If there's one thing that gets me out of bed to write an article on TechRadar is a good ereader, especially one that's going cheap. And with Prime Day 2026 in Singapore in full swing, it shouldn't come as a surprise that there are discounted Kindles to be had.

The best offer is on the Kindle Paperwhite — which also happens to be my pick of the best Kindle — but this deal from Amazon US is quickly running out of stock as the Prime exclusive discount is too good to pass up. It's going for just over SG$175, which is about what you'd see the entry-level Kindle go for at retail usually.

However, with this lightning deal 70% claimed, I'm thrilled that the Kindle Colorsoft is also discounted, albeit via the Amazon US store again. It's not as good a discount as the Paperwhite, but I would still recommend it, particularly for those of you who enjoy graphic novels, comics and manga. Admittedly paying SG$260 for the colour E Ink display isn't 'cheap', but it can make a difference to some readers and I think Amazon has done a remarkable job of optimising that display for reading.

You can call me crazy that I get excited about ereaders, but I've been reviewing them for nigh on a decade now and I've followed the progress E Ink has made with its various displays for these devices.

What makes the Colorsoft worth the money is, even though the colours are comparatively muted against those displayed on, say, an iPad, it's still a very sharp screen that makes reading comics and graphic novels a joy.

Now, I don't read that much in colour, but I do appreciate my book covers being displayed in all their glory on the screen. I've even looked at National Geographic pages on the Kindle Colorsoft and they look lovely.

Battery life, like all the Kindles, is excellent, so you can go off on a long holiday and not even worry about leaving your charging cable behind, but in case you do need to top it up, any USB-C cable will suffice.

While there's a total of 16GB of storage available on this discounted model, I will have to note that Kindle OS takes up a rather large amout of space and you'll likely be left with about 10GB for all your needs, but that's thousands of ebooks. Audiobooks, though, are larger files, so you'll need to manage your storage space accordingly.

On the plus side, though, you're getting a durable and water-resistant ereader that you can lounge by (or in) the pool or bath and enjoy a relaxing read.

So, go on, kindle that digital reading habit — trust me when I say it's just as easy to get lost in a story digitally as it is via a physical book.

Remote page turners for ereaders aren’t a new concept — several options are available for Kindles made by third-party manufacturers, while Kobo has a proprietary one for its own devices. They’re made for people like me, who are too lazy to even use the physical page-turn buttons on the likes of the Kobo Libra Colour — especially when lying in bed to read. (I mean, who wants to stick their finger out from under the blanket on a cold night to touch the propped up ereader?)

The other thing they have in common is that they pretty much look the same, like tiny remote controls.

There’s one page turner, though, that’s unlike any I’ve previously seen. The moment I saw pictures of the Boox Tappy in early May after it was announced, I couldn’t help but smile. It looked more like a cute retro toy than a Bluetooth page turner for an ereader.

I finally have it in hand and it’s even more adorable in person, thanks to the little design details I’ve discovered. Suffice to say, Tappy made me very happy as soon as I opened the box. I mean, just look at it!

It’s styled like a miniature retro typewriter with two keys only, each featuring a pixelated image, but a pair of spare key caps are provided that you can swap out for the default ones. In my humble (and overly biased) opinion, the extra key caps marked with a X and an O aren’t as appealing to me as the pixelated heart and steaming cuppa.

The attention to design detail doesn't stop there. The tiny ‘Tap This’ printed on the front of the page turner where a typewriter’s brand name would typically be sparks joy. The power switch — a tiny silver toggle — is kinda reminiscent of an actual typewriter cartridge release (for those of you that remember such things…).

The only ‘modern’ elements to the otherwise retro design are an indicator light next to the power switch and a USB-C port on the rear to charge the page turner.

More than just a head... no, page turner

The fun design aside, the Boox Tappy can do more than just turn pages on a reading app.

It can be paired with an Android phone, for example, and its default Reading Mode automatically becomes volume control. It has a MultiMedia Mode to switch tracks on a music app like Spotify, while a Browsing Mode allows you to scroll on a browser tab or on social media apps.

I tested this on the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro and it worked a charm in all three modes, but keep in mind that button functionality isn’t customizable.

The button presses are arguably the best part about using the Boox Tappy — they’re so satisfying. It’s practically effortless to press down and there’s a small feedback, like a muffled click. I would absolutely use this as a fidget toy if it wasn’t paired with the Boox Go 10.3 Gen II Lumi digital notebook that I’m currently testing for TechRadar.

It uses the Bluetooth 5.4 standard to pair with compatible devices, which is quite stable, and has a wireless range of about 33 feet/10 meters. That last spec is probably moot as I don’t envision anyone using it to control device functionality — especially reading — from a distance.

Oh, for proprietary’s sake!

As much as I love the Boox Tappy, it sadly doesn’t play nice with other ereaders. For example, it paired with my Kobo Libra Colour but failed to turn pages, while three of my Kindles didn’t even pick it up as a Bluetooth device.

It connected with the Android-toting ViWoods AiPaper digital notebook but was a glorified sound adjuster rather than a page turner. Heck, it even connected with my iPhone 17 Pro and MacBook Pro but, again, could only adjust volume on the Apple devices.

I can’t fault Boox for that — after all, the Kobo Remote doesn’t work with a Kindle either. This compatibility issue has to do with the limitations of the operating systems used by ereader manufacturers. While there’s a universal command to make wireless headphones work with ereaders for audiobook playback, the same can’t be said about page turning as it’s a relatively more niche use case.

Until ereader makers add that additional software prompt to allow all wireless page turning, it reduces the Boox Tappy’s usability. Sadly Boox doesn’t provide a comprehensive list of compatible devices (other than some of its own ereaders), but if you or a loved one use a Boox device or an Android phone, it might be a fun little treat.

Given its functionality and it's good looks, the Boox Tappy is competitively priced — $25.99 / €29.99 / AU$49 isn't too bad in my opinion.

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft: Two-minute review

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft delivers everything you could want from an e-reader (mostly). Amazon packed this device with all of the key features of its other Kindles, but unfortunately, it commands a much higher price as a result.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft nails all the e-reader basics, and that chunky upcharge brings some color into the mix so you can experience comics and the like. You also get a fancy pen to annotate and take notes. Those features function well overall, but they're not perfect.

Despite combining the “Scribe” and “Colorsoft” portions in the Kindle, you actually can't use them in tandem. You can't annotate or take any notes when you're reading comics or manga, which is ironic considering this is meant to be an all-in-one solution.

However, the 11-inch display is large enough to mimic the size of some graphic novels. That means you have plenty of room to take notes, too. The screen also captures images in strong detail.

So, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is a great e-reader, but unless it's on sale, I'd only recommend it to folks in a higher tax bracket.

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: price and availability

• From $629 / £569 / AU$999
• Launched in the US and UK on December 10, 2025
• Launching in Australia on June 10, 2026

No. I simply cannot recommend the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft to the average Kindle user. It’s just too damn expensive. Adding color and a pen to your Kindle is a luxury that I would only recommend to those invested in Amazon’s eBook ecosystem or someone with significant disposable income.

At its starting price with 32GB of storage, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft costs $629 / £569 / AU$999 (it will launch in Australia on June 10). For 64GB of storage, that price jumps up to $679 / £629 / AU$1,099. As someone who just wants to read a book, that makes my wallet cry. But keep in mind that this is the peak premium Kindle device.

You can break down the features of the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft into three categories — Kindle, Scribe, and Colorsoft — and it's quite simple to pick apart its value proposition as a result. The Kindle is just your traditional Paperwhite device for $159 / £159 / AU$199, and then the Colorsoft adds a splash of color to that for $249 / £269 / AU$399, and finally, you’ve got the Scribe for $399 / £379 / AU$649, which is like the Paperwhite, except you can write on it. Combine all that, and you get the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.

If, for some reason, you need all three features packed into one device, then obviously, your only option in the Kindle ecosystem is the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. But focusing on one key feature will save you some decent coin, so I recommend doing just that before committing such a princely sum to this all-in-one device. Not to mention, there are cheaper color e-readers out there, like the Kobo Libra Colour ($219 / £199 / AU$359).

• Value score: 3 / 5

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: Specs

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: design

• Slightly less portable, but more reading room
• Pen placement is awkward

The 11-inch Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is almost as big as some of the taller graphic novels I have on my shelf, which seems appropriate considering its purpose. It does make it somewhat more difficult to carry around than the 7-inch Kindle Colorsoft, but it feels more authentic. And despite the larger 189 x 245mm body, it weighs only 400g and is 5.4mm thick, so it’s still more portable than some hardcover books.

As far as the overall design goes, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft looks exactly how you imagine a Kindle would look, except without that chunky bottom bezel. The bezels are still large enough for your hands to grip the device without getting in the way of the screen.

I reviewed the Graphite model with the white pen, but you can get the Fig colorway, which also comes with a Fig-colored pen. I usually don’t say this about tech, but I think I prefer the black model, only because the Fig colorway might be a little distracting while reading.

At the bottom, you’ll find the USB Type-C port for charging, and the power button is located on the top-right side. Just below that is the space where the pen attaches.

If you’re thinking that the pen might get in the way while attached to the right side, you’d be correct. It’s a silly design choice, especially when the pen is small enough (155 x 8.8mm) to easily fit on top of the Kindle.

Overall, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is sleek and inoffensive. It’s thin and light, albeit a bit harder to carry around than previous models, but who doesn’t want a little more reading and writing space? However, I am frustrated by the pen placement.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: display

• There’s color, but it’s not colorful
• Text and images are sharp

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft covers the black-and-white spectrum at 300 ppi and adds a splash of color at 150 ppi. There isn’t much the 11-inch display could do to elevate the average book reading experience, but it didn’t have to. Text looked clear and crisp, and the 36 white LEDs and 34 amber LEDs made it so I had a more comfortable reading experience depending on the setting I was in.

Like with other e-ink displays, the LEDs do create a layer of color (white or amber) that warps the image on the screen a little bit. With black text, it’s perfectly fine, as the difference is negligible. However, when introducing color, it’s more noticeable.

The problem is that, while it’s nice to have color, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is just not as colorful as I’d like it to be. I read “Hellblazer Vol. 1,” and when John Constantine heads to Africa, there are supposed to be these bright and bold pink and yellow hues, but they are muted on the Scribe Colorsoft’s screen. Even when set to “Vivid” mode, the color doesn’t pop. Honestly, this is to be expected from an e-ink display. But it doesn’t change the fact that you won’t get the same experience as looking at a real graphic novel. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that we can experience color at all, but at this wild asking price, it’s definitely not worth it for the color alone.

• Display score: 4 / 5

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: performance

• Relatively smooth
• The response times you expect

You’re not looking at a racehorse here; this is a little pony, and that's OK. You don’t need all the performance in the world to run an e-reader.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is relatively smooth across the board but still suffers from slightly slow response times during navigation. This isn’t a huge turn-off, since most of the experience comes down to turning a page. I did have to restart my Kindle once because it simply refused to connect to Wi-Fi no matter how many times I tried, but it resolved itself afterwards.

When doing more involved things like annotating or taking notes, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft kept up with all of my movements and demands with little issue. Zooming in around the pages also looked and felt smooth, although there’s still a slight awkward delay for the image to refresh, as I could clearly see the ghost of an image from the previous screen.

• User experience score: 4 / 5

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: software

• Surprisingly fast performance on E Ink
• Smooth zooming, whether color or black and white

All of the important bits of the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, or any e-reader, come down to the software experience. I am generally happy with what this Kindle provides, and it’s not that much different from other e-readers.

You’ve got the essentials that allow you to adjust the layout, font, spacing, etc. There are little things like the “Popular highlights” and “About this book” info, which are neat. Then there’s Word Wise, which defines unfamiliar words but also still needs a lot of work — it identifies overly simple words even at its lowest setting instead of exclusively honing in on the university-level vocabulary that most people would struggle with.

One of my personal favorite software features is being able to isolate comic panels. Double-tapping on a comic panel will make it full screen, and then you can flip through the following panels with ease. When it gets to a new page, it’ll show you the full page and then break down each panel at full screen. This is super cool because you don’t have to zoom in to get a closer look at what’s happening. However, it’s not perfect. I noticed an issue when reading “Attack on Titan” where, when there are two panels and text sprawled across them, sometimes the Kindle won’t combine the panels, and it cuts off the text.

Another cool feature is being able to simulate page turns, which I love in theory, but it doesn’t look the best in practice. The problem is that it’s a fade-in and -out effect instead of an actual flipping animation. It looks a bit more natural when reading a book because it’s a quick fade between texts, but it’s a much uglier transition with comics because there’s a lot of ghosting happening. It looks like it fades in chunks, and it was visually unsatisfying to the point where I turned it off.

To highlight the “Scribe” portion of this Kindle, the notetaking and markup process is rather smooth. The pen is equipped with an eraser on the back and a shortcut button on its side (defaulted to highlight). When reading a standard book, there are two important icons, one on the left and right. The leftmost icon is for all of your pen settings to customize the look, change between highlighters and erasers, and even insert notes and canvases between the text.

The right side of the screen is where you take your notes; it can expand and either split the screen with the text or hover over it, and wherever you write notes, it’ll attach a note symbol next to the closest text. That’s pretty intuitive, since you can change the layout of the book, so naturally it would move the space of your notes. You can even expand the size of notes to take up the full page if you want, so there’s plenty of room to write.

There are a lot of features for folks interested in the “Scribe” portion of things, and they operate pretty seamlessly overall. There’s even a workspace section where you can take full notes unrelated to what you’re reading. In that workspace, there are two AI features, one of which can summarize your notes, and the other can “Refine writing,” which basically transforms your notes into a text font that you can customize.

The only absent feature I noticed is that you can’t take any notes in comics. That means no drawings, notetaking, or even highlighting.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review: battery

• Light readers can go for weeks
• Heavy readers can go for days

According to Amazon, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft can survive for eight weeks if you're reading for 30 minutes at just under half brightness. I'll save you the math: that's 28 hours of reading time. For light readers, you could probably stretch that for a few weeks. Heavier readers will likely kill that battery in a few days.

I spent several weeks with the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, reading roughly an hour every day, and I didn't need to reach for a charger until toward the end of the month. That gives credit to Amazon’s battery life claim.

The reading time you experience will vary heavily based on the brightness of your screen. If you're someone who reads at close to zero brightness, you're going to get a lot more longevity out of the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.

Unfortunately, the battery does not charge fast. When I first got it, the battery was completely drained, and I had to wait quite a while before the Kindle showed any signs of life. It'll make you think it's broken, so I do not recommend letting it die.

• Battery score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft

• Review test period = four weeks
• Testing included = books, comics, manga

I spent a month bouncing around between books, comics, and manga. I read “The House Witch,” “The Time of Contempt,” “Hellblazer Vol. 1,” and “Attack on Titan,” most of which were available on Prime Reading. I spent roughly an hour a day reading. Logging into my Amazon account and getting them on the device was easy. Downloading comics and manga takes a little longer than books, but not significantly so.

For the “Scribe” portion of the review, I highlighted portions of dialogue and wrote little notes to myself to come back to later because the text was either written impeccably well or it was just a funny line. I also drew canvases between the text — just silly doodles right in the middle of the book.

First reviewed: May 2026

• E Ink and MediaTek are partnering to improve color display for ereaders
• It also wants to add AI-powered tools to ereaders such as translations and document summaries
• Though it its good news for color display performance, AI tools defeat the purpose of simplicity with ereaders

E Ink and MediaTek have announced that they will be expanding their partnership to make your ereaders even smarter.

Showcasing at Computex 2026, E Ink and MediaTek shared that they will be continuing with their collaboration to combine E Ink Gallery and E Ink Kaleido color display technologies with MediaTek’s latest chips to improve performance and make AI functions integral to the next generation of the best ereaders.

The core aspect of the partnership centers around the development of MediaTek’s MT8115 and MT8126 system-on-chips (SoC), which will pack AI-powered applications to carry out on-device tasks. This includes translating languages when reading texts not in your native tongue, multi-speaker voice recognition for capturing meeting transcriptions, and putting voice notes into text form. Additionally, these processors will also allow you to produce concise summaries of long documents.

Though AI integration is one of the partnership’s main objectives, it’s also designed to enhance color display ereaders which, despite having come a long way, can still fall behind on the performance front.

As well as supporting ereader displays up to 13.3 inches with 300 PPI high resolution, the partnership promises enhanced color rendering, making it easier for you to read illustrative texts such as magazines, textbooks, comics, and educational resources.

Not only will color displays appear brighter and more visually appealing, the E Ink Kaleido technology paired with MediaTek’s chips allow for smoother and faster page transitions and refreshes.

“Building on our longstanding partnership with MediaTek, we continue to optimize the ePaper display experience,” said VP of Business Center at E Ink, JM Hung, in the announcement. MediaTek’s VP, Adam King, also added to the announcement; "As generative AI reshapes the industry, we are combining MediaTek’s edge AI compute capabilities with E Ink’s full-color ePaper displays to evolve the digital reader into a true smart device”.

As handy as color display improvements sound, the proposed AI integrations could cause an uproar among AI haters who also use ereaders.

Though ereaders aren’t as advanced as tablets, that’s kind of the point. They provide a simple interface with basic reading purposes, and are perfect for escaping AI functions that the majority of everyday devices are rolling out by the minute. Reading as a means of leisure is built entirely on minimal distractions and escapism, so pumping AI tools into this seems counterintuitive and frankly, the last thing that bookworms would want from their reading experience.

How long will it be before Amazon jumps on this bandwagon with future generations of Kindles?

• The Zerowriter Fold is a new word processor with simple features for distraction-free writing
• It has an e-ink display, similar to Kindles
• It's currently taking pledges on Kickstarter, with first-wave shipping set for January 2027

Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if the next Kindle had a built-in keyboard?’ The Zerowriter Fold is a new device with an e-ink display, and it’s the closest thing to it — well, sort of.

While Kindles are perfect for reading, the Zerowriter Fold is a modern typewriter and word processor developed in Canada with a display that’s similar to the best ereaders. However, it’s purpose-built for writing text instead of reading books, and the best part is that there are no subscription catches. It’s one device, one payment.

At the moment, the Zerowriter Fold is being crowd-funded on Kickstarter, and the shipping for the first wave of orders is scheduled for January 2027, which includes the Zerowriter Fold, a charging cable, a handbook, and a keycap puller for switching out the keyboard. It’s currently accepting pledges of CAD$355 (around $256/ £192) for the next wave of devices, which are set to be shipped in March 2027.

Admittedly, this is quite a bit of time to wait, but looking at the demand for the first round of pledges (it was capped after hitting 500), this is something that consumers are actually passionate about.

The Zerowriter Fold’s main aim is to eliminate as many distractions as possible, ensuring that 100% of your focus goes into your writing. Unlike desktop word processors, you're not getting advanced features and settings, as they can easily welcome distractions.

Instead, the Zerowriter Fold sticks to the basics: a 6-inch e-ink display and a low-profile mechanical keyboard that can be replaced, so it’s easy to customize to suit your level of comfort. It offers two different writing modes: Drafting Mode for an always-forward, distraction-free experience, or Word Processing Mode, which gives you access to more editing tools such as amending text types and sizes and bookmarks.

As for its exporting functions, you can either save texts to SD cards as you would with a digital camera, scan a QR code to export to your smartphone, or use a USB-C cable to manage texts directly — but the stand-out feature is its impressive battery life.

Its built-in battery can run up to 100 hours in a single use, mainly because the Zerowriter Fold uses a low-power-consumption e-ink screen. Realistically, no one is going to be writing for four days straight, so the Zerowriter Fold can last for weeks before it needs another round of juice.

The company behind the Zerowriter Fold only started its journey in 2024, but has come a long way since. Prior to its latest Kickstarter campaign, the team developed the Zerowriter Ink, which is essentially the Fold but without its laptop-like enclosure. The company describes its latest word processor as “the first fully-realized Zerowriter”, as it states on its web page.

• Amazon's next Kindle lineup could come with user-replaceable batteries
• The company could also start selling its own replacement kits
• Support for older Kindles is ending on May 20, and users have started jailbreaking their devices

Amazon could be hiding something up its sleeve, and its next lineup of Kindle e-readers could be getting an upgrade every bookworm would be thankful for — replaceable batteries.

In the MobileReads forum, a handful of users sparked a discussion that pointed to messages found in Amazon’s Kindle 5.19.4 firmware update referring to user-replaceable batteries, as well as replacement kits and instructional guides. The firmware was then pulled, but eagle-eyed users managed to share it before it disappeared.

Though it’s speculation for now, one user in the forum shared they believe that “it is very likely”, who also shared the following messages found in the firmware release:

“This battery cannot be recognized and may not perform as expected. Charging has been limited to protect your device.”

“To return your device to its original performance specifications, we recommend installing a battery that complies with Amazon specifications.”

“Go to Settings > Device Options > Battery for battery troubleshooting guidance and support.”

“Scan the QR code below to purchase a battery replacement kit and view instructions for replacement.”

The move would align with a new EU regulation that will enforce tighter requirements on consumer electronics. As of February 2027, gadgets such as smartphones and tablets will need to have easy-to-repair batteries that don’t require specific tools, making it easier for users to replace certain hardware parts themselves.

In addition to replaceable batteries, it’s likely that Amazon’s next Kindle range could come with design upgrades to make switching out batteries easier. Most older models are sealed with adhesive, making it difficult for users to pry open their e-readers, while some Kindle batteries are glued into the device.

It would be a welcome upgrade for avid e-readers everywhere, but whether it’s enough to make up for shutting down support for pre-2012 models is another question.

Is Amazon doing this because it has to?

From May 20, Kindle devices released prior to 2012 will lose support meaning that, while you’ll still be able to read books already downloaded to your device, you’ll no longer be able to purchase, borrow, or download additional books on them after that date. Not only that, but the company also unveiled it would be pulling the plug on its Send to Kindle function — which allows you to wirelessly transfer ebooks you bought elsewhere, as well as documents and other files, to your Kindle.

To say this upset owners of these models would be underplaying the response it got from avid readers, but despite Amazon’s attempt to force users to needlessly upgrade to pricier devices, the jailbreaking bug has hit bookworms everywhere. With Amazon’s cease of support looming, users on Reddit aren’t being quiet about how they’re modifying their devices to download third-party apps such as KOReader to continue purchasing books and for most, it’s the best thing they’ve ever done.

You should note that jailbreaking your device isn’t recommended, and it comes with a handful of risks. For starters, it could lead to bugs, battery life deficiency, and other performance issues, and then there’s the matter of piracy. But for those who are dead set on avoiding having to upgrade their device, it’s become a common practice, as has sideloading books.

Amazon hasn’t been giving readers much of what they want, but now that replaceable batteries could be its next hardware upgrade, perhaps this will redeem the series of poor choices it's made lately.

I’m a massive fan of digital notebooks (aka epaper or E Ink tablets) — I’ve used over a dozen in the last few years and, as a habitual list maker and note taker, I find them extremely useful. My favorite e-notebook — purely from a writing experience — is the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024 edition) and, while I loved it when it first launched, the Kobo Elipsa 2E is now my least favorite as newer options just do it better.

I’ve come to realize that a lot of that preference boils down to one surprising element: the stylus. Or rather, the stylus' little nib and how it feels when you get down to the act of (figuratively) putting pen to paper.

The Kindle Premium Pen I use with the 2024 Scribe feels a lot softer and, thus, smoother than the hard plastic tip of the Kobo Stylus 2. Onyx Boox styli are also generally acceptable, though the prolific device maker has stumbled a little with its most recent InkSense Plus Stylus as the relatively thicker nib adds more friction than I personally prefer.

And that’s the clincher: stylus preference is very personal — while some writers prefer a smooth, flowing experience, others might want that extra friction or scratchiness. I’m firmly in the former camp and the absolute best stylus that’s given me that experience is the ViWoods C1 stylus.

Other than a Supernote pen, the C1 is the only other ceramic-tipped stylus I've tried and the amount of precision and control it offers is far more than anything I've experienced with the several bundled pens I've previously used.

Rather disappointingly, the C1 doesn’t come bundled with any of the ViWoods tablets — you need to purchase it separately. While it’s not cheap (costing $99 / £89.99 / AU$140), I think it’s well worth the extra splurge if you’re after a writing experience that combines smoothness and friction perfectly.

Using EMR (electromagnetic resonance) technology to pair the stylus to a tablet, the C1 also works with other competing epaper devices like Supernote and the now-discontinued reMarkable 2 (but not the newer reMarkable Paper series), on some of Samsung’s S-series Galaxy Tabs, as well as dedicated drawing slates from the likes of XPPen.

EMR pens like the C1 offer other advantages too, including superior pressure sensitivity and accurate positioning for precise line making, as well as faster response speed so there’s no lag between pen placement and the marks actually appearing on screen.

The power in a pen

Ever noticed that your handwriting can change depending on which pen you’re using? That’s because some pens feel more natural than others, which then translates to more pleasing handwriting. Again, this is largely dependent on the pen's nib and it's exactly the same for digital writing as well. While I rather like my handwriting, it's nicer — neater — when using the ViWoods C1.

For that, I give credit to the C1’s needle-like ceramic tip that’s pinpoint perfect and translates into better control over the marks being made on the screen. That control is increased because there’s zero input lag, which means it’s just like using a pen on paper.

That’s thanks to a speedy response time of 960Hz (or 960 RPS), which is the frequency at which a tablet records the stylus’ position and pressure. In the C1’s case, it’s sending data practically every millisecond! For context, a standard stylus typically has a response speed of 200 to 300 RPS.

This speed also makes me feel like I’m not exerting any pressure while writing — even the lightest touch makes the marks flow without generating any fatigue in my hand, and that’s an important consideration for me as I suffer from RSI in my fingers. In comparison, most other styli (including the Kindle Premium Pen I like so much and ViWoods’ own Stylus W2) feel like they’re ‘sticking’ to the screen and require a touch more effort to move.

Like I said, the C1 feels effortless.

The ceramic tip also makes the C1 a lot more long-lasting than other standard styli. It’s the only digital pen I’ve come across that doesn’t ship with extra replacement tips — ViWoods says the included one should last “a lifetime”, so there aren’t any ongoing costs here either. To offer some comparison, using the reMarkable Marker Plus for six months wore the tip down significantly (see the image on top of the page), while I replaced the Kindle Premium Pen’s tip after a year of near-daily use.

After learning about a colleague’s experience with titanium replacement tips that resulted in damaging the tablet’s screen, I was worried the same would happen when using a ceramic pen — after all, the C1 nib is also a pinpoint piece of hard material. However, after six months of testing on the ViWoods AiPaper and the reMarkable 2, I’ve seen no scratches.

Ergonomically, the ViWoods C1 is well designed, with just the right amount of heft and a non-slip grip. Like other EMR pens, it has a customizable shortcut button that can be set to highlighting, erasing or lassoing text, depending on which one you use the most. If I was nitpicking, I’d say that the eraser on the top of the C1 is a little rattly but, personally, I didn’t find it distracting and barely even registered it when I was concentrating on the task at hand.

Take note — there’s a caveat

As someone who reviews e-ink devices regularly, I have a rather large collection of epaper tablets and I tried the ViWoods C1 on seven of them, namely the 2024 Kindle Scribe, two Kobo note takers (even though I know they don't support EMR), a reMarkable and 3 Boox tablets. I expected the C1 to be able to write on the Kindle Scribe and the Boox Note Air3 at the very least but, unfortunately, it only worked on one of those devices (the reMarkable 2).

Even if it did write on other tablets, the pen’s full functionality might not be unleashed due to software incompatibility between the tablet and the stylus. For example, erasing with the pen on the ViWoods AiPaper was a lot more effective than when I performed the same task on the reMarkable 2. Intelligent lasso also worked only on the ViWoods device and not on the reMarkable. This can make it hard to recommend purchasing a second stylus, even one as good as the C1.

Every brand that sells a large-screen epaper writing tablet bundles it with its own stylus, offering you full functionality at no extra cost. Nearly all of them have no discernible lag (it’s only when you use something like the C1 that you realize there’s something faster) and they write quite well, so not everyone will need an additional stylus. However, if you write or draw every day, finding the best stylus for your needs is definitely worth the extra cost, as long as you keep the caveats in mind.

First revealed at the 2026 BookCon event in New York last month, Kobo has announced a range of limited-edition "collector cases" with "whimsical" and colorful designs. The cases are, indeed, beautiful, going from a leafy Green Canopy option to more fun and joyful Botanical Bliss and each design is available for all three 2024 ereader releases — the Kobo Libra Colour, Clara BW and Clara Colour.

They're already listed for purchase on the Kobo websites in the US and the UK, and Aussies will be able to buy them from May 12 — the smaller cases cost $29.99 / £24.99 / AU$44.95, while a Libra Colour collector case will set you back $39.99 / £34.99 / AU$49.95.

I personally love the Botanical Bliss case and wouldn't mind it on my Kobo Libra Colour, but, in all honesty, I'm a little disappointed with this announcement. I was really keen to hear about an updated version of the Kobo Elipsa 2E that is now long in the tooth and feels dated against the likes of the latest releases of the Kindle Scribe and Boox Note series.

I remember a time when Kobo would release new hardware nearly every May, but 2025 was an exception and the Japanese-Canadian brand launched the Kobo Remote later in the year instead. With no new ereader release since the three current devices from 2024, I really thought 2026 was when we would see an updated 10-inch slate.

Analysis: the Kobo Elipsa 2E just doesn't compare any more

I make no secret of the fact that I'm partial to Kobo's user interface, and I'd been using the Kobo Elipsa 2E since its release in 2023 as my ereader and digital notebook. At the time, I liked it so much that I called it a real Kindle Scribe contender in my Kobo Elipsa 2E review, but I replaced it with the 2nd-generation Kindle Scribe in 2025 as the latter offered me a better reading and writing experience. In fact, I find the Onyx Boox Go 10.3 a better digital notebook despite not having a frontlight.

I still love Kobo's Advanced Notebooks, but the hard-nibbed Kobo Stylus 2 doesn't feel as nice to use as Amazon's Premium Pens or the many other styli that come packaged with their respective tablets. Nearly every other stylus I've tried, including those from ViWood, offers a smoother ballpoint pen-like experience that you won't get from the Kobo Stylus 2.

The ambient light sensor on the 2024 Kindle Scribe makes the display look brighter and the 300ppi resolution puts the Elipsa's 227ppi screen to shame. In fact, most 10-inch monochrome digital notebooks released in 2025 have a 300ppi display.

There have been several Boox tablets released since the Elipsa 2E and while I'm not expecting Kobo to match that frequency — I really hope not as the Boox devices aren't exactly perfect — even Amazon released new Scribe models in 2024 and 2025!

If you really want a Kobo note-taker, the Libra Colour is still my pick of the best ereader to buy (and the Kobo Sage has been discontinued), but the Kobo Stylus 2 is still not the nicest pen to write with, so a refresh of a couple of hardware items is overdue.

So c'mon, Kobo, where's the new Elipsa at?

Onyx Boox Palma 2 Pro: Two-minute review

The Onyx Boox Palma 2 Pro is the kind of interesting ereader innovation I want to see more of, even if the biggest appeal is still just how unusual it is. My ereader expert colleague reviewed the original Palma and the newer Palma 2, but I have been able to use both of these devices as my main ereader, to ensure a good basis for comparison.

The Palma 2 Pro takes the same pocket-friendly, phone-like form of the Palma 2 and adds a color E Ink display, more memory, Android 15, SIM support and stylus compatibility. The Palma is already somewhat of a niche ereader (and a niche we are big fans of), so these new features are quite ambitious.

The 6.13-inch, 2:1 screen is still the main reason to consider the Palma. It looks and feels more like a smartphone than a typical ereader, and comes complete with a speaker, dual microphones, side buttons, a rear camera and now a hybrid SIM tray. But rather than an LCD or OLED display, it uses an e-paper display that means it’s a much nicer experience for long reading sessions.

In other words — if you already consume books, articles or newsletters on your phone and want something easier on the eyes, the Palma 2 Pro has a lot of appeal.

Another new advantage is stylus support — like some of the larger models, the Palma 2 Pro works with a compatible stylus and enables note-taking directly on the device. Another great little extra is a combined SIM/SD card slot, which means you can upgrade the storage or add in a data SIM and access books (and the internet) when on the go.

Physically, the Pro is very similar to the Palma 2, though there are a few useful changes that show how the design has progressed more than just changing to a color display. The power button (that also houses the fingerprint reader) is still on the right edge but the volume/page-turn buttons now sit on the left with the smart button — a layout that feels a lot more intuitive.

The SIM/SD card tray is on the bottom and the body is a little thicker. At 172g bare on my scales (Boox lists it as approximately 175g), it’s still easy to carry around, and even with the soft case from my review package fitted, it remained pocket-friendly enough for daily use, plus there’s an excellent magnetic flip cover.

