Newsboard is a 7.8-inch e-ink display for your desk. It shows the day’s news as a newspaper-style front page and draws a new one every hour by default. I’m Dennis Ng; I design it and assemble it in Singapore, under my company, Inkmere. As of October 2026 it isn’t on sale yet: the first run of about 100 units will be sold through a Kickstarter campaign that hasn’t launched.

When will it ship, and where?

The first run of about 100 units ships within Singapore first, and other countries follow. The delivery window will be on the Kickstarter page before anyone pledges, so you’ll know before you commit.

What’s the warranty?

Two years. If your Newsboard fails from a defect in that time, I repair or replace it.

What happens to my Newsboard if Inkmere disappears?

It keeps working. Before any shutdown, I’ll publish the software that lays out its front page as open source, with the steps to run it yourself. Read the full promise.

What do I need to use it?

A 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network, power over USB-C, and the Newsboard app on your phone to pair it and choose your sections and outlets. There’s no account to create.

Does it have a battery?

No. It runs from one USB-C cable and stays on all the time, using about 30 mA while it waits for the next page.

What happens if the Wi-Fi drops?

The last page stays on the screen. The panel keeps trying, and the next page arrives once the Wi-Fi is back.

Can I read it in the dark?

No. It has no backlight, so you need a light on in the room to read it.

I’ll publish the overall size and weight once the first run is built and measured. The screen measures 7.8 inches diagonally, with a 119 × 159 mm page.

Which news does it show?

Public headlines from outlets including BBC News, The Guardian, The New York Times, Reuters, NPR, Al Jazeera, Axios, The Verge, Wired and Nature. In the app you choose the sections (a new panel starts with World News, Technology and Science) and switch outlets on or off. Some outlets, such as the FT, Bloomberg and The Economist, are behind a paywall; they stay off unless you turn them on.

How is it different from a Kindle, a tablet or TRMNL?

Newsboard shows only a news front page. It updates itself, and there’s nothing to tap or scroll. A Kindle is mainly for reading books. A tablet such as an iPad shows the news in an app, next to everything else on it. TRMNL is an e-ink dashboard you build from plugins.

Does it track what I read?

No. The panel only displays: it has no camera or microphone, and it never records what you read. The full detail is in the privacy policy.

Coming to Kickstarter · early bird US$250

Already ahead.

The day’s headlines are on your desk, so you don’t need your phone to see them.

Newsboard · an e-ink desk newspaper by Inkmere

Newsboard on its base: an e-ink screen in a natural-silver aluminium case, showing a full newspaper front page.

An e-ink display that shows the news as a front page and draws a new one every hour by default.

Reserve yours Why I made it ↓

At a glance

7.8″ e-ink, no backlight
A new page every hour by default
One USB-C cable, always on
Assembled by hand in Singapore

Dennis Ng · maker of Newsboard · Singapore

Why would I tap on a boring news app when TikTok or Instagram is sitting right next to it?

Newsboard started from a problem I’d faced many times. Again and again I downloaded every kind of news app on my phone, and they always ended up collecting dust on my home screen after a week.

Eventually I decided enough was enough. I’d start reading physical newspapers. I wasn’t committed enough for a daily subscription, so I went to the store every day and collected the papers myself.

Getting the paper was annoying too.

Without a subscription delivered to your door, you have to go to the supermarket or your local 7-Eleven and decide which publisher you want to trust. If they’re all out of stock, bad luck. Newspapers also aren’t tailored to your own taste in news.

The world around me doesn’t wait.

Reading the paper always felt off, like I was missing something. Things were happening right now and being reported right now, and I was still reading yesterday’s news.

I’d compare the paper to a news app on my phone and get this feeling of dread about being left behind. The world really doesn’t care whether I’ve finished my little newspaper before it carries on with its hectic daily ride.

So I made Newsboard.

It still carries the DNA of the newspaper, but in a more modern form. It’s on your desk all the time, so seeing the headlines doesn’t mean opening your phone.

In the app you pick the outlets you trust and the sections you want. A new page arrives every hour, so you’re not stuck with yesterday’s news.

I found I read more news, and I knew more about what was happening in the world. All it takes is the right headline and a glance to get me interested enough to read the story.

