After a year with the amazing Onyx Boox Palma, I was looking forward to seeing a big Black Friday sale so I could recommend it as the go-to e-reader this holiday season. Unfortunately, Amazon only slashed the price by 12%, meaning it's not much cheaper than the Boox Palma 2 that just came out.
While I normally would recommend picking up a year-old device for a great discount, the Palma 2 is the better buy even though it's currently $279. How does this make any sense? Simply put, newer can be notably better in the world of cheap e-readers for a few hidden reasons, most of all is software support.
The Boox Palma 2 runs Android 13 while the original Palma is still on Android 11 and likely won't get updated to anything newer. Aside from some nice new features, that means the Palma 2 can run apps for at least two years longer than the original Palma because there's going to be a point where apps no longer support Android 11. Considering apps are THE reason to pick a Boox over other e-readers, this is enough for me to recommend the newer unit.
✅Recommended if: You're looking to give your eyes a rest from your phone's harsh display, or you just want a more pocketable e-reader that's capable of running full Android apps.
❌Skip this deal if: You only read books through Amazon's Kindle service. There are cheaper Kindles that are less than half the price of this.
I called the original Onyx Boox Palma "the perfect bedtime device" in my review, and the second iteration improves the experience in a few small ways. Onyx didn't try to reinvent the wheel or radically alter the experience for the Palma 2, but it did include a faster processor, better speakers, and a fingerprint reader nestled in the power button.
The processor improvement makes everyday computing a little quicker and just generally improves the overall experience. Onyx also added a few extra new features to the device including an AI assistant that can answer questions, keeping your phone in your pocket (or in a cabinet) while you stay as distraction-free as possible.
The Palma 2 features the same amazing super fast refresh e-ink display as the original, which means it's perfect for scrolling through web pages, books, and plenty of other apps without having that classic e-reader refresh jank. Plus, it's super friendly on the eyes with no nasty PWM dimming or flickering backlight.
And while the Palma 2 is certainly capable of playing games, you're probably going to want to stick to crossword puzzles or Wordle-type games because it's tough to play most modern games on the black-and-white display. There's a reason the original GameBoy had simplistic games, so stick to those if you really want that from this device.