The biggest change, of course, is the screen. The Palma 2 Pro uses a Kaleido 3 color E Ink panel, whereas the Palma 2 has a Carta 1200 monochrome display. The upgrade to color immediately makes the interface, book covers, comics, web pages and some apps feel more engaging and useful than they do on the black-and-white Palma 2. To be clear, it’s not bright, glowing color like you get from a phone or tablet, or glossy like a magazine — it’s closer to soft pastels on paper.

While the black and white part of the display has the same resolution and DPI as the Palma 2, the Kaleido 3 color layer gives the screen a slightly grainier look, with grayer whites, compared to the sharp Carta display on the Palma 2.

While reading on the Palma 2 Pro is still great, it does mean the Pro is not an automatic upgrade for everyone. For pure monochrome text, the Palma 2 still has a clearer, more paper-like display, with better perceived contrast and cleaner whites.

That means the Palma 2 is still a solid choice, while the Palma 2 Pro is at its best for those who will actually make use of the color screen.

The Pro has had a slight bump in spec, which in turn makes the user experience a little slicker. An upgrade to Android 15 (the Palma 2 runs Android 13) gives the Palma 2 Pro a more current interface, while 8GB of RAM (up from 6GB), Android 15 and updated software tuning help it feel slightly smoother when opening apps, scrolling through menus and using gesture navigation.

It’s still an E Ink device, so you won’t mistake it for the responsiveness of a smartphone, but third-party apps such as Kindle, Kobo and Google Play Books work well, and Google Play Store support gives it far more flexibility than most ereaders.

I also found the fingerprint scanner accurate and very handy on the Pro. It’s quick to set up and, in daily use, it rarely failed to unlock the device. In comparison, the Palma 2 doesn’t unlock quite as reliably.

The stylus support worked well, and the Boox stylus is easy to start using — no pairing is needed. Handwritten notes can be made in compatible apps, like Boox’s Notes app, or on your ebooks with NeoReader. The small screen means it takes a little getting used to and it’s not as capable as a larger note-taking device, but it is a nice little extra for those who like to jot down handwritten thoughts.

Making it slightly less appealing though, is that buying the Boox stylus adds around an extra 10% to the price, and there’s no neat way to carry it with the flip cover.

The Palma 2 Pro continues some of the little niggles that felt out of place considering the price of the Palma 2. The body still feels plasticky rather than premium, the camera is more useful for quick scans than for taking photos, the speaker is basic and performance is on the low end compared to a phone. The Palma 2 Pro is also considerably more expensive than the regular Palma 2 and other mainstream 6-inch ereaders.

Still, I like the Palma 2 Pro for the same reason I like the Palma 2: it’s compact, versatile and something genuinely different. The color screen won’t suit everyone, but if you want a pocketable Android ereader that can handle books, apps, light web use, color-rich documents and the occasional note-taking session, it’s a great upgrade to one of the most interesting ereaders around.

Onyx Boox Palma 2 Pro review: Price & availability

• Announced October 2025
• List price: $379.99 / €399.99 / £379.99 / AU$679
• Available now directly from the Boox Shop and select retailers

The Palma 2 Pro is a much more expensive device than the regular Palma 2, with current pricing sitting at $380 / £380 / AU$679. That makes it pricey even by premium ereader standards, and it’s a notable step up from the Palma 2’s current $250 / £249 / AU$499 pricing.

On the plus side, that higher price does give you a tasty set of new and updated features. The Palma 2 Pro adds a Kaleido 3 color E Ink display, 8GB of RAM, Android 15, a hybrid SIM slot with mobile data support and compatibility with the Boox InkSense Plus stylus.

While these are all great additions, they won’t all matter equally to every reader, so the best value proposition is only going to apply to a smaller subset of potential buyers. If you mostly want a pocketable device for reading typical ebooks, the regular Palma 2 is still the better choice.

The Pro starts to make more sense if you’ll actually use the color display for book covers, comics, web pages, documents or apps, or if mobile data support is important to you.

The Boox website has a range of compatible accessories available. For the Palma 2 Pro, stylus support helps it feel more useful beyond reading, though it’s worth noting that the Boox stylus is sold separately and is priced around $46 / £47 / AU$72 — adding around 10% to the total purchase cost.

The standard box includes the Palma 2 Pro, USB-C cable, card tray eject tool, quick start guide and warranty card. My review package also included the Magnetic 2-in-1 protective flip case, which is another $22 / £22 / AU$38 or so from Boox.

Compared with mainstream 6-inch ereaders, the Palma 2 Pro is expensive, and it is on par with a mid-range smartphone. In fact, you could buy almost three Amazon Kindle or Kobo Clara BW ereaders for the price of the Palma 2 Pro, but they also don’t offer the same Android flexibility, color E Ink display, large storage capacity or phone-like form factor.

That said, I could better stomach the price if the Palma 2 Pro came with the stylus and case as standard, but as it stands, it only really offers decent value if you truly need the unique form factor and will actually use the full set of features.

• Value score: 3 / 5

Onyx Boox Palma 2 Pro review: Specs

Onyx Boox Palma 2 Pro review: Design & display

• Available in Charcoal Black and Ivory White
• Color E Ink makes the Palma format more versatile
• Phone-like and pocket-friendly

The Palma 2 Pro mostly sticks to the Palma 2’s design, but the small changes do make it feel a little more polished in daily use. It’s still unmistakably a Palma, with the same tall, phone-like shape, rear camera, speaker, dual microphones, USB-C port and compact footprint, but it’s slightly thicker at 8.8mm (up from 8mm) and a little heavier at 172g on my scales, up from the Palma 2’s measured 166g.

The button layout has changed too. The power button with fingerprint scanner now sits on the right edge, while the volume/page-turn buttons have moved to the left with the smart button. The hybrid SIM tray is on the bottom beside the USB-C port, while the microphones have shifted closer to the speaker.

None of these changes dramatically alter how the Palma 2 Pro feels, but I think the layout is a bit more intuitive than the Palma 2 as volume buttons on the left mean they sit under a forefinger, rather than under a thumb on the right.

If you don’t use the volume buttons for page turning (or you are left-handed), then the smartphone-like layout on the Palma 2 might be preferable.

Build quality is very similar to the Palma 2 — it’s a little plasticky, and the rear panel has a rough, grippy texture. The Pro is white rather than cream, and the surface of the plastic is a matte gloss, rather than being purely matte, but isn’t slippery.

Unlike the silver buttons on the Palma 2, the Pro uses the same shade of white on the buttons and the body, giving a sleeker, understated look. While most ereaders use a lot of plastic, the build certainly doesn’t feel as premium as its price suggests.

While I didn’t run into any issues of the surface staining like my colleague experienced in her Palma 2 review, it’s still plastic, so even with the flip case, I wouldn’t leave it loose in a bag with keys or other sharp objects. Like a phone, it is best kept in a protected pocket of a backpack, and while the glass screen feels reasonably tough, damage is still worth guarding against.

My review package included the magnetic flip case, which is a big upgrade over the flip case that came with the Palma 2. It has a cloudy-clear flexible shell that clips around the device, plus a detachable flip cover that connects magnetically. The shell is the part with the magnets, not the Palma 2 Pro itself, and it also carries through MagSafe-style support so it can be attached to a compatible stand.

This makes it very easy to keep protected when on the go, but also allows it to be instantly pulled out from the flip case for more relaxed at-home use.

The case doesn’t give heavy-duty protection, but it’s an excellent compromise between a bulkier folio and a slim shell. The flip cover attaches easily but stays secure, the fake-leather material feels well made and there are no sharp or rough edges. It also adds good grip without making the Palma 2 Pro feel too big, and in fact I wish I could get this style flip case for my phone.

Sadly the new flip case is only available for the Palma 2 Pro, which feels like a misstep from Boox, as there is a Palma/Palma 2 flip case with magnetic attachment available, just in the older style. This means either of the outer, magnetically attached parts of the case could work fine with either device, but you can’t buy the actual shell with the magnets separately, which is needed due to the changed button locations.

Pocketability is still one of the biggest reasons to buy the Palma 2 Pro as it feels much closer to carrying a phone than a conventional ereader. Even in the flip case, it’s still easy to slip into a jacket or pants, and it is the right size to work with phone-specific bag pockets, or even accessories like waterproof pouches.

The display is where the Pro version will pique a lot of new interest over the Palma 2. It uses a 6.13-inch Kaleido 3 color E Ink screen, with the same 300ppi black-and-white resolution as the Palma 2, but color content is displayed at 150ppi. That’s normal for this kind of color E Ink panel, and it means the Palma 2 Pro can show book covers, comics, web pages, app icons and more in color but still give a crisp black and white e-paper experience for text.

There is a trade-off, and overall clarity suffers somewhat. The color layer sits over the monochrome layer and adds a fine grid-like texture, so plain text doesn’t look quite as crisp or contrasty as it does on the Palma 2, and blank areas have a slightly grainy, screen-door-type look.

It’s still very readable, and I had no issue using it for long sessions, but the monochrome Palma 2 has cleaner whites and better contrast if all you care about is text.

Color on the Palma 2 Pro also shouldn’t be confused with color on a phone or tablet, or even a magazine print. It’s muted and pastel-like rather than glossy and bright, but that works well for an ereader.

The small touches of color throughout the OS make the device feel nicer to use, and switching back to a black-and-white ereader feels rather limiting, despite offering a better display for reading text.

Touch response is similar to the Palma 2. Page turns are quick enough, menus respond well enough and the touchscreen is accurate, but there’s still noticeable lag compared to a phone if you drag items around.

Screen refreshes can also look slightly fuzzier on the Pro because the color screen shows a little more ghosting, though if you tweak the settings to your own preferences, it produces a fairly clean image overall.

As with the Palma 2, the 2:1 aspect ratio won’t suit everyone, but it’s still the standout part of the design. It makes the Palma 2 Pro a very good fit for people who already read on their phones and want something easier on the eyes, while still keeping the same portable feel.

Boox describes the Palma 2 Pro as water-repellent, with protection against daily exposure such as spills, splashes and light rain, but it’s not waterproof and doesn’t have an IP rating. That’s fine for normal use, but I wouldn’t treat it like a waterproof ereader and take it in the bath.

• Design & display score: 4 / 5

Onyx Boox Palma 2 Pro review: User experience

• Android 15 with Google Play Store support
• More customizable than a Kindle or Kobo
• File transfers are easy

The Palma 2 Pro still isn’t a phone, even if it looks more like one than most ereaders. Setup is much like using a small Android device: you connect to Wi-Fi, sign in, activate the Play Store and start installing apps. It’s familiar enough if you’ve used Android before, but there are still plenty of Boox-specific settings to get used to.

That extra control is part of the appeal. You can adjust refresh behavior, navigation, power-saving settings, app optimization and reading layouts in far more detail than you can on a Kindle or Kobo. It can feel like a lot at first, but in daily use, the Palma 2 Pro gives you useful control over how much speed, clarity and battery life you want to prioritize.

Getting your documents and ebooks onto the device is quite easy. BooxDrop is a good starting point — it lets you transfer files from a phone or computer over Wi-Fi. If you are in the Google ecosystem, you can use the Drive app (or other Android app of your choice) and wired transfers over a USB cable on Windows just require plugging it in.

The Android to Mac experience isn’t as simple, and Apple requires its users to install third-party apps such as MacDroid to connect to an Android device.

USB-C OTG support also worked seamlessly, and like the Palma 2, the Pro will happily read files straight from a USB stick. For most users, though, BooxDrop or cloud storage is probably still the simplest option.

While the two devices are very similar, in my testing the touchscreen is a little better on the Pro compared to the Palma 2, but it still doesn’t feel anywhere near as responsive as a phone. Light taps are occasionally not picked up and swipes don’t always give enough instant feedback to help show you are doing it right.

Once I adjusted and used slightly slower, more purposeful touch interactions, it worked just fine, but there is a little recalibration compared to the haptic feel of a smartphone.

I didn’t have a lot of patience for NaviBall, Boox’s floating shortcut tool that opens when tapped. The idea is useful, but in practice it often sat over text or stopped pop-up buttons like confirm and cancel from working correctly and had to be moved before those buttons could be used. You can move it around easily enough, but I eventually stopped using it, as it added more friction overall than convenience.

The Boox InkSense Plus stylus is very capable, with 4,096 pressure levels, tilt support, a shortcut side button and replaceable 0.6mm tips. It’s also an active stylus, so it needs charging via USB-C, unlike the passive pens used by some note-taking tablets.

I found it great for quick annotations, short notes and rough sketches, but the small screen size makes sustained handwriting impractical. The Notes app can also convert handwriting to text, but I didn't find this useful due to the limited amount of writing I did.

If writing is important to you, check out my colleagues' reviews of the 7-inch color display Boox Go Color 7 Gen II, the monochrome 7-inch Boox Go 7 or the 10.3-inch Boox Note Air5 C.

While Boox hasn't noted any hardware changes, the fingerprint scanner feels slightly improved on the Pro. It is easy to set up, and in daily use, I found it rarely failed to register and unlock on the first go. That makes it feel far more usable than it did on the Palma 2, where the sensor needed more careful finger placement.

Audio is still best judged by ereader standards compared to the surprisingly good results from some smartphones. The built-in speaker is fine for audiobooks and podcasts, but Bluetooth headphones or a small speaker are still the better option if you care about sound quality.

I had no issue with pairing Bluetooth devices, but using your favorite music streaming app needs a little setup to get it to work correctly. For example, with YouTube Music, I had to unfreeze the app and adjust power settings so Wi-Fi and Bluetooth weren’t turned off when the device slept.

The downside is that this has a noticeable impact on battery life, and if you use it as a music streamer, expect to charge it every few days. If you are serious about using it to play music, then the best bet is downloaded files and local playback through the built-in music app.

Video playback works, but only in the loosest sense, and it does not give a very watchable result. That said, music videos can be oddly pleasant if you lean into the low-resolution, low-frame-rate, pastel-color look.

The same is true for many mobile games — anything where high resolution or non-glacial framerates matter won’t be much fun, but some titles are perfectly playable.

The extra flexibility of being able to install and use regular apps is great overall, but despite the color screen, the Palma 2 Pro is much better thought of as a reading-first device that happens to handle audio playback and other light Android tasks better than most ereaders.

• User experience score: 4 / 5

Onyx Boox Palma 2 Pro review: Performance

• Faster than the Palma 2, but still limited by E Ink
• Handles Android apps well for an E Ink device
• Battery life is very good

Thanks to extra RAM, Android 15 and software tuning, the Palma 2 Pro is slightly faster than the Palma 2 in daily use, though it’s not the kind of spec upgrade that changes what the device is good at.

It’s still an E Ink ereader first, so the improvements are more about smoother user experience than enabling phone-like usage.

Boox doesn't specify the exact processor, but CPU X identifies the chipset as QTI SM6350, with two cores running at 2.07GHz and six at 1.71GHz, plus Adreno 619 graphics.

That's the same class of hardware as the Palma 2, but the Pro pairs it with 8GB of RAM rather than 6GB. Android 15 and Boox’s software tuning also help the Pro feel smoother in daily use.

In Geekbench 6 benchmark testing, the Palma 2 Pro scored 632 for single-core, 1,586 for multi-core and 835 for GPU, compared to the Palma 2’s 519, 1,211 and 723 respectively.

That puts it 22% ahead in single-core testing, 31% ahead in multi-core and 15% ahead for GPU, giving the Pro a measurable advantage even if the real-world difference is a bit more modest than the numbers might suggest.

In real-world use, page turns feel slightly faster and smoother than on the Palma 2, but the difference is small. App launching and multitasking are a little better too. Apps open a touch quicker, menus feel more responsive and gesture navigation is noticeably easier to live with than it was on the Palma 2.

You still need to allow for the usual E Ink delay, but the Pro feels a little less hesitant when jumping between apps or digging into settings.

As with the Palma 2, gaming on the Pro is also workable, as long as you keep expectations realistic. Simple games like Alphabear 2 and Two Dots run fine, while more visually involved games such as Monument Valley 2 and Sky: Children of the Light are playable in a way that feels odd, but not unpleasant, on the E Ink screen.

The color display does help here, though the muted tones and lower refresh rate mean this is still more of a novelty than a device you’d pick for gaming.

Battery life is a little lower than the Palma 2, which isn’t surprising considering the better performance. The Pro uses the same 3,950mAh battery capacity as the Palma 2, and overall endurance is still very good.

The color screen itself does not use any extra power when it isn’t being refreshed, and even refreshes only use slightly more. The bigger impact comes from usage: when displaying a lot of color, the lower reflectivity means you tend to have the front light set slightly brighter than when reading plain text.

With conservative settings and around an hour of reading a day, I’d expect about five to six weeks from a charge, whereas the Palma 2 will do a week or two longer. If you’re using more apps, streaming audio, browsing the web and making use of wireless connections, two to three weeks is a more realistic expectation of battery life.

Charging speed will still depend on what you plug it into, but the Pro tops up quicker than the Palma 2 does in the same test. Using a wall adapter, the Palma 2 Pro went from 20% to full in around two hours, while charging from a laptop dock took it from 25% to 71% in an hour.

Overall, the Palma 2 Pro is a modest but useful step up in performance. Responsiveness is still limited by the lower-end hardware and E Ink display, but it feels smoother, handles Android better and has more than enough battery life to work well as a daily ereader.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Onyx Boox Palma 2 Pro?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

There aren’t many direct rivals to the Palma 2 Pro, which makes recommending alternatives a little tricky. Its phone-like shape, color E Ink display, Android flexibility, mobile data support and stylus compatibility put it in a very small category. Devices like the Bigme HiBreak Plus/Pro have very similar features, but we have not been able to test one yet, and they are harder to buy plus not as well supported as a known name like Boox.

Ultimately, most buyers will be choosing between the Palma 2 Pro and a more conventional ereader, or deciding whether the regular Palma 2 is enough. I’ve included the closest practical options below, covering the standard Palma 2 and two mainstream 6-inch ereaders.

For even more options, check out our guide to the best ereaders.

How I tested the Onyx Boox Palma 2 Pro

• Used as my daily reading device for 8 weeks
• Sideloaded eBooks, music and other files via BooxDrop, cloud, email and USB
• Downloaded Android apps for benchmarking, reading, streaming, browsing and light gaming

I began by following the on-screen setup process, connecting the Palma 2 Pro to Wi-Fi, activating Google Play and adjusting the main Boox settings for refresh rate, power-saving and system navigation. Like other Boox devices, there are more customization options here than you’ll find on a Kindle or Kobo, so I spent some time tuning the setup before using it as my daily ereader.

I used BooxDrop to transfer ebooks and music files, then tested other transfer methods including Google Drive, email, OTG and wired file transfer.

I downloaded Android apps from the Play Store, including Geekbench 6, CPU X, Google Play Books, Kindle, Kobo, Chrome, YouTube Music and a small selection of games. The reading apps were used to check page turns, refresh behavior and display optimization, while the music and browser apps were used to test how well the Palma 2 Pro handles more general Android tasks.

For most of the eight-week testing period, I used the Palma 2 Pro daily as an ereader. I also used it for web browsing, local music playback, YouTube Music streaming, audiobooks, light gaming and occasional video playback to test where its E Ink limitations stood out.

To compare it directly with the Palma 2, I used both devices side by side for reading, app use, navigation, scanning, sample photos and benchmarking. That comparison was especially useful for checking whether the color display, extra RAM and Android 15 made a practical difference in daily use.

Read more about how we test.

[First reviewed May 2026]

• The Xteink X4 ereader has gone viral for its compact size
• It's 4.3 inches, weighs under 80 grams and can be attached to Qi2-compatible smartphones
• It's the first non-Amazon ereader to make the top 10 list

Amazon has been the reigning champion of the best ereaders and its range of Kindle devices continue to dominate the market — but this viral mini ereader has taken social media and bookworms by storm.

The Xteink X4 is the latest gadget that users online can’t get enough of, and it’s all because of its compact size. Coming in at 4.3 inches and weighing 2.72 ounces (which is just under 78 grams), the Xteink X4 is small enough to fit comfortably in your pocket and can even be attached to Qi2-compatible smartphones such as newer iPhone models and Google Pixel phones.

Besides offering the features of a regularly-sized ereader but in compact form, its reasonable $70 price mark is another big selling point — a decent budget option compared to newer Kindle models which can be quite the investment. But following its popularity surge thanks to its online hype, it’s become a new rival for Amazon’s own ereader brand, and it could ring alarm bells for the retail juggernaut.

In a rare turn of events the Xteink X4 has ushered its way into Amazon’s top 10 best-selling ereaders, making it the first non-Amazon device to make the list. It currently sits in the number six spot, surpassing the Kindle Colorsoft and the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, the former which still takes one of the top spots in our list of the best Kindles.

Despite the positives, reviews of its software have been a bit of a mixed bag as Trusted Reviews puts it, with some owners highlighting that its software offerings can be quite basic. But even then, this isn’t a massive setback that’s pushing away prospective owners, and it still offers an adequate casual reading experience, which could be even more of a threat to Kindle devices — especially given Amazon’s latest Kindle crackdown.

Just a few weeks ago Amazon announced it would be pulling the plug on older devices despite them still being used, which frustrated users believe is a way for the company to get you to needlessly upgrade to a new and thus pricier Kindle. The decision affects Kindle devices released in 2012 and before, meaning that as of May 20, you’ll no longer be able to purchase or download new books to your device, but you’ll still have access to read content that’s already downloaded.

• Check out this tiny ereader you can build yourself
• The parts can be put together for less than $50
• It comes a small ereader display with 3D-printed parts

It may not make it into our best ereaders list, but the tiny ereader built by YouTuber Paul Lagier definitely has lots of appeal: it's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and it was custom made for less than $50.

Watch the full video (via Android Authority) to see how it was done. The device is battery powered and uses several 3D-printed parts, together with a 1,500 mAh battery and an 2.13-inch LoRa E-Ink Display Module sourced from Amazon.

Crucially, the affordable display that Lagier chose already has a microcontroller and charging circuitry built in, which means the only added hardware needed was a power source and a case. All in all, the estimated cost is under $50 (around £37 / AU$70).

Lagier says the pocket-friendly gadget is "designed to do just one thing, help me start reading again". He's hoping that the small size of his ereader means he can quickly grab a few minutes of reading time in between everything else going on each day.

From firmware to file uploads

The video above offers a fascinating look at the construction of the small device, together with some context on Lagier's reading habits, the motivation for the project, and details of what makes an ereader an ereader.

Lagier made a custom shell for the ereader, together with a single button for controlling everything on screen, but he describes coding the firmware and navigation system as "the most complex part" of the build.

The ereader uses a USB-C port for charging, and is able to read plain, DRM-free text files that can be uploaded through a web browser — the gadget can actually create its own temporary Wi-Fi hotspot for file transfer purposes.

There's even a bookmark feature for pages you want to save, and Lagier says battery life works out at about two weeks between charges. If you're interested in building your own, check out the project page at Ko-fi, and Lagier's follow-up video too.

• Pre-2013 Kindles will soon lose Send to Kindle support
• This follows news that they'll lose access to the Kindle Store
• The changes are set to happen on May 20

It’s fair to say that a lot of Kindle owners aren’t particularly happy with Amazon right now, as the company recently announced that pre-2013 models will no longer be supported from May 20.

The support page detailing this change initially just mentioned that these devices would no longer be able to access the Kindle Store or use Kindle Unlimited, but now — as spotted by GoodEreader — the page has been updated to say that Send to Kindle will also stop working.

Send to Kindle is a feature that lets you wirelessly transfer ebooks you bought elsewhere, as well as documents and other files, to your Kindle, but from May 20 the only way to get content onto affected Kindles will be via USB cable.

So it’s a change that makes these older models even more useless than they were previously set to become.

Unhappy readers

There haven’t been many reactions to this Send to Kindle news yet, but in the days since Amazon first announced that these older models would lose access to the Kindle Store there has been no shortage of annoyed responses to that.

On Reddit this includes things like “I hate this”, “screwing the most loyal early adopters is extremely not cool”, and “this is a revolting waste.”

Amazon is offering a 20% discount off new devices, but given that the same fate might eventually befall those too, this could end up pushing users to rival services like Kobo, or perhaps to something with direct access to multiple ebook stores, like a Viwoods or Boox device.

A couple of years ago, I lost my 12-year-old Kindle Paperwhite. I was briefly devastated, and then bought a new one because I had to. Now I consider myself somewhat lucky, because I was spared the frustration of watching my Kindle's untimely demise at the hands of its parent: Amazon.

The company announced this week that it's about to effectively brick almost a dozen Kindle e-readers built before 2013. As we reported, people took to Reddit to express their dismay — and I don't blame them.

This is potentially a disaster of Amazon's own making and, in a way, a byproduct of its own expert craftsmanship. After all, consumer electronics built almost 15 years ago have no business still working today — and yet they sometimes do.

When I lost my Kindle Paperwhite during a business trip in 2024, it was working perfectly. The only thing it had lost was Amazon's 3G Whispernet cellular network; it was free and meant I could download a book from almost anywhere, but the end of 3G also spelled the end of Whispernet. Oh, and the built-in browser no longer functioned. To be fair, it barely works on my 2025-generation Kindle.

I've long been impressed with Kindle builds, going back to the original models, which, despite having more physical buttons (even a full physical keyboard on the Kindle 2), held up surprisingly well. I think my son has my Kindle 2 stuffed in a drawer somewhere.

They were impressively hard to break. While I used to carry my Paperwhite in a protective case, I eventually grew tired of the extra weight and dropped it unprotected in my backpack. Even by 2024, the screen was unbroken.

As of 2010, Amazon had sold almost eight million Kindles. I suspect the number more than doubled over the next two years. How many are still using those devices? Who knows, but it could be in the tens of thousands. Amazon made a great product, consumers loved it, and now it's pulling the e-reading rug out from under them.

Amazon is turning the wrong page

Amazon's predicament, or self-generated calamity, reminds me of Sonos, another company making fantastic hardware that casually withstands the tests of time.

I have a pair of Play:1 speakers that I picked up in 2014. They feature a timeless design, and sound quality that rivals any similarly sized and priced speaker you could buy today. In 2020, Sonos tried to encourage customers to upgrade by offering a big discount on new speakers, but only if you basically discarded your old ones (put them in 'Recycle mode'). The move was met with almost universal disdain, and Sonos eventually backed off the plan.

In that same year, Sonos warned that older speakers might stop getting software updates and would eventually stop working with the Sonos apps. That's right, Sonos was really batting a thousand with customers. This plan was also eventually shelved, and I can happily report that my Play:1 speakers continue to work perfectly to this day. Sonos got the message.

Amazon, however, did not. As of this moment, the company plans to end support for still perfectly functional Kindles, making it virtually impossible for them to download new books (side-loading may continue to work).

The backlash will likely be swift and ongoing. As one Kindle customer told me on X, "Upgrading? They are breaking our Kindles and expect we’ll remain customers?"

Who knows, the number of customers leaving Amazon because of this Kindle decision might end up being a rounding error, but there's a loss of goodwill that will be harder to measure. Just ask Sonos, which has spent years rebuilding its relationship with customers.

• Kindle owners are frustrated with Amazon's decision to end support for old models
• Users say they shouldn't need to upgrade if devices are working as normal
• Sideloading is still an option, but Amazon could stop this workaround.

It’s official, Amazon is ending support for a wide array of older Kindle models as of May 20, and it’s shaken up a lot of keen e-readers to say the least.

Since users online shared that they received an email detailing the change, it garnered a slew of comments and reactions, particularly on Reddit — none of which seem to welcome Amazon’s decision to cease support. If your pre-2012 Kindle hasn’t let you down yet, I’m afraid the time for an upgrade might come sooner than you think, but you’re not the only one in this boat.

If it's not broken, don't fix it

As mentioned, all Kindle models released in 2012 and before will no longer receive support. This means that you’ll still be able to read content that’s already downloaded on your device, but you won’t be able to purchase or download new books after May 20 this year.

The reaction speaks for itself, and a vast majority of these users are quite pressed about it, especially since it will affect devices that are still widely used today — most notably the Kindle 3, Kindle 4, and the first generation Kindle Paperwhite. If there are so many users who are satisfied with how these older devices are still performing, then why the need to end support?

Some are convinced it’s a classic Amazon money-grabbing scheme, with one user questioning “Why replace something so simple like this that still works?”.

Most Kindle users in the Reddit thread have come to a collective agreement; if it’s not broken, don’t fix it (or end it in this case). For most users, the simplicity of a Kindle is what has kept them glued to older models instead of upgrading to Amazon’s more advanced, and therefore pricier, models. It's simply because advanced features aren't a huge necessity for those who just want a device for reading books.

Unlike devices such as phones, computers, and tablets that require new hardware iterations to keep up with evolving software and security updates, e-readers have a singular flagship purpose and that’s for reading. “It's a text reader, that's it, no need to turn it into a brick other than money,” one user shared, while another commented “if the device isn't broken, and can still be used, and all of the features we want and/ or need are on the devices we already own, then we shouldn't have to upgrade”.

However, despite this, there appears to be a silver lining. Yes, you won't be able to purchase and download new books to the affected devices, but this won't stop users from sideloading books from sites that aren't Amazon as a workaround.

A popular way of sideloading books onto a Kindle is by sending files and EPUBs to your Kindle email which will then appear in your device's library. One user in the Reddit thread revealed they sideload books to their Kindle "with a wire and (my) laptop", but even then, the burning question — how long this trick will still work come May 20 — is still on everyone's lips. Will sideloading be Amazon's next target?

• Kindles from 2012 and older are being sunsetted on May 20
• Amazon has started emailing users about the imminent loss of support
• First to fifth-generation Kindle and Kindle Fire devices will be affected

RIP, Kindles with keyboards, it was fun while it lasted.

A decade after users of older Kindles were required to update the software to retain access to the Kindle Store, Amazon has decided to completely sunset them on May 20 this year.

Reddit user Amorisaiya posted that they've already received an email from Amazon advising them that Kindle and Kindle Fire devices "from 2012 and earlier" will no longer be supported. Others still using these older models, however, are yet to be notified.

While owners of these older Kindles will still be able to use them to read already downloaded content and access their accounts, they will no longer "be able to purchase, borrow or download additional books on them after that date".

Kindle removing support for OG devices from r/kindle

If any of these devices have been deregistered or a factory reset performed, users will not be able to re-register them after the May deadline, making them entirely defunct.

The full list of Kindles affected are:

• Kindle 1st generation from 2007
• Kindle 2nd generation released in 2009
• Kindle DX from 2010
• Kindle DX Graphite also released in 2010
• Kindle Keyboard also from 2010
• Kindle 4 launched in 2011
• Kindle Touch also released in 2011
• Kindle Fire 1st generation from 2011
• Kindle 5 released in 2012
• Kindle Paperwhite 1st generation also launched in 2012
• Kindle Fire 2nd generation from 2012
• Kindle Fire HD 7 tablet also released in 2012
• Kindle Fire HD 8.9 from 2012

It's clear from the Reddit thread that users of the third and fourth-generation Kindles are still quite happy with their ereaders, but it doesn't surprise me in the least that Amazon has finally pulled the plug on these pioneering models.

First, the 3G-enabled Kindles lost internet access, although that wasn't Amazon's fault, then the company announced it would pull Kindle Store access across devices that were older than 10 years.

Every time, Amazon offered its customers an incentive to upgrade and this time is no different. Amazon will discount new Kindles by 20% for affected users and throw in a $20 ebook credit for the Kindle Store for US customers. In Australia, where most of the users receiving the email notification are seemingly based, Amazon will offer the same 20% discount on the hardware, and an additional AU$30 credit for the Kindle Store, with the offer ending June 20, 2026 globally.

So, is it time to re-Kindle?

Unless you factory reset or deregister your older Kindle, the affected older models will still be usable, albeit you'll only be able to read books you've already downloaded to the device. And while you can still purchase new content through the Kindle mobile app or via a web browser, you won't be able to access the fresh content on the affected devices.

That said, you might still be able to sideload books onto these older devices as USB Download & Transfer was stopped only for newer models.

I would still recommend an upgrade at this point, mostly for ease of use and staying connected to the Kindle Store via the device. Also, in all honesty, the performance on the newer devices is excellent, although I struggle to justify Amazon's price hike across the current 2024 range of Kindles.

If you are looking to upgrade, my pick would be the base model of the 12th-gen Kindle Paperwhite (2024), especially if it's discounted. It's fast and the screen is excellent — I think the implementation of the E Ink Carta 1300 display on the latest Paperwhite alone justifies the upgrade, but I am a little biased as it's the best grayscale ereader screen I've used to date (and I've used a fair few since 2008, when I purchased my first ereader).

You can take a look at my picks of the best Kindles below or, if you'd like more options, consider something else from what I consider to be the best ereaders available right now.

• The Bigme Hibreak Dual has screens on both the front and back
• One is an LCD, and one is a color E Ink, which is a world-first combination
• We've previously seen similar phones with grayscale E Ink displays

Update 07/04: Bigme has confirmed to TechRadar that the Hibreak Dual will use an LCD panel, not an OLED panel. We've updated the headline to reflect this.

As a fan both of ereaders and weird phones, an upcoming phone from Bigme, the Bigme Hibreak Dual, is exactly the sort of device I’ve been waiting for.

