After nearly two decades of incremental improvements to traditional e-readers, many industry observers question whether any significant innovation remains possible in the category. San Francisco startup Sol Reader has challenged that assumption with a wearable e-reading device that resembles a pair of blacked-out sunglasses, with a pair of e-ink screens embedded where the lenses might be. Priced at $249, the device aims to reinvent what e-reading, literally, looks like.

We spoke with CEO and co-founder Ben Chelf about innovation opportunities in e-readers, alternative approaches to augmented reality, and what four years of development have taught his team about digital reading habits.

What convinced you there was still room for innovation in e-readers?

Amazon seemed pretty content with giving readers devices that offered 300 [pixels per inch] and the occasional update to slicker looking devices, from an industrial design standpoint. It was wash, rinse, repeat and, if we’re honest, the device isn’t so different from when it was first released in 2007.

I am by training, now having done it a few times, an entrepreneur at heart. I like inventing things. I like building things, and I like finding areas that maybe were slightly overlooked for too long and in need of some new tech to come and refresh them. I saw an opportunity when it came to e-reading.

How does your approach differ from other face-worn computing devices, many of which have failed?

I think the problem is the many companies insist on trying to put a supercomputer on your face. Take something like the Apple Vision Pro, which is very cool in concept, but it weighs a ton, looks like this huge ski mask, and costs three thousand dollars. We wanted to know what would happen if we didn’t actually try to put a supercomputer on your face. We just tried to produce a device that would do one thing really well, namely, reading, rather than trying to do it all.

What are the technical specifications of the Sol Reader?

It employs two separate e-paper screens that, when viewed through the reader, offer you a single image resembling what you might see on a typical e-reader. This provides a more organic feeling than a backlit display.

As for usability, the Sol weighs 104 grams, comparable to a heavy pair of aviator sunglasses. It’s heavier than typical glasses, but it’s still wearable for hours. And it looks quite normal. As for the specs, if you look at it from computing horsepower perspective, they are not impressive. It is a late 90s computer. But that is how we get to such a small form factor and it’s really all you need to have a great reading experience.

How can you access books on the device?

You start with our website. We have our own e-book store, where you can buy books [with fulfillment through Ingram], or you can sideload your own DRM-free books, or—and this was the most requested feature—now you can log in with your Kindle credentials in our app and then you’ll get the list of all your Kindle books. You can select which ones to put on the Sol Reader, and then they’ll sync there. You can then read wire-free and don’t have to stay connected to a phone or a computer, which is a big difference from most of the other face-wearable devices. Pages turn wirelessly with a small remote control.

What has been the reaction from readers? Have there been any surprises in how they are using the device?

What we’ve heard time and time again is that most people love it as a way to read at night, in bed, where they can lie completely flat. We heard from multiple people that it has unlocked reading for them and that it’s become habit-forming thing for people who weren’t good readers before.

Is this suitable for younger readers?

In a lot of ways, I was inspired by my children. We started this project about four years ago, when my son was four—now he’s eight—and he was just starting to be aware of what I did for work. He noticed that all he would ever see me do for work was be on the phone, be on my computer, or on a Zoom call. And I kind of wanted the opportunity to show him, and my daughter as well, that this is what grown-up building stuff can be like.

That said, the device is a little too big right now for their faces—from an eye-spacing standpoint, their eyes are a little too narrow to use it. But our CTO’s daughter is ten or eleven and she started using one about a year ago and she’s reading avidly every day. She loves it so much, she won’t give it back.

Where does the name “Sol Reader” come from?

There’s a couple of touchpoints to the name. The first and primary one, of course, is it’s a single purpose device. We made it to be this sole thing you’re doing. But I’m a sci-fi fan—you see the Douglas Adams here [he holds up a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide the Galaxy]—and one of my favorite sci-fi books is Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Sol Weintraub is one of the main characters on the pilgrimage with the other pilgrims.

The more tech forward meaning is that “sol” is also a space word that measure the length of a day on Mars, and it’s talking about the sun in that regard. Because of the nature of how these things look like when you open them, you see, especially if you’re in a dark room, just these two glowing orbs coming out.

How much money have you raised and how big is your team?

The publicly stated number is five million dollars. Our team is quite small, less than 10 members. I find that when building a hardware startup, you try to do it a lot with a very little.

Where do you see this category heading? What’s next for the Sol Reader?

We are in a moment where there’s a bit of tug of war with our devices. They afford us so much convenience and so much luxury and so many great things; and yet, there’s this kind of other...doomscrolling and binge-watching and all these things that we know aren’t the best for us.

We can think about that single use a little bit more like your nighttime routine, but specifically the things you want to do. We’re thinking about expanding to include the good things you might do with your iPhone—like listening to audiobooks—while avoiding the bad stuff like social media. Right now, that is the most requested feature and it’s one that we’re looking at very seriously. It would be a natural progression for us.