The Next Boox Palma E-Reader Might Be a Phone Too

Looks like it will also have a color screen.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

The Boox Palma 2 (left) can't take calls, but the Bigme Hibreak (right) can. Credit: Joel Cunningham

Table of Contents

The Boox Palma e-reader is unquestionably my favorite gadget from the last few years, but I also get why so many people find it to be a little confounding. It's a phone-shaped e-ink device that has all the capabilities of a modern Android smartphone—in addition to serving up your e-books, it can run apps from the Google Play store; it even has a camera. But doesn't have cellular functionality, which means it can't take calls. That might be changing, and soon.

According to a report from The Verge, Boox's parent company, the Chinese tech firm Onyx International, is working on a new Palma-like device that will retain the form and e-ink display of the current Palma, but add both cellular connectivity and color—two of the most requested features from the device's die-hard fans, at least judging by my observations of the r/Onyx_Boox subreddit over the past few years.

The Verge got a look at the presumed Palma successor during IFA 2025, a European trade show akin to CES. Though it wasn't on display on the show floor, a reporter was shown a device that sure looked a lot like the Palma, but which had both a color display (almost certainly the same Kaleido 3 screen found on the Boox Go Color 7) and icons indicating a 4G + LTE cellular connection. No concrete details on specs or a release date were provided. (You can read more, and see a picture of the device, over at The Verge).

Function finally follows form

Personally, I love the Palma because it's more portable than the average e-reader. Because it is easier to carry, I read more and use addictive apps on my phone less (though the Palma can run most apps, social media isn't very fun on a sluggish e-ink screen). But I still need to carry my phone, for all the usual reasons (messaging, maps, tap-to-pay), so it's not the life-changing device it might otherwise be. That could change if Boox indeed releases a Palma that can make calls and run messaging apps over a cellular connection.

There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before I can get too excited, however. For one thing, the device hasn't been officially announced, and there's no guarantee it will be released in the near term, or if it will be sold in the U.S. (not all Boox products are available in the U.S. market). Then there's the matter of carrier support—you're certainly not going to be able to buy a Palma phone direct from Verizon or T-Mobile, and it's not a sure thing that a Chinese-made niche device it will play nice with every domestic carrier.

We also have no information on what this thing might cost. For $300, the Palma already has a lot of phone-like capabilities, but adding a color screen and a modem (and getting it certified to play nice with U.S.-based networks) will undoubtedly push that number a lot higher. Tariffs aren't likely to help matters either: The most recent Palma 2 was $299, and given that all e-ink screens are made overseas, there's no chance it won't face those additional import fees.

All that said, another device already on the market gives me a pretty good idea of what using a Palma phone will be like.

Not the first e-ink phone

For the past few months, I've been playing around with the Bigme Hibreak Pro, a $459 e-reader that looks an awful lot like my Palma 2 (you can see both in the picture at the top of this article). In many respects, the Hibreak Pro is a one for one match for the Palma...but it also has 5G cellular capability.

A device like this holds a lot of appeal—I'm at a point where I am starting to resent my iPhone's primacy in my life. I'd love carry only one device, and one that doesn't as readily plug me in to the horrors of the internet and social media, but which can still handle the most essential functions (keeping me connected to my family, handling NFC payments, guiding me via Google Maps).

But so far, for me, the Hibreak Pro isn't it—as with other Bigme devices I've tested, I find its software deeply frustrating, and I haven't had the time or energy to devote to installing an alternative launcher. (It doesn't help that the first device I received had a faulty USB-C port, and getting a replacement took a few months.) I generally think Boox makes better devices than Bigme, so I'm hopeful a Palma phone would fix some of these issues.

At this point, that's still a big if. Despite their lovability, Boox's e-readers definitely aren't as user-friendly as a Kindle. And though the Palma has attracted a cult following (not to mention mainstream attention from outlets like The New York Times), an e-ink phone is always going to have niche appeal, which means we're very unlikely to see one from an established tech company like Apple or Samsung. A Palma phone might satisfy some e-ink diehards, but I don't expect to see too many of them while riding the subway.