The Hibreak Dual is a dual-screen phone with a display on each side, one of which is an LCD panel, and the other a color E Ink screen. That latter display is likely to be the E Ink Kaleido 3, which features in many of the best ereaders, and which Bigme already uses in its single-screen HiBreak Pro phone.

According to Bigme, this is a world-first, though it’s worth noting that we’ve seen similar ideas before, with, for example, the Yotaphone series putting an e-paper screen on one side and an OLED or LCD display on the other. However, those phones used grayscale e-paper, not the color version we’ll be getting here (Bigme has also confirmed to TechRadar that it'll be launching a monochrome version of the Hibreak Dual).

Those Yotaphone models are also ancient, and while the Hisense A6L landed with a similar dual-screen design more recently, even that is a few years old now. So, a new model — particularly with the addition of color — is an exciting prospect.

So far, little is known about this Bigme phone, but it’s worth noting that the brand has experience in making e-paper phones, such as the Hibreak S, pictured at the top of this article. In the past, these devices have just had a single screen, combining the benefits of E Ink — such as less battery drain and less potential for eye strain — with full phone functionality.

The best of both worlds

With the Hibreak Dual, it’s likely that the company will also address the issues of E Ink, such as it having a much lower refresh rate. Here, you’ll presumably be able to choose whether you want to use the E Ink screen or the LCD display, depending on what you want to do.

Obviously, you’d choose E Ink for books, but you may also opt for it when you want to conserve battery life or reduce distractions. Meanwhile, the LCD screen would presumably give you a conventional smartphone experience.

And with the E Ink display here being capable of color, it should be an upgrade on the older versions of this idea we’ve seen from other brands. That said, this is sure to be a niche device, so it will be interesting to see how successful it is.

That success will, in part, depend on the phone's specs, and we’re yet to learn about those. But with Bigme claiming the Hibreak Dual is coming soon, we’ll hopefully learn more before long.

Onyx Boox Note Air5 C: One-minute review

I’ve been a fan of the Boox Note Air series of epaper tablets since I first tried the Note Air 2, and the Note Air5 C — announced in October 2025 — continues the tradition of solidly built devices that work well.

The headline act here is an updated operating system. It’s the first epaper tablet to run an Android 15-based software and Boox has promised that the device will receive three years of support, much more than previous iterations.

The second thing that’s new here is the pen. It ships with the Boox Pen 3, which is unlike anything I’ve seen from the Chinese ereader maker. It continues to have the felt tip-like writing experience, but unique is the storage space for three replacement nibs on the top, covered by its own cap. Sadly this top cover is loose and pops off easily.

Lastly, the Note Air5 C features a set of pogo pins on its rear that allows it to attach seamlessly to the optional keyboard folio from Boox, and there’s a pair of buttons on the magnetic side for page turns or volume adjustment.

That’s all that’s new here — nothing really groundbreaking except the software upgrade. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as the Note Air5 C, like its predecessors, is solidly built and performs well. It just doesn't feel very different from other Boox devices and, if I was asked to recommend a 10-inch e-notebook, I'd probably pick the lighter (albeit grayscale) Boox Go 10.3 or the reMarkable Paper Pro for its color display (although you won't get Android's versatility).

There are a few other small issues that I think is important to note: while the screen light is great at its brightest, it's comparatively darker at low and mid levels. The magnet to secure the pen to the side of the tablet is also not very strong — the only position where it secures well covers the bottom page-turn button, but even that isn’t great.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 CPU used here helps the device perform well, but I found some lag when using the on-screen keyboard. There's a much more significant lag when using the optional keyboard folio, which makes touch typing annoying. You might also experience some ghosting, particularly if the document you're perusing is image-heavy.

While my complaints aren't serious, I think they diminish the Note Air5 C’s overall value and make it harder to recommend over its own Go 10.3 sibling, or the reMarkable Paper Pro if color is important.

Onyx Boox Note Air5 C review: Price & availability

• Released October 2025
• Available now for $529.99 / €529.99 / AU$919
• US and European price includes folio and box of 5 replacement nibs; Australian price is for device and stylus only

If you’re in the US or in the UK, (or anywhere in Europe for that matter), the Boox Note Air5 C is well priced, especially when purchasing directly from the Boox Store where it’s bundled with a folio case and a box of five replacement pen tips. And given there are three spare nibs on the top of the new stylus itself, that’s a lot of spare tips for the price.

In Australia, however, it’s a very expensive prospect as you only get the tablet and the Boox Pen 3 — no extras are included.

In contrast, the reMarkable Paper Pro, which is also a 10-inch color e-notebook, starts at $579 / £559 / AU$929 with a basic Marker and no additional extras. However, it uses a better color display (a customized version of the E Ink Gallery 3 technology that no other ereader maker is currently using), so the saturation is much better. On the flip side, the Android-running Note Air5 C gives you more freedom on the apps you can use and is the more versatile device.

Then again, if you can forgo the color display, a monochrome epaper tablet would be a lot cheaper. For example, you can get the Boox Go 10.3 for around $410 / €420 / AU$699 (US and European price includes the folio and extra nibs), and it’s a fantastic e-notebook that’s lighter than the Note Air series. Even the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) would be a cheaper buy and I love its bright, monochrome display.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Onyx Boox Note Air5 C review: Specs

Onyx Boox Note Air5 C review: Design & display

• Solid build, but heavy to hold for long durations
• Newly designed pen with spare nibs on the top
• Customizable page-turn buttons
• Excellent 10.3 E Ink Kaleido 3 display, but colors can appear muted

Physically, the Note Air5 C is identical to the previous two generations, with a couple of minor differences. As I’ve already said, that’s not a bad thing, as the overall design is still nice and the device is solidly built. So solid, in fact, that the Note Air series is on the heavier side when it comes to 10-inch epaper tablets.

For context, the Boox Go 10.3 weighs 375g and the ViWoods AiPaper tips the scales at 370, but neither of them have frontlights. In contrast, the Note Air 4C weighs 420g and the 5C comes in at 440g. It’s not the heaviest e-notebook — the reMarkable Paper Pro is 525g — but it’s not the most comfortable to use in one hand for long periods of time.

Despite being on the heavier side, I like the Note Air series’ metallic chassis and glass screen. While that makes the tablet cold to the touch (especially in winter months), it also makes it a hardy device. That said, there’s no waterproofing here.

There are only two design differences between the Note Air5 C and the previous 4C and 3C generations. One is a set of pogo pins on the rear to connect to the optional keyboard folio, and the other is a pair of small buttons on the magnetized edge of the device for page turning or volume adjustments.

I’ve been waiting for a large-screen ereader with page-turn buttons but this placement means the device can’t be used single-handed — you will need one hand to hold the device via the larger bezel and use the other hand to press one of the buttons on the opposite side. In my time with the Note Air5 C, I never once found the need to use the buttons, but the long-press functionality can be set to various functions that can prove handy for some users.

However, if you have the supplied stylus — called the Boox Pen 3 — secured to the side of the tablet, it covers the lower button. Place the stylus lower and the magnetism just isn’t strong enough for a secure hold.

I have to take some time to describe this new pen too. It has an interesting design where, instead of an eraser on the top, three replacement nibs can be stored vertically. They’re covered by a cap with a side clip — much like an actual pen — but sadly the cap is loose and pops out easily. You also need to replace it carefully, and correctly, to avoid damaging the nibs. As thoughtful as the design is, I think the cap would have benefitted from being clipped into place rather than sliding on and off. Despite the addition of the spare nibs on the top of the stylus, the pen is well balanced, lightweight and lovely to write with on the Note Air5 C.

I should also mention that the most secure way to stow the stylus is to use a folio cover, but the one I was sent for this review didn’t have a loop. Instead, it had a removable flap that I found very annoying to use. Even the keyboard folio designed for the Note Air5 C has the same flap and it’s just as annoying there as it comes off easily or shifts position with the merest of touches.

Going back to the tablet itself: there’s a USB-C port, a microSD card tray and dual speakers on the edge opposite to the page/volume buttons, while the top edge houses a power/sleep button that’s flush with the body. The power button is also a fingerprint scanner and I didn’t find its placement very intuitive — I kept expecting the button to be on the corner, but it’s placed slightly away and I kept having to feel for it.

As expected, one bezel is thicker than the other three, with the top corner of the bigger bezel featuring the Boox branding. Small orange strips on three of the edges add some trim to the device, and the same orange surrounds the USB-C port.

This chassis encloses a 10.3-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 screen with LEDs under the glass panel for a frontlight. The light can be adjusted for both brightness and temperature, although keep in mind that warmer (yellow) light will affect the colors displayed on the screen. While this won’t affect those of us who mostly read and write in black and white, fans of comics, manga and graphic novels — or anyone using the color inks to mark up documents — may find colder light the better option.

At its brightest, the frontlight is excellent, but dip it a little bit and the difference is quite dramatic, with the screen appearing darker than expected, but this is a common feature among Boox's color epaper devices like the Go Color 7 (Gen II).

The display, with a monochrome resolution of 300ppi and color resolution of 150ppi is standard, is good. Text is sharp and clear for reading, while colors are good… in the context of being an E Ink display, not compared to an LCD screen. That said, they are relatively muted compared to the reMarkable Paper Pro, which uses the E Ink Gallery 3 screen technology that no other epaper device has yet adopted.

• Design & display score: 4 / 5

Onyx Boox Note Air5 C review: Software & user experience

• First 10-inch epaper tablet to adopt Android 15
• Boox promises three years of software support
• Good native apps, but complex user interface

Where the Note Air 4C runs on Android 13, Boox has adopted Android 15 for the 5C. Running a later version of Android means the newer epaper tablet will get better software support — and Boox has promised three years of security updates — and there’s better app compatibility too.

It’s important to note, however, that my review of the 5C’s software is based on the firmware it was running at the time of writing (v4.1.2) and the experience could change slightly depending on what future firmware versions add. The current software fixed a major issue the tablet suffered from at launch (and one I experienced as soon as I started using it) — being unable to write comfortably along the four sides of the screen in the native Notes app.

Android OS & apps

The custom version of Android 15 running on the Note 5C doesn’t feel very different from the software on older Boox devices as the company has its own user interface overlaid on the operating system. Boox has done a lot of work over the years to simplify its interface, making it cleaner and easier to use, but there’s still plenty to wrap your head around.

That said, I love the look of the default home screen on Boox’s larger tablets, which has a box for your books, another for notes, below which are the apps — both native and those downloaded from the Google Play Store — and, finally, a few icons to access the native library app, a bookstore (with titles that are available in the public domain), the folders within the device’s storage section, and all settings.

Unlike older Boox devices, the Google Play Store is preinstalled and all you need to do is sign in to download any app. While you won’t be using video streaming services, you can download audio platforms — the built-in speakers are fine, but I’d highly recommend pairing Bluetooth speakers or headphones instead. You can also download some mobile games — I played a bit of Two Dots and it wasn’t too bad — but I suspect most users opting for a device like the 5C would want reading and productivity apps.

You can install Gmail, for example, to access your emails or install KoReader or Moon Reader instead of using the native NeoReader app. Personally, I use the Kindle and Kobo apps to access my existing purchases and get new content, but I also like Instapaper (for reading web articles offline) and Libby (to borrow library books), but the choice is yours.

However, I’ve found the native apps to be more than enough for most users. Not only will you get a full-featured library and notes applications, but there’s also a browser, music player, calendar and a gallery. There are a couple of applications to help you transfer files — although you can use Google Drive and/or Dropbox for easy cloud transfers. Wired transfers are possible on Windows PCs and, as a Mac user, I stuck with the OTG support on the USB-C port that allowed me to plug in a portable SSD.

Swipe down from the top right of the screen to open the Control Center and you’ll find plenty more options there, including buttons for taking screenshots and splitscreen view. This is also where the volume and light control sliders are, but Boox introduced buttons for some preset light options in 2025 and, honestly, I don’t like either the Bright or the Soft settings. I choose custom and make adjustments as I need them — something I did in my Boox Go 7 review as well.

There’s a long list of settings to get through as well, but what’s irksome about the Boox interface are the smaller hidden menus that you need, especially in the native reading app. Unless you’ve already used a Boox device previously, you’ll likely miss them, or you’ll stumble upon them when you’re looking for something specific to change. Ironically, this is a massive improvement over the previous versions of the UI but, if you’re a first time Boox user, be prepared to be patient while learning your way around.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Reading experience

While I had issues with how text rendered on the 7-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 screen in my Boox Go Color 7 (Gen II) review, thankfully none of that affects the Note Air5 C. Reading, whether you’re using the native NeoReader application or you’ve downloaded a third-party app, is a pleasurable experience. Text is sharp and there’s a wide variety of font sizes to choose from.

What I like about the open Android ecosystem of Boox tablets is the ability to sideload any font I like — I’m partial to Amazon’s Bookerly — and use that in the native library app for any sideloaded DRM-free content.

As an avid reader who has used the Boox Go 10.3 as well, I’m pleased to say that the text contrast on the 5C is better, which adds clarity and makes for a better reading experience over the monochrome sibling. Plus, the frontlight on the 5C makes a difference — if you want more contrast, you have to set it to high brightness with no warmth. Adjusting the light temperature can have an effect on the clarity via the contrast, but at no point did it make the text look fuzzy or unreadable. It’s a marked improvement over the Go 10.3 which uses the E Ink Carta 1200 display technology.

Colors, while not as saturated as on the reMarkable Paper Pro due to the difference in screen tech being used, are not bad and I found book covers looking good. However, my favourite graphic novel series, The Sandman, looked washed out compared to when I was reading it on my Kobo Libra Colour or even the Boox Go Color 7 Gen II. I’m not much of a comic or graphic novel reader, so the muted colors didn’t really bother me as I’m very used to looking at the frames in black and white on a monochrome ereader.

If you need to make notes on ebooks in the native reading app, you can either scribble or type, and there are menu options within the app to help you do so. These get saved automatically in the document you’ve annotated and you should see them when you open it again. You can use colored ink to write, but all typed text will be grayscale. Highlights can be in a variety colors too.

Overall, the Note Air5 C makes for a lovely ereader, but its weight can make it uncomfortable for using beyond, say 30 to 40 minutes, and if you leave the folio on, that’s added bulk to take into consideration. Whether you’re reading in bed or sitting up, this is definitely a two-handed device.

• Reading score: 4 / 5

Writing & typing experience

The Note Air5 C offers one of the best writing experiences I’ve had. The Pen 3 is designed to offer a felt-tip experience, which is smooth, and there’s just enough friction to make it feel like you’re writing on paper. You can even hear an almost-audible scratch on the screen that you’d hear when scribbling with pen and paper.

However, if you’ve used an epaper writing tablet without a frontlight before — like the Boox Go 10.3, ViWoods AiPaper or the reMarkable 2 — and decide to move to one with a light, you might find the gap between the pen and its stroke a little disconcerting. This gap is due to the LEDs occupying the space between the top glass and the actual E Ink layer below — but you get used to it very quickly, so this isn’t a complaint, merely an observation.

I found no lag between pen movement and the mark appearing on the screen, although there were occasions when the device didn’t register a pen stroke — a page refresh usually fixed this issue, although I did restart the device a couple of times when a simple refresh didn't work.

Despite that, the overall writing experience is excellent. Typing, on the other hand, not so much.

Whether you’re using the on-screen keyboard or you’ve opted to purchase the optional keyboard folio, there is a lag. The former is the faster option with only the slightest lag, but using the physical keyboard is slow and makes touch typing difficult. I tested the Note Air5 C with a Logitech wireless Bluetooth keyboard and found the lag is slightly less compared to Boox’s own keyboard folio. This allows for a better touch-typing experience in my opinion.

In fact, my experience typing on the 5C was so slow that I stopped using physical keyboards and stuck with the on-screen one when necessary (like inputting a password).

• Writing & typing score: 4 / 5

Onyx Boox Note Air5 C review: Performance

• Smooth and fast performance overall
• Some ghosting, but mostly when viewing image-heavy documents
• Disappointing battery life, but standard for an Android device

Boox doesn’t reveal what specific processor it uses in its devices. To determine that, I downloaded the CPU X app — a free download from the Google Play Store — and this told me there’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 chip inside doing the heavy lifting.

This chip is also in use in the smaller Boox Go 7 ereader and works well there, and is an upgrade over the Snapdragon 680 in the original Boox Go 10.3. So, does it make the 5C the better device? To answer that, I began by first benchmarking the CPU, something I’ve done for previous Android-based epaper tablets because it’s easy to install the Geekbench 6 app on them.

The single-core score for the Note Air5 C recorded was 576, while multi-core was 1424. In comparison, the Boox Go 10.3 scored 403 and 1261 respectively, while the ViWoods AiPaper produced a result of 299 and 1114 from its MediaTek MT8183 CPU.

To be honest, these numbers don’t really mean much for devices like ereaders and e-notebooks — it’s how well the operating system has been implemented that will make or break the performance. For instance, despite a lower score, I found the ViWoods AiPaper to be the better device compared to the Boox Go 10.3 in real-world use because of how well the Android 13-based OS had been implemented.

On the Note Air5 C, the Snapdragon 690 chip doesn’t really make much of a difference in overall performance when compared to the Go 10.3, although it’s a lot better compared to the Note Air 3, which was the previous device in this series that I have experience with.

Other than the typing lag I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve had no other significant issues with the 5C: apps open quickly and none crashed during my testing, page turns are quick and any adjustments — like brightness or volume — happened instantly. Ghosting can still be a problem for some users though, and I found it to be particularly noticeable when reading image-heavy documents and books.

The only reason I would opt for a non-Android e-notebook like the Kindle Scribe or the Kobo Elipsa 2E would be for the battery life. As I expected, the 3,700mAh battery doesn’t last very long as Android is a power-hungry OS.

You might find yourself charging the device every 3 to 4 days, depending on how much you use it and what some of your settings are. During my testing, I found that an hour of reading at mid-brightness and some warmth to yellow the screen dropped battery life by 2%. An hour of notetaking will drop it quicker — in my case, about 8% at the same light settings with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth switched off.

Bump the frontlight to full brightness (and no warmth) and those battery drops for the same amount of use increases to a 5% and 10% respectively. If you have Wi-Fi turned on at all times, expect a touch more battery use, but it’s not a significant drop. If you happen to use some apps, like the browser or the music player, the battery will drain faster.

Long story short, prolific use will get you 2-3 days on a single charge, which can be extended to about 5 or 6 days if you use the device for maybe 30 minutes every day.

Topping up the battery is also a bit of a time investment — it took 2 hours and 3 minutes for my review unit to go from 16% to full, and that’s when plugged directly into a GAN wall charger using a high-quality USB-C to C cable. In my experience, this charging rate is slower than the 4,100mAh capacity battery in the ViWoods AiPaper, but about the same rate as the Boox Go 10.3 (which also uses a 3,700mAh battery).

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Onyx Boox Note Air5 C?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

If you're unsure whether the Boox Note Air5 C is right for you, there are other options to consider. However, keep in mind that any such device with a color display will be expensive, while monochrome options can save you some cash.

How I tested the Onyx Boox Note Air5 C

I've been testing and writing about ereaders and epaper tablets for nearly a decade now, and have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to E Ink devices. That puts me in an excellent position to compare and just new devices coming into the market, just like the Boox Note Air5 C.

As with any new epaper device, I first go through all the settings options to ensure I have the tablet set up the way I like it, as it becomes my person device for a few weeks. Having done that, I connected the 5C to Wi-Fi and logged into the Play Store.

Plugging my 2TB Samsung T7 Shield portable SSD into the USB-C port, I was able to access a bunch of ebooks I keep as test files for my ereader reviews, plus a few PDFs. While this was the primary way of transferring files during my testing, I also signed into Google Drive to download some old notes I had saved from an older Boox device. I also used BooxDrop, which has some EPUBs stored in the cloud, that I could transfer to the 5C. These were the methods I tested for file and font (Bookerly specifically) transfer.

I spent about an hour each day over four weeks reading, but I spent a lot more time taking notes, including for this review — the Note Air5 C essentially became my e-notebook for work and for personal use. I tried annotating PDFs and some DRM-free ebooks as a test, but I also used the on-screen keyboard, the Boox keyboard folio made specifically for the 5C and a Logitech Bluetooth keyboard as part of my review process.

I kept tabs on battery use in 1-hour blocks, but I also changed settings to see how it affected battery usage. And, finally, I timed how long it took to charge when I allowed it to drop below 20%.

Read more about how we test

[First published February 2026]

• PocketBook has launched the InkPad One
• It's a Linux-powered ereader with stylus support and a large 10.3-inch screen
• It's not yet widely available, but that might change

Kindle and Kobo might be the main ereader brands, but there are all sorts of interesting alternatives popping up, one of which being PocketBook, which has just launched a new device called the InkPad One.

This is a 10.3-inch ereader with a grayscale E Ink Mobius display that has 226 pixels per inch. It has a front light that adapts to the environment, a 3,700mAh battery promising up to two months of life, 32GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, and a 1.8GHz quad-core chipset. It’s also slim and light, at 5.15mm thick and 400g.

Interestingly, it runs Linux rather than Android or a proprietary operating system, so you’re not locked in to a specific ecosystem, and it supports 21 book formats, including AZW, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and many more.

Plus, it includes access to a Libby-powered app for borrowing books from libraries, and in the UK it gives you "the world’s most comprehensive English-language UK digital eBook library, with user-friendly LCP DRM-protected content of 4.5 million eBooks and 90,000 audiobooks".

It also supports stylus input (and comes with a stylus), making this a less locked-down alternative to the likes of the Kindle Scribe.

It also has broadly comparable specs to the Kindle Scribe, including a similar size screen, and an actually slightly thinner and lighter build – though its display is a little lower-resolution.

Not yet widely available

Still, if you don’t want to be locked into Amazon's ecosystem, or stuck with an arguably even more limited ecosystem like that of the reMarkable Paper Pro, then the PocketBook InkPad One could be a tempting choice.

However, we’d suggest caution, as we only gave the company’s InkPad Eo a two-star review, noting that it was expensive and clunky – although that tablet was based on Android 11, not Linux.

If you do like the sound of the InkPad One you might have to wait a bit, as right now it’s only available in Germany, but the company has revealed that it will be coming to the US and the UK, priced at $360 and around £270 respectively.

Samsung just debuted a “world-first” color e-paper display that relies on a bio-resin derived from phytoplankton – and it’s a major leap forward for sustainability.

As explained in its announcement, Samsung’s new 13-inch Color E-Paper display’s housing is made from 45% recycled plastic and 10% phytoplankton-based bio-resin. This might not sound like a lot, but the design choice leads to a reduction in the amount of conventional petroleum-based plastics used to make the screen, and according to Samsung an over 40% reduction in carbon emissions for the manufacturing process compared with traditional materials.

First being launched as business signage – with the e-paper display being billed as a replacement for more traditional paper signage – this bio-resin housing hasn’t been announced for any other Samsung screens right now, but that doesn’t mean it won’t debut elsewhere down the line.

And over time we might hopefully see a much larger percentage of the renewable material making up the plastic in Samsung (and others’) tech.

What is bio-resin?

Bio-resin is a bioplastic that isn't all that new (the first was made back in 1855), but continued research has improved the quality, and manufacturing efficacy of biological plastics meaning we might be seeing them more frequently in consumer products.

It’s designed to mimic the best qualities of regular petroleum-based plastics – such as plastic’s strength and moldability – but not its worst qualities.

Because bioplastics and bio-resin don’t rely on petroleum – instead coming from renewable organic sources – there’s no finite resource that might eventually run dry, and if bioplastic and bio-resin made products meet certain standards (such as consisting of predominantly biological material) the products can also be commercially compostable and biodegradable further reducing their polluting impact.

Though much like Samsung’s new plankton-derived display housing, expect petroleum plastic (even in a recycled form) to still feature in some capacity in many bioplastic products. This is after all just a step forward toward more sustainable plastic from Samsung rather than a complete solution.

That said, the positive environmental impact of this change shouldn’t be ignored, and hopefully this Samsung e-ink display is the first of many to be made from plankton.

• Kindle ebooks are now available DRM-free
• This means you can read them on other ereaders
• But publishers and authors need to opt in first

Kindle ebooks have a lot going for them – there’s a vast selection of them on the Amazon Kindle store, and you can read them on some of the best ereaders, but they also have a major issue in the form of DRM (digital rights management).

This means that Kindle books can only be read on Kindle devices or the Kindle app. So if you have other brands of ereader that you’d like to read on, or devices that lack the Kindle app, you’re out of luck. But that might be about to change.

Amazon has now rolled out a DRM-free option for ebooks, allowing authors and publishers to choose whether they want to apply this DRM or not. For any books that don’t have DRM, you’ll find the option to download an EPUB or PDF version under the ‘More Actions’ dropdown in the ‘Digital Content’ section of your Amazon account.

These formats are far more widely supported, allowing you to read your books on almost any device that supports ebooks or documents. So this is great to see, and could mean you’re less locked in to a single ecosystem.

A good feature that publishers might not use

But there’s a catch. Well, actually there are two catches, but the biggest one is that this being voluntary, we might not see many publishers choose to remove DRM – since doing so also makes it easier for people to pirate the books.

Indeed, as Goodereader notes, no major publishers yet seem to offer DRM-free Kindle books. That might change – after all the feature has only just launched, but it also might not. So you’re probably more likely to see this option from small publishers and self-published works.

The other catch is that there doesn’t currently seem to be a way to tell whether a book is available without DRM until you’ve purchased it, so you can’t really make purchasing decisions based on this feature. That seems like it would be an easy fix for Amazon, though it may not be something that company wants to do.

In other words then, this DRM-free option very much seems like a ‘wait and see’ feature – it has game-changing potential, but unless or until it’s widely embraced its usefulness will be limited.

Onyx Boox Go 7: Two-minute review

I received the Boox Go 7 months ago for review, along with the Boox Go Color 7 (Gen II), and I’m glad I delayed my testing. A few firmware updates since I tested its color sibling have improved overall performance and I now have the new stylus for it.

That’s right: the Go 7 is more than just a basic ereader, offering stylus support and a native Notes app that’s full featured. You’ll need to purchase the stylus separately, though, but that’s not unprecedented – you’ll need to do the same for the Kobo Libra Colour as well, for example. While the new InkSense Plus is an improvement over the older Boox InkSense pen previously sold, writing on the Go 7 isn’t as nice as I’ve experienced on other ereaders – there’s just not enough friction.

That said, the 7-inch E Ink Carta 1300 display here is the standout feature and there’s nothing more important for an ereader than its screen. Right from the start, it made the Go 7 the better device compared to its sibling – something I said in my Boox Go Color 7 (Gen II) review and I still stand by that statement – putting it on par with the likes of the current-gen Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024). Text is sharp and crisp, while the overall reading experience is enhanced by very snappy performance. Page turns are quick, whether you want to tap to turn or use the buttons.

Speaking of which, access to the Google Play Store gives you a lot more flexibility on how you want to use the ereader – the native apps are great, but if you have personal preferences for specific reading or productivity app, they’re easy to install, with fast load times and smooth third-party functionality.

Another reason I love a Boox device is the impressive file and font support. You can sideload a wide variety of files and fonts, and you don’t even need a wired connection for that – Google Drive and Dropbox support help with cloud transfer that’s quick and easy. Transferring directly from a USB-C external hard drive or portable SSD is also remarkably simple and very fast and, in all honesty, I don’t see the need to tether this device to a PC at all for file transfer.

The Boox interface has also improved but, as I’ve said before in many of my previous reviews, there’s still too much going on and some setting options are still hidden within the native app and accessed from different submenus. Better streamlining is definitely called for, which would be a huge help to first-time Boox users.

Another reason I’m docking marks from the Go 7 is its lack of waterproofing. Given its price tag and that all its main competitors have IPX8 certification, it’s a huge oversight. If you’re careful with it while traveling or reading by the pool, in the bath or near the kitchen sink, this is arguably the best Boox device I’ve tried in a long time.

Onyx Boox Go 7 review: price & availability

• Released in April 2025 in most major markets
• List price: $295.99 / €249.99 / AU$419
• Available to buy directly from the Boox Shop and select retailers

It seems very strange to me that if you’re in the US and you shop directly from the online Boox Shop, the Go 7 costs more than the Go Color 7 (Gen II) – the latter is listed at $279.99, while the former is $295.99 at full price at the time of writing.

On the other hand, the pricing for Europe and Australia makes more sense: €249.99 and AU$419 respectively for the Go 7 compared to €279.99 and AU$459 for the color variant.

No matter where you live, the monochrome Go 7 is a relatively expensive ereader, although it can be argued that its price is justified by the open operating system and 64GB of onboard storage that’s expandable via a microSD card.

Moreover, its features include writing (although the InkSense Plus stylus will need to be purchased separately for $45.99 / €45.99 / AU$69) and built-in stereo speakers (sound isn’t great though). That said, not everyone will need the freedom that the Android operating system provides and the likes of the Kobo Libra Colour is cheaper at $229.99 / £209.99 / AU$379.95.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Onyx Boox Go 7 review: Specs

Onyx Boox Go 7 review: design & display

• Crisp and clear 7-inch E Ink Carta 1300 display
• Slim, lightweight and compact body with page-turn buttons
• Features speakers and microSD card tray

The Go Color 7 II and the Go 7 are siblings, meaning they’re identical physically – the only difference being the screen technology they use. In fact, the design has been inherited from the original Go Color 7 and that’s not a bad thing at all.

The Go 7 is slim, lightweight and compact enough to take with you anywhere. And the page-turn buttons are well placed to be just where your thumb would sit when holding the tablet in one hand. Personally, though, I would still prefer the old Kindle Oasis asymmetry (still used in the Kobo Libra Colour) that had a little extra thickness along the larger bezel to make it more ergonomic. The thinness of the Go 7 can make the fingers hurt if you're someone who reads for long hours. Having a case to add some overall thickness helps with this little issue.

I love how the page-turn buttons feel and work – there’s a nice little feedback that makes them satisfying to use. They become volume-adjustment buttons if you’re using an app that doesn’t need scrolling or page turning, which is nice since you can listen to audio files here.

As with the color variants (Gen I and II), the rear is textured, and there’s a small power button on the bottom right corner of the tablet. One slim edge is just thick enough to house a USB-C port for charging, as well as a microSD card tray and speaker grilles. A tiny mic is on the opposite edge.

Boox continues to steer clear of waterproofing for its ereaders, sadly, with the Go 7 also missing out. In my opinion, it’s an unforgivable oversight given its price tag.

The star of the show, however, is the Go 7’s display. As its name suggests, it’s a 7-inch screen using E Ink’s Carta 1300 technology. This display has proved itself time and time again on other ereaders and does so again here where it’s been optimized well.

Text and images are displayed marvelously well and the anti-glare coating on top ensures bright overhead lights don’t distract when you’re reading. The LEDs for the screen are fantastic, far better than the screen light on the Go Color 7 II. The light is brighter and not nearly as yellow as on the color version of this ereader. In fact, I’m amazed at how different the two screens are – the Go 7 is practically perfect while the Go 7 II is fuzzy and too warm.

• Design & display score: 4.5 / 5

Onyx Boox Go 7 review: software & apps

• Runs a slim version of Android 13 with excellent native apps
• Full access to the Google Play Store offers a lot of freedom
• Clean user interface, but some settings are hidden in submenus

An ereader running Android is an excellent choice for anyone who doesn’t want to get locked into either the Kindle or Kobo ecosystems. The freedom to use third-party apps or source content from any platform, can make a huge difference to the user experience.

That said, the native apps have plenty to offer and the average user may not even need to download anything else from the Play Store. The library app called NeoReader, for example, offers plenty of customization options that you don’t need to use MoonReader or KoReader… unless that’s really what you prefer. The same goes for the native Notes application too. There’s also a browser and music player, among other things.

Some of the third-party apps I’ve used on this Boox device are Kindle, Kobo and Evernote, but I’ve used Libby on a different Boox ereader.

The Boox interface has evolved into a much cleaner version of the convoluted UI from years past, but there’s still room for improvement. For example, it’s not at all obvious that there’s some library settings in NeoReader hidden on the top menu bar under More – it’s very easily missed unless you have the patience to explore every single menu option on the device.

The Notes app is also not available on the home screen navigation by default; you need to head into the device’s System Settings to find it and apply it to be visible if you plan to use it often. For me, given the Boox Go 7 has stylus support, the expectation is that the Notes app would be available by default on the home screen.

I saw a major change in how the ebook styling menu in the library app was set up in 2025 and that’s been carried over, which is a good thing. However, the complications still exist: tap in the middle of the screen when an ebook is open to bring up the menu, choose Style and the setup is much cleaner than before, but you need to tap on More Settings to adjust fonts, spacing and margins. These are much easier to access on a Kindle or Kobo.

Long story short: I can see the Boox UI is improving, but there’s really just too much going on still and the average user doesn’t need so many customization options. I don’t think even a power user like me needs so many options on an ereader. Less is more, Boox.

