I ditched flagship everything for niche tech that actually solves real problems

Published Jul 26, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT João has been covering the tech world for over 7 years, with a heavy focus on laptops and the Windows ecosystem. I also love all things tech and videogames, especially Nintendo, which he's always happy to talk about. Prior to joining XDA in 2021, he worked at Neowin: https://www.neowin.net/news/poster/jo%C3%A3o-carrasqueira/ I've been a tech aficionado for as long as I can remember, and it's interesting to note how my outlook on the technology world has evolved over the years. It used to be so exciting to witness the launch of any new product, and I was always looking forward to the next "latest and greatest" thing on the horizon. But nowadays, high-end new technology is never really what gets my attention. Sure, big numbers can be fun, but whether it's the increasingly intense fight against corporate control or the simple fact that some new technology is just overkill, it's just not the same anymore. These days, I find niche and weird products or projects to be the real fun side of technology. And thankfully, there are still plenty of options in that space. E Ink monitors are better than OLED Forget about 240Hz refresh rates, too I think it's fair to say that, as far as 2D monitors are concerned, technology has plateaued in terms of real benefits it can bring to users. OLED displays have become more and more common, with their super-fast refresh rates and response times, as well as extremely sharp resolutions. There are some truly stunning screens out there, but I don't really care. What's really been on my mind lately are E Ink screens and the various uses they can have. I've loved these displays for note-taking devices like the ReMarkable and Boox products, but recently, I tried a proper E Ink portable monitor for my PC, and I loved it. It's not the best ePaper screen I've seen, but when I think about adding a second screen to my laptop, I would much rather have it be something like this than an OLED or LCD screen. Yes, ePaper displays have a slow refresh rate and they're not great for displaying color-accurate or detailed images, but none of that matters to me. When I'm working on my laptop, I'm just writing, and I just want a screen that helps me fight the dark spots under my eyes that seem permanently scarred into my face at this point. E Ink displays are perfect for this. And I'll admit there's something fascinating about seeing how an E Ink display can display more complex imagery. It's fun seeing how close this technology can come to replicating the typical way we experience screens. Plus, E Ink is very power efficient, and I do like the idea of a screen that can permanently display an image without using any power to maintain it. My favorite phone is one you've never heard of Fairphone is doing what everyone else refuses to For almost three years now, my phone has been a Fairphone 5, which I got on launch day back in September 2023. I spent over $700 on this phone back then, and for that, I got a Qualcomm QCM6490 chipset, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage, along with a Full HD+ OLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. I also got a set of pretty mediocre cameras, if I'm being honest. Yes, that's a Qualcomm chip with a name you might not even recognize, and that's because this was a chip aimed at enterprise devices, not consumer smartphones. It was chosen because these chips tend to get more long-lasting support from Qualcomm, enabling Fairphone to deliver software updates for longer. That's the first part of why the Fairphone 5 is still the only phone I want to this day. The company designed this phone with the clear intention to make it a long-lasting device, both in terms of software and hardware. Not only did it choose an appropriate chip for long-term support, but the Fairphone 5 (like all Fairphone models) is designed with repairability in mind. I can go onto Fairphone's website today and buy a display, battery, USB-C port, any of the camera sensors (available individually), loudspeaker, earpiece, and more directly from Fairphone, and I can swap those parts at home. The phone can easily be opened and torn apart with a Philips PH00 screwdriver, and all of these components are user-replaceable. On top of that, Fairphone has a clear focus on fairness, not just towards the consumer, but towards the people making the phone, which is why it's so expensive for the specs. Fairphone claims to offer fairer working conditions with its Living Wage Bonus program among many other steps it takes to reduce carbon emissions and provide better conditions to everyone involved in making these phones. Flagship phones these days are far more powerful than most people need, so if I'm paying such a high price, I'd rather do it to support this business philosophy, rather than chasing the most capable hardware on the planet. This Fairphone 5 still works very well for everything I need, and if the battery starts getting too bad, I'll just replace it and keep using it for a few more years. Framework does the same for laptops My most likely purchase Similar to how Fairphone is breaking ground in phone repairability, Framework is doing the same for laptops, albeit in a slightly different way. Much like the Fairphone 5, Framework laptops are designed in a completely modular way, allowing you to swap parts as needed. But while one focuses mostly on repairability, Framework also leans into upgrades. If you bought the original Framework Laptop back in 2021, you can still upgrade it today with the latest Intel Core Ultra processors (or go the AMD route, if you prefer). Framework has grown its lineup to different sizes (and even a 12-inch convertible), but the core philosophy has remained the same. You can always just buy new components and upgrade your laptop piecemeal. The mainboard (containing the CPU as well), RAM, storage, display, keyboard, ports, and more can all be individually replaced and upgraded to fit your needs. In the case of the 16-inch model, you can even add a GPU expansion to make it better for gaming or more demanding workloads. A lot of PCs come by my desk as part of my job, so I haven't needed to buy a new laptop in a few years. But if I was in the market for one, Framework would absolutely be at the top of my list. The company even offers Linux as an option for a preinstalled OS, Self-hosting is better than the cloud Finally taking back control It was only last year that I finally decided to dip my toes into the world of self-hosting and NAS, and I understand that, to an XDA reader, calling them "niche" may seem preposterous, but in the grand scheme of technology, they certainly are. Most people use the services and products that are most convenient and with a lower upfront cost, which is why subscriptions are so popular. But since setting up my NAS, I've truly found the value of having all of these things under my control. I love using Immich to store my photos, and Nextcloud for my documents. I love that I can integrate Nextcloud with OnlyOffice to edit my documents on the web, so I don't even need to download software onto my PC. Those are the two biggest examples, but then we can look towards Vaultwarden, which is my favorite way to use Bitwarden to manage my passwords; Jellyfin allowing me to convert the movies I own on disc and make them streamable, often with a better experience than I would get with a typical streaming service, or something as simple as a self-hosted dashboard for my browser. These projects are so much fun to undertake, and there's an incredible sense of accomplishment when you get them working, at least as a relative newcomer. I could almost extend this to Linux as a desktop OS and how it's much more interesting than Windows these days. The amount of customization options and the control you have over your experience are a far cry from what you get with Windows 11, and I rarely find myself wanting to use Windows unless I have to. it's nice feeling like these products exist to serve me rather than sell me something extra. Modern tech needs a shake-up At the risk of sounding like an old man yelling at a cloud, a lot of new mainstream technology products have kind of been passing me by. The above are the biggest examples I'm already embracing or looking to embrace, but I've been looking back at things like the classic iPod or dedicated music players and thinking that might be a more fun way to listen to music. I've bought some wired earbuds recently for the first time in years to use with my Switch and my computer, and I'm considering getting a USB-C adapter for my phone, too, because Bluetooth drains my patience more often than I'd like. It's things like that, big and small, that have sort of soured me on a lot of new tech products, and I'm far from alone in that sentiment.