Now Boox Is Also Releasing a Miniature E-Book.
A year ago , I was obsessed with my Boox Palma . I carried this phone-shaped e-ink device everywhere, believing it helped me read more and use my phone less. But after discovering the unusual, wallet-sized Xteink X4 last December , my Boox e-reader has literally been gathering dust.
As I’ve noted in various reviews and articles , Xteink devices are a bit clunky (the company is a Chinese startup, and its products exhibit all the growing pains you’d expect from new technology). They’re probably not for everyone, but they’re certainly for many: Xteink devices (which now include the X4, the more compact X3, and the recently released X4 Pro) have gone viral on social media and garnered a devoted following on Reddit for three reasons: they’re very simple, very cheap (starting at $69), and very small.
Boox, which previously gained popularity with the Palma , is now looking to enter the e-reader market. This week, the company leaked the first details about an upcoming device called the Boox Picco, which bears a striking resemblance to Xteink products.
What is Boox Picco?
Yesterday, I first saw unconfirmed information on Reddit about Boox’s plans to release a small-screen e-reader, so I reached out to my contact at the company for more details. She reported that Boox was launching a new product line called Boox Tile, which is “focused on creating lighter and more flexible e-readers for everyday use,” and the first device to go on sale will be a palm-sized e-reader. (I bet they’re now wishing they’d called it something else.)
Here’s what we know about Picco:
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According to the company, it is a “compact device with e-paper for more convenient reading in various situations, such as on the go and on the go.”
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It will feature a 3.97-inch black and white display based on e-ink technology (larger than the Xteink X3, but smaller than the Xteink X4).
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It will feature a front-facing light (a feature that Xteink recently introduced in the new X4 Pro).
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It will support microSD cards.
And that’s all that’s been officially announced. Boox hasn’t yet revealed what processor it will use (Xteink devices use very simple ESP32 chips), whether it will have physical buttons, or whether it will run Android (like the Palma and the supposed Xteink S4 ). There are also other important facts, such as when it will be released (China or the US) and, most importantly, how much it will cost.
Why such small e-books?
While many of us romanticize retro technology from the good old days of ten or twenty years ago , Xteink’s minimalist e-readers are beloved despite their simplicity (the first advice you’ll likely hear when buying one is to overwrite the built-in operating system ), precisely because they’re so minimalist.
Judging by the feedback from Reddit users on r/xteinkereader, the compact size, easy portability, tactile controls (the original devices lacked a touchscreen, a controversial addition to the X4 Pro), and highly specialized design seem like a real lifesaver in an age where other tech companies are doing everything they can to overwhelm us with features they think we need (including unnecessary AI integrations), even as social media apps increasingly exert control over our already-shortened attention spans.
In an age of attention overload, a super-simple e-reader that literally does nothing but show you a book feels as welcome as a hug—and the fact that it’s so small you can slip it into any pocket and forget you have it makes it even better.
Will the Boox Picco live up to expectations?
Given the market’s enthusiasm for Xteink devices, it’s no surprise that Boox is trying to get into the game, and I’m cautiously enthusiastic about it: I’ve tested numerous Boox tablets and e-readers, and the company knows how to make good devices. I’m just not sure they know how to make truly good devices.
As I mentioned, I really enjoyed the Palma reviews, but not without my reservations. First, they’re expensive: the only model still readily available in the US, the Palma 2 Pro , retails for $400. Second, they’re too feature-rich: I used mine primarily as an e-reader, but it can also run apps, take photos, play videos, and even make Wi-Fi calls—essentially everything a smartphone can do (hence the smartphone-like price). It’s also too big; while its 6.13-inch screen and phone-like shape make it more compact than almost any other e-reader on the market, the Palma always felt like something else to carry around, even if it technically fit in my pocket (just not the same pocket as my phone).
In short, the Palma was guilty of being overly feature-rich. Its e-ink screen made it attractive to e-reader enthusiasts, but its feature overload turned it into just another phone and raised the price too high for most people to justify buying it over a Kindle.
If Boox understands the true reasons behind Xteink’s sudden success, the Picco will be a simple e-reader with the quality expected from a larger, more experienced company. It will also be priced at $100 or less. But if Palma is any indication, the Picco could end up being just as overclocked, crammed with unnecessary features, and priced accordingly. Time will tell. In the meantime, I have plenty of books to read on my X4 Pro.