• Software & apps score: 3.5 / 5

Onyx Boox Go 7 review: user experience

• Arguably one of the best reading experiences on an electronic device
• Full featured, but takes some learning to get it set up for individual needs
• Not a great writing experience

Most of us read text-heavy books, so opting for a monochrome ereader makes economical sense as there’s really no point in opting for a color screen if you aren’t going to be viewing anything more than a book cover in color. But the Go 7 makes a much stronger case of being the better ereader compared to the Go Color 7 (Gen II) by offering a much nicer reading experience.

As I’ve already alluded to in this review, the screen on the Go 7 is a standout. Text is sharp and there’s good contrast too, making it one of the best Boox ereader I’ve used. This is further enhanced by the fact that page turns are quick, whether via a tap on the screen or the buttons. That said, individual books take a little longer than the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) to open, but all other library functionality is snappy. Boox really has done an excellent job of optimizing the E Ink Carta 1300 display for this device.

Text selection for highlighting or annotating is also quick, and it’s very precise if you use the InkSense Plus stylus. However, the Boox Go 7 doesn’t support global handwriting, which means you won’t be able to annotate or markup books using NeoReader – and that's despite a feature called FreeMark (which allows you to write on the screen when any app is open but not annotate). The native Calendar (for memos) and Notes apps are the only places where there's default stylus support.

This might seem restrictive, and for a power user like me, that definitely is, but the average user looking for a capable ereader won’t necessarily need all the bells and whistles of a more advanced epaper tablet like the Boox Note Air series.

If you did want to use the Notes app, though, be warned – the writing experience isn’t great. The InkSense Plus glides over the screen with barely any friction and it can be a little disconcerting at first, but you do get used to it. That said, there’s absolutely no lag and stylus input is instantaneous. I’ve used it to write and draw crude designs on the Notes app and didn’t mind it, but I would much prefer to use the Boox Go 7 as an ereader rather than a note-taker.

• User experience score: 4 / 5

Onyx Boox Go 7 review: performance

• Fast and snappy performance
• Occasional ghosting only when reading image-heavy books
• Battery drain is higher compared to the competition

The Go 7 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM – the same combo powering the color variant – and performance is generally very good for an E Ink device.

While the NeoReader app isn't the fastest book loader, that's not a fault of the device but he application. However, using third-party apps is smooth, with quick loads and all other functionality within them working well. Where I’ve previously encountered third-party app crashes on older Boox tablets, I had no such issues here.

As with the Go Color 7 II, I found wired file transfer via OTG to be remarkably quick and, for the first time while testing a Boox tablet, I didn’t even bother using Google Drive or BooxDrop to access my ebooks. I only signed into my Google account to access the Play Store.

Thanks to the Carta 1300 screen, the Go 7 doesn’t suffer as much from ghosting as the color version. In fact, I had no ghosting while reading text-only books, but there was the occasional overlay when reading graphic novels, which is common when reading image-heavy titles on epaper displays.

Battery life, however, is disappointing. The expectation from an ereader boasting a 2,300mAh capacity pack would last a few weeks, but in real-world use Android devices like the Go 7 don’t offer as much use on a single charge like a Kindle or Kobo.

If you have Wi-Fi switched on at all times, you’ll get about a week of use when reading about two hours a day and the screen brightness set at medium levels. You’ll eke out more with Wi-Fi (and Bluetooth) turned off and the light dim.

Start doing more than just read and you will see the battery drain even faster. The browser and music player are power hungry, and the more you jot notes, the quicker the Go 7 will run out of juice. Battery drain even in sleep mode is quite significant – something I’ve seen in nearly every Boox I’ve tested to date.

While there’s no quick charging here, you don’t need to wait too long for the battery to top up. On average, the Go 7 took about two hours to go from 9% or 10% to full over the several months I used it when plugged into a USB-C port of a 65W wall charger. It will be slower if you use a dock connected to your PC or a USB-A to C cable, but this is quite standard for most ereaders.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Onyx Boox Go 7?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Onyx Boox Go 7 review: Alternatives

If you're not sure whether the Boox Go 7 is worth picking up, I've listed a few alternatives below, with the Kobo Libra Colour, despite its color screen, being its closest rival from a design perspective. There are other standard ereaders as well and I've listed their specs in the table below to help you compare them all.

How I tested the Onyx Boox Go 7

I might have had the Boox Go 7 for months, but I've used it on and off for maybe just two of those before writing this review. That's because I got distracted by other Boox devices...

I digress, though. For this review, I tried various ways to upload files, including signing into Google Drive. I moved one font folder over, but used the OTG support to import the ebooks I wanted on the device for my testing. I used the same method to transfer a couple of music files to test the built-in speaker as well.

I was sent the new InkSense Plus stylus towards the end of December and I was pleasantly surprised to see that setup was remarkably simple as long as the pen was charged.

From the Play Store, I downloaded the Kindle and Kobo apps to access my existing libraries and to test how third-party apps function. I also used Evernote and Libby on this device, plus downloaded CPU X to confirm what hardware was powering this device.

I used the stylus to both write and draw, but spent most of my testing hours reading. I did use the browser briefly.

I've been testing ereaders for nearly a decade now for TechRadar and built up a strong knowledge base to help me able to objectively compare different models from different brands – and the Go 7 definitely stands out.

Read more about how we test

[First published January 2026]

• The Hannspree Lumo has a paper-like LCD display with no backlight
• This makes it easy on your eyes, like an e-reader, but it still has a 60Hz refresh rate and 16.7 million colors
• However, its specs make it a very basic tablet

We don’t see many major innovations in the tablet market – or the ereader market for that matter – but the Hannspree Lumo innovates in both, by essentially being a full tablet and ereader all in one.

It does this by having a 7.8-inch paper-like proprietary LCD display that, unlike typical LCD screens, doesn’t depend on a backlight. Instead, it reflects ambient light, like an actual piece of paper. The result is that the screen isn’t harsh on your eyes, allowing for a pleasant reading experience as you’d get on an e-reader.

But where a typical ereader’s screen has slow refresh rates, and either monochrome visuals or muted colors, the Hannspree Lumo promises rich, colorful content, with its screen being capable of 16.7 million colors, and having a 60Hz refresh rate and a 5ms response time.

So this Android 14 tablet should be as good for streaming movies on as it is for reading books, and while its screen doesn’t rely on a backlight, it does include an LED front light, which you can switch on to use the tablet in darker environments.

Very basic specs

All of which sounds very promising, but as far as Android tablets go, the Lumo’s specs are very basic. Its screen has just a 728 x 1024 resolution, and there’s just 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. It also has just a 3,000mAh battery, though it can supposedly still last for up to 6.5 hours with the front light at maximum brightness.

So it sounds like the Lumo will make for a better ereader than a tablet, but if you do want a true combination of the two, then this could be the best option – and it does also support a stylus.

If you do like the sound of it, the Lumo is priced at £299 (roughly $400 / AU$600), though there’s no word yet on whether it will get a US or Australian release.

I’ve always been a big fan of using the best ereaders instead of other tech when possible. They strain my eyes far less than phone screens, have longer-lasting battery lives, and always make me feel like I’m on vacation – I guess I associate them with holiday reads.

In the past I’ve figured out how to send all my PDFs to a Kindle in order to use them for work, replaced my iPad with an ereader for creative tasks and doled out ereader tips to TechRadar readers because I’ve used the gadgets so much. But my new year tech resolution takes this to a whole new extreme.

To say ‘adieu’ to the brain rot that comes with using a smartphone, I want to see if I can ditch it for a lookalike ereader. Specifically, the Palma 2 Pro from Boox, which costs $399 / £379 / AU$679 – a little expensive for an ereader, but cheap for a smartphone.

I chose this because it has a similar size to my smartphone, with a 6.13-inch display, but a whole host of other features and specs that make it a close smartphone competitor. To say what, though, would spoil the article.

To see whether the Boox Palma 2 Pro could replace my Android smartphone in 2026, I ran through some average tasks I use my mobile for, to see how the Boox compares.

Reading and writing

In case you think it’s unfair to compare a smartphone to an ereader, I’m going to start by serving the ball into the Boox’s side of the court. The device’s E-Ink screen has a 824 x 412 resolution when viewing color content, and double that for black-and-white viewing. I’m the kind of guy who’ll happily sacrifice color when using an ereader, but some demand it.

Ereaders were always designed for reading, and it’s what they do best. As soon as you turn on the Boox, its library, dictionary and book store are on the front page; it has apps for managing documents and sending/receiving them from a PC.

I use my phone a lot for reading, and it’s easy to boot up the Kindle app or Play Books to jump into a novel. That's the same as on the Palma, but E-Ink is a lot better for reducing eye-strain and late-night reading than my mobile's OLED screen. It looks like a real page, and reading it feels like reading a page, instead of staring into a blinding beam of light

I’ve enjoyed Boox devices for marking up documents and making notes too, but while I was sent a stylus with the ereader, the case doesn’t have a compartment for it, so it was too much of a faff toting the thing around. Note-taking was a little annoying then, as you can’t use your finger to handwrite in the Notes app, and typing is slower than on a phone due to the slower refresh and pick-up speed.

Keeping in touch

Here’s the real test of a phone replacement: how does the Boox work as a way to communicate? Now, there’s no getting around the fact that you can’t make calls or texts with the device; personally, I don’t remember the last time I received either of these solicited, but it’s worth pointing out.

What I haven’t mentioned thus far is that the Palma 2 Pro has access to the Play Store. So while texting is out, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and the like are all in. Something else I haven’t mentioned is that the Palma can connect to Wi-Fi… or you can pop a SIM card in and connect to a 5G network.

That means you can access all of your communications apps on the go. If you’re in the large group of people who haven’t received an actual phone call in years, you won’t miss a thing here.

Staying entertained

Now the hurdles arrive; how does the device handle music, movies or games? For some context, the Palma 2 Pro has 8GB RAM and 128GB ROM, which is the same as a phone you’d buy for that price, but as previously mentioned the screen doesn't refresh anywhere near as regularly. That means moving content looks slow and stuttery.

Music first: I downloaded Spotify and prepared to pair my Bluetooth headphones, but was surprised to find the music would play out loud. The Palma has built-in speakers which are no worse than the average ones you’ll find on a phone… so stick to your headphones if you care about audio fidelity.

Now onto watching, which you might have some reservations about; after all, E-Ink displays aren’t nearly as vibrant as LCD or OLED ones, and they have lower refresh rates and screen tearing for motion, which could be a problem. The Palma has a neat feature called EinkWise which lets you tweak the refresh rate and color saturation, which goes some way to offsetting these issues.

However it’s not quite enough. I tried to watch the new Knives Out movie on Netflix – and even though I’ve already seen it, I was struggling to work out what was going on. The lack of dynamic range isn’t anywhere near enough to handle movies, and most colors were interpreted either as pink or cyan. You can see a picture I took of the screen, which reflects how Knives Out looked.

So what about gaming? To be honest, after how Knives Out turned out, I knew not to boot up one of my grand strategy games to see if that fared any better. But I did find it much more suitable for puzzle apps like the NYT Games one, and Connections looked just fine on the E-Ink screen.

Photography

There’s no way the Palma 2 Pro can compare with a smartphone, given that my mobile has four cameras and ereaders have none, right? Uh – wrong, because the Palma 2 Pro actually does have a camera. And not just some cheapie sensor for document scanning; it’s 16MP and has a flash module!

Looking through the device’s viewfinder, you’d be forgiven for thinking that snaps have the same inverted coloration and muted colors as the ereader’s display. That’s not the case, though, and I moved some pictures over to my computer to better examine them.

I’m not going to try to convince you that the Palma is going to replace the iPhone 17 Pro Max as the best camera phone though, as the ereader is no photography device. Pictures look washed-out and hazy and very low-res. I’d happily use this camera to scan documents or grab reminders, but I wouldn’t use it to capture an important moment or cute animal pic.

Like many people I'd like to spend my money more ethically, and as an author that's particularly true of buying books. Rather than contribute to Jeff Bezos's "let's send Katy Perry slightly into orbit inside a giant space rocket" fund, I try to buy most of my books from local indie bookshops, at book festivals and directly from small publishers.

That often costs a bit more, but as someone in the indie book industry I'm very aware of the difference that even small sums of money make when that money is spent locally or with small publishers. It really helps bookshops, publishers and authors alike, and that keeps the good books coming.

So, instead of throwing coins into the gaping maw of global e-commerce, I'm trying to do with digital what I do with printed books: eschewing Amazon and its Audible offshoot for alternatives that give me a warm glow and make me feel like a slightly better person.

None of these alternatives can offer the sheer breadth of Amazon and Audible's catalogues, in much the same way as your local deli can't compete with Costco. But there's plenty to recommend with these services: they can variously save you money, help keep good booksellers in business, and support the authors who write the books you love.

1. Your local library

There are several apps that enable you to borrow library books as ebooks. The biggest are OverDrive's Libby, which also offers audiobooks, and for UK dwellers there's also BorrowBox, which sticks to text rather than audio and is favored by many UK councils. Libby and BorrowBox also feature a range of magazines you can browse, and Overdrive has another app, Sora, designed specifically for pupils of signed-up schools.

Both Libby and BorrowBox are based on using your library card as ID (and make it easy to get one if you don't already have one). Once you've signed in with that and set up your account you can then send titles to your device just like you would borrow a physical book from the library. And like physical library books, your loans are limited in number and have to be returned by a certain time.

2. Bookshop.org

One of the things I love about Bookshop.org is that when I buy books from it, a little bit of my money is given to my nominated bookshop. And now the same can happen when I buy audiobooks.

This is a relatively new service for those of us in the UK so the selection is currently small, but the prices of high-profile books like Cory Doctorow's Enshittification are close to Amazon's and there are plenty of big-name authors.

And there's a big upside to the the much smaller selection: you're not dragging yourself through AI slop and low-quality shovelware to find the diamonds.

3. Libro.fm

Libro is my favourite audiobook source – and like Bookshop.org, it enables me to buy audiobooks and give a slice of the payment pie to my nominated local bookseller.

The most cost-effective way is to take out a subscription (the standard subscription of $14.99 / £7.99 per month gets you one credit for one book per month) rather than buy books individually, because that latter option charges full price. Subscribers get discounts on additional audiobook purchases and special member-only sales too.

Libro.fm doesn't have the breadth of Amazon's Audible but its 600,000-title catalogue is hardly tiny. And your audiobooks aren't copy-protected, so they're yours to move between your different devices without turning you into a criminal.

4. Smashwords

If you're looking for more independent and self-published authors like the ones on Amazon's Kindle platform, Smashwords is a good place to go – especially if your tastes tend towards romantasy, fantasy and SF.

Smashwords e-books are sold without copy protection and mostly in ePub format, and authors generally offer very generous free samples so you can be sure that you're buying something you're going to like reading.

That's good for the authors too: unlike some platforms, Smashwords sales are final, so people can't read your book and then get a refund.

5. Direct from independent publishers

If you really want to support independent authors, buying directly from their publishers often means they get the best possible royalty rate (and are likely to receive it more quickly too).

For example, my publisher 404 Ink will happily sell you ebook versions of all my books and my fellow authors' books, and that's common in independent publishing where margins are tight and every sale matters.

For small presses, direct sales can make the difference between surviving and thriving – and small presses are often where the literary stars of tomorrow take their first steps into publishing, so you're helping support the stars of the future.

• Monochrome Kindles are "slightly crisper" Amazon says
• The information appears on color Kindle FAQs
• You still get a high-quality experience on Colorsoft Kindles

Update October 21: Amazon has now changed the wording on its color Kindle FAQs, saying simply that the Colorsoft display is "distinct" from the Paperwhite display, and no longer mentioning crispness. The black and white text resolution (300ppi) is the same across monochrome and color devices, Amazon says.

Our original story follows below...

When Amazon introduced the Kindle Colorsoft last October, we were wondering what kind of compromises might come along with the color display – and Amazon has now officially admitted that its black-and-white ereaders offer a superior reading experience.

As spotted by Good e-Reader (via Android Police), the FAQs on some of the color Kindles have been updated to say that the monochrome Kindle Paperwhite offers a "slightly crisper" display for your ebooks.

While the text seems to have disappeared from the page for the new Kindle Scribe Colorsoft introduced just last month, it can still be found on the listing for the Kindle Colorsoft and indeed the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition.

That's not to say there's anything particularly bad about the Colorsoft models, though: Amazon says these ereaders deliver a "high-quality reading experience", albeit with a different brightness and texture level to the black-and-white Kindles.

Color me interested

We certainly had no complaints about the display in our Amazon Kindle Colorsoft review, calling the ereader's display snappy, sharp, and fantastic for content such as comics. Of course, the screen isn't glossy and saturated like a phone or tablet.

The color element is added by a separate color layer: specifically, a Kaleido 3 color display from E Ink, with support for 4,096 different hues. It's the same screen technology you'll find on the color Kobo ereaders as well.

Kobo actually beat Amazon in the race to get a color ereader out into the world, and there's a case to be made that the Kobo models – the Libra Colour and the Clara Colour – are going to give you better value for money.

We haven't had chance to review the latest Kindle Scribe Colorsoft in full, but our first impressions are good ones, and of course it adds stylus support. The color ereader displays may well be slightly less sharp, but it's not something to worry about.

You might also like

• The Kindle yellow band issues have now been fixed
• Amazon adds two new Kindle Colorsofts to its lineup
• The Kindle Scribe family now has three models in it

• Kobo has just announced a remote page turner for its ereaders
• It will be available to buy in most major markets from November 4
• Kobo, however, is yet to announce any new ereaders for 2025

I'm an avid reader. Someone once told me that if an average reader goes through about 3,000 books in a lifetime, I'd probably have read 6,000. Most of that reading is done in bed, where I have my (month-old) Kobo Libra Colour propped up beside me on its magnetic cover, my arms tucked under my head or under the blanket. And every minute or two, I need to stick a hand out to press a page-turn button.

The new Kobo Remote, however, could completely change that experience for me.

Yes, Kobo has just announced a new hands-free reading experience via its new remote page turner that will be available to buy around the world from November 4 in black and white variants.

I was hoping for a new ereader (Kobo hasn't announced anything in 2025), but I'll take it.

Look, mum, no hands!

Remote page turners aren't new – you can get cheap RF (radio frequency) ones on Amazon easily enough, but most of them are compatible with Kindles and can be glitchy with other brands. I should know, I've tried using a couple with my old Kobo Elipsa 2E and with the Onyx Boox Note 3 Air and I've not really liked the experience.

The Kobo Remote is Bluetooth enabled and is compatible with only the brand's ereaders, but I suspect it might work on other ereaders too (although Amazon's disabled Bluetooth connectivity in Australia, where I'm based, so there goes that experiment).

If you already own one of Kobo's Bluetooth-enabled ereaders, the company promises "the absolute minimum of movement to disturb your reading cosiness". I'm eager for this experience, and can't wait to try it once it's on shelves. It will cost $29.99 / £24.99 / AU$44.95 in the US, the UK and Australia respectively.

You might also like...

• These are the best ereaders to buy – all tried and tested
• Kindle vs Kobo: which ereader brand is better?
• Read me in-depth Kobo Libra Colour review – it's my fave ereader. Or take a look at my Kobo Clara Colour review or Kobo Clara BW review for cheaper models

Possibly more than most tech gadgets I've played with in recent years, Amazon's Kindle Scribe Colorsoft feels like the product of listening.

It's a thinner, lighter, more open, smarter, and certainly more colorful product than the Scribe that came before it. The pen-ready ereader appears to answer virtually every wishlist update and maybe a bit more.

Granted, my time with the new $629 color E-Ink device, which Amazon unveiled on Tuesday (September 30, 2025) at its huge 2025 Devices Event, was limited, but I'm not gonna lie; I'm already impressed.

The specs tell part of the story. This Kindle Scribe Colorsoft manages to offer a larger screen, 11 inches as opposed to 10.2 inches on the 2024 Scribe, while still being 33 grams lighter and 0.4mm thinner.

The design is far more classic, tablet-like, with a balanced bezel surrounding the new color-ready screen. Aside from the Kindle logo and four tiny rubber feet, the back is unblemished. There's a power button on one edge, and the bottom edge is just thick enough to house the USB-C charge port.

Paper-like design

Holding the tablet in my hand, I was astonished at how light and thin it felt. I had no trouble firmly grasping a corner and supporting its weight with just two fingers. It's so thin that the pen is now slightly thicker than the Scribe Colorsoft chassis. It's a good thing Amazon increased the internal magnet power. I did my best to shake the pencil off the Scribe to no avail.

The touch-friendly screen is fast and virtually flicker-free, something I noticed as we quickly swiped through previous sketches and notes.

And, of course, it's a color-friendly screen, which means that in addition to the sharp, 300ppi text and sketching, you can markup and sketch in a half dozen colors (there's also a color-mixing wheel that I did not try) and view content in up to 4,096 colors (at 150ppi). There are a variety of pens, though I think the fountain pen is the most satisfying.

Reading and writing

Now, I've read some content on Amazon's lovely Kindle Colorsoft, but being able to draw and markup in colors on an E-Ink device is a whole different thing.

First of all, the pen on the digital paper is remarkably responsive. It looked like pink, green, yellow, and black ink were pouring out of the included pen and right onto the screen. There's no visible distance between the pen tip and the on-screen output. Additionally, the pen and screen performed exceptionally well in recognizing pressure. I marveled at how I could effortlessly switch from the thickest to the thinnest, almost hair-strand-thin line.

This kind of response set a benchmark for what you should expect from a color E-Ink device.

Colors, in general, also look vibrant and, in some ways, slightly brighter than what we saw on the original Kindle Colorsoft. This is likely because the image stack on the new device is thinner, and while Amazon miniaturized the LEDs on this device, there are actually more of them.

I'm also impressed that the new Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is more open than its predecessor, as it is ready to work directly with OneDrive and Google Drive for file import. The export, though, remains somewhat more limited in that both platforms will only receive PDF files from the Scribe Colorsoft. Eventually, you'll be able to send notes back and forth to Alexa+.

There are other productivity features that, while I did not get to try them, promise to make this a more open, useful system. They include AI-powered search, Quick Notes, and Workspace for grouping books, PDFs, and other files.

The cost of cool

Now for the bad news. This lovely piece of hardware starts at $629 for a 32GB model. The previous Kindle Screen (monochrome, obviously) started at $399. And that price doesn't even get you the lovely maroon option.

Since it's an E-ink device, it sips power (even with the LEDs turned on) and can last for 8 weeks on a single charge. If you write on it every day for 30 minutes or so, your battery life might be cut down to two weeks, which is still pretty good by my book.

It's early days with the new Amazon Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. I like the look of it, the feel of it, and the performance of it, but I worry about the price. It's clearly a powerful and colorful tool for those with deep pockets and an interest in seeing, creating, and getting work done in color.

We'll know for certain if it's worth the investment once we've run our full battery of tests.

You might also like

• Amazon's big hardware event live – all the latest news on ...
• Amazon, change these 5 Kindle features and you'll have ...
• Amazon just unveiled 4 new AI-powered, Echo speakers – here's the full lineup and how much they cost

• Amazon's next-generation Kindle Scribe comes in three models
• All of these boast an even thinner profile at 5.4-millimeters
• There's now a Colorsoft edition in an 11-inch size

Less than a year after revamping its Kindle lineup with the debut of the Colorsoft and a new Paperwhite, Amazon is giving the Kindle Scribe a proper, major refresh.

Just unveiled at the company’s September 30, 2025 Devices Event – the first major hardware showcase under Panos Panay – the new Scribe introduces a slimmer design, updated display tech, and three distinct models, including one with full color.

At 5.4 millimeters thick and weighing 400 grams, the third-generation Kindle Scribe is thinner than the iPad Air but slightly thicker than Apple’s latest iPad Pro with M4. The lineup includes an entry-level model without a front light, the standard Scribe with front lighting, and the all-new Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, which adds full-color reading and writing capabilities. The Colorsoft also debuts in a new finish called Fig, a deep red-berry tone, while the others only come in Graphite.

The refreshed Scribe features symmetrical bezels around its 11-inch screen, making it more comfortable for both right- and left-handed use. Amazon has also rebalanced the internals so the device no longer feels top- or side-heavy.

The USB-C charging port remains on the bottom, while the Premium Pen now attaches magnetically to the right-hand side with stronger magnets. The power button has moved to the same side – a change long requested by Kindle users.

Amazon achieved the slimmer design by reworking the display stack. The anti-glare film has been removed in favor of textured glass, which the company says still delivers a paper-like writing feel. From a brief hands-on, writing with the Premium Pen on the Kindle Scribe is still a smooth experience, but we’ll need to put all three of the Scribes through their paces.

While the Scribe, Scribe with a front light, and Scribe Colorsoft all boast 11-inch screens, the differences lie in the technology underneath. The entry-level model features an 11-inch glare-free display with 300ppi resolution and 16 levels of grayscale.

The standard model is an 11-inch Paperwhite display at the same resolution, but it adds a redesigned front light. The LEDs here have been shrunk down on the left-hand side to fit in the thinner overall build, but Amazon actually doubled the number by using smaller-sized individual LEDs for the front light.

Like the latest Kindle Paperwhite, all models now include Amazon’s Oxide display technology for faster page turns and greater responsiveness, powered by a new quad-core processor.

The headline upgrade, however, is the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. Amazon VP of Kindle, Kevin Keith, said the company felt it was time to bring color to the Scribe lineup, aiming for “color without compromise.” Essentially, the tech has caught up here in terms of the display coating and the LEDs underneath.

The 11-inch Colorsoft display uses nitrided LEDs and a custom light guide that reflects light at the pixel level, preventing colors from appearing washed out – this is pretty similar to how the standard Kindle Colorsoft works. It matches the monochrome resolution at 300ppi for grayscale and delivers 150ppi for color.

A new rendering engine reduces flashing and maintains a smooth writing experience, whether in black and white or color. At launch, the Colorsoft will support ten colors, five highlight options, and five brush types.

These tools will be found in a refreshed software experience that’s arriving across this lineup of Kindle Scribes, and Amazon hopes to bring most, if not all of it, to the existing second-generation Kindle Scribe models. There are still bottom and top bars for easy navigation, but the new organization system, dubbed “Workspaces,” has piqued our interest.

Here, you can group downloaded books, notes, PDFs, and other documents into distinct folders. This can be helpful for organizing content on your Scribe for students, individuals using it at the office, and avid readers alike. Much like quickly jotting a note down with a gesture on an iPad, there is a new Quick Notes functionality here that can instantly pull up a page for you to write on.

While there was already a “Send to Kindle” feature for transferring documents to the device, the Kindle Scribe will soon integrate more seamlessly with Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, allowing for easy import of documents for signatures, redlining, and annotations. You can even send them back to the respective service as a PDF document.

Even more useful is a smarter search feature that blends LLM-style intelligence with your stored documents. For example, say you’ve been taking notes in weekly one-on-ones and you’re preparing for an end-of-year recap. You can type into the search bar – or handwrite a query with the pen and have it converted – something like “What were the major points I raised each week?” or “What themes came up most often?” The Scribe will scan your notebooks, whether stored locally or in the cloud, and return summarized results with sources. It’s the kind of tool that could prove genuinely helpful.

And that about sums up what’s new with the three new Kindle Scribes – the United States will get the Kindle Scribe and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft first, later in 2025, and as of now, Amazon isn’t opening up preorders, but you can mark your interest. These two models will begin an international launch in 2026, and the base Kindle Scribe without a front light will also make its debut in the United States at the same time.

It’s also safe to say these new Kindle Scribes don’t exactly come cheap – with the starting price in the US going up from $399.99 for the current 16GB Kindle Scribe to $429.99 for the 16GB Kindle Scribe without Front Light – with the most expensive Kindle now starting at $699.99.

• Montblanc is making a digital paper notebook
• It will cost $905 / £750 / AU$1,490
• It comes with 64GB of storage, and what looks like a 10.3-inch display

Montblanc, the German luxury goods maker, has decided to expand its high-end stationery range into the digital world with the new Montblanc Digital Paper. As you might expect, the E Ink tablet is suitably expensive.

According to Montblanc’s store page, the Digital Paper will set you back $905 / £750 / AU$1,490, and in exchange, you’ll get a black and white digital notepad and pen with 64GB of storage for your sketches and handwritten notes.

It supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity – though the latter is only for the pen – and it can link with the Montblanc Digital Paper companion app (which can be downloaded on both Android and iOS devices) to share your scribbles with your other tech.

Montblanc hasn’t revealed the screen size yet, but the website says the digital paper is “4.9 mm x 191 mm x 222 mm,” which would give us a maximum possible screen size of 11.5 inches. When you account for bezels, it’ll be less than this, so we’d guess around 10.3 inches, given that’s a common size for e-notebooks.

Notebooks such as the Amazon Kindle Scribe and Kobo Elipsa 2E, which notably cost considerably less than this Montblanc device – coming in at $449.99 / $429.99 / AU$729 or $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$629.95 respectively for their most expensive options – and boast very similar specs (though the Kobo comes with only 32GB of storage).

You can pick up the Montblanc Digital Paper in one of a trio of colors – Cool Grey, Mystery Black, Elixir Gold (which is a sort of mastic tan color) – and you can customize your digital notebook with one of a quartet of Folio covers – Ink Blue, Antarctica, Black, or Mastic – which will set you back $205 / £170 / AU$335 a pop.

You can also pick up a replacement pen for $275 / £230 / AU$450 as well as tip replacements, which come in boxes of eight for $40 / £34 / AU$70. There are linen, matte, and smooth tip options, with each offering different characteristics for how the tip glides over the digital paper to simulate the different tactile experiences you’d get from a proper pen and paper.

Now we haven’t reviewed the Montblanc tablet yet, but at twice the price (or close to double) of its similarly specced competitors, it's unlikely it’ll win any awards for being excellent value for money.

However, if you’re in love with the Montblanc brand’s signature stylings, have long relied on its high-end stationery and want to enter the digital age with them, or have been after a digital paper slate with an elevated sophistication over what you can get from Kobo, Amazon, or the rest, then this could be the option for you.

You might also like

• The best ereader of 2025
• The best Kindles in 2025
• The Onyx Boox Go Color 7 Gen II is a versatile ereader with potential – so it's a shame it fumbles its key feature

Onyx Boox Go Color 7 Gen II: Two-minute review

As you can probably tell from my Onyx Boox Go Color 7 review, I didn’t take a shine to the original model released in 2024, which meant I had higher expectations from its successor.

The Boox Go Color 7 Gen II launched in April 2025 alongside a monochrome edition called the Boox Go 7, both sharing the same design and and feature set – the only difference being the screen: the former uses the color E Ink Kaleido 3 display while the latter is the grayscale E Ink Carta 1300.

Physically, both the 2025 Go Series siblings are nearly identical to the Go Color 7 from 2024, with one tiny design change that I’m pleased with – the page-turn buttons on the new models are smaller, rounded and separated a little to improve ergonomics.

On paper, the Go Color 7 Gen II is the better device compared to its predecessor, running Android 13 (rather than Android 12), getting a generation newer processor and adding writing capabilities that the previous model lacked. Like many smaller-screen epaper tablets like it, you will need to purchase the stylus separately, although at the time of writing, the only pen that works with the Go Color 7 II – the Boox InkSense – has been discontinued and no official replacement has been made available.

According to Boox, it’s preparing a new stylus after taking on user feedback, and the new pen “is expected to be available in the third quarter” of this year. Reimagining a stylus is admirable, but it still begs the question: why release ereaders with stylus support (this affects the monochrome Boox Go 7 as well) if their only pen isn’t available to buy?

When I started testing the device about 11 weeks ago, third-party retailers still had stock of the InkSense, which is how I was able to source one for this review, but even those are no longer available. That said, I’m glad the pen is being replaced as I didn’t enjoy the writing experience with a hard nib on a very smooth screen. I’ll update this review when the promised stylus is released.

While I’m not docking any points for the lack of a supported stylus at the time of publication, I’m disappointed to see that the 7-inch color screen on the Gen II isn’t as nice to read on as its predecessor. Text on the Gen II is 'fuzzy', for the lack of a better word. Compared to its predecessor, its monochrome Go 7 sibling and the Kobo Libra Colour, text within ebooks and speech bubbles clearly lacks crispness. You can still read, that's not the issue, but it's hard to recommend an ereader when others do a better job.

And while some colors are more saturated here than on the older model and the Kobo Libra Colour, the additional contrast means small details are lost in the darker areas. Strangely, though, the color 'inks' when writing lack this same saturation and look washed out compared to what I've experienced on older color Boox models like the Onyx Boox Tab Mini C.

Boox has somehow managed to make the display yellower (or warmer) than on any of its other tablets, and it's a stark difference between the Gen II's monochrome sibling as well. This warmth sadly affects the displayed colors as well. The yellowness is exacerbated when the frontlight is switched on, giving comics and graphics novels what I call the 'jaundiced look'. In fact, the frontlight isn't even as bright on the Gen II as other Boox ereaders (or even Kobos and Kindles).

The overall user experience is also marred by constant ghosting. It’s not as obvious as I’ve seen in older Boox devices, but it is distracting enough to be an issue. Setting the device to higher refresh rates, however, eats into the battery life, which also drains at a faster rate than other ereaders. Even the preset refresh modes that can be set on a per-app basis weren’t well optimized here, causing excessive stuttering while scrolling on the native web browser.