The front page

A full front page of news.

My cloud service lays out the page and the panel draws it in e-ink: text, lines and photos in 16 shades of grey. It stays on the screen until the next page arrives, every hour by default.

Lead story: The day’s biggest story, with its own photograph.
Sidebar: Two shorter stories set alongside the lead.
Six-story grid: Six more stories in a grid.
Plain summaries: A short, plain summary under every headline.

A composed Newsboard edition: the NEWSBOARD masthead, a lead story with a photo and a summary, a sidebar of two stories, and a six-story grid, each headline carrying a summary.

Headlines from

Yes, there’s still an app.

I know what people think: “Oh, there’s still an app I have to go through just to see the full news article, so what’s the point?” I understand that view, and I agree with it.

You set Newsboard up in the app, and that’s where you choose your news. When a headline makes you want the whole article, you pick up your phone and find it in the app, which opens the story’s original page.

It’s hard to escape the mountain of notifications and distractions, and Newsboard can never solve that. What it solves is having to pick up your phone just to see what’s happening. And what it solves is that empty space on your desk, waiting for something fu**ing sexy.

How it works

Setting it up.

Pair over Wi-Fi

Plug it in, open the Newsboard app on your phone, connect the panel to your Wi-Fi, then type the short code it shows on its screen. You don’t need an account.

Choose your news

Pick your sections and outlets, and the typeface you like to read. If you follow markets, add a watchlist.

Set it on your desk

It draws a new front page every hour by default. In the app you can change that, or tap “Refresh now” for a new page in about 30 seconds.

Newsboard on a desk, standing on its base and showing the day’s front page.

On the desk

It sits on your desk and runs from one USB-C cable.

It stays on all the time, using about 30 mA while it waits for the next page. It has no battery, and you don’t need your phone to read it.

E-ink keeps its picture without power, so the page is still there when you come back. It has no backlight, so you need a light on to read it.

The object

The back is finished like the front.

The back gets the same finish as the front, and the seams line up.

Five views of the same unit

Machined

Premium CNCed aluminium shell.

The case and the cover over the electronics are cut on a CNC mill from solid 6061 aluminium, then anodised. Specialist workshops do both jobs to my drawings.

I drew a plastic case first. It would have been cheaper and lighter. But it’s meant to sit in one spot for years, so I wanted something that would last.

The base underneath is polycarbonate, and that’s on purpose. Metal blocks radio signals. If the whole thing were aluminium, it would box in the Wi-Fi antenna, and the panel would struggle to stay connected. Polycarbonate lets the signal straight through, and it’s strong enough to build everything else on.

The one in these photos is one of the first shells off the mill. It’s been running on my desk since July.

6061 aluminiumCNC-machinedPolycarbonate base

Follow the machining in the Build Log →

Newsboard’s aluminium case from behind and to the side: a brushed face, a chamfered edge, recessed corner screws and the dark polycarbonate base.

Anodised

Anodised in natural silver.

After milling, the workshop puts each shell in an anodising bath. An electric current turns the outer layer of the metal into aluminium oxide. The finish is that layer, so there’s no paint or coating to wear through.

Type II anodiseSealed oxideNatural silver

Specs

Specifications.

Display: 7.8″ electronic ink
Active area: 119 × 159 mm
Resolution: 1872 × 1404
Palette: 16 levels of grey
Case: CNC 6061 aluminium; polycarbonate base
Processor: ESP32-S3

Dimensions: Measured at first-run QA
Weight: Measured at first-run QA
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz
Edition cadence: Hourly by default; every 15 or 30 min, every 3 h, set times or manual
Backlight: None, reflective
Power: USB-C, always on

Privacy

What the panel records.

The panel shows the news and nothing else. It never records what you read.

Read the full privacy policy →

No camera or microphone

The panel only displays. It has no camera or microphone, so there’s nothing on it that could see or hear you.

Public news feeds

Each page is made from public news feeds and sent to the panel over your Wi-Fi. The panel never records what you read.

No ads or tracking

There’s no advertising on the panel, and no trackers or analytics in it.

Encrypted settings

Pairing and your settings go over encrypted HTTPS, through my cloud service, between your phone and your panel.

The promise

If Inkmere stops, your Newsboard keeps working.

