overlaylink

Alpha Firmware Update 1.20: A Global Leap Forward with Multiple Language Support, Improved Font, and More

August 07, 2024 | 3 min read


Happy Wednesday, Freewriters!

Today, we’re excited to release Alpha’s third Over-The-Air (OTA) firmware update, which contains exciting new features, improvements, and bug fixes!


New Features

🌍 International Keyboard Layouts: Alpha now supports an impressive 35 languages and 62 different keyboard layouts! From German and Norwegian to Esperanto and Faroese, writers worldwide can now easily use their preferred keyboard layout to express themselves naturally. Rått!

Languages: Albanian, Belarusian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Faroese, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Maltese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Turkmen, Ukrainian.

Keyboard Layouts: Albanian, Belarusian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Bulgarian (Phonetic), Canadian Multilingual, Colemak (English), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Danish (Dvorak), Dutch, English, English (Dvorak), English (Int'l), English (Int'l AltGr), Esperanto, Esperanto (English Intl), Estonian, Eurkey, Faroese, Finnish, French, French (Belgium), French (Bepo), French (Canada), French (Dvorak), French (Swiss), German, German (Dvorak), German (Swiss), Hungarian, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Latvian (AltGr), Latvian (Apostrophe), Lithuanian, Macedonian, Maltese, Neo (German), Norwegian, Norwegian (Dvorak), Polish (Programmers), Polish (Programmers Dvorak), Polish (Qwerty), Polish (Qwertz), Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Serbian (Cyrillic), Serbian (Latin), Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Spanish (Dvorak), Swedish, Swedish (Dvorak), Turkish, Turkmen, Ukrainian.


With this update, Alpha now supports 95%* of the installed keyboard layouts used on our Traveler and Smart Typewriter devices!

*The remaining 5% primarily consists of East Asian languages — specifically Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Unfortunately, supporting these languages and their associated input methods presents huge challenges for Alpha. We’ll never say never but if you need to type in these languages, it’s best to stick with Smart Typewriter or Traveler. 


Improvements

✨ New Custom Typeface: We’ve implemented a brand-new, custom-designed typeface. This new typeface was hand-designed and optimized specifically for Alpha's LCD display, resulting in clearer, more distinct characters that significantly enhance legibility. The new typeface includes three sizes and a lot more characters to support all the new languages.

🏃🏼‍♂️‍➡️ Faster Typing Response: We've optimized the keyboard handling and resolved a specific issue that could cause missed keypresses. You should notice improved accuracy and even lower latency. Alpha can keep up with even the fastest typists.

✍🏼 Better Draft Handling: We’ve improved line wrapping consistency when scrolling so that whitespace no longer causes unexpected line wraps, as well as overall performance improvements, especially when inserting text.

🔒 Enhanced User Interface: Text input fields now scroll horizontally when text overflows, giving you a better view of long entries, and the device lockscreen has been simplified for ease of use.


Under The Hood Fixes

We've also made numerous behind-the-scenes improvements to make your Alpha more efficient and reliable, including optimizing memory usage and management and improving draft storage and handling.

This update represents months of dedicated work from our small but mighty development team, involving intricate font design, complex character mapping, and meticulous testing. These substantial enhancements took considerable time to implement correctly and we appreciate your patience throughout this process.


How To Get The Update

Alpha firmware rolls out automatically and will be available on your device when connected to Wi-Fi.  You can also manually check for an update using these instructions.

For a full list of Alpha firmware improvements and fixes, please visit our Release Notes page.


Thank you for being part of the Freewrite community.  Write on!

March 04, 2026 1 min read

Teachers inspire the next generation of writers — and we want to support that work.

Educators: Enter for a chance to win a classroom set of distraction-free drafting tools designed to help students focus on writing instead of screens.

One selected educator will receive a classroom set of 5 Freewrite Alpha devices to pilot with their students.

LEARN ALL ABOUT USING FREEWRITE IN THE CLASSROOM HERE.

ENTER HERE:

 

Make sure to submit your entry by the end of the day on Tuesday, March 31.

Eligibility

This giveaway is open to U.S. teachers and educators age 18+ currently employed at an accredited K–12 school, college, or educational institution. Read the full terms and conditions here.

Limit one entry per person.

March 04, 2026 3 min read

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE THE CHANCES OF WINNING.

1) Sponsor

The Educator Innovation Challenge Giveaway (“Promotion”) is sponsored by Astrohaus (“Sponsor”), the maker of Freewrite writing devices.

2) Eligibility

The Promotion is open only to legal residents of the United States who:

  • Are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry, and
  • Are currently employed as teachers, educators, or administrators at an accredited K–12 school, college, or educational institution in the United States.

Employees, officers, and directors of Sponsor, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, and immediate family members or those living in the same household are not eligible to participate. Void where prohibited by law.

3.) Promotion Period

The Promotion begins on Wednesday, March 4 at 12:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) and ends on Tuesday, March 13 at 11:59 PM ET (“Promotion Period”). Entries submitted before or after the Promotion Period will not be eligible.

4.) How to Enter

Eligible participants may enter the Promotion by completing the official entry form located at https://getfreewrite.com/blogs/writing-success/educator-innovation-challenge-giveaway during the Promotion Period. Participants may be asked to provide information including:

  • Name
  • Email address
  • School or institution name
  • Grade level or subject taught
  • Classroom use description for the devices

Limit one (1) entry per person during the Promotion Period. Additional entries may be disqualified. Sponsor reserves the right to verify eligibility.

5.) Prize

One (1) winner will receive: Five (5) Freewrite Alpha devices.

The prize will be awarded to the winning teacher for classroom use. Sponsor may request confirmation of educational affiliation prior to awarding the prize.

Prize is non-transferable, and no substitution or cash equivalent will be provided except at Sponsor’s discretion.

6.) Winner Selection and Notification

The winner will be selected by random drawing from all eligible entries received during the Promotion Period.

The potential winner will be notified via the email address provided during entry within approximately 5 business days of the drawing.

If the selected winner:

  • cannot be contacted,
  • fails to respond within 7 days,
  • or is found to be ineligible,

Sponsor may select an alternate winner.

7. Prize Delivery

The prize will be shipped to the winner’s provided address within the United States. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, delayed, or damaged shipments once delivered to the carrier.

8. Taxes

The winner is solely responsible for any federal, state, or local taxes associated with receipt or use of the prize, if applicable.

Sponsor may issue an IRS Form 1099 if required by law.

9. Publicity

By accepting the prize, the winner agrees that Sponsor may use their name, school name, likeness, and statements regarding the Promotion for promotional and marketing purposes in any media without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law.

10. General Conditions

Sponsor reserves the right to:

  • Cancel, suspend, or modify the Promotion if fraud, technical failures, or other factors impair the integrity of the Promotion.
  • Disqualify any entrant who violates these Terms & Conditions or tampers with the entry process.

11. Limitation of Liability

By participating in the Promotion, entrants agree to release and hold harmless Astrohaus, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, and their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents from any liability, injury, loss, or damage arising from participation in the Promotion or acceptance, possession, or use of any prize.

12. Privacy

Information submitted by participants will be subject to Sponsor’s privacy policy available at https://getfreewrite.com/pages/privacy-policy.

13. Governing Law

The Promotion and these Terms & Conditions are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict of law principles.

January 28, 2026 1 min read

Write every day with the Freewrite team in February.