The Boox Palma 2 is a clever melding of smartphone and e-reader technology that’s unique enough in 2024 that it, along with the original Palma, has been a bit of a viral hit over the past few months.

If you poke around the same tech corners of the internet as I do, you may have come across reviews and social media posts (sometimes from influencers) praising the Palma 2, made by a Chinese company called Onyx, which describes the device as “a distraction-free device that lets you reclaim your focus in the exact middle between tech and life.”

This is how best to approach the idea of the Palma 2, which is all about removing the distractions of your phone despite looking at first glance quite a lot like a phone. The E Ink display immediately positions it as a reading device, and the first thing I did was to download the Kobo and Kindle apps to see how they fared on the narrower screen. Happily, the Palma 2 is a superb e-reader that is easier to hold one handed thanks to the smartphone-eque dimensions and feathery 170g weight.

The design is a slightly acquired taste. My white review sample (there is a black too) has white borders and a textured back that is admittedly great for grip but looks quite 80s. There’s a power button with built-in fingerprint sensor, volume keys, a smart button you can assign functions too, an earpiece, a USB-C port, heck, there’s even a camera on the back! But the removable tray on the side is only for a microSD card - there is no SIM slot on the Palma 2, which means you can’t use it as a phone.

Unlike Kobo and Kindle dedicated e-readers, the Palma 2’s trick is that it runs Android. Android 13 to be precise, and I wouldn't bet on an update to Android 14. At the time of writing, the latest version available to devices is Android 15. It doesn't really matter today that the Palma 2 is two versions behind, but eventually apps won't work as well. As far as I can tell, Onyx does not plan to support it for many years to come, though I did get one small software update that fixed some bugs while I was testing.

Having Android allows you to download any app you want from the Google Play Store. The 6.13-inch E Ink screen can be configured to refresh at different speeds on a per app basis, meaning you can actually watch YouTube on this thing. It doesn’t look great. Neither do images taken by the camera. I wonder if Onyx could have made the £279.99 device cheaper by leaving it off. This is the price at the time of writing if you buy it from Amazon.

It’s possible Onyx stopped short of putting a SIM slot in the Palma 2 to keep the price down, though. I’ve made WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger voice calls on the thing because it has Android, Wi-Fi and an earpiece but it's a bad experience. The audio was very delayed on both ends. This, and the lack of SIM slot, stops the Palma short of being a dumbphone akin to the Light Phone 2, a smaller E Ink phone that costs USD $299.

It's likely Oyx would have to have sold the Palma 2 for a much higher cost if it was a full Android E Ink phone, but it still means it’s a difficult device to recommend unless you’ve really been craving a phone-shaped Android e-reader because of the cost - it's a lot more than the basic £94.99 Kindle.

Scrolling to read websites works though, and you can easily get your news apps downloaded and working. I found myself using the Palma 2 to read ebooks but occasionally check the news, read saved articles on Pocket, and occasionally listen to podcasts through the decent-enough speaker (you can also connect Bluetooth headphones in lieu of a headphone jack). Unfortunately I found some taps and swipes didn’t register, which made for a slightly frustrating experience. The user interface is also a tad sluggish at times, and I fear in a few years this thing will crawl along at a snail's pace. Hopefully not.

Reading text is E Ink’s main function and the 300 pixels per inch display here is excellent, matching dedicated e-readers for sharpness and clarity. I found setting the Kobo and Kindle apps to the zippiest refresh rate got rid of the ghosting sometimes associated with E Ink and didn’t dent the battery life. I only had to charge the Palma about once every two weeks even after using it every day for at least half an hour and with the backlight on.

I powered through two novels in a matter of days on the Palma. Used solely as an e-reader it's a delight. I also used it to listen to podcasts and could even log in to Libby, the app that lets you check out and read ebooks from your local library.

One niggle is that the screen's auto-brightness sensor sucks, so I stuck to manually adjusting it. There’s a warm light slider too for more comfortable hues at night.

I’ve dinged the Palma 2 for its price as Onyx appears to be charging for the miniaturisation of its existing technology. The firm sells larger, Kindle-shaped Android e-readers for at least £100 less. But the gadget is also an advanced e-reader thanks to its super-high refresh rate screen and 3,950mAh battery, very large for an e-reader. The fingerprint sensor and form factor also add to the pleasing reading experience. You can slip this thing in your pocket or bag and it takes up much less space than a Kindle might.

But despite the positives, the Palma 2 is a device best for enthusiasts. £280 is quite expensive considering this isn’t as simple to use as an e-reader. Sure, it can do a lot more, but I found changing settings quite finicky and you have to know your way around Android and sign into Google, plus sign in to most apps as you would do on a phone. May I remind you, it’s also not a phone!

If you have spare cash and fancy playing around with an intriguing device though, go for it. But most people who want an e-reader to read books on will be better served by a simpler and cheaper Kobo or Kindle.