15 August 2026E-ink productivity app

E-ink mode: easy on the eyes, still easy to read

Stronger contrast, larger type and no motion: an e-ink productivity app that behaves on slower, monochrome screens, so your tasks and calendar are there when a thought pulls you away from the book.

What you can do with E-ink mode

Your choice, on each device. In Settings → Appearance, set Eink display to Auto, On or Off. It's remembered on that device only.
Black on white. Colour washes, background shapes, shadows and blur give way to pure black on white, with solid black lines where the edges need them.
Nothing moves. Animations and transitions are switched off, so a slow screen isn't left redrawing half-finished effects.
Larger, firmer text. Body text and the smallest labels grow a size, and light text gets a little heavier, so it holds up on grey paper-like screens.

Why I wanted Xale to work on my e-ink tablet

Some of my best ideas come as distractions when I'm trying to get through a book on my eReader. I guess the brain wants the distraction, so that was the moment when I needed to entertain that thought, check that task list, and review my calendar.

So I built Xale in a way that's e-ink compatible - works on most e-ink browsers, can be installed as a PWA, and reduces movements and actions to match the frame rate.

Having that tool there and allowing myself to sometimes wander into it, kept me off my phone and computer and gently nudged me back into completing that book.

Rachit, founder of Xale

The ideas behind E-ink mode

A wandering mind is sometimes working

A thought that pulls you away from the page isn't always a failure of focus.

Worth reading: Benjamin Baird and others, "Inspired by distraction" (2012). People who took an undemanding break, one that let the mind wander, came back with more creative answers to a problem they'd set aside.
The usual way: reach for the phone, and lose the rest of the evening to it.
In this release: the thought goes into Xale on the same quiet screen, and the book is still there.

Calm devices deserve calm software

A screen chosen for its stillness shouldn't be filled with motion.

Worth reading: Amber Case, Calm Technology (2015). Good technology asks for the smallest possible amount of your attention.
In this release: no animations, no shadows, no colour to decode.

Contrast does the reading's heavy lifting

On a screen without backlight or colour, clarity comes from contrast and size.

Worth reading: Maryanne Wolf, Reader, Come Home (2018). How we read changes with the medium, and deep reading needs a page that stays out of the way.
In this release: black on white, larger type, firmer letters.