conv.

All stories
TechQuiet 8d · day 9

Seeed and TRMNL ship $48 open-hardware e-paper display kit

A DIY e-paper panel built jointly by Seeed Studio and TRMNL lets owners run it on a hosted service, a local ecosystem, or their own server.

newest coverage 7d agosummary written 8d ago13 pieces362 likes & upvotes28 comments MastodonNewswiresGoogle NewsHacker NewsBluesky

What to know

  • The $48 Seeed/TRMNL kit offers three software paths: TRMNL's hosted BYOD service (free 14 days, then $50 one-time license), Seeed's own Home Assistant/SenseCraft tools with no license fee, or a self-hosted open-source server called Terminus.
  • It's framed as the opposite of Apple's newly announced $299 HomeView hub: a passive, always-on display cycling through calendar, weather, and news info rather than an interactive family hub.
  • The product resulted from a partnership first teased in March 2025 and formally announced in July 2025 between TRMNL (founded 2023 by Ryan Kulp) and hardware maker Seeed Studio.

Ryan Kulp Founder of TRMNLSeeed Studio Shenzhen open-hardware companyTRMNL Platform/firmware companyApple Maker of the comparison product HomeView

Seeed and TRMNL ship $48 open-hardware e-paper display kit
arstechnica.com

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 5 pieces in two hours at Nov 2, 6 AM; 13 pieces over 9 days (3 articles · 10 posts) Nov 2, 6 AM — 5 pieces · 3 articles · 2 posts — Mastodon 2, Google News 1, Newswires 1, +1 moreNov 2, 8 AM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Bluesky 2Nov 2, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Nov 2, 12 PM — quietNov 2, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Nov 2, 4 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Bluesky 2Nov 2, 6 PM — quietNov 2, 8 PM — quietNov 2, 10 PM — quietNov 3, 12 AM — quietNov 3, 2 AM — quietNov 3, 4 AM — quietNov 3, 6 AM — quietNov 3, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Nov 3, 10 AM — quietNov 3, 12 PM — quietNov 3, 2 PM — quietNov 3, 4 PM — quietNov 3, 6 PM — quietNov 3, 8 PM — quietNov 3, 10 PM — quietNov 4, 12 AM — quietNov 4, 2 AM — quietNov 4, 4 AM — quietNov 4, 6 AM — quietNov 4, 8 AM — quietNov 4, 10 AM — quietNov 4, 12 PM — quietNov 4, 2 PM — quietNov 4, 4 PM — quietNov 4, 6 PM — quietNov 4, 8 PM — quietNov 4, 10 PM — quietNov 5, 12 AM — quietNov 5, 2 AM — quietNov 5, 4 AM — quietNov 5, 6 AM — quietNov 5, 8 AM — quietNov 5, 10 AM — quietNov 5, 12 PM — quietNov 5, 2 PM — quietNov 5, 4 PM — quietNov 5, 6 PM — quietNov 5, 8 PM — quietNov 5, 10 PM — quietNov 6, 12 AM — quietNov 6, 2 AM — quietNov 6, 4 AM — quietNov 6, 6 AM — quietNov 6, 8 AM — quietNov 6, 10 AM — quietNov 6, 12 PM — quietNov 6, 2 PM — quietNov 6, 4 PM — quietNov 6, 6 PM — quietNov 6, 8 PM — quietNov 6, 10 PM — quietNov 7, 12 AM — quietNov 7, 2 AM — quietNov 7, 4 AM — quietNov 7, 6 AM — quietNov 7, 8 AM — quietNov 7, 10 AM — quietNov 7, 12 PM — quietNov 7, 2 PM — quietNov 7, 4 PM — quietNov 7, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Nov 7, 8 PM — quietNov 7, 10 PM — quietNov 8, 12 AM — quietNov 8, 2 AM — quietNov 8, 4 AM — quietNov 8, 6 AM — quietNov 8, 8 AM — quietNov 8, 10 AM — quietNov 8, 12 PM — quietNov 8, 2 PM — quietNov 8, 4 PM — quietNov 8, 6 PM — quietNov 8, 8 PM — quietNov 8, 10 PM — quietNov 9, 12 AM — quietNov 9, 2 AM — quietNov 9, 4 AM — quietNov 9, 6 AM — quietNov 9, 8 AM — quietNov 9, 10 AM — quietNov 9, 12 PM — quietNov 9, 2 PM — quietNov 9, 4 PM — quietNov 9, 6 PM — quietNov 9, 8 PM — quietNov 9, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quiet 1
Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6Nov 7Nov 8Nov 9now · 5:43 AM ET
  1. 1

    Ars Technica reviews the finished $48 e-paper kit

    The review details three ways to run the device — TRMNL's hosted BYOD service (free 14 days, then a $50 one-time license), Seeed's Home Assistant/SenseCraft Seeedash tools, or the open-source self-hosted Terminus server — and contrasts its passive design with Apple's $299 interactive HomeView hub.

    “privacy first functionality by empowering you to run your own private server, network, and devices. You own the stack and the data.”
    — Terminus GitHub page
    • lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com

      arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026... the number of Cool Little Projects that opened up to me between having a 3d printer and a NAS are outrageous. all the actually fun parts of using the computer are still alive, I just needed a 3d printer and a NAS to access them

      lauren.rotatingsandwiches.comBluesky8d ago219▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 6 posts in this stretch
    • innocence.com

      I’m thinking three of these in a custom-printed GM screen, probably landscape orientation but it’d work either way. You’d want to run the self-hosted version of the server on a Pi or something, with a local Wifi network. Power everything from an Anker.

      innocence.comBluesky3d ago6▲view on Bluesky ↗
    • pacquah.blacksky.app

      Tempted to buy four of these immediately without even reading the whole article

      pacquah.blacksky.appBluesky8d ago1▲view on Bluesky ↗
    all of them →
  2. background

    Seeed and TRMNL announce official hardware/firmware partnership — The two companies announce they will jointly develop a DIY e-paper kit, combining Seeed's hardware designs with TRMNL's firmware packages.

  3. background

    Seeed teases an XIAO e-paper panel, sparking TRMNL interest — Seeed Studio shows off an XIAO e-paper panel on social media; a community member asks whether it could run TRMNL firmware, prompting contact between the two teams.

  4. background

    TRMNL launches first e-paper device via crowdfunding — TRMNL's first hardware product reaches the market through a crowdfunding campaign.

  5. background

    Ryan Kulp founds TRMNL — Indie hardware enthusiast Ryan Kulp starts TRMNL as a platform company for low-power e-paper displays.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets This $48 e-paper display can be whatever you want it to be

    first by Mastodon, 8d ago · also Ars Technica

What people are saying 1 voices from 1 site · best of 6 · verbatim