MINISFORUM S5 and 4 New E-Paper Products

On September 17, 2026, reporting by Brad Linder of Liliputing rounded up four items concerning small computers and e-paper devices. The subjects are a fanless mini machine, a color e-paper badge, an OS for minimalist mobile phones, and an ultra-compact e-book reader. All are products centered on power saving and openness, illustrating a shift in the design philosophy of portable devices.

This roundup is a compilation in brief-news format. Primary information is spread across public materials from each manufacturer and analyses by specialist media. This article organizes the facts of the four items and explains them with added technical background and market positioning.

Overview and Specifications of the MINISFORUM S5

MINISFORUM S5 is a small computer without a cooling fan. It is intended for use both as a mini PC and as network-attached storage. The chassis is made of aluminum with cooling fins and operates with passive cooling.

In reporting by Brad Linder of Liliputing, the key specifications are described as follows.

The MINISFORUM S5 is a fanless PC or NAS with 16GB LPDDR5 RAM, an Intel Core 3 304 chip, 5 M.2 slots for PCIe 4.0 x1 NVMe storage

Main memory is 16GB LPDDR5. The processor is an Intel Core 3 304. For auxiliary storage, it has five M.2 slots, supporting PCIe 4.0 x1 NVMe storage devices.

Both wired and wireless connectivity are enhanced. For wired connections, it has two wired LAN ports: 10GbE and 2.5GbE. Wireless supports WiFi 7, and it includes 40Gbps USB4 for external connections.

The five M.2 slots reflect a configuration focused on storage expandability. Each slot uses an x1 connection, with distributed bandwidth. It can be seen as designed to mount multiple storage devices in parallel for redundancy or separation by use case.

Inclusion of 10GbE is an unusual choice for a small machine. Wired LAN speed makes a difference for simultaneous connections by multiple users and transfers of large files. The combination of passive cooling and high-speed networking is aimed at always-on operation in homes or offices.

TICKEY Color E-Paper Badge

TICKEY is an e-paper device that serves both as a wearable badge and a desktop display. It is developed by ENILINX, with specifications reported by CNX Software. It uses a 3.7-inch color e-paper display with 720 x 480 pixels and 48-color support.

The core processor is the ESP32-S3. For wireless functions, it includes WiFi and Bluetooth, plus NFC for short-range communication. Display refresh takes 3 to 13 seconds, varying with the complexity of the content.

Reporting by Brad Linder of Liliputing highlights openness as a feature.

support for 3rd-party firmware and apps

Users are not bound to stock functions and can install third-party firmware and applications. The ESP32-S3 is a processor with a large established developer base. Development environments and documentation are widely available, making it easy to prototype and modify.

It is offered through Kickstarter crowdfunding. The price is $50, with shipping scheduled for November. It is intended for small-scale uses such as badges, name tags, and desktop information displays.

E-paper consumes little power and offers high visibility under direct sunlight. 48-color support is not for photo reproduction, but is suited for identification colors and highlighting charts and diagrams. The refresh rate is not for video, but is sufficient for schedules and reception displays.

Adoption of open firmware is highly compatible with expanding on-device processing. For the design philosophy of automating workflows and coordinating devices, the framework organized in LangGraph vs AutoGen vs CrewAI: AI Agent Comparison 2026 is a useful reference. The idea of separating the application layer is common even in small devices.

New Features and Aims of MuditaOS K 2.0

Mudita is a company that makes minimalist mobile phones. The company is developing MuditaOS K 2.0, which it previewed for the first time at IFA Berlin 2026. It is an OS update optimized for phones with E Ink displays.

The biggest change is selectable launchers. Users can choose between a standard launcher and a minimalist, text-focused launcher called “Kalm.” Kalm is a text-centric user interface aimed at reducing distraction.

A suite of apps for E Ink displays, “InkApps,” is also being introduced. InkApps are designed with ghosting and refresh lag in mind. Font weights and screen transitions are tuned to the specific constraints of E Ink.

