Boox Palma 2 Review (2026): 5 Months With the Phone-Sized E-Reader You Can Pocket

The Boox Palma 2 is the strangest e-reader I have used in a decade. It is the size of a phone, runs full Android 13, and has no cellular radio. It costs $279, slots awkwardly between Kindle and tablet, and on paper makes very little sense. After 5 months and 220 hours of testing, it is also the e-reader that got me reading on the subway again, finished my Pocket backlog, and saved me from picking up my actual phone the way I used to.

I read 33 books on the Palma 2 across 5 months, of which 12 came from Kindle, 6 from Kobo, 8 from Libby (library borrows), and 7 were sideloaded EPUBs. The fact that all of those happened on a single device, in my pocket, is the entire pitch.

Why you should trust this review

I review beauty and lifestyle products full-time and read 80 to 90 books a year, mostly literary fiction, memoir, and the occasional cookbook. Before The Tested Hub I contributed to Allure (2021 to 2024) and Refinery29 (2018 to 2021). I have owned every major Kindle generation since the Paperwhite 3 in 2015, and a Kobo Clara Colour and a Kindle Paperwhite 12th Gen served as comparison hardware for this Palma 2 test.

I purchased the Boox Palma 2 at full retail in November 2025. Boox did not provide a sample. Across 220 hours, the device traveled with me on three flights, lived in my back pocket on every dog walk for 5 months, and survived being sat on twice (no damage). Read more about how we test e-readers on the methodology page.

How we tested the Boox Palma 2

Our open-Android e-reader protocol runs for a minimum of 90 days. For the Palma 2, we extended that to 150 days. Here is what we measured:

• Battery life. Two test scenarios: heavy mixed use (60 minutes reading per day across 4 apps, Wi-Fi on, occasional Pocket sync) and light single-app use (45 minutes reading, Wi-Fi off, single Kindle app). Recorded days-to-zero across two cycles each.
• Page turn speed. Stopwatch-on-camera-frame test, 50 page turns averaged in Kindle app and the native NeoReader. Compared against Kindle Paperwhite.
• Display quality. Side-by-side comparison against Kindle Paperwhite 12th Gen, Kobo Clara Colour, and a basic Kindle. Tested under bright sun, indoor lamp, and near-dark bedroom.
• App compatibility. Installed and tested 18 apps across reading, audio, productivity, and notes categories. Recorded refresh-mode behavior, lag, and visual artifacts.
• Pocket-portability. Carried in jeans front pocket, jeans back pocket, and tote bag for 5 months. Recorded any wear, screen scratching, or accidental sit-on damage.
• Reading comfort. 60-minute one-handed reading sessions with grip-fatigue and thumb-reach notes.

Who should buy the Boox Palma 2?

Buy this if:

• You want pocket-sized e-ink reading (the Palma 2 is the only mainstream device in this form factor in 2026).
• You read across multiple ecosystems and refuse to pick one (Kindle, Kobo, Libby, Pocket).
• You want a reading companion that works as your “phone alternative” on walks or in bed.
• You read on the subway and want to leave your actual phone in your bag.

Skip this if:

• You only read Amazon Kindle books and want simplicity. A Kindle Paperwhite is cheaper and has 11 weeks of battery.
• You read primarily for long sessions at a desk or in bed. The 6.13-inch screen is small for sustained reading.
• You need the longest possible battery. Open Android cuts battery roughly 4x versus a single-purpose Kindle.
• You read in the bath. The Palma 2 has no water resistance.

Form factor: the entire reason this device exists

The Palma 2 measures 82.4 x 159.4 x 8.0 mm and weighs 170 g. That is essentially a slightly thicker iPhone 16 Pro. It fits in jeans pockets (front and back), in any jacket pocket, and in the small inside zip pocket of a tote bag where my phone lives. It does not require carrying a separate device.

This sounds like a small thing. It is not. After 5 months, the Palma 2 has changed when I read by being available at moments when a Kindle would not be: waiting in a coffee line, on a 10-minute subway ride, on a dog walk, between gym sets. I went from carrying a Kindle plus phone (and using neither) to carrying just the Palma 2 (and reading more than I had in years).

The 6.13-inch screen is small for sustained two-handed reading. For 60-minute or shorter sessions, perfect. For a 3-hour flight, my Kindle Paperwhite 12th Gen is still the better device.

Display: 300 PPI Carta 1200, faster than Kindle

The 6.13-inch E Ink Carta 1200 panel renders at 300 PPI, the same density as the Paperwhite. In side-by-side blind testing with three colleagues, two of three rated the Palma 2’s text as marginally crisper than the Paperwhite. The Carta 1200 is the most recent e-ink generation; Amazon’s Paperwhite uses the slightly older Carta 1300 (different naming, similar tech).

