Minimal Phone 2 swaps E-paper for AMOLED, edging toward regular smartphone

The Minimal Phone 2 has traded its defining E-paper display for a smoother 90Hz AMOLED panel, according to a Digital Trends commentary. The new model also gains faster hardware, 5G connectivity, and improved cameras.

Those are the kind of upgrades most buyers would want from a successor, the commentary notes. But taken together, they push the device closer to the very smartphones it was designed to replace.

The original Minimal Phone relied on E-paper to discourage mindless scrolling. Android apps could still be installed, but watching video or browsing social feeds on the low-refresh, monochrome display was deliberately unpleasant. That friction meant reaching for the phone out of boredom often resulted in a quick 'actually, never mind.'

Some owners valued that forced restraint. Others found it irritating when trying to complete necessary tasks, such as opening a boarding pass. The commentary places itself between those camps, wanting a phone that does not invite an hour of scrolling but also does not make routine chores a test of patience.

Minimal had practical reasons for the change. A developer told Digital Trends that sourcing an appropriately sized E-paper panel and making a meaningful improvement over the first generation would require expensive research and development.

With E-paper gone, the Phone 2 leans more on software to encourage intentional use. Focus Hours is cited as an example—a feature designed to shape how the phone is used. However, the writer argues that software-based restraint requires more cooperation from the user than a display that makes distraction physically unappealing.

The commentary concludes that the Phone 2 may become a more useful product, but questions whether the 'Minimal' label still fits. As the hardware becomes easier to live with, the phone risks turning into yet another near-smartphone in disguise—one whose minimalism exists mainly in the story its owner tells.

Digital Trends presents this as an opinion piece, not a hard news report. The product specifications are attributed to the publication; no independent verification was available for this summary.