I just pre-ordered a Daylight Computer. It's expected to arrive early July.
Will I love it? Around a month after I receive it, I will I subjectively evaluate whether I love it or not.
I am probably biased in favor of Daylight after watching the S3 interview, but I suspect it might be more buggy than presented. I have previously used a Kindle and enjoy it, but find the limited functionality and slow screen refresh rate annoying...
1,000
1.00I do love it!
My Daylight passes the Everyday Test for me: I use it nearly every day, mostly while being outside. What are my main use cases? Reading various substacks / blog posts (on Reader app, which I highly recommend), catching up on email, or reading books on Kindle. If you find yourself doing these activities regularly and wish you could do them more outside, this is definitely the product for you! (Conversely, if you mostly want to do other things or don't value reading outside, this product is not worth your time.)
The refresh rate is 60 fps, and the responsiveness feels indistinguishable from normal screens. It's like using scrollable paper! The only downside is that the screen contrast in indoor settings with no backlight is not great—much worse than paper, and slightly worse than Kindle. This doesn't matter much if you're using the Daylight outside. The amber backlight is also good for reading at night.
Overall, I'm very impressed, especially given that this is the first release of a new product.
Me using my Daylight from Dolores Park
Other thoughts:
The note-taking experience on Daylight is top-notch. The stylus looks and feels very much like pen and paper. Much better than using an iPad. Unfortunately, I've never been much of a note taker so this use case doesn't matter much to me.
I tried using the Daylight to code via VS Code Server. It's doable but not exactly pleasant. I feel like you lose a lot not having the colored syntax highlighting.
The bluetooth keyboard works very well. I've written many emails on the Daylight from the park...
The other downside is that the Daylight is an Android tablet. Some apps that I use a lot (Superhuman, Notion) don't work nearly as well as their mobile or desktop equivalents.
@DwarkeshPatel just posted that he loves it too - Daylight seems like they're off to a solid start (I still want one 😭)
@SG I'm placing this bet on my new daylight computer after having it hand delivered from the founder! First impression: it's awesome!
Will really hinge on how small of a slice of your computing you expect to do on it.
If you're counting on it replacing your main laptop/phone/tablet, it's a pretty easy bet on NO. Almost a sure thing, even.
But if you're the type who regularly buys new tech toys, and you only need to use it for a few hours a week to feel satisfied with your purchase, then this market is in play. Will it feel polished or janky? Will the screen live up to promises? Will it's capabilities overlap with your specific wants?
My bet is that you're a tech dabbler, and you just want it for while you sit on your deck and drink your coffee. And it'll be nice. But it will have a few annoying rough edges. The sea will be exactly the wrong shade of pink. You'll shrug, be content with your purchase, but not love it. It will go in the drawer. Then you'll move onto some other shiney.
Yeah, while I think the marketing for this product is pretty slick, at a certain point, if you want a high-framerate reading experience you can take outside, without much features or annoying electronic notifications, that's totally free! It's called library books and writing on paper. Doesn't run out of battery :) I know I'm being condescending but I know just how strong the urge to get the shiny is lol, and I'm fed up with digital addictions for sure, but another product is not going to fix it.