Newsboard depends on a small cloud service that lays out each front page. If I ever have to shut that service down, I’ll first publish the panel’s firmware and the page software as open source, with instructions to run it yourself and point your panel at it. I’ll build and test that switch-over well before it could be needed. A panel you paid for won’t become a brick.

Dennis Ng, who makes Newsboard, at a counter.

The maker

Assembled by me, in Singapore.

I’m Dennis Ng, and Inkmere is just me. I grew up in Singapore and I assemble every Newsboard here. Specialist workshops mill and anodise the shells to my drawings. I solder the boards, then assemble and test every unit at my own desk before it ships.

Email contact@inkmere.com and I’ll answer myself, within two working days.

Read how Newsboard started →

Watch it being built in the Build Log →

Dennis Ng · Inkmere, Singapore

The price

Where the money goes.

It isn’t cheap, and I’d rather tell you why than pretend otherwise. Almost nothing about it is off the shelf.

A machined case: The case and cover are cut from solid 6061 aluminium and anodised. That costs far more than moulding a plastic case.
Assembled by hand: I assemble and test every unit myself, in small batches. A factory line would cost less.
The parts inside: A 7.8″ e-ink screen and its driver board, an ESP32-S3, and a circuit board and connectors.
Design and software: It also pays for the design, and for the software and the cloud service that lay out your front page.

Before you reserve

Questions and answers.

What is Newsboard?: Newsboard is a 7.8-inch e-ink display for your desk. It shows the day’s news as a newspaper-style front page and draws a new one every hour by default. I’m Dennis Ng; I design it and assemble it in Singapore, under my company, Inkmere. As of October 2026 it isn’t on sale yet: the first run of about 100 units will be sold through a Kickstarter campaign that hasn’t launched.
When will it ship, and where?: The first run of about 100 units ships within Singapore first, and other countries follow. The delivery window will be on the Kickstarter page before anyone pledges, so you’ll know before you commit.
What’s the warranty?: Two years. If your Newsboard fails from a defect in that time, I repair or replace it.
What happens to my Newsboard if Inkmere disappears?: It keeps working. Before any shutdown, I’ll publish the software that lays out its front page as open source, with the steps to run it yourself. Read the full promise.
What do I need to use it?: A 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network, power over USB-C, and the Newsboard app on your phone to pair it and choose your sections and outlets. There’s no account to create.
Does it have a battery?: No. It runs from one USB-C cable and stays on all the time, using about 30 mA while it waits for the next page.
What happens if the Wi-Fi drops?: The last page stays on the screen. The panel keeps trying, and the next page arrives once the Wi-Fi is back.
Can I read it in the dark?: No. It has no backlight, so you need a light on in the room to read it.
How big is it?: I’ll publish the overall size and weight once the first run is built and measured. The screen measures 7.8 inches diagonally, with a 119 × 159 mm page.
Which news does it show?: Public headlines from outlets including BBC News, The Guardian, The New York Times, Reuters, NPR, Al Jazeera, Axios, The Verge, Wired and Nature. In the app you choose the sections (a new panel starts with World News, Technology and Science) and switch outlets on or off. Some outlets, such as the FT, Bloomberg and The Economist, are behind a paywall; they stay off unless you turn them on.
How is it different from a Kindle, a tablet or TRMNL?: Newsboard shows only a news front page. It updates itself, and there’s nothing to tap or scroll. A Kindle is mainly for reading books. A tablet such as an iPad shows the news in an app, next to everything else on it. TRMNL is an e-ink dashboard you build from plugins.
Does it track what I read?: No. The panel only displays: it has no camera or microphone, and it never records what you read. The full detail is in the privacy policy.

The first run

Get on the list for the first run.

Early bird US$250 · US$300 after the first run · news service included

I’m making the first run by hand, and it’s small. Leave your email and I’ll let you know the moment the Kickstarter opens.

The first run, in plain facts

About 100 units in the first run, each assembled and tested by hand.
A 2-year warranty: if it fails from a defect, I repair or replace it.
Ships within Singapore first; other countries follow.
The delivery window is confirmed on the Kickstarter page before anyone pledges.
Kickstarter is all-or-nothing: if the campaign doesn’t reach its goal, no one is charged.