difficult.
Is there anything you hate about it?
I've got a few gripes and have noticed some quirks with the Minimal-specific software, but nothing I truly hate. If I had to choose one thing, and this might just be an Android thing nowadays and not specific to this device, it's that you can no longer configure a long-press of the power button to turn on the flashlight. All my other phones had that, or something similar, but this one does not. The closest I've come is mapping a long-press of the "symbol" button to toggle the flashlight, but due to not being rooted, that only works if the screen is on.
Can the bootloader be unlocked / Can it be rooted?
No idea yet. The developer option to enable OEM unlocking is available, but that may not mean much. I have not (yet) tried to actully issue the fastboot oem unlock command to see if the bootloader is capable of being unlocked or if it requires a code from the manufacturer. AFAIK, all non-shady rooting methods these days rely on unlocking the bootloader first.
Minimal has stated that they do not yet support 3rd party ROMs, but they do seem like they are open to it down the line (take that with a grain of salt, naturally).
I'm pretty conservative when it comes to modding my phones and never attempt anything without recovery tools and images on-hand. Right now, I do not have access to a stock image to restore if something should go wrong.
