Onyx Boox Palma Review: The Smartphone-Sized E-Ink Distraction Killer

The Kindle Paperwhite is a fantastic reading device, but it has one major flaw: it does not fit comfortably into a standard jeans pocket. You need a bag or backpack to carry it everywhere you go.

The Onyx Boox Palma is built in the exact silhouette of an iPhone 15 Pro, but with a 6.13-inch Carta 1200 E-Ink touchscreen on the front.

I carried it as my secondary pocket reader for sixty days.

Why the Phone Form Factor Matters

Because it looks and fits in your pocket exactly like a phone, your subconscious muscle memory changes:

1. When you are waiting in line at the grocery store or standing on a subway platform, you instinctively reach into your pocket.
2. Instead of pulling out an OLED smartphone designed by algorithms to keep you scrolling infinite video feeds, you pull out a device that only displays books and saved articles.
3. Your screen time on social media plummets.

Because it runs full Android with Google Play access, you can install Pocket, Instapaper, Kindle, Libby for library books, and read technical PDF papers.

The Flaws:

• No Cellular Data: You have to download reading material in advance over Wi-Fi or tether to your phone.
• Price: At $279, you are paying a hefty premium for what is essentially an offline reading slate.

For students and engineers looking to reclaim their attention span, it is one of the most effective hardware purchases you can make.