Boox Palma
Shares rank 17 of 29 e-readers by recommenders
Pocket-sized Android e-ink reader that people recommend for reading, writing and travel, with long battery life. Common caveat: the screen can break, and colours look washed out.
Pocket-sized Android e-ink reader that people recommend for reading, writing and travel, with long battery life. Common caveat: the screen can break, and colours look washed out.
20 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 65%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Pocketable with long battery life
“it's pocketable and has excellent power management, so despite being android, the battery can last 1-2 weeks”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “I turned my RSS feeds into an e-ink newspaper to stop reading on my phone” “it stays in my pocket/bag most days, and it's so inconspicuous (looks exactly like a phone)”
Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “Why I love my Boox Palma e-reader” “Smaller, so it fits better in a smaller bag or a pocket. And does have physical buttons.”
Comment from 29 Mar 2026 in “I turned my Kindle into my own personal newspaper” Good for writing and programming
“Pretty happy with the workflow overall - I use it extensively when travelling”
Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “TikTok unlawfully tracks shopping habits and use of dating apps?” “has actually worked out well for me for writing | programming”
Comment from 30 Dec 2025 in “Turning an old Amazon Kindle into a eInk development platform” Fast and better than expected
“It's a great device and actually pretty fast”
Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “Why I love my Boox Palma e-reader” “it is better than one would expect”
Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “Why I love my Boox Palma e-reader”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Screen breaks or cracks easily
“its display broke randomly after 2 months in a soft pocket and now it's ewaste”
Comment from 31 Aug 2026 in “Rakuten Kobo returns to U.S. retail as sales double” “the display broke randomly (not the screen) while in a soft pocket within 3m of getting it”
Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “Why I love my Boox Palma e-reader” “horror stories about screen cracking issues reported on reddit”
Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “Why I love my Boox Palma e-reader”
Other e-readers people recommend
The four most recommended other e-readers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Kindle | 222 | 255 | 47% | 12 | 12 yrs37 owners | — |
| Xteink X4 | 178 | 47 | 79% | 10 | 2 mo31 owners | Approved |
| Kobo e-reader | 154 | 53 | 74% | 12 | 7 yrs14 owners | Approved |
| reMarkable 2 | 93 | 45 | 67% | 12 | 5 yrs13 owners | Approved |
| Boox PalmaThis page | 13 | 7 | 65% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
20 of the 23 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“probably USI and thus not usable for things like art, and barely tolerable for handwriting”
“its display broke randomly after 2 months in a soft pocket and now it's ewaste”
“it's pocketable and has excellent power management, so despite being android, the battery can last 1-2 weeks”
“Smaller, so it fits better in a smaller bag or a pocket. And does have physical buttons.”
“has actually worked out well for me for writing | programming”
“Pretty happy with the workflow overall - I use it extensively when travelling”
“the display broke randomly (not the screen) while in a soft pocket within 3m of getting it”
“This Boox device would have to be closer to $50 (and not $200) to tempt me”
“it is better than one would expect”
“I would avoid the future e-waste and just use my phone.”
“the colors are still too washed out to be useful and the contrast is horrible with no backlight”
“The new Boox Palma 2 Pro is also a phone. And it runs Android 15!”
“people that love it and use it constantly”
“horror stories about screen cracking issues reported on reddit”
“More reasons/hooks to use the device that slow you down a little and make you more mindful”
“It's a great device and actually pretty fast”
“it stays in my pocket/bag most days, and it's so inconspicuous (looks exactly like a phone)”
“The benefit for me with the boox series is access to the kindle app on play store.”
“I still don't understand why this needs to run Android.”
“build quality, sluggish performance, and woeful battery life”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.