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a year ago, I was obsessed with my Bux Palma. I carried the phone-shaped e-ink device everywhere, and credited it with helping me read more and use my phone less. But after I found out Speaking of which, the wallet-sized Xteink X4 was released last DecemberMy Boox e-reader has literally been gathering dust.
As I have pointed out Various reviews And articlesXteink devices are a bit clunky (the company is a Chinese startup, and its products exhibit all the growing pains you’d expect from new tech). They might not be for everyone—but they’re definitely for a lot of people: Xteink’s devices (which now include the X4, the smaller X3, and the just-released X4 Pro) have gone viral on social media and built an enthusiastic fanbase on Reddit for three reasons: They’re really basic, really cheap (starting at $69), really small.
Boox, who formerly followed his own sect with PalmaNow the tiny e-reader wants action. This week, the company leaked the first details about an upcoming device it’s calling the Boox Picco, and it looks an awful lot like the Xteink it’s building.
What is Boox Picco?
I saw unsourced news of Boox’s plans for a small-screen e-reader on Reddit yesterday, so I reached out to my contact at the company for more information. She told me that Boox is launching a new product line called Boox Tile that “focuses on creating lighter and more flexible ePaper experiences for everyday use cases,” and that the first device out of the gate will actually be a palm-sized e-reader. (I bet they wish they called Palma something else right now.)
Here’s what we know about Pico:
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According to the company, it’s a “compact ePaper device for more convenient reading scenarios, such as travel and on-the-go reading.”
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It will have a 3.97-inch black-and-white e-ink display (larger than the Xteink X3, but smaller than the Xteink X4).
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It will have a front light (a feature Xteink has just introduced on the new X4 Pro).
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It will support microSD cards.
And all that has been officially announced. Boox has not yet revealed what kind of processor it will have (Xteink devices use very simple ESP32 chips), whether it will have physical buttons, or if it will run Android (like the Palma and Rumored Xteink S4). And then there are other important facts like when it will be released (in China or the US), and, critically, what it will cost.
Why small e-readers?
At a time when many of us are Romanticizing retro tech from the good old days of a decade or two agoXteink’s stripped-down e-readers are beloved despite themselves (the first piece of advice you’ll hear when you buy one Rewrite to the original operating system), clearly because they are bare bones.
To judge by Redditors at r/xteinkereader, the carry-anywhere size, tactile controls (the original devices lacked a touchscreen, a controversial addition to the X4 Pro), and single-purpose design seem like balm at a time when other tech is doing everything to drown us in those features while insisting that social media (requiring apps with AI) span our increasingly flaring attention spans. Keep strangling.
What do you think so far?
In an age defined by attention overload, a super basic e-reader that can’t do much more than make you feel as welcome as a book hug—and is so small you can stick it in any pocket and forget you’re carrying it, all the better.
Will Boox Picco be worth the wait?
Given the enthusiasm in the market for Xteink’s devices, it’s no surprise that Boox is trying to get into the game, and I’m cautiously excited: I’ve reviewed Boox tablets and e-readers, and the company knows how to make a good device. I’m not sure he knows how to make one Right device
As I said, I’ve liked the Palmas I’ve reviewed, but not without reservations. For one, it’s expensive: the only model still readily available in the US, Palma 2 ProRetails for $400. For another, they do a lot: I’ve used mine primarily as an e-reader, but it can also run apps, take pictures, play videos, and even make calls over wifi—basically everything a smartphone can do (hence the smartphone-like price). It is also quite large; Although its 6.13-inch screen and phone-like shape give it a smaller footprint than almost any e-reader on the market, the Palma always felt like something else to carry around, even if it technically fit in my pocket (not in the same pocket as my phone).
In short, Palma was guilty of overdoing it. The e-ink screen made it attractive to e-reader fans, but the plethora of features made it feel like just another phone, and made the price too high for most to justify buying one over the Kindle.
If Boox understands the real factors behind Xteink’s sudden success, the Picco will be an easy reading device with the polish you’d expect from a bigger, more experienced company. It will also cost $100 or less. But if the Palma is any indication, the Picco can be similarly overclocked, packed with features no one wants, and priced to match. We will have to wait and see. In the meantime, I have plenty of books to read on my X4 Pro.
