My mac is set to night setting (less blue light) and dim, but that only goes so far.
Re latency, not so bad on the newer e-ink like reMarkable.
Re FreeWrite: right, but it’s not an edit tool.
Conclusion: nope. Not practicable yet.
You know what. I just let the two of you talk past each other.
What you need is clear now. You want a computer, a real computer, with e-ink.
There is no going around it. Forget tablets in the sense of Scribe etc.
And if you want to run Scrivener, forget Android (for now).
P.S. The all in one keyboard/e-ink I posted was kind of intended as a joke. (I personally find the thing to be quite ridiculous.)
Sort of. The computing power required for working with .txt files is very low. An e-ink tablet that pairs with a quality mechanical keyboard with decent .txt software (iA Writer) is all that’s needed, but none of the bits match up, yet. I was hoping someone had sorted it out since I last dove in to this space early in the remarkable 1 cycle.
Thank you all, for you input.
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Once you take Scrivener out of the equation, which then means you can look for Android based tablets, that opens up possibilities.
But as you first posted (a tablet that can run Scrivener, and, and), it seems pretty narrow.
. . . . . . . .
That’s probably the best advice overall.
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Aye. Scrivener is the most negotiable element of the equation. Which gets at my gripe for plain text editors, supposedly for writing: they do not handle paragraphs (with tab indends) well, nor poetry for beans. It’s iA Writer, not iA Coder. Sardonic grin.
This I wouldn’t know. (None of the reviews I saw displayed such capabilities. – Or I just skipped that part, can’t remember.)
When I investigated a year in a half ago, my idea was to see if this could be a beneficial option to be editing like on paper, instead of using print-outs.
Scratch-offs, doodles, arrows and stuff. Not editing the text as on a computer (delete, move, etc).
And as I said earlier, even with the price aside (which was a major turn off), there are inconvenients I could already foresee, without ever having even tried one.
I understand your current case.
If you want a portable solution, perhaps you should see if there are filters that you stick on a tablet’s screen intended for sensible eyes ?
My 10" Windows tablet was 240 CAD$ (And it does everything, as opposed to a 700+$ e-ink tablet. Doing the math was easy.)
(I could have been rich*, but I chose to be a writer instead.) 
(*Hypothetically speaking.)
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I’m no expert on plain text technologies, but I’m fairly sure that “plain text editing” with “formatting” is an oxymoron. That the entire point of plain text is that it’s just and only text. Once you start adding invisible codes (as in .rtf or .doc for example) to support formatting, it’s no longer plain text. That’s why apps like iA Writer use Markdown and other such languages that provide “formatting defined within the plain text itself”. These apps are limited to the formatting that Markdown supports.
Then again, perhaps I’m misunderstanding what it is you’re “griping” about? 
Best,
Jim
You got it, Jim. Grin. Technically, my gripe is about markdown.
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Just to add to this. I’ve used e-ink writing setups extensively and what it sounds like is you’re looking for something to not hurt your eyes, something that keeps you away from being online, something to work like Scrivener, yes? If that’s the case, agreed with most on here, Android and pairing your mechanical with a Boox or a Remarkable or something is a bad idea. You’re just gonna get let down in every way expecting editing and some subheadings/folders that you can stare at on the fly. E-ink, yeah that Traveler is not a viable option for editing (and the Ghost version is the only one worth it’s time and you can’t find them anywhere). Your best two options is the DM30 Pomera which is e-ink, has two column ‘outline’ mode which replicates Scrivener’s subheadings. Or the Pomera DM30 which has ‘outline’ mode as well as two screen mode where you can have two files open at the same time (like a outline file and a draft file). On both copy cut paste (ctrl x,c,v) all work the same as Word and the files (if you get a now cheap Aircard) you can just send over via wifi). Those two devices are really the closest you’re gonna get to Scrivener software itself. It works for me when i’m writing a lot of chapters in one file, using the titles on the left column to instantly tab back to and reference. Good luck.
There’s always, you know, paper.
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Kindle Scribe has been mentioned, and it’s something that I just got access to.
For my process, I find it easy enough to write on my MacBook or iPad, but when it comes to a second round of careful edits, exporting to PDF then importing that file into my Kindle Scribe allows me to use the stylus to markup the PDF file with all the sorts of things you would do after printing out a draft. The Kindle Scribe screen is different enough that it feels like I’m working on printed sheets and I see errors that my eyes miss on other screens.
I can then export the annotated PDF back to my Mac, but what I normally end up doing is setting my Kindle up next to my other device and going through things, and erasing the annotations on the Scribe after I’ve made the changes in Scrivener.
The refresh rate on the Scribe is better than most other eInk devices I’ve personally seen, but it can get laggy with a lot of ‘pixel’ changes to process.
Interestingly enough, when you use the eraser end of the stylus, you are erasing EVERYTHING, including the text, though the printed text returns after your done with the erase and the page refreshes. Its just an interesting idiosyncrasy of the device.
I use reMarkable 2 for writing tasks like journaling but not for editing. it does a fine job of it. one of the best things I’ve ever bought! sometimes I will edit rM2 documents in the rM2 app, though, which my laptop has.
minor drawbacks: currently, you have only two layers of header (if that make sense) and bold and italics work in a somewhat clumsy way. it can’t do strikethroughs or undelrining. if rM2 could understand Markdown and you could therefore, for example. make italics and bold using asterisks, then it would achieve perfection or near-perfection. great tablet!
I would love to have a device like the Freewrite devices but at a better price-point. I started looking for these analog solutions for free writing sessions when The Write Now with Scrivener podcast interview with Wendy van Camp said she uses an AlphaSmart Neo (which is not in production anymore) for her free writing sessions before she moves to Scrivener.
Bit of a price shock, would be interested if any competitive gadgets make an appearance.
I found this thread after researching this topic extensively myself. In late 2024, there are a couple solutions that might be worth it.
The newest and most interesting is a device called the BYOK (bring your own keyboard). It’s essentially a modern version of the Alphasmart neo that you can connect to a personal bluetooth or usb keyboard. It doesn’t use e ink but instead has a monochrome LCD, like the original Alphasmart. It is faster than e ink, but the display can only hold a few lines of text. Good for drafting, but probably not so much for editing. It does support wifi syncing and file transferring to your computer for when you’re finished editing.
I think it looks like a better version of the Freewrite without the pretension and exorbitant cost, plus the freedom to use your own personal keyboard. I write with an expensive custom ergonomic keyboard, so anything that requires me to use a regular keyboard layout is a turn off for me. Before I found out about it, I dreamed of a similar device that would allow me to use my own keyboard in the freedom of a distraction free, close to analog environment. And then I found out about this gadget! The only downside is it isn’t available yet. I think production is scheduled to end in March 2025. Hopefully it’ll meet its predicted cost of <$200. I didn’t fund the kickstarter but have been following it and hoping the producers can get a good, reliable product like this on the market.
You can find similar custom DIY devices on r/WriterDeck. Some Redditors on their have their own small shops and can make you a similar device.
Like others have said, the other route is to use a dedicated e-ink monitor, such as a Dasung Paperlike. This will allow you to use Scrivener on the computer you already have just by plugging in a second screen, but they do have their drawbacks. Dasung makes a 27 inch monitor in monochrome and color, and a smaller portable 13 inch version with higher PPI. Refresh rates have gotten quite fast on these, up to 40Hz on the newest models. But they sometimes have compatibility issues with Macs and other problems, from what I’ve seen. I think these are still a couple years from being great products, but are probably your best option if you want to edit on a non-backlit screen.