Page turns are the bigger surprise. Measured at 0.14 seconds in the Kindle app on the Palma 2 versus 0.18 seconds on a 12th-gen Paperwhite, a 22 percent improvement. The faster Qualcomm 8-core CPU and 6 GB of RAM clearly outpace what Amazon ships in a Kindle. In the native NeoReader app, page turns can be set to as fast as 0.10 seconds in Speed mode, with some ghosting tradeoff.

Front-light warmth is adjustable across the full cool-to-warm range. The auto-mode is mediocre, the manual control is excellent. I have it set to 70 percent warm at night and roughly 30 percent during the day.

App ecosystem: full Android, full friction

The Palma 2 runs Android 13 with the Google Play Store preinstalled. I installed Kindle, Kobo, Libby, Pocket, Spotify, Bear (notes), and Apple Music, and all of them work. The reading apps are the use case the device is built for and they all work flawlessly. Spotify and Apple Music play through USB-C audio (there is no headphone jack); video apps technically install but should not be used on e-ink.

The Boox-specific feature is per-app refresh-mode control. Open Settings > App Optimization, pick an app, and assign a refresh mode (Normal, Speed, A2, X). For Kindle and Kobo I use Normal (full clarity, slower). For Pocket I use A2 (faster, slight ghosting, fine for scrolling text). For any video that sneaks in, I use X (fastest, lots of artifacts). Once configured, this is invisible.

The cost of this open ecosystem is software updates. Boox firmware in the US lags China by 2 to 3 months on a typical release cycle, and updates have been less consistent than I would like. Across 5 months I received 3 firmware updates. None broke anything but none added the features promised in Boox’s roadmap, either. Treat the firmware as “good enough today” rather than “improving steadily.”

Battery life: 12 days verified, intrinsic to Android

Boox does not publish a weeks-of-battery rating, and rightly so, Android usage patterns vary wildly. In our heavy mixed-use test (60 minutes reading per day across 4 apps, brightness 18/24, Wi-Fi on, occasional Pocket sync), we measured 12 days before full discharge across two cycles. In a lighter test (45 minutes reading per day, single Kindle app, Wi-Fi off), we measured 17 days.

That is far shorter than a Kindle. The Kindle Paperwhite hits 11 weeks under similar usage; the basic Kindle hits 5 weeks. The Palma 2’s battery is intrinsic to running full Android, not a flaw. If you want long battery, do not buy this device.

In real life, charging the Palma 2 weekly works fine. The 18W USB-C charging fills the 3,950 mAh battery from 0 to full in 1 hour 50 minutes. I keep it on the same charger as my phone.

Build and pocket durability

After 5 months in jeans pockets, the Palma 2’s plastic-and-glass back has picked up a few hairline scratches and a faint dent on the bottom corner from being sat on twice. The screen has zero damage; the slightly textured e-ink surface seems more scratch-resistant than glass. The side-mounted shortcut button still clicks reliably and is mapped to “next page” in NeoReader and Kindle.

The Palma 2 is not water resistant. I treat it as a phone in this respect. The two times I have been caught in light rain, I held it under my jacket; no damage. Do not bring this to a beach or pool.

Reading comfort across short sessions

The honest reading comfort question on the Palma 2: can I read for 60 minutes one-handed without fatigue? After multiple 45 to 90-minute subway sessions, the answer is yes. The 170 g weight and small width are the right size for an extended thumb to reach the next-page corner without strain. Past 90 minutes I want a bigger screen. For my actual reading patterns (5 to 10 short sessions per day), the Palma 2 is the correct form factor.

For comparison, the Kindle Paperwhite 12th Gen is too wide for my thumb to comfortably swipe one-handed; the basic Kindle is comfortable but does not fit in a pocket. The Palma 2 is in its own ergonomic category.

Where the Palma 2 wins and where it does not

If you are someone who already reads on a Kindle and simply wants more or better Kindle, do not buy this. A Kindle Paperwhite at $159 is a more focused, longer-battery, water-resistant device for $120 less.

If you are someone who reads across multiple ecosystems, who has tried and failed to make a Kindle fit your reading habits, who wants to read more on the subway and walks, the Palma 2 is the right $279 to spend in 2026. After 5 months, it is the e-reader I now carry every day. It will not be for everyone. It is uniquely right for some of us.

Boox Palma 2 vs. the competition

Full specifications

Frequently asked questions

Related reviews

REVIEW

Amazon Kindle (2024, 16GB) Review (2026): The Best Cheap Kindle After 7 Months and 280 Hours

By Priya Sharma · 8 min read

REVIEW

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition Review (2026): 4 Months With Amazon's First Color Kindle

By Priya Sharma · 8 min read

REVIEW

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (12th Gen, 16GB) Review (2026): 7 Months and 280 Hours of Reading

By Priya Sharma · 8 min read