The good news is that the software issues I’ve had with the previous generation have been fixed and I was thrilled to see that wired transfer via OTG (directly plugging an external hard drive or portable SSD to the USB-C port) works smoothly – something I’ve had problems with in previous Boox tablets I’ve tested. Even the fonts folder within Storage is correctly bound, so things work a little more smoothly now, although the user interface continues to be slightly complicated.

Better implementation of the software doesn’t make up for the subpar reading experience, and neither does selling it at the same price as its predecessor – in fact, I'd say it’s hard to recommend at any price.

Onyx Boox Go Color 7 Gen II review: Price & availability

• Announced end April 2025 for US, Europe and Australia
• List price: $299.99 / €279.99 / AU$439
• Available directly from the Boox Shop and select retailers, including Amazon

As alluded to earlier, the Boox Go Color 7 Gen II was announced alongside the monochrome Boox Go 7, both becoming available at the end of April 2025.

Despite the added note-taking functionality, the Boox Go Color 7 Gen II carries a similar price tag to its predecessor (which is already listed as out of stock on the Boox Shop, indicating it might get discontinued soon). Where the older model had a launch price of $249.99 / €279.99 (about £245) / AU$459, the Gen II is listed for $279.99 / €279.99 / AU$439 at the time of writing. As you can see, only US customers face a slightly higher charge likely due to tariffs on several imports. This price includes a magnetic case that features a loop to secure a stylus.

In comparison, the Kobo Libra Colour is cheaper at $229.99 / £209.99 / AU$379.95 for the standalone ereader, but you will need to add on the $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$119.95 for the Kobo Stylus 2 if you want to use it for writing notes, and you’ll need to purchase a case separately if you want one.

The only compatible stylus for the 2025 Go series was the Boox InkSense, which has been listed as “out of stock” since the release of the Go Color 7 II (and its monochrome sibling), and at the time of writing is no longer available from third-party retailers either. I have official confirmation that the pen has been discontinued, and while the Boox Shop lists a bundle that includes the stylus, I’d recommend holding off purchasing the full package until the replacement pen has been released. There’s no confirmed release date at the time of publishing this review, and neither is there any indication of how much the stylus would cost. I’ll update this article as soon as I know more.

Given my subpar experience with the Go Color 7 Gen II, I think the monochrome Boox Go 7 would be the better buy and it retails for $249.99 / €249.99 / AU$399, a price that includes an identical magnetic case as well.

• Value score: 3 / 5

Onyx Boox Go Color 7 Gen II review: Specs

Onyx Boox Go Color 7 Gen II review: Design & display

• Exact same dimensions and weight as Gen I model, but design tweaks to buttons
• Compact and lightweight, lacks waterproofing
• 7-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 screen lacks contrast and sharpness

As the old adage goes: if it ain’t broke… The original Go Color 7 was a lovely compact ereader that I liked the design of, except for the closely placed page-turn buttons. That's been changed on the Gen II model, which now sports smaller, rounded buttons with some space in between.

This tiny change, in my opinion, makes the Gen II a touch more ergonomic in use, but there’s a case to be made for the asymmetric design of the Kobo Libra series (and the Kindle Oasis models) – it provides a nice resting place for the thumb along the edge of the broader bezel. The slim and flat form factor of the Go Color 7 II can be harder on the fingers and wrists in comparison, although the added thickness from its magnetic case helps a alleviate the soreness a little.

As before, the page-turn buttons automatically become volume controls for apps that don’t require scrolling or page turning, and this functionality can be set on a per-app basis in the Settings menu.

Where the buttons on the older model were a different color to the rest of the chassis (silver on the white colorway and dark grey on the black), the Gen II – and its monochrome sibling – are a single color, available in black (as reviewed here) or white. The one-color look without any trimmings or accents makes the device look a little dated, but that’s not a complaint, merely an observation made in comparison to the older model.

All other physical attributes are identical to the Gen I model, including the textured rear panel which, to me now seems just a smidge rougher that makes the Gen II a little grippier if you prefer not to use its magnetic case. In terms of dimensions and weight, nothing has changed since 2024 and that’s not a bad thing as the Go Color 7 II is compact and lightweight, making it quite portable.

There’s a tiny power button on the bottom right corner of the device, while the right edge is home to the USB-C port, the speaker grilles and a microSD card tray. Only the mic has moved, now housed on the opposite edge.

What it lacks is waterproofing; there’s no IP rating for it listed on the official website, so if you plan to travel with it – it's the perfect compact size for doing so – steer clear of the pool.

As I mentioned earlier in this review, the Go Color 7 II uses a 7-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 display, the same as the previous generation, although Onyx has made the newer model more naturally yellow in comparison. This has the unfortunate effect of adding a yellow hue to all the colors on screen, giving them what I call the 'jaundiced look'.

This is exacerbated by the frontlight on the Gen II as it enhances the yellowness of the display. It’s also, rather strangely, not as bright as the Gen I model which, at the time of testing it in 2024, I said wasn’t bright compared to the even older Onyx Boox Page. In fact, the light on the Go Color 7 Gen II is dimmer than its own 2025 sibling, the Boox Go 7.

I had complained about the lack of sharpness on the Go Color 7 (Gen I) when compared to the Kobo Libra Colour, but Boox has managed to make that a lot worse on the Gen II, and that is its biggest failing – a subpar display (more on this below in the User Experience section).

• Design & display score: 3 / 5

Onyx Boox Go Color 7 Gen II review: Android software & apps

• Runs a custom version of Android 13
• User interface takes time to get used to
• Access to the Google Play Store; AI Assistant app available on board

Where the older model from 2024 was running Android 12, the Go Color 7 II has been upgraded to a custom version of Android 13. There’s usually no need to worry about a device like an ereader running an older version of Google’s OS as there typically aren’t any security issues here, and I doubt anyone would save sensitive information on a device like this.

The trimmed-down version of Android on the Go Color 7 Gen II caters specifically to reading and writing, and should be familiar to anyone who has used a Boox tablet before. If not, the user interface will take some getting used to as it’s not the most streamlined UX I’ve come across. For a simpler setup, you’ll need to turn to a Kindle or a Kobo ereader.

The home screen, once you’ve connected to Wi-Fi, is easy to get around, with a navigation menu at the bottom of the display. This gives you quick access to your library, the storage menu and your apps, plus it’s customizable via the device’s Settings menu. There’s space here for five options and, strangely for an ereader with writing capabilities, the native Notes app is not one of them.

Finding it wasn’t easy, but Boox at least has a quick guide online on how to access it: you’ll need to navigate to Settings > System Display > Homescreen Navigation Bar where It’s listed as one of the options for the aforementioned customization. This may not seem like a big issue, but my expectation from a device like this is to highlight its main features up front rather than tuck them away, highlighting the unintuitive UX. In my case, I swapped out the Bookstore as it’s not as enticing a source of content as the Kindle or Kobo stores.

Given its open Android ecosystem, the interface on the Boox Go 7 II includes a lot of advanced settings that help you use third-party apps as smoothly as possible, but submenus for native applications are difficult to find. For example, you need to open an ebook in the NeoReader app (the native library), tap onscreen to open the top menu bar, click on More, then select Settings from there – another example of a convoluted interface.

Thankfully adjusting fonts and overall styling for individual books is easier to do, but there’s a lot going on here compared to what you’d see on a Kindle or Kobo. The setup for styling, however, is now improved, which makes it easier to understand than previous iterations of Boox’s interface.

In fact, there’s another improvement to the software that I’ve previously had trouble with on Boox devices – taking advantage of the USB-C port’s OTG support for wired file transfer. Previously, the menu required to copy files across from an external hard drive to a Boox tablet would disappear as soon as I tried to navigate back to the Storage pane, thus not letting me add files to the default Books folder. Now that is no longer an issue and I was able to select multiple ebooks saved on my Samsung T7 portable SSD and save into the Go Color 7 II without any issues.

I had no trouble downloading third-party Android apps to the Go Color 7 II. These included the Kindle and Kobo apps as the bulk of my library is on these two platforms, plus an app called CPU X that detects the exact chipset a device is using. I didn’t try any third-party note-taking applications as I’ve always found Boox’s native Notes app to be full featured and more than enough for my needs.

• Software score: 3.5 / 5

Onyx Boox Go Color 7 Gen II review: User experience

• Excessive yellow hue on screen affects colors
• Subpar reading experience due to lack of text sharpness
• Writing experience could change depending on the new stylus

An unintuitive user interface aside, the Go Color 7 Gen II is quite usable. It’s when you compare it to other models, including its own predecessor and its 2025 monochrome sibling that you begin to realize there are better color ereaders to spend your money on. And that’s exactly what my job, as the reviewer, entails – doing the side-by-side comparisons so you, dear reader, can make the most informed buying decision.

As you will see in the comparison photos below, the Go Color 7 Gen II doesn’t hold up well as an ereader. As for writing, it’s hard to rate the experience when you can’t purchase a compatible stylus yet.

Reading

I’ve tested several ereaders in the last eight years and I don’t think I’ve ever been as disappointed with the reading experience as I was with the Go Color 7 Gen II. Admittedly that’s because I’m comparing it directly to a few of its contemporaries, but even if you didn’t do a side-by-side comparison, it’s easy for anyone who’s used an ereader before to say the display looks hazy. I suspect that’s because of the anti-glare layer on the screen, and it’s just a lot more pronounced here when compared to other brands and Boox models.

The 7-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 display used here is naturally more yellow than other ereader I’ve previously tested and found this affected how colors appear on screen. I compared it to its predecessor and the Kobo Libra Colour, both of which have paler backgrounds in light mode and made the displayed colors appear as close to natural as is possible on an epaper screen. While I can't say this alone affects the reading experience, I found the monochrome Boox Go 7 was nicer to read on in light mode because of the whiter background – it added a touch more contrast to the page.

The frontlight, which isn’t as bright as I’ve seen previously on other Boox tablets (even the Go 7 that released alongside this ereader is brighter), exacerbates the ‘jaundiced look’. Boox doesn't list how many amber LEDs are used on the Go Color 7 II, but the frontlight is warmer compared to five other ereaders I had with me at the time of this review (two other Boox tablets, two Kindles and a Kobo), which makes the screen look yellower when switched on. The only other E Ink tablet that surpasses the Gen II's warm display and light is the Kobo Elipsa 2E, but here it's not a problem as the epaper tablet doesn't display color.

As with every color ereader using the E Ink Kaleido 3 screen technology, the Go Color 7 II has a screen resolution of 150ppi for color and 300ppi in grayscale. Colors appear more washed out when compared to its own predecessor which, at the time of writing the Boox Go Color 7 review, I said was pale beside the Kobo Libra Colour. And while I don’t expect the Gen II to match what I would see on an LCD display, I did expect it to be similar to its older sibling, if not better.

The flip side to that is colors on the Gen II look more saturated compared to the Kobo Libra Colour. Newer firmware may have made the Gen I better at displaying colors, but the release notes for v4.1 on the Boox website make no mention of changes that would account for this improvement. The more saturated hues, however, do come at the cost of some details in darker areas being diminished, but this may not be a deal breaker for many readers of comics and graphics novels.

What is truly disappointing is how the text is displayed, whether in ebooks or in speech bubbles – letters are fuzzy on the Go Color 7 II compared to the Gen I and the Go 7. Even the Kobo is better at displaying text.

The new Boox interface allows you to have custom styling for individual titles you’re reading, but enhancing text weight (or boldness) didn’t help, although setting the Dark Color Enhancement to its maximum improved the text a tiny bit, but note that you will lose further details in darker areas when reading in color. Switching to dark mode also made no difference as overall contrast is lacking.

Long story short, it’s hard to recommend the Boox Go Color 7 Gen II as an ereader.

Writing

It’s hard to rate the Go Color 7 Gen II’s writing experience objectively as the Boox InkSense is no longer available (although it still works if you can find stock at a retailer) and will be replaced by a new stylus that I hope will add a touch of friction.

The hard plastic nib of the InkSense just slides across the screen of the Go Color 7 II, and I often felt like I was losing control over my writing because of that. I think a softer nib would be ideal, but we’ll just have to wait and see what Boox releases for its 2025 Go series 7-inch ereaders.

However, as with reading, the color ‘inks’ available for writing look washed out compared to what I’ve experienced on older Boox tablets like the Onyx Boox Tab Mini C, and black is the only option that stands out clearly.

The native Notes app, though, is the same as you’d find on the brand’s more high-end epaper tablets like the Onyx Boox Go 10.3 and is more than enough for the average user who needs to jot down some thoughts or doodle. Power users would appreciate the Notes app better, thanks to several tools that could prove handy for productivity. For example, the Insert option allows you to add images and audio files to your notes, and the same tool lets you hyperlink selected text to an external URL or to a different page within the same notebook.

The adjustable Lasso tool gives you a lot of flexibility for text selections, and promptly adds the AI tool for instant handwriting-to-text conversion. Handwriting recognition is not always accurate, but then it’s very simple to make edits manually.

• User experience score: 2.5 / 5

Onyx Boox Go Color 7 Gen II review: Performance

• Not the fastest ereader I’ve tested
• Lots of light ghosting that quickly becomes annoying
• Battery drain is higher compared to other similar models

The Boox Go Color 7 Gen II uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM to keep things running as smoothly as possible. The CPU is a small improvement over the Snapdragon 680 used in the older Go Color 7, but it doesn’t seem to have made much of a difference in overall performance.

Boox tablets aren’t known for being speedy loaders, and the latest Kindle and Kobo ereaders boot up faster from sleep mode than the Go Color 7 Gen II. Even the native Library app takes its time to open a chosen title, even if it’s been saved locally to the device. It’s not a deal breaker in terms of overall usability, although it’s undeniably slower than the 2024 Kindles and Kobo devices when opening up a book to read.

Even wired file transfer via USB-OTG was very quick. Wireless transfer of files has always been easy using the BooxDrop platform, but I had no trouble signing into my Google Drive account either, with cloud transfer also working quite well.

Third-party apps, however, load quickly and, during my testing, worked smoothly, with no app crashes experienced with the few that I downloaded for this review. That said, reading on the Kindle or Kobo app also suffered from the same screen issues as when using the native NeoReader application.

My biggest performance issue with the Go Color 7 II was ghosting. Adjusting refresh rates using the presets available for individual apps didn’t help at all and the only way I found to counter this was to set system refresh rate to a faster option. I tested a full-refresh frequency set at 10 taps and 5 taps, with the latter working fine for the most part, although it came at the cost of battery life. There was still some ghosting on the display between the 5 taps, and the only way to eliminate this was setting full-refresh frequency to 1 tap. This drains the battery even more significantly, but was the best solution for me.

In fact, the preset refresh rates that can be set on a per-app basis didn’t even help smoothen stuttering while scrolling web pages on the native browser. I wasn’t expecting seamless scrolling like on a phone, but I’ve experienced better refresh-rate presets on other E Ink devices: case in point, I had no such problems in my ViWoods AiPaper review which also runs a custom version of Android 13 like the Go Color 7 II.

As I’ve already mentioned, battery drain for me on this ereader was quite significant after I changed the system refresh rate to a quicker option, but even on default settings, the Go Color 7 II chews through its 2,300mAh battery quite quickly.

I had the ereader set to powering off after 48 hours of no activity, but upon switching the Go Color 7 II on again I found the battery life would be significantly lower than when I put it into sleep mode. I expect about 5% to 10% drain for ereaders in scenarios like this, but the Go Color 7 II would drop by 25% on average – in one instance where it was in sleep mode for 48 hours and powered down for a further 36 hours, battery life dropped from 81% to 56%.

This isn’t behavior I’ve experienced with any other Boox tablet, so I suspect there’s a bug that’s affecting battery efficiency and a future firmware might be able to fix it. In the meantime, you’ll still get about a week of reading from every top-up with the system refresh rate set to 15 taps. This will reduce if you use faster refresh rates and will also be affected by how bright you set the frontlight to and how often you use Bluetooth connectivity.

Recharging, thankfully, isn't slow and it went from 12% to full in 1 hour and 57 minutes plugged into a wall adapter during my testing. Connected to a dock slowed down the charging rate only marginally, going from 17% to full in 2 hours and 10 minutes.

• Performance score: 3 / 5

Should I buy the Onyx Boox Go Color 7 Gen II?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Onyx Boox Go Color 7 Gen II review: Alternatives

How I tested the Onyx Boox Go Color 7 Gen II

• Used as main ereader for approximately 11 weeks
• Used wireless and wired file transfer methods for books and audio files
• Separately purchased the Boox InkSense to test writing

When Boox sent the Go Color 7 Gen II for review without a stylus, I was a little surprised. On enquiring, I was told that the Boox InkSense – the supported pen – had been discontinued and I would be sent its replacement as soon as it was released. However, that meant delaying this review until later this year, so I purchased the InkSense myself from a third-party retailer in Australia (where the the testing was done) who still had stock. The stylus is now no longer available anywhere.

It was fantastic to see that I didn't need to manually pair the stylus to the Go Color 7 II – it just worked. To test the writing features, I wrote some notes and tried doodling a little (I can't draw to save my life).

To test the Go Color 7 II as an ereader, I used USB-OTG to transfer a few ebooks, but also signed into my Google Drive account for cloud transfer of other files, including the Bookerly font family I'm partial to and some MP3s. I also 'pushed' a couple of existing files I had in the cloud via the BooxDrop platform as well.

I compared the Go Color 7 II to two other color ereaders: the older Boox Go Color 7 and the Kobo Libra Colour. I also compared it to its 2025 sibling, the Onyx Boox Go 7, as well as the 2024 Amazon Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite for direct text comparisons.

I listened to some audio files using the native music player. I downloaded a couple of other reading apps (Kindle and Kobo) and used the native web browser to see what the experience is like on an E Ink tablet.

I've tested more than 30 ereaders in the last eight years, giving me the knowledge and expertise to comment on the Boox Go Color 7 Gen II's usability and performance.

Read more about how we test

[First published August 2025]

• A Redditor has revealed what is possibly Amazon's next Kindle ereader
• It's supposedly a smaller – and potentially cheaper – version of the Kindle Colorsoft
• The prototype, called Kindle Petit Color, is rumored to have features never before seen on any ereader

A Brazilian Redditor going by the username Successful_Bear4855 has today leaked pictures and offered personal insights into a prototype color ereader, claiming it's Amazon's next Kindle release to be announced in November. The photos show an ereader with white bezels, something we've not seen on a Kindle in a while, and is seemingly called the Kindle Petit Color.

While that name, according to the Redditor, is not set in stone, the new device appears to be about the same dimensions as the current basic Amazon Kindle 2024, but boasts a color E Ink display alongside features I've not seen in any ereader – and I've tested dozens over the last eight years.

According to the leaker, who is apparently testing the device, the color saturation on the Petit is superior to the Kindle Colorsoft and has a setting that will allow users to adjust the saturation for individual colors. It's not clear exactly how that will work, but I have tested devices like the Onyx Boox Go Color 7 that offer various screen modes, such as 'Vivid', that increase color hues, although the adjustment is made as a whole and not "per color".

The Petit also apparently has a feature called "progressive colors" which, as per the author of the post, will allow users to "set up your text to change color according to reading progress". There are apparently four colors to choose from and these can change as you get through each quarter of the book. The same color will appear on the status bar as well, as per the post, and individual icons across the UI could also be displayed in user-picked hues.

Personally, I don't see the appeal of this "progressive color" feature, but the Redditor claims Amazon just wants to "maximize the use of color, due to how poorly it has been used in the colorsoft [sic]". While it's not what I would call a useful addition, I am at least slightly curious to see how well it gets executed... if this Kindle even gets released.

Color me skeptical

You can color me excited if there's truly a new Kindle in the works – particularly if we'll see it as early as November this year – but there are details in this Reddit thread that make me question the veracity of the leak.

From what I can tell by the leaker's mention of a 150ppi color resolution in the thread, this new Kindle will likely be using the E Ink Kaleido 3 display, which limits the amount of saturation it can sustain. In my experience, better colors on this screen technology invariably come at the cost of text sharpness. The smaller screen size on this leaked ereader should inadvertently help the text look less fuzzy compared to bigger devices, but this is something I'll need to see for myself before I'd recommend it as one of the best Kindles.

Then there's the removable bezels the author of the post mentions. When asked if it will be available in other colors, the Redditor says it will come in the usual black and white but, "for the first time, the bezel will be detachable". Replacements will also be available to purchase from November apparently, in "green leaf, deep purple, chromatic gray, and a special edition called mermaid, that changes from soft pink to soft teal depending on the angle you look at it".

Again, I'm not sure about detachable bezels – no ereader brand has tried to do something like that before... unless it's just skins you can stick onto the chassis. I suppose time will tell.

Other reporting suggests that this Kindle could be cheaper than the Colorsoft, but if these leaks are true, I'm not sure Amazon would sell it at a lower price. The screen optimization and color features alone could justify a price hike in Amazon's eyes. Then there'll be the additional cost of the detachable bezels (or skins), although I'm perhaps getting ahead of myself here.

This leak is also very public and I'm left wondering why a tester would risk Amazon's wrath by divulging so much detail. With that in mind, I'm taking this news with more than just a few grains of salt.

One potential strike against this leak's accuracy is that Amazon isn't known for releasing new Kindles in quick succession. It took the company three years to release a new Kindle Paperwhite, while the Kindle Scribe got an update after two years. The base Kindle also had a two-year gap. Moreover, Amazon only just expanded its Colorsoft range with new models, so I'm not sure the tech giant will put out a brand-new ereader in 2025. We can hope though.

You might also like...

• Not keen on a Kindle? Check out the best ereaders available to buy from other brands
• Want an open ecosystem in an ereader? Check out our Onyx Boox Go 6 review
• Read our in-depth Kobo Libra Colour review for what we think is the best ereader at present

ViWoods AiPaper: Two-minute review

The moment I took the ViWoods AiPaper epaper tablet out of its box, I was surprised at how light it was. It was already inside a thin magnetic case, with the stylus in its loop, and it still felt like the lightest 10-inch E Ink tablet I’d ever used. And that's despite the fact that it's taller than its competition at 10.65 inches rather than the average 10.3 screen size.

The closest (direct) competition is from the Onyx Boox Go 10.3, which also runs Android (albeit an older version) and is 4.6mm thick, tipping the scales at 375g. The AiPaper, on the other hand weighs 370g and is 4.5mm thick. I never expected the small 5g weight difference to be discernible but, interestingly, you can 'feel' it.

The AiPaper also looks very much like the Boox Go 10.3, with silver edges, whitish-grey bezels and the flush E Ink display that doesn’t have a frontlight. And that’s alright because the AiPaper is more for writers and other creative people than an ereader you’d take to bed at night. The best part about the design in my opinion: the stylus magnetically sticks over the screen rather than the sides.

At its main function of being a digital notebook, it excels. Everything you need is neatly laid out on the homepage, so it’s very easy to get to grips with and the settings are simple to understand.

You can start writing on it straight out of the box (if it’s charged) because the first application you see is Paper (for notes). You also have easy access to a calendar, a digital sketchpad and a bunch of pre-installed applications that include Kindle, Kobo, OneNote, Libby and Wattpad, just to name a few.

There’s even a Mailbox to access your email on and, guess what, you can handwrite your reply and the built-in AI assistant converts it to text before sending. Watch out for the AI text conversion though – it’s not consistently accurate – so you may need to make edits before you send someone an email. You can even email your notes directly from the Paper app.

While there are plenty of pen options for writing, I was a little surprised that drawing only has three (each with three thicknesses) – competing tablets offer more for creativity. Stylus input, however, has no lag whatsoever and the nib moves smoothly over the screen. There’s just enough friction to give you the feel of paper and I quite enjoyed the writing experience.

I appreciate the numerous templates and the separate calendar application too, even one called Meeting for jotting down minutes. Then there’s the AI button that gives you access to full-fat ChatGPT-4o or GPT-4o-mini. DeepSeek is also preinstalled. It's important to note, however, there are always risks with using AI, but if you're comfortable with it, it can be a fantastic productivity tool.

Chrome and the Google Play Store are also available out of the box. It uses a custom version of Android 13, but I found that the tablet I was sent for this review was not Play Protect Certified (meaning, I couldn’t access the Play Store at initial setup). I had to follow some steps to register the device and it was smooth sailing after that.

I won’t talk much about what it’s like to use as an ereader because that’s not its main function, and it has support for fewer file formats than some other brands with similar tablets, but they are the most common ebook formats, including EPUB, MOBI, CBZ and CBR. Moreover, without a frontlight, it may not be the best ereader for many users. PDF editing is possible if the document you’ve uploaded has edit capabilities.

Ghosting is a minor problem on this tablet, but I didn't notice it until I looked at the photos I had taken of the AiPaper. So it won't really be an issue when in use.

The entire setup is a lovely middle ground between reMarkable’s minimalist approach and Boox’s overcomplicated one – it’s well thought out and stands out as a unique alternative to its aforementioned competitors. There’s a heck of a lot more to unpack here (read on below for more details), but I really can’t get over the high asking price for this E Ink tablet – it's about $200 / £100 / AU$250 more than competing options even when discounted – although it could be argued that it justifies its cost just on performance alone.

ViWoods AiPaper review: Price & availability

• Released after a Kickstarter campaign in September 2024
• Has been shipping globally since its US release in December 2024
• List price of $799 / £610 / AU$1,199; can be purchased from on Amazon
• 100-day free trial, but terms and conditions apply

There are two AiPaper tablets available from Chinese brand ViWoods – the larger 10.65-inch model reviewed here and a smaller 8-inch alternative called AiPaper Mini. The bigger device went on sale in the US towards the end of 2024, and has been available in Australia since March 2025.

The 10.65-inch E Ink tablet is not what I would deem 'affordable' – in fact, it’s the most expensive epaper device I’ve tested to date, with its $799 / £610 / AU$1,199 price tag making it costlier than the color reMarkable Paper Pro and the grayscale Supernote Manta.

That said, there is a slim case in the box, as well as the stylus and extra nibs too. In many other cases, you’ll need to buy the case separately, but this bundle is still very much in premium territory.

Thankfully there are discounts to be had. At the time of writing, the AiPaper was down to $549 / £418 / AU$863 directly from the ViWoods website, but could be had for $539 / AU$806 on Amazon in the US and Australia respectively.

The ViWoods AiPaper Mini is also quite steeply priced (listed for $599 / £455 / AU$939; discounts are available) compared to the likes of the 8-inch Kobo Sage, the 7-inch Kobo Libra Colour and the stylus-supported Boox Go 7 from Onyx. However, it too ships with a stylus while other smaller slates require you to purchase that separately.

Despite being a full-featured E Ink tablet running Android 13, it’s hard to justify even the discounted price, more so when you can get the Boox Go 10.3 for $379.99 / €419.99 (about £355) / AU$699. Even the reMarkable 2 would be a good alternative and save you money at full price. Price is the main reason why it gets some points docked in this review.

However, ViWoods stands apart from other brands by offering a 100-day free trial of its products when purchased directly from the brand's website, but there are a few other terms and conditions you will need to be aware of to take advantage of this offer. The tablets also come with a 14-month warranty for functional defects.

• Value score: 3.5 / 5

ViWoods AiPaper review: specs

ViWoods AiPaper review: Design & display

• Thinnest and lightest 10-inch E Ink tablet I’ve tested
• Very nice 10.65-inch E Ink Carta 1300 display
• Stylus is slightly thicker than most, but very ergonomic and lightweight
• Built-in mic, but no speakers or microSD card tray

The overall design of the ViWoods AiPaper is familiar to me as it’s quite similar to the Boox Go 10.3 I’ve previously tested. The difference here is that it’s even lighter and thinner and, while you’d think that a 0.1mm thickness and 5g of weight difference wouldn’t matter much, think again. The moment I took the AiPaper out of its box – it was already encased in a magnetic folio with the stylus in its loop – it was noticeably lighter compared to all the other large-screen E Ink tablets I’ve tested.

It is, however, taller than other tablets like it. Its screen size comes in at 10.65 inches compared to the average 10.3 inches, but it doesn't add too much to the overall footprint – it's slightly taller than its counterparts. The thinness more than makes up for it, though.

And while the tablet itself has no protection against moisture, the supplied case is waterproof. Oh, and this magnetic folio barely weighs a thing too. The lack of waterproofing is not unique to the AiPaper – pretty much every single 10-inch epaper note-taking device I’ve tested has had no IP certification.

Its lightweight design aside, the AiPaper looks lovely, with whitish-grey bezels and silver trimming along the four sides. The rear panel is a thin plastic sheet to match the bezels. The bottom bezel is broader and is home to three touch buttons that are very reminiscent of Android devices – back, home and AI. The last one opens up an application that gives you access to ChatGPT or DeepSeek, the choice is yours.

The only physical button on the device is to power it up (or down), which lies flush with the top edge and houses a fingerprint sensor. I thought such a thin surface would have trouble reading fingerprints, but I was wrong – it functioned well 95% of the time, but the raised edge of the case can get in the way sometimes which, for me, was the rest 5% of the time.

I should also mention the stylus separately as it’s a little broader than the pens used by most other brands – only marginally so – but it’s lightweight and ergonomic. It’s called the AiPaper Gen2.5 Stylus Pen and it's made from light-grey plastic to match the tablet. It features an eraser on the top and a button on the flattened length on its body.

That flat section is what secures the stylus magnetically over the display (as pictured above) and that’s an exceptional addition as the curved edges (or sides) of the tablet are so thin, there’s no way the pen would stick there, as is common in other models. The closer to the center of the screen you get, the stronger the hold, but it will stay anywhere on the top surface of the device.

For when you're in transit, though, the loop on the protective case will keep the Gen2.5 Stylus Pen safe.

It’s also the first stylus I’ve used that comes with two types of replacement nibs in the box – the default is a ‘smooth writing’ nib that’s soft and thus can wear out easily, but it can be replaced with a more ‘durable’ or harder nib if you wish. Swapping one out for the other is as simple as pulling out the used one to slide in the replacement until it clicks into place.

Both the stylus and the tablet use Wacom EMR technology, so even if you lose the Gen2.5 Stylus Pen, you can use an alternative that has the same tech. I tried the Boox Pen Plus that came with the Go 10.3 and it worked just fine.

The display technology used here is seemingly a hybrid of two E Ink screens. ViWoods says the top rigid layer is the E Ink Carta 1300 for writing and reading on, and it sits on a flexible E Ink Mobius base. The slight flexibility it offers, according to ViWoods, is meant to offer the "rebound" feel of paper when you write. I didn't quite experience it but then I have no complaints whatsoever with how it feels to write on.

Everything you write on this monochrome screen is sharp, with excellent contrast for the pen's markings. That means it's quite dark against the pale background, which makes handwritten notes very easy to read, particularly without a frontlight.

On the other hand, the contrast when reading ebooks in the Learning app (where the library sits) is a little lackluster when compared to the likes of the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) – the words on the page appear lighter in comparison (see the image below). That doesn't mean you can't use the AiPaper as an ereader, it just hasn't been optimized well for that purpose.

The screen also lacks a frontlight, although that in no way hampers its usability and a lightless display is hardly unique to ViWoods. Neither the reMarkable 2 nor the Boox Go 10.3 have a frontlight and they’re both still very nice to use. While I would have preferred a frontlight myself because I’m a nighttime reader and I would have loved to use the AiPaper as an ereader as well, that is not its primary function – it’s a productivity tablet, so writing, sketching and scheduling are what it does best.

• Design & display score: 5 / 5

ViWoods AiPaper review: Software & user experience

Arguably the most important factor when choosing an epaper writing tablet for yourself would be its software and user interface. Where Kobo and Kindle use custom Linux operating systems, as does reMarkable, Boox and ViWoods have adopted Android.

The ViWoods AiPaper uses a trimmed-down, custom edition of Android 13 (compared to Android 12 on the Boox Go 10.3) that caters specifically to reading and writing. And, importantly, the entire setup is fantastic, far better than the Boox alternative which, in fact, has a more streamlined interface compared to older models from the brand.

On the AiPaper, the interface is a fabulous middle ground – neither too minimalist like reMarkable, nor too complicated like Boox.

Android OS and apps

• Runs a custom version of Android 13
• Very streamlined user interface
• Nearly all applications you might need are already preinstalled, but there’s full access to the Play Store

The moment you switch on the ViWoods AiPaper, you’ll see the bottom right block already has a few apps preinstalled. Tap and you’ll find Chrome and the Google Play Store already there, ready for you to sign into.

The latter was the only real issue I ran into when setting up the AiPaper for this review: being unable to access the Play Store at the start. That’s because the device sent to me was not Play Protect Certified, meaning it hadn’t been registered with Google for Play Store access.

A little research told me that this is was not an isolated incident, although some users online have had no problems whatsoever. Getting this done, though, is very simple and ViWoods has a handy guide to help you.