Functionally, it supports syncing with Google Calendar. The customization features of Offline+ Mode have also been enhanced, allowing users to finely set the scope of disconnection. The configuration balances schedule management with disconnection.

In Mudita’s official information, the first preview is described as follows.

First previewed at IFA Berlin 2026, MuditaOS K 2.0 brings InkApps, new launcher options, Google Calendar sync, customizable Offline+ Mode, and more.

Demand for schedule management remains strong even for minimalist devices. Syncing with external calendars is a factor that improves practicality. At the same time, a distinctive feature is that it does not assume always-on connectivity, letting users control the disconnected state.

Uses of information devices in cars and outdoors are diversifying. As a different direction from adding more functions, testing of narrowed-down designs continues. It can be seen as a contrasting simplification case to Fermata Auto: Practical Review of Video Playback on Android Auto, which examined the practicality of in-car information devices.

BOOX Picco Platform and Analysis Results

BOOX Picco is an ultra-compact e-book reader from Onyx BOOX. It is priced at $100 and has not yet gone on sale. ReadMe.Club has published an analysis of its pre-release firmware.

The focus of the analysis is the foundation of its reading app. Reporting by Brad Linder of Liliputing summarizes it as follows.

it looks like it’ll run a custom fork of the open source CrossPoint Reader that’s popular with Xteink X3 and X4 users

CrossPoint Reader is an open reading app. It has a track record of wide use among Xteink X3 and X4 users. BOOX Picco is believed to carry a custom-tuned fork of it.

ReadMe.Club’s analysis reportedly confirmed a configuration running on ESP32. Ultra-compact devices face major constraints in computing resources and power. Reusing existing open assets helps reduce development time and maintenance burden.

The $100 price range is at the low end for e-book readers. Emphasizing portability, it is intended for short reading sessions or pocket-dictionary-like uses. The decision to build on open assets rather than closed proprietary specifications has drawn interest from developers.

The direction of display technology is not only immersive displays. Trends in processors for spatial displays are organized in Snapdragon Reality Elite, New Chip for AR/MR. Power-saving flat displays and immersive displays are expected to be used differently depending on the application.

Overview and Positioning of the

Small-Device Market

What the four items share is a value axis different from performance competition. Emphasis is placed on silent operation, power saving, reduced attentional load, and openness. Practicality that cannot be measured by faster computing alone is the reason for choosing them.

The MINISFORUM S5 combines always-on operation with high-speed networking. TICKEY and BOOX Picco combine ESP32-based chips with e-paper. MuditaOS K 2.0 compensates for the weaknesses of E Ink through application-layer optimization.

None of them moves toward running large foundation models on-device. The devices focus on display and input/output, leaving heavy processing outside. A design with clear role separation contributes to maintainability and power efficiency.

Openness is another common element. TICKEY allows installation of third-party firmware. BOOX Picco is based on a fork of an open reading app. Room for users and developers to modify them could extend product lifetimes.

Editorial Opinion

On short-term impact. In the next 3 to 6 months, we expect to see more prototypes of passively cooled mini machines and small e-paper gadgets. The MINISFORUM S5 will become a reference for always-on uses. For TICKEY, the $50 price will become the benchmark for evaluation. For BOOX Picco, the maturity of its apps at launch will be the focus of attention.

On the long-term view. In 1 to 3 years, we expect combinations of power-saving displays and simple user interfaces to take hold. App design tailored to display characteristics, like Mudita’s InkApps, will spread to other companies. Reuse of open assets will curb development costs and widen room for small businesses to enter.

Questions from the editorial team. Do function-limited products really restore users’ attention? Does openness extend product life, or does it lead to fragmented maintenance? Where is the boundary between power saving and sufficient practicality? We believe the balance between price and maturity is now being tested.

References

• “MINISFORUM S5, ePaper Smart Badge, and Mudita: Liliputing News Roundup”, by Brad Linder — Liliputing, 2026-09-17T20:49:49.000Z (ARR)
• Source URL: https://liliputing.com/minisforums5-epaper-smart-badge-and-mudita-liliputing-news-roundup/