Modos Flow is a paper-like, 13.3-inch USB Type-C touchscreen monochrome or color monitor that builds upon the Modos Paper devkit introduced last year with an AMD/Xilinx Spartan-6 LX16 FPGA and STMicro STM32H750 Arm Cortex-M7 microcontroller.
The main difference is that the Modos Flow is more like a consumer product with a full enclosure, a touchscreen, and optional stylus support, 4096-color e-paper display, and frontlight.
Modos Flow specifications:
- FPGA – AMD Xilinx Spartan-6 LX16 FPGA running Caster gateware like the earlier devkit
- MCU – STMicro STM32H750 Arm Cortex-M7 microcontroller for USB communication, firmware upgrades, and standalone applications.
- Display
- 13.3-inch e-paper display with 3200 x 2400 resolution
- Refresh rate – 60 Hz with additional power, 40 Hz via a single USB-C cable
- Monochrome or 4096 colors/16 levels of grayscale
- Touchscreen support
- Optimized display modes for reading, browsing, watching, and writing
- Amber-tinted frontlight (color model only)
- Video Input – USB Type-C DisplayPort Alt-Mode with on-board PTN3460 decoder
- USB – 2x USB-C ports, one for power and DisplayPort Alt mode, one for additional power (and higher refresh mode)
- Misc
- Stylus support (color model only)
- VESA-compatible mounting support
- Power Supply – Via USB-C port
- Dimensions – 31.5 x 25.4 x 1.6 cm
- Weight – 690 grams or 1.19 kg with cover and stand
Many e-paper screens feel slow because they refresh the entire display, but with its FPGA-based design, the Modos Flow is different and only updates what’s changing, such as the cursor or the text you’re editing. That’s also probably why it’s one of the few e-paper monitors with touchscreen support on the market, since nobody wants to wait for 19 seconds for a full refresh after a tap. It is compatible with Linux, macOS, and Windows computers.
Modos Flow is open hardware with firmware source code, Caster Gateware code, schematics, and an issue tracker available on GitHub. They still point to the same documentation as for the “Glider” devkit with support for Rust, Python, and C programming language support, so it’s pretty clear that the Flow is based on the same design, although there are some differences, as shown in the comparison table below.
The closest competitor to the Modos Flow is probably the Dasung Paperlike 13K, with a refresh rate of up to 37 Hz, using the same 13.3-inch 3200×2400 E Ink panel, and a similar price. It does lack stylus support, and it’s not an open-source hardware, programmable monitor.
Talking about price, the Modos Flow has just launched on Crowd Supply for $619 (Monochrome) or $719 (Color) with a $150,000 US funding target. Both kits come with a USB Type-C cable and a folding screen cover that doubles as a monitor stand, and the olor version also adds a stylus. Worldwide shipping is included in the price, and deliveries are scheduled to start by mid-December 2026. You can check the videos below (especially the second one) to have a better understanding of the user experience with such displays.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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