Interestingly, ViWoods has implemented Android's 'long-press to copy and paste' functionality for this setup – I wish this would be expanded to all aspects of the tablet, wherein any handwritten, or at the very least text-converted, note can be copied across documents or applications. The feature already exists in the software, so it's just a matter of enabling it on a wider scale (although I'm not a developer and I can't speak to the feasibility of expanding it).

It also took three attempts to sync my Google Drive account to the tablet for cloud transfer of files despite being logged in on the first attempt. Why this happened is still a mystery to me.

An unexpected surprise on the AiPaper that I haven't seen on any other tablet like this is email access. There’s a Mailbox application preinstalled that can be set up if you don't want to download Gmail or any other mail app but, interestingly, it allows you to handwrite your replies if you choose.

AI handwriting recognition is available on nearly every native application that allows you to use the stylus, but I found that the text conversion wasn’t always accurate and I pride myself on having a rather nice (and readable) handwriting. I’ve had no issues with handwriting recognition on the Kobo Elipsa 2E or the Kindle Scribe 2024 for example, so I’m surprised that the AiPaper is getting a few things wrong.

It’s not really a deal breaker as I found the onscreen keyboard just as easy to use to make any necessary edits. Unlike the Boox keyboard, which is a much more complicated affair with tiny keys, the ViWoods has big tiles and is very responsive.

I would normally be downloading the Kindle and Kobo apps on any other epaper tablet like this, but they were both already available to sign into. I was pleasantly surprised to find even the Libby app preinstalled, alongside the New York Times, Wattpad and a few more. So all I ended up adding was a couple of other productivity apps to test annotations and a couple of benchmarking tools to sate my own curiosity.

As I’ve already mentioned, the overall user interface is fantastic, lending itself well to a tablet like the AiPaper. You have everything you need at your fingertips, but you can always add more to make the most of Play Store access. You can also get involved with the ViWoods user community directly from the tablet in case you want to ask a question, leave feedback or get some help with any issue you have with the product.

One thing to note about the AiPaper is that, during my testing, my MacBook couldn't register the tablet in Finder, although ViWoods' promotional imagery indicates that should work. This means that the Android File Transfer app doesn't work, which was my experience with all Boox devices as well. I plugged the AiPaper into a Windows machine where it was available for file transfer via USB-C. I also couldn't get Wi-Fi Transfer to work, but this wasn't much of a deal breaker for me because cloud sync is quite quick. While Google Drive was my service of choice, Dropbox and OneDrive support is also available.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Writing & productivity

• Native notes app is full featured; voice input is available
• Annotations are possible on several third-party apps
• Smooth and lag-free stylus input

I can't help but extol the virtues of the writing and productivity features of the ViWoods AiPaper. From a dedicated notes application called Paper to another called Meeting for jotting down minutes, even a calendar application that allows you to write within each date box and list task for a specific date – you have plenty to get you started. And they all have voice input available if you’re feeling too lazy to write – even the diary entries!

Don’t want to use the native writing app? OneNote is preinstalled in the app drawer and it works well with the supplied stylus. You can download any other third-party notes application – I tried Evernote and Google Keep, both of which worked fine – and ViWoods says you can annotate any page, no matter which application you use.

If you haven’t used any other note-taking application before, you’ll find more than enough in the native app. You can add pages and move them around easily enough, you can delete individual pages quickly by opening up a multipage document as a grid, you can change the template of individual pages… the list goes on. You can add layers, create tags, text boxes (or boxouts) and use a lasso tool to select text.

The AI button within the Paper application allows you to analyze text, convert a note into an email or convert handwriting into text. As I’ve already alluded before, AI conversions aren’t the best. For example (see the above image for clarification), I selected a handwritten question jotted down when making notes for this review: “Does template change affect all pages?” I selected it to be analyzed and the response from ChatGPT was: “The content consists of a handwritten note that appears to address the question “does bipolar change affect all pages?” The next time I got the same bit of handwriting ‘analyzed’, it became “inequality change”. C’mon, my handwriting isn’t that bad, surely!

For writing, you have an extensive choice of pens – seven, in fact, with five thickness options and four grayscale colors. Strangely, though, these brush types are missing in the Picking application (used for drawing and sketching) which, instead, only gets three pen types with three thicknesses each. I think it should be the other way around.

With 4,096 pressure levels and up to 60º tilt sensitivity for the stylus, the same brush types for creativity would have been great for artists who don’t necessarily want a dedicated drawing tablet like the XPPen Artist Pro 14 (Gen 2). Then again, I can't draw to save my life, so perhaps the limited pens in the Picking app would suffice for most users.

So my main complaint is only with the AI-powered handwriting recognition, which intermittently found it hard to decipher my relatively neat notes, but worked fine when it came to a colleague’s bad scribbles. Yes, I'm taking it personally – and no, I won’t deduct any marks for that.

• Writing score: 4.5 / 5

Reading

• Library is buried within another app
• Wired and Wi-Fi file transfer didn't work with macOS as represented by ViWoods
• Support for limited file formats, but more than enough for casual reading

With no built-in bookstore, you need to either use the browser (Chrome) to source content or import via wired or cloud transfer. I used the latter method to sideload a few titles I already own as, previously stated, my MacBook was unable to register the AiPaper and I found that OTG support (which is available on Android 13) has not been implemented on this tablet.

It was during this process when things got a little murky for me.

When selecting to import (in my case from Google Drive), the AiPaper gives you two locations to save the ebooks – My Notes and My Files. The latter has a folder already called ‘e_books’, which is where I assumed I needed to build my library. Sure, that can be done, and this source uses the Bookshelf application to open EPUBs. However, the app doesn’t like sideloaded files (which I appreciate is a step to prevent piracy) and I couldn’t go beyond the book cover. It also needs an account to work.

I then saved the same titles to My Notes and that, dear reader, seemed to be where the default library is – tucked within the native Learning application. It supports a fair few common file formats, including EPUB, MOBI, CBZ and CBR, but I also found there's support for Kindle's AZW and AZW3.

The My Notes section is also where you can upload editable PDFs in case you need to fill a form or sign one.

Text is sharp on the screen, although I would have preferred more contrast to make the words on page darker but, again, it's not a deal breaker as you can add a little weight (thickness) to the text to make them appear darker.

You can either choose to swipe on the screen to turn a page or tap and I would recommend the latter – if you have a swipe gesture set up already for 'going back', that is the function that will constantly get triggered rather than turning to the next page. The top toolbar that appears when you first open a title can be made to disappear to leave a very clean page that you can annotate to your heart’s content.

I also found that the slightly larger screen made reading a much nicer experience than on the other 10.3-inch epaper tablets. The page layouts looked neater and, I suppose, the additional lines on a page do make a difference. That said, with no frontlight, it's clear that doubling as an ereader is not its priority.

• Reading score: 4 / 5

ViWoods AiPaper review: Performance

• Excellent overall performance on a very responsive screen
• Mild ghosting across all applications
• Good battery life but can consume more power during certain tasks

As I’ve already mentioned earlier in this review, the AiPaper uses a processor that’s quite powerful for a device like an epaper tablet. While the MediaTek MT8183 can make Chromebooks purr along smoothly at higher wattages with specific implementations, my benchmarking told me that ViWoods hasn't taken full advantage of what this CPU can achieve. Compared to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 SoC used in the Boox Go 10.3, the benchmark numbers are rather dismal for the AiPaper even though the expectation was that they'd be evenly matched.

For context, Geekbench 6 recorded a single-core score of 403 for the Boox and 299 for the AiPaper, while multi-core scores were 1261 and 1114 respectively. But forget the numbers: the implementation of Android and the amount of RAM available is, ultimately, what will determine how well an epaper tablet will perform in real-world use.

And that's exactly what's in evidence here. Despite ViWoods not harnessing the full power of the CPU, it's the better performer compared to the Boox as the execution of the OS here and the 4GB of RAM (same as in the Go 10.3) combine to make things run very smoothly indeed. Moreover, the MT8183 CPU also has slightly better RAM speed, so the overall system performance is better here.

Whether it was opening apps, writing or using the on-screen keyboard, I found the AiPaper just that tiny bit quicker than the Boox. I initially didn't even notice the ghosting on the screen until I looked at the photos of tablet I had taken for this review; on the Boox, though, it can be quite evident.

There are three refresh rates available on the AiPaper and I found the default Best to be, well, the best. Fast and Ultra-Fast resulted in more ghosting in some applications, and didn't make a huge amount of difference while scrolling in apps like Chrome. Expect the occasional stutter when scrolling, though, which is more due to the limitations of the E Ink screen tech rather than a fault of the device.

Not a single application has crashed since I began using this tablet (three weeks to the time of publication) – in comparison, I ran into a problem with the Boox Go 10.3 when testing its native notes app. According to Onyx Boox, the Go 10.3 can take up to 500 pages per document, but it crashed after 10. The biggest handwritten document I had on the AiPaper was 15 pages and it showed no signs of slowing down. There were no hiccups with turning pages or bringing up the AI analyze/handwriting recognition on nearly every page of that document.

Battery life is decent but not as good as the Boox (the Snapdragon 680 is known for more efficient battery use) or the Kindle Scribe, and that's despite the AiPaper using a larger capacity pack. The 4,100mAh battery which will offer no more than two weeks of use if you spend an hour with it each day. On standby, you could get up to four weeks on a single charge.

This is because there are some tasks that drain more battery than others, like downloading apps from the Play Store or importing documents via cloud transfer, but you should still get a few days out of each top up even if you use it extensively.

Charging up is also quite quick – it went from 9% to full in just under two hours during my testing, and that was when plugged into a dock and not a wall charger.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the ViWoods AiPaper?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

ViWoods AiPaper review: Alternatives

As great as I think the ViWoods AiPaper is, it may not suit everyone. If you're keen to check out alternatives, I've listed three options below that offer something different from each other. They also come in at slightly different price points, so take a look at their specs comparison below listed alongside the AiPaper itself, and read on for a quick look at each.

How I tested the ViWoods AiPaper

• Used for three weeks as main writing tablet
• Uploaded a few EPUBs via cloud transfer to test reading
• Downloaded a few Android apps, including benchmarking ones

I’ve tested quite a few epaper writing tablets in the last few years, so I’ve got a system in place when I receive a new model for review. Immediately after connecting to Wi-Fi, I go through the settings to see what I need to change to have taps and gestures set up just right for me, I also go through refresh-rate options and get rid of any nav ball that’s preinstalled (I find them very distracting on the page).

That done, it’s time to open up the native apps and see what’s on offer. In the AiPaper’s case, I started with the Paper application to start scribbling some random thoughts, then went sequentially through the pre-installed options, like calendar and drawing.

I found the Learning application a little confusing, but its purpose became clear when I tried to add a few EPUBs for testing its reading prowess.

I can’t draw to save my life, but I did try the Picking application as well, just to see what it was like. I also checked what kind of pen types (and nib thicknesses) were available for creativity.

I was chuffed to see the Kindle and Kobo apps were already preinstalled, but I downloaded a few other applications from the Play Store to test speed and performance. This included Geekbench 6 that I used to benchmark the CPU (just to sate my curiosity).

I plugged an external SSD into the USB-C port to see if there was OTG support and I also tried connecting the tablet to both a MacBook and a Windows laptop. I tested the AI app, personally preferring ChatGPT to DeepSeek, and tested the other AI-powered features in the Paper app.

Having reviewed epaper tablets from several brands, I have the experience to compare the ViWoods AiPaper to several other models in the market to score it fairly.

Read more about how we test

[First tested July 2025]

• Amazon launches a cheaper 16GB Kindle Colorsoft
• There's also now a Kindle Colorsoft for kids
• Both new models are available to buy now

In our effusive Amazon Kindle Colorsoft review we said that it's hard to go back to a black and white Kindle experience once you've tried the color version – and now there are two more models to choose from if you're thinking of making the switch.

First up there's a 16GB version of the original, halving the storage available on the 32GB model that launched last October. Considering you can still pack thousands of ebooks on there, and it's cheaper, it may be an even better buy than the existing model.

The 32GB Kindle Colorsoft can be yours for $279.99 / £269.99 outside of deals, while the new 16GB edition of the ereader is going to set you back $249.99 / £239.99 – it's not a huge saving, but it's something. These models are yet to launch in Australia, by the way, so AU pricing is TBC.

Besides the storage being cut in half, the cheaper Kindle Colorsoft does without the auto-adjusting front light and wireless charging features. You get three months of Kindle Unlimited included, and the ereader is available to buy now.

Thinking of the kids

The other new model Amazon has announced today (24 July) is the Kindle Colorsoft Kids, which as the name suggests, is for children. It adds to the current range of kid-friendly models you can get for the standard Amazon Kindle and the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite.

This device costs $269.99 / £259.99, and comes with a year of the Amazon Kids+ subscription service – offering a wealth of child-appropriate apps, games, videos, ebooks, audiobooks, and other content – and a "fun kid-friendly cover".

As with the other Kindles for youngsters, you get additional features: the Vocabulary Builder and Word Wise tools for learning new words, a special OpenDyslexic font, and Bluetooth support for listening to ebooks.

The Kindle Colorsoft Kids is also available now, and like the other kid models, there's a two-year warranty you can take advantage of if it breaks. Both these models are likely to make their way into our guide to the best Kindles in due course.

You might also like

• Meet Amazon's new AI-powered wearable
• These are our favorite ereaders right now
• Our review of the Onyx Boox Page ereader

• Kobo recently pushed out a fully redesigned reading app for iPhones
• Several new features have been added, including a listening bar for audiobook control, vertical scrolling and guest mode
• Instapaper integration is coming soon to replace Pocket support on Kobo ereaders

I've been a massive Kobo fan since I first started using the Kobo Glo way back when. I've always preferred the Rakuten-owned company's UI over Kindle, although I will admit I wasn't particularly keen on its phone app – whether iOS or Android.

I might be inclined to give the reading app a try now, given that the iOS version has been fully redesigned – its first major overhaul since it was released back in 2010.

Several new features have been added, key among them being vertical scrolling. Behaving more like infinite scroll on web pages, you can now read an entire book by just scrolling down and the pages will just keep loading. This, in my opinion, is a more seamless reading method on a phone, although I think I might still prefer the tap-to-turn on an iPad (not that I use one, I read on the Kobo Elipsa 2E).

Other features include a new Listening Bar for audiobooks that 'freezes' the controls in place for easy access, even if you veer away from the listening pane to browse the rest of the application.

A new guest mode will let you "browse books, save previews and discover your next read" according to the Japanese-Canadian ereader maker, without you needing to sign into your Kobo account. This, in fact, is an ingenious way to pull new customers into the Kobo ecosystem.

Kobo also says that you will no longer need to manually sync your notes, highlights and bookmarks – it should get done automatically. There's still one major missing feature in the app: there's no way to find your handwritten notes on the app.

And, finally, to replace Pocket integration – which was a fantastic read-it-later service for long-form web articles – the brand is partnering with Instapaper and support will be rolled out to all Kobo ereaders later this year. A confirmed date has not yet been announced.

Take note, Kobo – we need a new Elipsa

As much as I appreciate the newly redesigned Kobo app for iPhones, I'm wondering if the ereader maker will release any new hardware this year.

Around the merry month of May is typically when Kobo has announced new ereaders, with the Libra Colour, Clara Colour and Clara BW arriving on schedule in 2024. This year, there's been radio silence, although it could be possible that the company is waiting for the Instapaper integration to be completed before releasing new devices.

That would be marvelous because it's time the Kobo Elipsa 2E got an overhaul. In fact, I wouldn't mind a new version of the Kobo Sage as well, but I'm partial to the larger epaper writing tablet.

Compared to newer models from the competition, like the several Boox options and the Kindle Scribe (2024), the Elipsa 2E – which launched in April 2023 – feels very dated now. They have better performance thanks to newer processors and the screens also feel fresher – sharper and better optimized.

I'd love to see the Elipsa adopt the E Ink Carta 1300 screen (the current 2E model uses the Carta 1200) that also features an ambient light sensor, much like the 2024 Kindle Scribe does, and has a 300ppi resolution (it's currently 227ppi). I'd also prefer a softer nib than the Kobo Stylus 2 currently uses as it can detract from a smooth writing experience, but that's a minor quibble.

While I wouldn't want to change very much in the UI, and I'm still a fan of Kobo's Advanced Notebooks, the only request I have is to allow subfolders within the library's Collections to organize ebooks better.

Pretty please, Kobo, I'm asking nicely so I can fall back in love with the Elipsa again.

You might also like...

• Find more epaper tablets in our pick of the best ereaders
• Take a look at the list of best Kindles instead if you want an Amazon ereader
• Need more epaper tablet options? Read my Onyx Boox Go 10.3 review and my reMarkable 2 review

In the run-up to last year’s Amazon Prime Day, so many people I spoke to said they planned to buy a new Kindle in the sale. I proudly told them it was a smart move, as I’ve said countless times before, because Prime Day is when Amazon Devices are available for their lowest-ever prices. Then the big sale rolled around, and we saw some of the most disappointing Kindle deals in recent memory. Yikes.

Another year on and I’m hearing those same hopes and dreams from friends, family and colleagues who are eyeing up a new ereader for Prime Day. And I’m here to tell you that, uh oh, I don’t think it’s going to be any better in 2025.

New tech, new higher prices

First up, two updated models of the most popular Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite were launched in October last year. That led to some welcome, if also fairly underwhelming, deals in the Black Friday sales.

Since then, I’ve been able to count the number of price cuts on these ereaders in both the US and the UK on one hand. Compared to the regular and aggressive discounts on the last generation Kindles, it seems Amazon is more reluctant to discount the new and improved versions.

Of course, they will definitely be reduced for Prime Day. That’s a given. Amazon itself has even teased that deals on the Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite are coming in the sale. Still, I can’t see them going as low as I’ve seen in years past. The days of a $59.99 / £34.99 Kindle are, sadly, long gone.

And that’s before I mention the Kindle Scribe and Kindle Colorsoft. These two devices are certainly in line for deals over Prime Day, but given that they are already more expensive premium models with advanced features and capabilities, you won’t be seeing them for cheap.

Kindle is king

I also think that, with the way so much anticipation is placed on Prime Day as the best time to pick up Amazon products, the retailer doesn’t necessarily need to go for such substantial discounts on its most popular items any more. Sure, it’ll slash an Echo Dot or Fire TV Stick to nothing to get Alexa and the Amazon ecosystem in your home, but the Kindle is a different proposition.

Despite admirable competition from the likes of Kobo and Onyx, the Kindle is still well-established as one of the best ereaders you can buy. Amazon knows it’s onto a winner with this one.

Current readers are also potentially locked into an existing collection of books from Amazon’s exclusive library, set up with recurring Kindle Unlimited subscriptions, and enjoying the benefits of regular free books through Prime.

When you weigh those things up, it’s hard to see why Amazon would want to sell Kindles for as cheaply as it has done in the past. I think that’s played into why discounts have been fewer and smaller recently.

And then there’s everything else going on

Lastly, there are a handful of other wider factors to consider that I’m bundling together here. We’re living in a world where everything costs more nowadays. The tariff nonsense still has manufacturers and retailers jumpy. Consumer spending power is generally down across the board.

As a British bloke with a film degree, I’m not going to dare wade in on the specifics of how these will affect the price of a Kindle, but I don’t need to study economics to know it’s all having an impact. Amazon is undoubtedly considering all of this when it comes to setting prices for its members-only sale. The same members it’s charging extra to if you want ads removed on Prime Video.

I’m prepared to be pleasantly surprised, but I’m not hopeful. Just putting it all together, the tech is newer, the discounts throughout the year have slowed, Prime Day is a well-established sale, and the current state of the world all point towards another disappointing year for Kindle deals.

PocketBook InkPad Eo review

My first thought as soon as I took the InkPad Eo out of its packaging was, “Ooh, that’s different.” It’s physically unlike any PocketBook device I’ve tried before, with a premium and hefty build that it’s borrowed from Bigme – made possible after the Chinese brand became a co-owner.

This was a good move as the metal-bound chassis feels nice to hold and, despite an 8MP rear camera, there’s no bump, so it lies completely flat on a table. However, the use of metal edges and the camera could be what’s made the InkPad Eo heavier (at 470g) than some of its competition, like the Onyx Boox Go 10.3 (375g), and uncomfortable to hold for long sessions. I've tested other 10-inch E Ink writing tablets and most of them are more comfortable to hold than the InkPad Eo.

Other than its design, there’s just a couple of other positives I appreciate about the PocketBook InkPad Eo. One is the adoption of the global handwriting feature – aka the ability to write on third-party apps – which is not always supported in other epaper note-taking tablets and could well sway some potential buyers. The other is the color palette – while not as well optimized as the Kobo Colour Libra's screen, book covers on the InkPad Eo look lovely in color. However, this has not quite translated to the ink colors when writing or drawing and those look far more washed out.

And that's where my positives for this device stop. While I commend the attempt at giving the Onyx Boox devices competition, the Eo is unable to hold its own in other areas.

For starters, it’s very easy to lose the stylus as it doesn’t secure magnetically to the side of the tablet itself. Moreover, the eraser on the top of the pen doesn’t quite behave as expected – it’s more a selector, and the erasing happens after you’ve selected something in the notes app. It’s not a massive lag, but I much prefer the way the Kindle Scribe’s Premium Pen or the Kobo Stylus 2 behaves – erasing as you move along the writing (or drawing), much like an actual pencil eraser would do. Even the reMarkable’s Marker and the Boox pens erase in real time.

The camera, despite being a nice touch, isn’t worth having at all. It doesn’t actually ‘scan’ a document as your phone might do – instead it takes a photo. And the quality of the image isn’t great either, much like the Onyx Boox Palma 2.

The one thing you expect to do easily with any ereader is transfer files, but even that basic task was frustrating with the InkPad Eo. While there’s Dropbox support (and I’m not a user of this cloud service), there’s no cable transfer possible from a MacBook (I’m not a Windows user either). All possible solutions recommended by PocketBook that I found online to move ebooks to the library application didn’t work and I had to resort to using a microSD card instead. That worked well, along with allowing me to add custom fonts, and a restart enabled the latter easily enough. Even Boox devices don’t have Apple support, but it’s still a lot easier to transfer files without resorting to using a microSD card, and that's thanks to BooxDrop and Google Drive support.

It’s also not easy to check if a file import (in my case via the microSD card) has been successfully completed on the InkPad Eo. There’s no progress bar and the files don’t uncheck when the import is done. Strangely, there is a greyed-out Import button with a check mark, but it’s barely visible.

Even ghosting is a massive issue. Nearly every app and every page turn results in a light overlay of the previous screen, which can get distracting after a while because you keep expecting it to happen. And that’s despite PocketBook adopting the multiple refresh rate options that Boox devices also have, and yet the latter does it better. I found that the best refresh rate setting to successfully minimize ghosting on the Inkpad Eo is the Regal option, but the only way to select that is to choose Custom Mode, otherwise it’s greyed out. It’s a simple thing and should be available as one of the default options.

The InkPad Eo is the first epaper writing tablet from PocketBook that I’ve tested, but the user interface was instantly familiar. It’s like a love child of reMarkable and Boox, inheriting more from the latter. And, of course, that means the Eo struggles with similar issues that I’ve previously complained about with Boox. The interface is clunky and not very streamlined, with important submenus tucked away when they should be easier to access.

I’m also not too chuffed about a tablet released in April 2025 running Android 11. That’s outdated now and, even though I don’t expect security to be an issue on a device like an E Ink note-taking tablet, surely it’s time to move on – even Boox has adopted Android 13.

There are a whole lot of other little bugs which can be fixed via a firmware update, but are, at present, rather annoying. For example, tapping on the Home icon doesn’t take you to a home screen at all – it just refreshes the screen you’re already on or takes you to the home page of the app you were using.

Another example is that even though PocketBook has thought about adding a Night and Bedtime frontlight setting, they’re both very bright by default and require manual adjusting anyway. So having those presets was of no use, at least to me who prefers dim screen light when reading at night.

Long story short, PocketBook needs to do better. The InkPad Eo has the makings of a good epaper writing tablet but, as it is now, it’s hard to recommend when there are other brands that do a far superior job at the same or lower price.

PocketBook InkPad Eo review: specs

PocketBook InkPad Eo review: price & availability

• Announced March 2025
• Available now in North America and Europe from authorized sellers
• List price: $550 / £449 (about AU$850)

The PocketBook InkPad Eo was announced at the end of March 2025 and has been available to buy in select markets from third-party sellers since April. With a price tag of $550 / £449 (about AU$850), it’s an expensive E Ink note-taking tablet, but then so is the Bigme InkNoteX from which it takes its cues, as are other color 10-inch E Ink writing tablets.

For example, the reMarkable Paper Pro will set you back $579 / £559 / AU$929 at the very least. For that kind of money, you’re getting a much better device too – an e-paper screen that displays color better and a very streamlined, minimal user interface. That said, it’s not the best for using as an ereader as well – its sole purpose is to be a writing tablet.

While we haven’t tested the Boox Note Air4 C, we’ve liked the previous generations and, for a color e-note taker of the same size as the InkPad Eo, with the same screen tech and very similar UX, it could be the better buy at $529.99 / AU$874 (ships to the UK via the EU warehouse for about £465).

At the time of writing, the InkPad Eo isn’t being listed at too many US stores, although Amazon has it listed for $579. It seems to be well stocked in the UK, though, although prices vary a little. For example, Amazon UK has it down for £504.26, but Currys lists it for £499. Laptops Direct is the only UK retailer stocking it for £449 at the time of writing.

PocketBook devices aren’t officially available in Australia, but imports are listed on Amazon AU and eBay, but at high markups.

Should I buy the PocketBook InkPad Eo?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the PocketBook InkPad Eo

• Used every day for three weeks as ereader and note taker
• Downloaded a few Android apps, including Kindle and Kobo for reading
• Listened to some audiobooks and music files to test speaker quality

I've tested about 30 ereaders in the last eight years, so I've developed a routine when I begin a new review. First, I connect to Wi-Fi to set up the device, then immediately see if I can transfer some ebooks and comic files for testing. And if it's a note-taking tablet like the PocketBook InkPad Eo, I start a new notebook called Scribbles where I test writing, drawing and handwriting recognition.

I did all this for the InkPad Eo, then also signed into the Google Play Store to download some other apps, including some benchmarking ones as I'm always curious to see how the processor performs.

I spent about 30 hours over a period of three weeks reading ebooks, and took all my work-related notes on the InkPad Eo. This gave me plenty of experience with the workings of the tablet. I also tried out the rear camera a few times, plus tested all the refresh rate options and various settings.

Given my experience with different brands of ereaders and E Ink writing tablets, I was able to compare the InkPad Eo as objectively as possible with the competition from Onyx Boox, Kindle, Kobo and reMarkable.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed June 2025]

If you're constantly attached to your ereader, then you're probably subscribed to Kindle Unlimited, the all-you-can-read subscription service offered by Amazon.

Kindle Unlimited offers a library of over 4 million titles, including, depending on your region, magazines, audiobooks, and comic books. But if you're not happy with the library offered or simply don't think you're making the most of your subscription to justify the price, you might want to cancel Kindle Unlimited.

Like most aspects of the Kindle Unlimited subscription, you can cancel Unlimited on your ereader itself or on your computer, with the former generally more convenient if you're on the go but the latter quicker than an ereader's slow interface. In this guide, we'll run you through both options, so you'll leave knowing how to cancel Kindle Unlimited.

Tools and requirements

Here's what you'll need in order to cancel Kindle Unlimited. You either need your Kindle or your computer, not both.

• An Amazon account with Kindle Unlimited
• A Kindle ereader, connected to the internet (optional)
• A computer, signed into your Amazon account (optional)

Quick steps to cancel Kindle Unlimited

At a glance, here's how you can cancel Kindle Unlimited. Let's start with the process on Kindle:

1. Go to the Kindle home page and find the Unlimited section
2. Select Learn More to be taken to the Kindle Store
3. Select Manage your membership at the top and scroll down
4. Press Cancel membership twice

Now let's look at the steps if you're on computer:

1. Go to Amazon’s website
2. Go to Your Kindle Unlimited
3. Select Cancel membership twice

Step-by-step guide for how to cancel Kindle Unlimited on Kindle

Let's start by looking at how to cancel Kindle Unlimited on a Kindle.

Step-by-step guide for how to cancel Kindle Unlimited on computer

Now let's go through the steps for how to cancel Kindle Unlimited on a computer.

Troubleshooting

You might also like

• How to send PDF to Amazon Kindle devices
• How to send an ebook to Kindle
• How to buy books on Kindle

If you love reading books, but don’t love reading, well, physical books, then you’ve probably already picked up the best Amazon Kindle and have heard that Kindle Unlimited is the way to really make the most of your ereader.

Kindle Unlimited is one of four Amazon-owned subscriptions that literary fans will enjoy; Audible is for audiobooks, ComiXology is for comic books, Prime Reading offers certain free books to any Amazon Prime subscribers, and then there's Kindle Unlimited.

Amazon has offered Kindle Unlimited for over a decade as a subscription service offering you unlimited reading of a huge library of books – at last count, the company said that over 4 million ebooks were available to subscribers.

As with any subscription service, you’ve got to ask yourself a few things before you sign up for Kindle Unlimited – what does it cost, what do you get, and can you actually use it at all? To help you decide whether you want to sign up or not, here’s everything you need to know about Kindle Unlimited (and for our verdict on its value for money, check out our Kindle Unlimited review).

How much does Kindle Unlimited cost?

The monthly cost of Kindle Unlimited is $9.99 / £9.49 / AU$13.99, but there are a few extra things to consider financially before you sign up.

Firstly, Amazon offers a 30-day free trial of Kindle Unlimited, which gives you a month to peruse its library and read some books before it automatically rolls into a subscription. Secondly, Amazon often offers discounted prices for new subscribers; for instance, you could get your first month for a reduced price before rolling into the usual subscription.

Unlike certain other Amazon subscriptions, you don’t actually need to be an Amazon Prime subscriber to use Kindle Unlimited, so you don’t need to worry about that extra monthly expense if you’re not interested in next-day shopping or Prime Video movies. You also don’t need to own a Kindle, either, because you can read Kindle Unlimited books via the Kindle phone or tablet app, so there technically aren’t any extra prices to pay over that Kindle Unlimited cost.

What does Kindle Unlimited offer?

Perhaps the most important question prospective Kindle Unlimited subscribers will have is, "What do you actually get with Kindle Unlimited?" There’s an easy answer: “loads of books”, and a harder one, as the Kindle Unlimited library varies by region.

The biggest draw to Kindle Unlimited is its library of books, which, regardless of where you live, is absolutely huge. It includes a selection of classics like Harry Potter and Hunger Games titles, as well as some Jane Austen works, but the majority of its library seems to be newer titles.

A brief scroll down Kindle Unlimited’s listing shows that there are countless crime and romance novels, and so the service will be great for people who always need a new whodunnit on the go.

The library offers plenty of non-fiction and international titles, too, like biographies, self-help books, and foreign language novels. The exact list, as stated, varies quite a bit based on where you live; however, there are some particular variables:

Kindle Unlimited magazines

In some countries, Kindle Unlimited subscribers get access to a selection of magazines, with weekly new editions.

For example, subscribers in the UK can read magazines like BBC Science Focus, Sky At Night People, Runner’s World, and a huge number of TechRadar’s sibling publications like What’s On TV, Classic Rock, and What Hi-Fi?.

However, in some regions, there’s no Kindle Unlimited magazine offering. US and Australian subscribers, for instance, won’t be able to read magazines with their subscription.

Kindle Unlimited audiobooks

In most regions, Kindle Unlimited subscribers can listen to audiobooks at no added cost.

The list is pretty limited, at just a fraction of the size of Audible, and Amazon bills them as “audio narration” works.

You can find these books by filtering by “eBoooks with Audible Narration” when scrolling Kindle Unlimited’s library, or looking out for a little headphones icon by the Kindle Unlimited logo when you’re checking out the library.

Kindle Unlimited audiobooks can be listened to on your computer browser and also via the Kindle app on your smartphone and tablet. Newer Kindles also let you listen to audiobooks, but not all older ones support this feature, so check with your specific model before getting too excited.

How to sign up for Kindle Unlimited

If you're already sold on Kindle Unlimited (or its free trial), here's how you can sign up to enjoy it for yourself. You can sign up for Kindle using your Kindle device or app, but I’d recommend doing it from your browser since it’s a lot easier and quicker.

Here's what you'll need:

• Amazon account (signed in on browser and Kindle)
• Kindle device (ereader, smartphone or tablet, connected to internet)

How to download books through Kindle Unlimited

You can download books from Kindle Unlimited either on your web browser, or via the app or device – it’s quicker to do it the former way, but more convenient the latter if you just want to read.

Important things to know and FAQs

Kindle Unlimited book limits

You can’t actually download unlimited books via Kindle Unlimited, and you can only download 20 books at once. That ‘only’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting though, as that’s a lot of books to have downloaded at any one time. Plus, on your Kindle, you can read books that you haven’t downloaded if you’re connected to the internet; they just won’t be available for offline reading.

Kindle Unlimited new books

Amazon is constantly adding new books to Kindle Unlimited, so you’ll frequently see new book options. This won’t necessarily happen every day, but given that there are 4 million books (and counting) on the service, you can expect there to generally be multiple new ones added each day.

There are sometimes book removals, too, but these seem relatively rare.

Kindle Unlimited while travelling

Something to bear in mind is that Kindle Unlimited is quite region-specific, and may not suit people who are living largely abroad, or in multiple regions.

That’s because your Kindle Unlimited is tied to your Amazon account’s region – say, if you’re English, your subscription is tied to Amazon.co.uk, and for Australians, it’s Amazon.com.au. That means you can browse and download the Kindle Unlimited books specific to that country.

However, this means that if you’re in another country, you can’t download new Kindle Unlimited books to your device. This is fine if you’re on holiday – just stock up on books beforehand – but it's a bigger problem if you’re living abroad from your home region, or are travelling for long periods of time.

As a note, books you buy yourself can be transferred between regions, but the Kindle Unlimited subscription itself can’t.

Is Kindle Unlimited worth it?

Kindle Unlimited is worth it… for certain kinds of readers.

Its large library of crime and romance titles from new authors makes it great for people who are constantly reading, burning through multiple books per week, and always need a new affair or murder to read about. That’s also true if you're interested in the long list of self-help books it offers.

However, it’s not going to be great for slower readers, as the cost may be higher than the amount you usually pay for books. Perhaps you’ll prefer Prime Reading, which is a free perk of an Amazon Prime subscription that limits you to 10 downloads per month of a small list of books.

Kindle Unlimited is also only worthwhile if you like the kinds of books it offers: modern crime and romance novels. Its selection of older titles, classics, and books from bigger authors is relatively svelte.

One other thing: consider whether you’ll want magazines or you'll travel a lot, as this will affect your buying decision. And if you use a non-Kindle ereader, then Kindle Unlimited is definitely not for you!

You might also like

• How to send an ebook to Kindle
• How to send PDF files to Amazon Kindle devices to read them like a book
• Kindle vs Kobo: how to choose the best ebook reader for you

Onyx Boox Palma 2: Two-minute review

I might wish for more ereaders like the Onxy Boox Palma 2, but I also recognize that its form factor is exactly what makes it so unique – just like its predecessor. And if it had competition, I suppose I'd be hard pressed to appreciate it as much as I do.

The 2:1 aspect ratio on this 6-inch ereader makes it resemble a smartphone, complete with speakers, a mic, side buttons and rear camera, and that's also what makes it so pocket friendly. It replaces the older Boox Palma as my favorite compact ereader as I have a sneaking suspicion the previous model could be discontinued in the near future.

Physically, the two generations are near identical and, while I don’t mind that, I’d have loved to see a slightly more premium-looking chassis to match the price tag.

There’s only one physical difference between the original Boox Palma and the Palma 2 – the power button. It’s oh-so-marginally longer and flatter to accommodate a built-in fingerprint scanner. While I appreciate the addition, I don’t see the need for it on an ereader that can be set up with a passcode if security is top of mind, but it also doesn’t function as expected. It’s more miss than hit as you have to place your finger just so for it to be effective.

I might find the fingerprint scanner superfluous, but learning that the Palma 2 got a new chipset to boost performance had me chomping at the bit to try it out. Strangely, the upgraded processor hasn’t made much of a difference in real-world use. That’s not to say the performance is bad, it's just not any better (or worse) than what I experienced with the previous generation.

What’s really a standout for me with the Palma 2 is its new user interface. Onyx has redesigned the app icons and NeoReader (native library app) settings, giving it a cleaner, more modern appeal. Even the settings list looks fresh thanks to less weight (thickness) to the text and the boxes. The whole setup is still more complicated than it needs to be – which is an issue I have with all Boox tablets – but it looks much nicer which, in turn, makes it easier to find the adjustments you need while reading.

Onyx has also upgraded the OS to Android 13, which is good news for getting security updates for a little while yet.

My biggest disappointment with the Palma 2 is that Onyx has stuck with using the same E Ink Carta 1200 display it did for previous model, and that stings when you consider how expensive the Palma 2 is over other 6-inch ereaders that sport the latest in E Ink screen technology.

I still think there’s a missed opportunity here to add more functionality to the Palma 2 – writing capabilities would have made it a lot more appealing, something I noted about the older Palma too. Being able to slip it into my pocket to jot notes at media events and meetings would have made the Palma 2 an integral part of my daily life, not just being a portable ereader.

Despite my complaints, I still can’t help but like the Palma 2, just for being the most compact and unique ereader I’ve tested.

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: Price & availability

• Announced Q3 of 2024
• List price: $299.99 / €299.99 (about £250) / AU$499
• Available now directly from the Boox Shop and select authorized retailers

The Palma 2 shares the same launch price as its predecessor and will set you back $299.99 / €299.99 (about £250) / AU$499 at full price. It’s possible to see discounts on the US and European Boox Shop online storefronts during major sales, but Australian retailers stocking Boox tablets don’t usually have offers to make these expensive ereaders more accessible.

Given its plastic build and features, it would be difficult for me to recommend the Palma 2 at its full price, but I can also see its form factor alone being a good justification to spend the extra cash. Also the versatility of running Android – getting you access to the Play Store to download third-party apps and games – might just convince some users to make the switch.

That said, the older Palma is now cheaper – listed for as low as $199.99/ €229.99 (around £190) / AU$399 on the Boox Shop and third-party resellers at the time of writing – and might be the better buy as there’s really no difference in performance between the two. The drop in price might also indicate that the original Palma might be discontinued once current stock has gone.

If the choice of ereader isn’t really about the form factor – which is the Palma 2’s biggest selling point – you can save cash by opting for a simpler 6-inch ereader like the 2024 Amazon Kindle or the Kobo Clara BW. The former will cost you $129.99 / £104.99 / AU$199 without ads, while the latter has a list price of $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$239.95 – both considerably cheaper than either of the Palmas.

However, you have very limited storage on the Kindle and Kobo alternatives, while there’s 128GB of internal storage on the Palma 2, which is expandable via microSD.

• Value score: 3 / 5

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: Specs

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: Design & display

• Available in black and white colorways
• Looks like a smartphone, but not designed to be one
• Rear 16MP camera is fun to have but not great to scan documents

As I’ve already mentioned, the Palma 2 is physically identical to the older model with one very minor difference that’s easy to miss even if you’re familiar with the previous generation. That’s the slightly longer power button to accommodate a fingerprint scanner. And to make sure you can place your finger properly on it, it's also the only flat button on the device.

Strangely, though, Onyx thinks its Palma 2 really is a phone because when you go to Settings to save a fingerprint for the first time, it tells you that the sensor is at the back of the device (go figure!). This might confuse some first-time users, but if you know where the sensor is, you’ll know where to place your finger.

Everything else from a design perspective is the same – dimensions, weight, physical buttons, speaker, microphone, microSD card tray and rear camera. I won’t go into too much detail for these – you can take a look at my Onyx Boox Palma review for an in-depth look – but I am disappointed that the Palma 2 still sports the same cheap-looking plastic body, and the device is anything but cheap. At least the white model has silver buttons for a touch of pizzazz, but the black model has no such feature to break the plasticky monotony.

What makes it look cheaper still is the white model – the one reviewed here – can quickly pick up stains and scratches, or get discolored with use. So it’s a good thing that it ships with a case in the box, which I would recommend you use. After being in my work backpack for just one commute to the office, my white Palma 2 ended up with a small pink stain near its USB-C port and a scratch on the rear, neither of which I can clean or fix.

The display, as I’ve previously said, is the E Ink Carta 1200 display, which is now previous-generation technology. While it’s fantastic to read on, with plenty of contrast to render text in sharp relief, the responsiveness of the display isn’t as good as what I’ve experienced with ereaders featuring the Carta 1300 screen.

The 2:1 aspect ratio is still a novelty when it comes to e-paper devices which, when combined with the 6.13-inch display, is such a wonderful size for a compact and portable ereader. If you’re someone who typically reads on your phone when you’re commuting, you might want to consider the Palma 2 just for the reduced eye strain thanks to the e-paper screen.

I would, however, advise against being too close to water with the Palma 2 in hand as the plastic body is only splashproof – there's no waterproofing certification that Onyx has revealed, which was the same with the previous model too.

• Design & display score: 3.5 / 5

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: User experience

• OS updated to Android 13 from Android 11
• More modern interface makes for a cleaner user experience
• Native apps are great, so you don’t necessarily need third-party options

Just because it looks like a phone, doesn’t mean it should work like one – the Palma 2’s functionality is limited by its screen tech and yet it can do a fair few things most other mainstream ereaders can’t.

For example, it can run a plethora of third-party apps thanks to running on a trimmed-down version of Android 13 (an upgrade from the older Palma’s Android 11), including music streaming platforms and mobile games. That said, you will have to contend with a rather slow refresh rate compared to the standard smartphone, but I will admit that even some graphics-heavy mobile games aren’t too bad on the Palma 2.

If you want to stick to reading applications, both the Kindle and Kobo apps work quite well on the Palma 2. That said, the native library application – NeoReader – is very good and the refreshed interface makes it a lot nicer to adjust fonts and page styling now.

Even the little niggle I’ve had with the Fonts folder not set up correctly within Storage in previous Boox devices has been sorted, which makes me happy.

I'm still disappointed with the inability to plug the Palma 2 (or any other Boox device for that matter) into an iMac or MacBook to transfer ebooks and other files via a wired connection. This method of sideloading files works fine if you have a Windows machine, so I really don’t see why connectivity with an Apple computer should be exempt.

I’m also unable to take advantage of the OTG support on the USB-C port to transfer files directly from an external hard drive. While the Palma 2 can read my 2TB Samsung T7 Shield Portable SSD, it refuses to let me move ebooks back and forth. It’s the same with my older 1TB Samsung T5 Portable SSD as well.

Thankfully, BooxDrop is an easy enough tool to use – if you have your files saved on any PC – Windows or Mac – you can use the web platform to transfer files via the cloud.

The one other issue I faced with using the Palma 2 is the responsiveness of the screen. While page turns are fine, using the on-screen keyboard isn’t as smooth as I expected it to be. I had to occasionally tap on a letter or number a couple of times before it registered. It wasn’t a consistent issue, and another colleague said he had no such problems when he tried it out for a short period of time, so I’ll put this down to being an isolated problem (or blame it on my sausage fingers).

Using the fingerprint scanner is a lot more frustrating though. While easy to set up, I found you have to place your finger just right for it to work every time, something I don’t think any of us can do unless we’re concentrating. Using the fingerprint scanner to wake the device up or make purchases would have been a lot faster than a passcode, but if it doesn't work each time, what's the point?

The rest of the user experience is quite good, particularly if you're judging it as an ereader. While the built-in speaker is perfectly fine for listening to audiobooks, I’d advise against using it for music – the sound quality isn’t good and you’ll be better served pairing a set of Bluetooth headphones or a speaker with the Palma 2.

• User experience score: 4 / 5

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: Performance

• Updated processor, but no difference in performance in real-world use
• Handles graphics quite well for an e-paper device
• Scanning and OCR performance could be better

The older Palma already had a decent processor in the form of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662, but Onyx has stepped it up by using a Snapdragon 690 chip in the Palma 2. On paper, the latter is the more powerful chipset and running Geekbench 6 benchmarking proves it to be so.

In real-world use, though, that doesn't translate as well as I had expected. There's no improvement in page turns, for example, and neither is there any discernible difference in app performance and multitasking, although individual apps open a smidge quicker. As I've already said, that's not a deal breaker as the performance of the older model was just fine and the Palma 2 barely beats it by the skin of its teeth (figuratively speaking).

With integrated graphics and 6GB of RAM, the Palma 2 handles mobile games – albeit in black and white – just as well as its predecessor. Games like Alphabear 2 and Two Dots work smoothly, but more graphics-heavy games like Monument Valley 2 and Sky: Children of the Light aren’t too bad either. I can only imagine how much the experience would improve if the next Palma came with a color screen!

One of the biggest issues I’ve had with other Boox tablets while reading is ghosting, wherein a light overlay of the previous page can be seen. Thankfully this isn’t a problem on the Palma 2, and I didn’t even have to adjust refresh rates.

The performance of the rear camera hasn’t improved at all. It’s the same 16MP lens from the original Palma and it’s not intended for taking photos, although I will admit it was fun doing so for a short while. While you see the frame in grayscale, you can export the images in color, just not in very good quality.

The camera is meant for scanning documents but, again, the quality isn’t great and I think your smartphone will do a better job if it has scan functionality.

If you do use the rear camera to scan a document, the native DocScan app has an OCR (optical character recognition) feature to convert the words on the scan into text. There's a marked difference in performance here with the text converting well, compared to the "gibberish" I experienced with the previous Palma.

I can’t fault its battery life, though. It’s still the same 3,950mAh pack from the previous Palma and, if you read for an hour a day, you’ll easily get around 6-7 weeks out of a single charge. Battery life, however, is dependent on a lot of other factors, including the apps you use, the screen brightness and the refresh rate. Even with more extensive use, you can eke out four weeks before plugging it into the mains.

Charging speed will also depend on whether you use a wall adaptor or your PC/laptop to charge the Palma 2. The former will be the faster top up, and it took about 2.5 hours to go from about 20% to full the two times I had to give it a charge during my testing period using an USB-A to C cable plugged into a port of a 65W adaptor. The only time I had it plugged into a dock for my laptop, it took an hour for the battery level to go from 25% to 38%.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Onyx Boox Palma 2?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

As with the original Palma, there's not a lot that can be directly compared to the Palma 2 and I'm hesitant to offer up the older model as an alternative in case it gets discontinued.

That said, there are other 6-inch ereaders that are lightweight and portable, but not necessarily pocketable. I've picked three that I think would cover a few bases, including budget and usability. I've also listed some of their basic specs as a comparison with the Palma 2.

How I tested the Onyx Boox Palma 2

• Used as daily reading device for nearly 6 weeks
• Sideloaded all content via BooxDrop, including ebooks and music
• Downloaded Android apps for benchmarking, reading and streaming music

As with every Boox device I test, I began by following the on-screen setup instructions to connect to Wi-Fi, then customized some of the settings for refresh rate, power-saving and system navigation. There's a lot of customization options on a Boox tablet, far more than on a Kindle or Kobo, so it's always best to get familiar with them before you start using a Boox ereader.

Next, I used BooxDrop to access files (ebooks and music) from my Onyx cloud storage account that I've had from previous Boox reviews. I also connected to Google Drive to test other means of cloud transfer.

I downloaded a few apps from the Play Store, including benchmarking, Kindle and Kobo (the last two were deleted after a short testing period of a couple off days).

For the majority of the six-week testing period, I used the Palma 2 mainly as an ereader for an average of three hours a day. I occasionally used the native browser to surf the internet, and even used the native music player to play some sideloaded MP3 files. All other music listening was down via Spotify.

To compare the two generations of Palmas side by side, I scanned a document to test the rear camera, took some sample photos with both models and ran Geekbench 6 on them to determine chipset performance. I also used CPU X, an Android app, to find out what exact chipset is being used as Onxy doesn't reveal this spec.

Having tested nearly 30 ereaders in the past few years, I've got the experience to determine whether a digital reader is a worthwhile investment.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed April 2025]

• Kindle update 5.18.1 is rolling out
• It adds a new Double Tap to Page Turn feature to replace screen taps
• Your Kindle can now also show you a recap some of the books you've read

The latest and best Kindles have a lot to offer, from the Kindle Colorsoft’s color pages to the Kindle Scribe’s larger pad for writing and AI functions, but one downgrade for many has been the removal of buttons for turning pages.

Instead you have to tap the screen to turn, which can smudge the display. Now, as spotted by Good e-Reader, the latest Amazon Kindle update (5.18.1 which is rolling out now) is bringing a Double Tap to Page Turn tool.

As you can probably guess by the name, once the feature is switched on in your Settings, instead of tapping on the screen you can double-tap the frame of the Kindle to either turn the page in your book or to scroll down the page (such as in your Home or Library screens).

It’s not clear exactly how Amazon has unlocked this new page-turn ability, but the Kindle is likely relying on its accelerometer and other internal sensors to detect taps.

The only downside of this simple yet effective solution is that tapping doesn’t yet offer the same level of control as dedicated buttons, with the biggest issue being that you can only go forwards.

If you accidentally flip a page too soon or scroll down too far you’ll need to rely on screen taps to go back.

Recap reminders

In addition to page turning, Kindle devices are getting a new Recaps tool.

Have you ever come to read the next book in a series but can't remember what happened in the last entry? Recaps allows you to access a short summary of the events of a Kindle book you’ve purchased or borrowed (provided it’s one of the many English-language bestsellers supported by the feature).

It sounds like the perfect way to quickly refresh yourself on what happened before you dive into the latest entry.

If you don’t want to wait for update 5.18.1 to reach your Kindle automatically, you can head to Amazon’s official Software update page to manually sideload the update to the device from your PC.

You might also like

• The brand-new Kindle Colorsoft drops to its lowest-ever price in the Amazon Spring Sale
• Huge Amazon sale slashes prices on Kindles, Fire TV Sticks, Ring Doorbells, and more
• I've hand-picked the 31 best deals from the Amazon Spring Sale

• The Kindle's Download & Transfer via USB feature is going away soon
• The feature will be disabled on February 26
• You'll need a pre-2024 Kindle for this to work

Last week we got the news that Amazon was killing off an older but very useful tool called Download & Transfer via USB, which lets you download your ebook purchases to a computer. It's set to disappear tomorrow – Wednesday, February 26 – so today's your last chance to get copies of your ebooks.

Amazon hasn't gone into any detail about why the feature is going away, but it's most likely related to piracy. The Download & Transfer via USB option is one of the more commonly used ways to rip Digital Rights Management (DRM) protections off ebooks and distribute them to anyone.

The most recent generation of Kindles actually removed this feature and locked ebooks to the newer KFX format – much harder to crack – so if your first Kindle was a 2024 Kindle (like the 12th-gen Amazon Kindle Paperwhite) you never had the option to download your ebooks to a computer anyway.

For those of you with any older Kindle model registered, now's your last chance to download your ebooks as files on your computer to keep them backed up. You will still of course be able to transfer all your titles wirelessly to your ereader, and use the Kindle desktop apps for Windows and macOS as before.

How to get your ebooks

You can find your ebook downloads by opening up the Amazon website in your region, signing into your account, then hovering the cursor above Account & Lists up in the top-right corner of the screen.

Click Manage Your Content and Devices, then choose Books from the options that appear. You'll see all the ebooks you've ever purchased from Amazon, together with details of the Kindle devices they're synced to.

Select More actions next to the ebook you want to download, then Download & transfer via USB. As long as at least one pre-2024 Kindle is linked to your Amazon account, you'll be able to choose a registered ereader and get the download in AZW3 format.

There's no bulk download option, unfortunately, so you'll need to do these steps for each ebook. When they're on your computer, you can transfer them over a USB connection to a Kindle, or open them up with a program such as Calibre.

You might also like

• Pick the best ereader for you
• Our full review of the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024)
• Kindle vs Kobo head-to-head

• Amazon is removing the Download & Transfer via USB option on Kindles
• The feature hadn't appeared on the latest models
• It's likely that the move is to combat ebook piracy

I've owned and loved some of the best Kindles in the series since Amazon first introduced the ereader, but using these devices can feel somewhat restrictive – especially now Amazon is killing off a useful USB file transfer feature.

As reported by The Verge, the Download & Transfer via USB option is going away on February 26. That means you'll no longer be able to download ebooks purchased from Amazon, and then move them to your Kindle over a wired USB connection.

The feature isn't actually available on the latest generation of Kindles, pushed out last year, but all other models are going to be affected. Amazon doesn't give a reason for the move, but it's almost certainly to crack down on ebook piracy.

Using fairly simple tools available online, users could download purchased ebooks from Amazon, crack the DRM (Digital Rights Management) protection on them, and send them to other devices or distribute them widely on the web. That will no longer be possible.

Less flexibility

As is often the case, efforts to battle digital pirates means rule-abiding users lose out. This means ebooks can no longer be saved on computers as backups, or moved over without a Wi-Fi connection, which gave Kindle owners some extra flexibility.

It's worth bearing in mind that Amazon does occasionally remove ebooks from its catalog, or replace them with modified versions. Now more than ever, users are going to be at the whims of what Amazon decides to make available.

You will still be able to move ebooks over via Wi-Fi of course, as well as transfer files to your Kindle via USB and software such as Calibre. It's specifically the ability to download purchases from the Amazon website to a computer that's disappearing.

This also gets closer to fully killing off the older AZW3 format for Amazon ebooks: it's been replaced by the newer KFX format, which is much harder to crack in terms of its DRM, and which is now used in most situations (except downloads to a computer).

You might also like

• These are the best ereaders you can currently buy
• Our full review of the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft
• Your Kindle Scribe just became a better note-taking ereader

• AI features on the 2024 Kindle Scribe were only available to US customers at launch
• Latest firmware with AI features is now rolling out to users in the UK, Canada and Australia
• These features are now also available on the 2022 Kindle Scribe

When the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) was released in December last year, I was rather miffed that the promised AI features weren't part of the package for users outside of the US. At the time, Amazon had no comment to make as to when the AI Summary and handwriting recognition features would be rolled out more widely, but that's now happened.

The latest firmware update (version 5.17.3) is available to download on both the 2024 and 2022 Kindle Scribe models in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, meaning even the older model is now a far better note-taking device than before.

I've checked both the 2022 and 2024 models that I have but, at the time of publication, neither had the latest firmware available for download. However, Amazon has already listed it on its Help and Customer Service page in Australia where I am based, so it's only a matter of time before it gets pushed out to the devices itself. You can, of course, download the software package from the Amazon site in your region if you don't want to wait, but you will need to use the Send To Kindle service or email it to your Kindle to update your device.

Once installed, you should be able to see a star-like icon in your notebooks. Tapping this will give you two options: to 'Summarize' a note or to 'Refine writing'.

Read on, there's more

This firmware update also includes a new feature called Side Panel Margin. As the name suggests, this adds a side panel where you can write notes when you're reading an ebook. This feature is new even for US users and is also available for both the Scribe models.

The side panel feature is in addition to Active Canvas, which only adds a box for your handwritten note while also reformatting the page to wrap around said box. The side panel is quite literally that: a full-length panel for your thoughts, with the ability to alter the width as much as you like.

A better note-taking tablet

This new update means the Kindle Scribe is now a far better e-paper tablet than it was, especially the 2022 original model. The promised rollout of the AI features brings the older Scribe on par with its successor and, if it's still available on your local Amazon site, it will be cheaper and thus represents better value.

I'm still partial to Kobo's Advanced Notebooks though, but I'm thrilled to see Amazon making an effort to make the Scribes more competitive. The only bone I have to pick with Amazon now – because I'm Aussie – is that none of the new Kindles now have Audible support Down Under. How about it then, Amazon?

You might also like...

• Find more ereader options in my dedicated best ereader list
• Not interested in the Scribe? Take a look what what I think is the best Kindle right now
• Find out more about the Kindle Scribe's Active Canvas feature
• Need more writing e-paper tablet options? Check out my Onyx Boox Go 10.3 review or my Kobo Elipsa 2E review

Onyx Boox Go 6: Two-minute review

The Go series is Onyx’s latest Boox range of ereaders and e-paper writing tablets, with the Boox Go 6 being the newest – and smallest – member. It was released a couple of months after the first two Go series devices, giving Onyx time to fix the software issues I had highlighted in my Boox Go Color 7 review. And given how much I like the Boox Go 10.3 as a writing tablet, I had high expectations from this 6-inch entry-level ereader.

Its design doesn’t disappoint at all, with a slim, compact and lightweight body that makes it very portable indeed. Despite this light build, it still manages to feel quite robust. It also uses the latest E Ink Carta 1300 screen that makes reading a far superior experience over the Amazon Kindle (2024), and can easily hold its own against the Kobo Clara BW and the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024), both of which use the same display. Plus, having a microSD card tray to expand the 32GB internal storage if you need more space is a bonus. And that’s where the positives end for me.

While it’s adequate as an ereader, Onyx hasn’t quite taken full advantage of that fabulous display because ghosting is still a problem on Boox devices, even though Amazon has seemingly found a way to completely eliminate this issue in its 2024 Kindles.

Then there are the software and performance woes. To be fair to Onyx, my issue with the unlinked Fonts folder has been rectified – you no longer need to manually create a separate folder within the Storage tab to make third-party fonts work – but I ran into other issues instead.

For starters, while I can connect to my Google Drive account, during my testing, files couldn’t be transferred wirelessly as it wouldn't give me access to anything other than the existing Onyx folder from previous Boox devices. As a Mac user, I couldn’t even use a wired connection to move ebooks onto the Go 6 as only Windows machines register the Boox tablets as external devices and, despite OTG (USB on-the-go) support and the device reading my external hard drive, I still couldn’t move my files. Thank goodness for BooxDrop!

I will admit that the Boox Go 6 powers on or wakes up much quicker than any Kindle or Kobo I have tested (even the latest ones), but page turns are rather slow. I found that pages with images on them can take over a second to flip over. While most users won’t necessarily be reading graphic novels, comics or history books with image plates, it’s still sluggish compared to the competition. Even battery life is disappointing here.

I’m also quite miffed that Onyx has chosen to use Android 11 as the Go 6’s operating system when the other devices in this series run on Android 12. And while not really a deal breaker, there’s no waterproofing here either.

As much as I admire Onyx for churning out ereaders and writing tablets every few months, I think the company ought to slow down to perfect the performance of its ereaders. It seems to be able to do that for its writing tablets, so why not its basic reading devices too?

Onyx Boox Go 6 review: price & availability

• Announced August 2024
• List price: $149.99 / €169.99 / AU$279
• Available now directly from the Boox Shop and select third-party retailers

Compared to Kindle or Kobo, Boox devices have always been a little on the expensive side. The Boox Go 6 is no exception, listed for $149.99 / €169.99 (about £143) / AU$279 at the time of writing. That’s significantly more than the equivalent Kindle or Kobo.

The Amazon Kindle (2024) costs $129.99 / £104.99 / AU$199 sans ads on the lock screen, although you only get 16GB of storage (half that of the Boox Go 6) and it uses the older E Ink Carta 1200 screen. On the other hand, the Kobo Clara BW – which also only comes with 16GB of storage – will set you back $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$239.95 at full price, but it boasts the E Ink Carta 1300 display and is IPX8-certified waterproof, which the Go 6 isn't. It also happens to be repairable.

In fact, the Boox Go 6 is only marginally cheaper than the 7-inch Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024), which costs $179.99 / £159.99 / AU$299 for the version without ads and 16GB of storage, but you get waterproofing and a larger Carta 1300 screen that has no performance issues.

• Value score: 3 / 5

Onyx Boox Go 6 review: specs

Onyx Boox Go 6 review: Design & display

• Very sharp and clear 6-inch E Ink Carta 1300 display
• Robust build quality with microSD card tray
• Lacks waterproofing

The one thing I’ve always been impressed by is the design of the Boox devices – they all look premium, and the Boox Go 6 is no exception. Despite being made from plastic, the black chassis appears metallic on the front – something Amazon and Kobo ought to learn to do – and, despite being the same thickness as the 2024 base Kindle, it feels a lot more solid in the hand… and much more secure too. That doesn’t imply the rear panel is textured – it’s a matte finish compared to the shiny front, but it attracts every single fingerprint, far more than any other ereader I've had the joy of using. Thankfully Onyx makes an optional sleepcover (identical to the one used with the Onyx Boox Poke 5) to keep the body smudge-free.

The only embellishment on the Go 6 is the Boox branding on the front and rear. The former is in grey printed on the large lower bezel, while the latter is embossed black on black. The power button is on the right corner of the top edge, and you’ll find the USB-C port, microphone and microSD card tray on the bottom edge. There are no speakers here, like you’ll find on some other Boox devices and that’s a good thing – I’ve never found the sound to be nice enough to use anyway.

While it looks very much like the Boox Poke 5, it’s lighter at 146g compared to 160g, which also makes it a touch lighter than the latest edition of the base Kindle (158g) and the Kobo Clara BW (174g).

This lightweight body houses what is arguably the best e-paper screen that E Ink (the company that supplies the displays to ereader makers) has made. And it makes reading a lovely experience. Everything is displayed sharp and clear, with very good contrast. However, compared to the Kindles released in 2024, ghosting remains a major problem on Boox devices, which tells me optimization isn't...well, optimal.

Like all current Boox devices, the frontlight is adjustable for both brightness and temperature. This makes the display comfortable to use in any environment, whether indoors or out, and even at night when yellow light can reduce eye strain.

Also like the Boox Poke 5, the Go 6 also misses out on any kind of waterproofing, which is a shame as it’s more expensive than the Kobo Clara BW, which does get you some security from accidental dunks in the kitchen sink, bath or pool. That said, waterproofing doesn’t seem to be too important to Onyx as even the Go Color 7 is listed as being just “splashproof” (with no rating provided).

• Design & display score: 4 / 5

Onyx Boox Go 6 review: Software

• Runs Android 11 – other Go series devices run on Android 12
• Slightly more streamlined UI than older Boox devices
• AI Assistant app is superfluous

I have to hand it to Onyx for trying to simplify the user interface on the Boox Go 6. There are fewer customization options in Settings as compared to older Boox ereaders, which makes it a little easier to use. Despite that, if you’ve never used a Boox device before, you’ll likely still need a little time to wrap your head around some of the settings. Other important ones, though, like for the library, are still hidden away.

The initial setup is also annoyingly complicated when it really doesn’t need to be. While you just have to follow the on-screen instructions, there are too many pop-ups, and being asked to set up Gestures even before you log in is unnecessary. You’ll also need to accept Onyx’s user agreement and privacy policy twice before you can connect to your Wi-Fi network – surely once would do. I was even presented with the keyboard audio recording pop-up before the full setup was complete, not when I needed to use the keyboard for the first time. These little bits and bobs are useful, I understand, but can be set up later rather than at the startup process.

One thing I’m really pleased about is Onyx fixing one of the software issues that has plagued Boox devices from the start – having to create a new fonts folder within Storage to make third-party sideloaded fonts work. The existing Fonts folder has now been linked correctly and that extra step is no longer needed.

However, I’m surprised the company chose to use Android 11 as the OS, rather than the newer Android 12 that’s running on the other two Go series devices. Admittedly it’s a perfectly acceptable choice for an ereader's operating system, but disappointing nonetheless.

As with all Onyx devices, you can choose any of the five tabs as your home screen via System Display in the Settings tab: Library, Store, Storage, Apps or Settings. These are accessible at the bottom of the screen. Personally, I prefer Apps or Settings as my home screen as I find the library can tend to look a little messy, but that’s just me.

Apps is where you will find all the native applications, including a browser, the Google Play Store and the AI Assistant. While I find most of the apps useful, the last one is rather superfluous. You can use the built-in AI to write a short story or start a simple conversation, but I really found no need to use it on a basic ereader. In fact, I thought it was gimmicky on the Boox Go Color 7 too and I didn't take any advantage of it on the Go 10.3 either.

The bookstore isn’t going to be much use to most readers as all you can find are classics and titles available in the public domain. However, you can purchase content via the browser or by installing the Kindle or Kobo apps, but then you will need to use the respective apps to read or listen to the content you purchase. These will not be added to the device’s library.

You will need to sideload titles if you want to use the native library application. Transferring files to the Go 6, in theory, can be done both wirelessly and via a USB-C cable plugged into your computer, although I ran into trouble in both cases. I’ve previously linked my Google Drive account to transfer files to the other Boox devices I've tested but, this time, although I could access Drive, it only presented me with my existing Onyx folder that had notes and files from older devices, nothing else. Even after moving my ebooks folder to within my existing Onyx subfolder within Drive, I was still unable to see it. Multiple restarts of the device didn't help, neither did a full factory reset. Which meant I couldn’t download any ebooks I had stored on the cloud. As a MacBook user, I’ve found that no Boox ereader gets registered, so there’s no way for me to use a wired connection either.

There is OTG support here, which allows you to plug an external storage device directly into the Go 6 to access files. In my case, I tried both the Samsung T5 portable SSD and the T7 – while they registered as USB-C connected devices on the Go 6 and I can view the files, I was unable to transfer any of them, as has been the case previously on all other Boox tablets I've used.

I had to rely on Onyx’s own BooxDrop application, which allows me to use a web-based platform to ‘push’ files onto the ereaders for a wireless transfer. It’s not a bad way to do things, but when there are easier options, I’m saddened that bugs and software glitches don’t allow them to work as expected.

• Software score: 3 / 5

Onyx Boox Go 6 review: User experience

• Easier to use but unnecessarily complicated setup process
• Screen could be better optimized
• Can have issues with wired and cloud transfers

With software bugs still plaguing Boox ereaders, the user experience, for me personally, is far from smooth, even though reading on it is wonderful. As I’ve already mentioned, the lackluster user experience begins right at the start, thanks to an unnecessarily complicated setup process that could throw off first-time users. Both Amazon and Kobo do a much smoother job of getting users set up on their new devices, so I don’t know why Onyx can’t adopt a similar approach.

File transfers also shouldn’t be as difficult as I found them to be. Sure, BooxDrop works a charm, but using a wired connection can be quick. And with no Windows machine at my disposal to use a cable to transfer files, or with OTG never having worked for me on any Boox device with support, I was hoping to use Google Drive. While that has worked for me previously, I'm not sure what happened this time round. It could be an isolated issue, but a full factory reset didn't help, so I can't be so sure.

Fixing the fonts folder problem was fabulous, but then I had to restart the Go 6 three times to get the sideloaded Bookerly font to work. These are little things, but they do clock up for a user.

That said, I can't emphasize how good the display is for reading. I think it's better than the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024), which uses the same screen. I compared them both side by side, with the same Bookerly font for the same page on the same page – the smaller screen with a tighter pixel density definitely works in the Go 6's favor. I even compared it right beside the Amazon Kindle (2024 release), with both books covers and text looking darker and sharper. However, it doesn't offer as much joy reading as the overall user experience isn't as good.

While the user interface isn’t as complicated as it used to be on older Boox devices, a learning curve is still required if you’ve never used one of Onyx’s ereaders before. More so because many important settings, like those for the library (NeoReader) app, are hidden away. They’ll require a tap or two more on the top of the screen when the app is in use to bring them up, and it’s not particularly intuitive. What I really like about the Boox library app is the Floating Toolbar that can be customized for functions you use the most.

Onyx really has the makings of a good ereader in the Boox Go 6, but until its user experience is refined and simplified, plus the software issues ironed out, it will be hard to recommend over a Kindle or a Kobo ereader.

• User experience score: 3 / 5

Onyx Boox Go 6 review: Performance

• Ghosting is still a problem
• Sluggish page turns
• Middling battery life

When it comes to overall performance, the other two Go series devices are better devices than the Boox Go 6. I was critical about the Go Color 7 and loved the Go 10.3, but sadly the Go 6 disappoints in comparison and I’m struggling to find anything positive to say here.

Where the other two Go series tablets use the 2.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor, the Go 6 has an older 2GHz octa-core CPU. That shouldn’t have been an issue on an ereader, as it really doesn’t need too much processing power, but is seems to have had an effect here.

Page turns are sluggish even when only a single title is open in the library app (the library can have several tabs open). During my testing, I found that ebooks with images are particularly slow, sometimes taking up to a second to load the next page. Those with only text, though, are quicker, although at an average of 500ms per turn, they are a touch slower than what I’ve experienced on the 2024 Kindles and Kobos.

Pages with images also suffer from significant ghosting, where a dim overlay of the previous page is visible. In fact, I encountered ghosting even when trying to sign into Google Drive when setting up the device. In comparison, the Go Color 7 was more impressive with a lot less ghosting, although this has been a major issue with other Boox devices I’ve tried.

In use, I’ve found third-party apps can crash often. Both the Kindle and the Kobo apps, while quick to open, can crash immediately after, or while in the middle of loading a title. That said, other apps like CPU X, which I have used on all three Go series tablets to determine certain specs, have worked just fine.

Another disappointment is the battery life. While it uses the same 1,500mAh capacity as the Boox Poke 5, the drain on the Go 6 is a lot more than the former. I found that the battery level drops 1% every couple of minutes when the display is on, but not being used (meaning, no titles are being read or any apps in use), which does seem excessive. And this is with the screen light set at low levels. When in use, the drain on the battery increases slightly, with about 3% to 4% dropping every couple of minutes.

That means I got no more than 2 weeks of use, reading for about 30 minutes per day with the brightness set to a low level and the system’s refresh rate set to per 5 taps. Wi-Fi, though, was always on, as was Bluetooth. Switching them off didn’t make too much of a difference during my testing. As a point of comparison, the Kobo Clara BW also uses a 1,500mAh battery and gave me about 4 weeks of use on a single charge, as did the Boox Poke 5.

Top-up time for the battery, however, is quick. Connected to a 67W wall charger via a good quality USB-C to C cable raised battery levels from 4% to 56% in 45 minutes. It was fully topped up in 1 hour and 30 minutes. Of course, charging time will be much longer if you use your computer or one of the best power banks to top up the Go 6, but if that isn’t much of an issue, I’d say the battery charging times of this ereader is the best I've encountered.

• Performance score: 3 / 5

Should I buy the Onyx Boox Go 6?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

I’d be very surprised if you’d consider opting for the Boox Go 6 after reading my review, but if you are keen on a new ereader, the three options listed below would serve you better. I’ve also included another Boox device that I think is worth considering if you want don't want to get caught up within either Amazon's or Kobo's ecosystems.

How I tested the Onyx Boox Go 6

• Used as a daily ereader for about 6 weeks
• Sideloaded books, music, image files and more via BooxDrop
• Changed settings to test battery life for different scenarios
• Downloaded different third-party apps via the Play Store

While I usually sign into my existing Onyx account to sync files across devices, I took a different tack with the Boox Go 6. I set it up as a new device first, then signed into my Google account to access Drive and the Play Store. While I could use both, the former only gave me access to my Onyx folder that had notes and PDF files from other Boox writing tablets, but wouldn’t allow me access to any other folder I had (like my ebooks), and that’s despite moving my book collection into the Onyx folder. Instead, I used BooxDrop to transfer ebooks, music files and some photos to the Go 6.

As for third-party apps, I downloaded CPU X to determine what hardware was under the hood of the Go 6, as well as the Kindle and Kobo apps to access my existing library on the respective platforms.

I used NeoLibrary to read the sideloaded ebooks, used the native music player to listen to the audio files and, out of curiosity, opened the photos I had transferred in the Gallery application to see what they looked like.

I read on the Go 6 for about 30 minutes to an hour each day during the trial period, although there were a few days when I exceeded 2 hours of reading. I kept an eye on the battery life as I use it, and also altered brightness settings to see how it affected battery drain.

While I didn’t use the AI Assistant app on the Go 6, my previous experience on the Go Color 7 wasn’t particularly good enough for me to want to try it again. Moreover, I found no need to use an AI for anything while I was reading, especially since the Go 6 is more an entry-level ereader rather than an advanced one like the Boox Note series.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed January 2025]

It’s been a busy year for Amazon’s Kindle line, with four new entries: upgrades to the standard Kindle, the Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle Scribe, plus a new Kindle Colorsoft. But more importantly, if you’re reading this, it’s the year you jumped onto the Kindle express.

There are many types of ereader on the market, but Amazon’s are synonymous with the whole digital ebook experience, so it’d be little wonder if you picked a Kindle to be your first ereader (or if someone picked it for you).

While Kindles aren’t quite as adjustable and personalizable as some ereaders, there are a few ways you can make the most of them. As TechRadar’s former ereader expert, and someone who still tests them (and other ereaders) to this day, I’ve got some tips on how to improve your Kindle experience.

1. Adjust the screen settings to your liking

Many people buy Kindles, instead of reading on their phone or tablet, in order to reduce eye strain. That’s all well and good, but you’ll more easily nail that goal if you customize your display settings to your liking. I recommend that most people fiddle with their screen’s output as soon as they start using the device.

You can adjust the brightness of your Kindle’s screen and, on some devices, the warmth (how red it looks) too, and these are easy ways to make the reading experience more comfortable. You can do these by swiping down from the top, to bring up the quick-settings menu. Some modern and fancy Kindles also have a dark mode.

There are also advanced ways to change the font and kerning (or letter spacing), which some readers may also choose to do to really fine-tune that reading experience. To do that you can bring up the menu when you’re reading a book, press the ‘Aa’ font button, select font and change the settings here.

2. Get the Kindle Unlimited Free Trial

Amazon has many subscription services, and one of them is called Kindle Unlimited – it offers you unrestricted access to a range of books, magazines and audiobooks to download onto your Kindle.

However, it costs $11.99 / £9.49 / AU$13.99 per month, which makes it a little hard to recommend for all but the most prolific reader. I generally don’t use Kindle Unlimited for this reason, but I’d recommend everyone test it for a month.

Why? Because there’s a free trial to Kindle Unlimited, so you can get 30 days' worth of reading without paying a cent. If you really like it, you can continue, and if not you can cancel before it rolls into a repeating subscription. What better way to welcome in a new Kindle than by stuffing it full of books?

3. Familiarize yourself with collections

My Kindle home screen used to be very cluttered until I found out about collections, and I'd recommend you get used to them sooner rather than later.

Collections are basically folders, containing different texts you select. You can bundle together novels from the same franchise, texts from the same writer or, in an extreme (yet really useful) case, you can make a separate collection for each type of work (novel, poetry, script etc).

It's easy to make collections: press the three-vertical-dot options menu when you're in your library and press 'Create New Collection'. Easy!

4. Send documents to read on your Kindle

This is my most-used Kindle feature. It enables you to read almost any document on your ereader, beyond those bought on the Kindle store, and works with PDFs, EPUB, Word document, TXT files and more.

Want to read work documents, digital books you've been sent, texts you've bought in other formats or more? You got it. I do it all the time, particularly with copyright-free books (ie, older classics) from Project Gutenberg, and it's basically all I read.

If you want to know how to do this, you'll be glad to know that we've got an entire guide on how to send PDFs to Amazon Kindle.

5. Read your books elsewhere

I should preface this section by saying that this pertains to Kindle books bought on the Kindle store, not ones you've sent to your ereader as above.

A digital library is for life, not just for Christmas, and you can access your Kindle library whether or not you actually have your Kindle on you.

That's because there's a phone and tablet app, also called Kindle, which you can download. Using this you can read any texts saved to your Amazon account when on the go.

I do this when I'm bored on my commute, or forgot my Kindle, and it's also a good option if you're going travelling and can't afford the bag space an ereader would take up.

You might also like

• Here's a longer list of Kindle tips and tricks I wrote a few years ago
• The best Kindle in 2024: the top Amazon ereaders picked by our team of experts
• Kindle vs Kobo: how to choose the best ebook reader for you

• The 2024 Kindle Scribe was released on December 5 in major markets
• Its biggest selling point: AI features available at launch for handwritten notes
• Unfortunately, this headline act isn't available to all users

About a month after the cheaper 2024 Kindles went on sale, the new Kindle Scribe was finally released for purchase on December 5. It's headline act: AI features that, as per our Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) review, are actually useful.

While Amazon has promised that these AI features will be rolled out to the older Kindle Scribe (2022) some time in "early 2025", it does make the new model – particularly in the Metallic Jade colorway – an enticing option for early adopters in need of a great e-paper tablet.

The 2024 Scribe is now available to buy in most major markets, but there's one glaring omission if you're making your purchase outside of the US.

If you're in the UK or in Australia, for example, and have just bought your new Kindle Scribe, you might be wondering where the heck are the AI features. Turns out, they're only available to US customers and Amazon has no current plans to roll them out globally.

I reached out for a reason and was disappointed to be told, "we don’t have anything to share today".

There are two AI features that are supposed to be on the 2024 Kindle Scribe at launch – note summaries and handwriting recognition. Both are accessed via a little star-like icon sitting on the top right corner of a notebook's menu bar (pictured below).

I got my 2024 Kindle Scribe on the day of release, then spent an entire day wondering why I couldn't access the AI features. Amazon made no mention to the media – at least in Australia where I'm based – that it was restricted. I was so looking forward to trying it out but, sadly, it was a no-go.

It took me a while, though, but a little digging online led me to a workaround that has allowed me to install the AI features onto the new Kindle Scribe.

How to install Kindle Scribe AI features

If you live outside the US and want the AI features promised to you on your brand-new Kindle Scribe, you can still install them. Just log into the desktop version of your local Amazon site (for example, in my case it's Amazon AU), then hover over Account & Lists and choose Manage Your Content & Devices from the dropdown menu to access the preferences for your already setup Kindle(s).

Go straight to the Preferences option on this page and, under Country/Region Settings, click on Change your country/region (see image below).

You'll need an Amazon US account, plus a valid US address and phone number. Since Amazon arrived in Australia (my home country) only in December 2017, I already had an Amazon US account, so didn't need to start from scratch. Moreover, close family living in the US allowed me to use their contact details for this.

It's important to note that you absolutely do not need to change your payment method here, so no one but you will be charged for any content you might purchase from the Kindle Store. You will, however, be charged in USD rather than your local currency.

Anyway, once you've saved the new address, just restart your Kindle Scribe and, voila, the AI icon will appear on your Notebooks. You can then use the AI Summary feature or convert your handwriting into text.

In my case, I had to restart the Kindle Scribe (2024) twice before I could see the AI icon in the Notebooks app, but keep in mind that if you change the details for your Kindle (content and device), you will lose access again.

There's no harm in leaving a US address associated with your Kindle account but, as I've already mentioned, your Kindle purchases (not your regular Amazon shopping) will be charged in USD. If that doesn't appeal to you, then you can revert back to your original setup but, again, you will lose the AI features until Amazon decides to roll these out globally.

Interestingly (at least to me), because my Scribe was set up with UK English as the language, the AI summary feature (pictured above) retains the spelling chosen for the system rather than the feature. Oh, the things I notice...

You might also like...

• Find other writing e-paper options in my dedicated best ereader list
• Don't need the Scribe? Take a look at the best Kindles to find your perfect match
• Amazon's finally nailed scribbling in the margins with the Kindle Scribe's new Active Canvas feature

• We now have the full specs of the forthcoming Boox Note Max
• The E Ink device will have an A4-sized, 13.3-inch screen
• The Note Max is expected to launch early next year

Onyx has been teasing a new Boox Note Max E Ink notebook for a couple of months now, and has just published the full specs of the device online – and based on the details listed here, it could be the note-taking slate I've been waiting a long time for.

As per the listing (via Notebookcheck), the device is 4.6 mm (0.18 inches) thin, and comes with an A4-sized, 13.3-inch HD E Ink Carta 1300 screen – it runs at a resolution of 3,200 x 2,400 pixels, which is a sharp 300 pixels-per-inch. The slate will support the Boox stylus touch, with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Under the hood we've got an unnamed 2.8GHz octa-core processor, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage – again, impressive for an e-paper tablet like this. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 are supported, and there are dual speakers and a microphone built in. The battery capacity is listed as 3,700mAh, and the weight as 615 grams (21.7 ounces).

On the software side, the tablet runs a modified version of Android 13, with support for third-party apps. Document types including EPUB, EPUB3, AZW3, CBR, CBZ, PDF, DOCX, PPTX, HTML and TXT can be viewed. The device can show PNG, JPG, BMP, and TIFF images, as well as play WAV and MP3 audio files.

The best Boox yet?

While we can't fully judge the Boox Note Max until it's actually out, those specs suggest it'll have a strong claim for being one of the best devices of its type when it launches – and our ReMarkable 2 review and Kindle Scribe review will tell you all about the high bar that the new E Ink slate is going to have to reach.

As someone who's been looking for a device somewhere between a phone and a laptop – but without all the distractions of a Surface Pro or one of the best iPads – the Boox Note Max really appeals. From what we can tell so far, that screen is going to be a pleasure to use, in both its sharpness and responsiveness (though I would've liked a front light, too).

It's the versatility that really stands out here though: support for a wide range of e-book and document formats, and third-party Android apps. Looking at the promo imagery, I'll be able to load up the likes of Gmail, Trello, Evernote, and Notion, without worrying about more distracting apps or games.

The US price has been set at $649.99 (with a stylus), which is roughly £510 / €615 / AU$1,015 with a straight currency conversion (though UK buyers usually have to import Onyx products). As for a launch date, all we know is it will be sometime early in 2025.

You might also like

• The phone-sized Boox Palma 2 has landed
• Our review of the Onyx Boox Go 10.3
• Here are the best e-readers you can buy

My biggest gripe with the original Kindle Scribe at its launch in 2022 was how it treated my margin scribbles in ebooks – like sticky notes that could only be typed. And it didn't even work on all the content on my device. It took a while for Amazon to allow handwritten annotations to some ebooks purchased via the Kindle Store.

That is now no longer a complaint because the 2024 Kindle Scribe debuted with a new feature called Active Canvas which, as of December 4, is also available on the older model via the latest firmware update (v 5.17.2).

Active Canvas is so named as it adds a box (aka a 'canvas') around your annotation, then automatically realigns the page by indenting adjoining lines so text wraps around your note. The size of the automatically created box is changeable, but you can't move it from its original position.

As far as I'm concerned, it's the best thing to happen to margin scribbles since e-paper tablets became a thing as I think it makes the page look nice and neat. That said, I suspect there will be some Kindle Scribe users who won't necessarily agree with me because of the reformatted page or the fact that this still isn't exactly free writing. You've got to remember, though, this is the closest we've come to margin scribbles on the Kindle Scribe since it first launched and brings it more in line with what the competition offers.

What truly excites me is that Active Canvas isn't restricted to content purchased via the Kindle Store – it works for sideloaded EPUBs too! It's supposed to work on a handful of different file formats, including PDFs and Microsoft Word documents, but I'm yet to confirm if the feature works just as well on other files. There is one caveat for PDFs, though: they will need to have an adjustable layout for this feature to work. Understandable.

If you already have the 2022 Kindle Scribe and would like to try this feature, just make sure you're running the latest firmware update, which is available globally now.

A drain on resources

There is one downside to the new update, however: I found that the battery drain is higher if you have too many annotations in your book. I'd expected the AI Summary feature to be a drain on battery, not Active Canvas, but here we are.

It's not a massive drain – I think you'll still be able to eke out about 4 weeks of battery life if you're an avid reader, but that could be lower if you also happen to be a habitual scribbler of margins. And, if you also use the Notebooks a lot, that drain becomes even more significant with AI Summary enabled.

Another issue is that the with the new operating system now so large (to accommodate all the new features which are software-based), I found I had only 25.5GB of usable storage available on my brand-new 32GB Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024). That's a significant amount of storage taken up be the operating system – bordering on smartphone territory – and a few gig more than the older model at launch. And even though 25GB is a huge amount of storage when it comes to e-paper writing tablets, there are other digital note-takers that cost less and give me more storage, even after taking the OS into account.

Add to that the fact that the hardware of the 2024 release of the Kindle Scribe is exactly the same as the 2022 model, I'm struggling to justify the cost. So it's a good thing that the older Kindle Scribe will get additional features in 2025, including Extended Margins and AI Summary.

More to come

AI Summary is already available in the US on the new Kindle Scribe, and it's disappointing that Amazon didn't think the rest of the world would like to purchase the new Scribe specifically for that feature. I'm in Australia and am rather miffed to not see it natively offered on my 2024 Scribe.

I've contacted Amazon to ask when Scribe users outside of the US will be able to get AI Summary on their devices, but I am yet to hear back (I'll be sure to update this article when I do).

I'm not entirely sold on Extended Margins though. As the name suggests, this feature allows you extend one margin of a book so you can add longer annotations if you need to, but Active Canvas readjusts the page well enough to accommodate these as well. Still, it's there and it will become available on the older Scribe in 2025, making it far better value than it already is.

Despite my little issues with the new features, I will admit that Amazon is finally convincing me to move away from my Kobo Elipsa 2E to making the Kindle Scribe my default digital note taker and ereader. It's taken only two years to get there.

You might also like...

• Need a new Kindle? Take a look at the best Kindles you can get
• You can also opt for one of the best ereaders from other brands
• Don't need writing features? Read my in-depth Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review for an alternative

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024): Two-minute review

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite has been our pick of the best Kindle for a very long time as it's managed to balance price and features quite well. The 12th generation Paperwhite maintains that same ethos to some degree, gaining a brand-new display that leverages the latest E Ink Carta 1300 screen tech.

This not only adds a touch more contrast, which makes the text on the screen darker and thus easier to read, but it also makes page turns a smidge quicker. Honestly, in real-world use, you won't find it all that different from the 11th-generation Kindle Paperwhite, but you will if you have them both side by side and look really carefully. So while I won't say it's a massive upgrade over the 2021 Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, it's definitely worth upgrading if you're using an older Kindle.

I also appreciate the couple of millimeters more of display I get on the 2024 Paperwhite, which is now a 7-inch screen compared to the previous 6.8-inch, but again, it's not really that significant.

What is a little significant is the slight performance boost that Amazon has managed to inject into the 12th-gen Paperwhite. During my testing, I had no issues whatsoever – page turns were near instantaneous, I had absolutely no slowing down even after hours of reading, not a single instance of ghosting and, importantly, the battery life is truly impressive. After three weeks of use, I am yet to charge the Paperwhite for the first time.

My biggest issue is the Paperwhite's design: the rear panel is so darn smooth, that I often feel like it's slipping through my fingers. That means I'm trying to grip it tighter, which means my thumbs are extended further over the display and the number of accidental touches I have are a little annoying. Admittedly a case will solve that problem, but that's an additional cost to tack onto what is already an expensive ereader.

So while it still builds a case for still being the best Kindle, I think the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2024) might represent better value for some users, offering more storage, some resistance to salt water and the option for wireless charging.

Amazon's penchant for hiking up the price of its Kindles with each new generation is disappointing. While I'm struggling to justify the cost of the base Amazon Kindle 2024, I suppose I can get behind the 12th-gen Paperwhite's price hike over its predecessor, but I'm not entirely convinced it represents good value anymore. This is compounded by the fact that, in some markets (like Australia), none of the 2024 Kindles support Audible playback.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: price & availability

• Announced October 2024; available to buy now
• Launch price of $159.99 (with ads) / £159.99 (with ads) / AU$299
• A Signature Edition is available for a higher price but double the storage

As I've said above, Amazon keeps increasing the price of its Kindles with each new release and that means at $159.99 / £159.99 / AU$299, the 12th-generation Paperwhite is the most expensive yet and, in my humble opinion, no longer very good value. And that's the price of the ad-supported version in the US and UK (Australia gets only the ad-free model). If you don't want ads on your lock screen, you're shelling out $179.99 / £159.99 in the US and UK respectively.

You could argue that this price is fine for a 7-inch ereader with 16GB of storage, but for a little more money – $219.99 / £219.99 / AU$359.95 to be precise – you can get a color ereader with a screen of the same size, double the storage, a more ergonomic design (with page-turn buttons) and, importantly, writing capabilities with the Kobo Libra Colour. I suppose I might even be inclined to pay $199.99 / £199.99 / AU$329 for the 2024 Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition for the metallic colors, double the storage and wireless charging, as well as performance just as good as the standard Paperwhite.

If you don't want all that, you can save money by opting for the Kobo Clara BW ($129.99 / £119.99 / AU$239.95), which gets you the exact same display, just in 6 inches, and very similar specs as the Paperwhite.

• Value score: 3.5 / 5

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: Specs

Amazon has stopped listing some specs for its ereaders, so I have no idea what CPU the Paperwhite is using or the battery capacity.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: Design & display

• Available in 3 colors in the US and UK, only one in Australia
• Sharp, crisp 7-inch display
• Very slim design with no grip

Hey, Amazon, what exactly has Australia done to not deserve the new colorways of the standard Paperwhite? I'm a little annoyed that I get only the black model Down Under (where I am based) and is the version I was sent for this review. It's not a huge complaint, but I do admit to a little FOMO. Other markets can get the Paperwhite in new Jade and Raspberry options.

Nothing else has really changed in terms of design, although the standard Paperwhite is now 7 inches (compared to the 11th generation's 6.8 inches). The body remains plastic which, incidentally, has some recycled materials in it – not as much as Kobo uses, though.

The plastic chassis does make the Paperwhite look cheaper than its price tag, but the real issue for me is the rear panel. It's so smooth that I can feel it slip through my fingers (literally) when the bus or train I'm on brakes suddenly. I love how slim it is, but that too exacerbates the lack of grip, making it far from ergonomic.

To compensate for its slipperiness, I found myself holding the device with my thumb on the screen itself as the side bezels are still very slim. As nice as that looks, it's not ideal for single-hand use and I kept suffering from accidental page turns from my finger on the screen. It's possible this won't affect all users, but it is an annoyance to me.

Given how easy it might be to drop the standard Paperwhite, I'm glad it retains its IPX8 waterproof rating, which means it can stay submerged in 2 meters of water for up to an hour. Just don't drop it in the sea as the salt water will corrode the USB-C port first and, if it seeps in, will start eating away at the motherboard too. The Signature Edition, on the other hand, will survive a quick dunk in the sea.

The rounded corners and edges will be familiar to any Kindle user, as will the be power button on the lower edge. This placement of the power button bothers one of my colleagues, but I don't have any issues with it. In fact, I love the little feedback it gives when pressed. Beside the power button, in the center of the bottom edge, is the USB-C port for charging.

The only embellishments on the device are the word 'Kindle' on the lower bezel and the Amazon logo on the rear panel. As with most black ereaders and tablets, the 2024 Paperwhite is a smudge magnet, but I suspect the two colorways will also suffer similarly. The black one, in fact, begins to look very scruffy within days of use – even just leaving it on a table, it will pick up dust and the texture of the plastic is such that it's hard to wipe away.

If that bothers you like it does me, I think a case becomes a must, and it will add a little extra grip too, but it is an additional cost to bear.

The shift to the 7-inch display has allowed Amazon to update the display to the latest E Ink Carta 1300 technology, which adds more contrast to the text on the screen. The resolution remains at 300ppi though, which is standard and plenty for such a device. The screen supports a dark mode, has 16 levels of grayscale and hits a maximum brightness of 94 nits.

Compared to the 2024 entry-level Kindle, the Paperwhite has a naturally warmer hue (much like paper) which, when combined with the amber LED lights, can make the display very yellow indeed. It might look odd to someone who's not used an ereader with adjustable light temperatures, but it helps the eyes from getting strained too much. If you're like me, who reads for four to five hours a day (mostly at night), you'll appreciate the yellower screen. The LEDs do a good job of evenly lighting the entire display – I found no shadows or areas of excessive brightness during my testing.

• Design & display score: 3.5 / 5

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: User interface

• Linux-based operating system
• 16GB of storage, but only 11.5GB available for use
• Easy-to-use UX, but home screen can feel cluttered

One theory I have for why the Kindles became so popular so quickly is their user-friendly interface. They've always been simple devices, with not a lot of extraneous options in Settings, and that ethos is still maintained today.

If you're already familiar with a Kindle, you won't find anything new on the 2024 Paperwhite. Even if you've never used a Kindle before, it won't take long to wrap your head around it, with setup being as simple as following the prompts on the screen. Once you've set up your Amazon account and logged in, there are only two tabs to explore – the Home screen and the Library.

I personally find the Kindle Home screen unnecessarily cluttered, constantly pushing me into the Kindle Store. If that doesn't bother you, it's a good starting point for finding your next read. However, keep in mind that once you start getting your content from the Kindle Store, you're stuck within Amazon's walled garden.

You can sideload books of course, but you will need to jump through some hoops as Amazon no longer allows you to plug in a Kindle to drag-and-drop files via a wired connection. You will need to use the Send To Kindle platform, which allows you to wirelessly add content to your Kindles via cloud sync. The good news is that if you ever change (or upgrade) your Kindle, even your sideloaded titles will remain synced to your Amazon account and you can just tap them individually in the Library app of your new Kindle to download them again.

There's no specific tab for Settings, but swipe downwards from the top of the screen and you'll be presented with a few options, including turning on dark mode, cloud sync, flight mode and, of course, accessing all the Settings options.

The different Settings are simple and quite literally bare bones, although please note that if you are in Australia or any other region where there's no Audible support on the 2024 Kindles, you won't even see Bluetooth as a connectivity option (which is available in the US and UK).

There's decent file support on the Kindle now, although, with MOBI now mostly dead, Amazon has had to relent and allow native EPUB support, which is the format most ebooks come in.

As part of the Amazon ecosystem, Goodreads is available on all Kindles and American users will be able to borrow library books too. The latter option is, however, not available anywhere else.

• User interface score: 4 / 5

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: Performance

• Marginally faster than previous model
• Speed enhancement seems mostly software related
• Excellent battery life, even at higher brightness levels

Ereaders are such simple devices that there's really no benchmarking to run to determine performance. However, as someone who's tested several of the most recent ebook readers, it's fair to say I can judge by doing a comparison with the competition.

The 2024 standard Paperwhite wins in terms of screen responsiveness speed and overall performance over even the Onyx Boox Go series ereaders and the Kobo Clara BW too. The former, incidentally, has a more powerful processor than what Amazon has typically used for its Kindles (although the current CPU has not been revealed) and yet the Paperwhite surpasses the Boox Go 6 (which I have been testing alongside this).

Page turns are near instantaneous and not once did I have issues with ghosting (where a very light impression of the previous page remains on screen after a page turn). Reading graphic novels on its an absolute pleasure, especially since the Frame view also opens instantly when you double-tap.

Like the entry-level 2024 Kindle, I think the performance boost is purely software-based rather than being a new CPU. It could be both, too, but Amazon isn't revealing what chipset it's using under the hood here.

I'm using the massive operating system as the basis of my performance theory here. As with the base 2024 Kindle, the OS on the Paperwhite takes up 4.5GB of the total 16GB storage available on the device – if memory serves, that's 2GB more than on the 11th generation Paperwhite.

While I am miffed about the lower available storage on the Paperwhite (which reduces its per-dollar value), I'm glad for whatever boost Amazon has given the tablet. Typing via the on-screen keyboard when setting up my Wi-Fi network or any other touchscreen functionality was seamless and quick. And by 'quick' I mean it's as good as it's ever gotten on an e-paper screen – don't expect the same performance as your phone or multimedia tablet.

What's probably the most impressive feat is the 2024 Paperwhite's battery life. I've had it for about three weeks now and I started using it immediately out of the box at 72%. Three weeks later it was just at 45%, and that's with about 2-3 hours of reading and the screen brightness level at 8 (warm light level of 4). Admittedly that's a low brightness setting that won't put too much pressure on the battery, but I only charged the Paperwhite once, just to see how quickly it topped up. At this rate, I could eke out at least 10 weeks of use between charges, more if I don't read as much as I usually do.

Amazon claims it will take the 12th-gen Paperwhite under 2.5 hours to go from empty to full when using a 9W power adaptor. That sounds about right to me – plugged into the USB-A port of my 65W charger (which offers up to 22.5W of power) and using a USB-A to C cable, it went from 32% to 50% in about 20 minutes. That might have been a touch faster if I was using a USB-C to C cable, but that was being used on another device at the time of testing. Still, that's not bad numbers at all.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024)?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024)

• Used daily for three weeks to read
• Borrowed titles from the Prime Reading service, plus downloaded existing books already available in my Amazon account
• Tested battery life at various brightness levels

As soon as I received the 2024 Paperwhite for this review, I logged into my Amazon account, which promptly gave me access to my existing library that was cloud-synced when I sideloaded titles onto an older device. All I had to do was tap on the ebooks I wanted on the Paperwhite (so none of the ones I'd already finished reading) and I was off.

Unfortunately, because I'm based in Australia, I have no Audible access on any of the new Kindles, so I cannot comment on how easy it would be to pair Bluetooth headphones, but I hope it's smooth and once paired, you should be able to listen to audiobooks if you have a subscription.

I read on the Paperwhite daily for the three-week period I set aside for testing, spending about 2-3 hours each day with it. I used the Paperwhite at various light settings to check how that affected the battery drain.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed December 2024]

• Amazon warns of delays to Kindle Colorsoft shipping
• 'Small number' of Colorsoft customers affected by yellow screen issue
• TechRadar review concludes that the problem is barely noticeable

Amazon has warned that its first-ever color ereader, the Kindle Colorsoft, could face shipping delays while it fixes a small screen issue that it says has affected a "small number of customers." Now that we've published our full Amazon Kindle Colorsoft review, we've concluded the problem shouldn't be a big factor in your buying decision.

After a report from The Verge highlighted that some users were experiencing a small yellow strip along the bottom of the Kindle Colorsoft's display, Amazon acknowledged the issue.

It told us that "a small number of customers have reported a yellow band along the bottom of the display" and that "customers who notice this can reach out to our customer service team for a replacement or refund."

It added that the problem shouldn't impact future units, stating, "we’re making the appropriate adjustments to ensure that new devices will not experience this issue moving forward." Amazon also told us that the availability of the Kindle Colorsoft may be affected while it makes these fixes, and anyone affected can continue using their device until replacement ones arrive.

So, how big is the issue? While we did see signs of the yellow band during our review (see below), it wasn't particularly noticeable. That led us to give it a four-and-a-half-star rating, concluding that "it doesn't feel like a first-generation technology" and that "it might be the best Kindle yet."

A major issue?

So, should you be worried about the Kindle Colorsoft's display issue? We don't think so, and Amazon says replacements will be sent to the "small number" of customers affected.

We saw small signs of the issue in our review unit (above), so you can see for yourself. But as our US Mobiles Editor Philip Berne concluded in our review "the effect is so slight that I never would have seen it if I didn’t read The Verge’s report."

"I don’t expect perfect color fidelity from a Kindle, so it didn’t bother me one bit" Philip Berne added, concluding that the ereader is "going to change the way we see Kindle forever."

While we still don't think the Kindle Colorsoft feels premium enough for its $279.99 / £269.99 price tag (an Australia launch date hasn't been announced yet), and the lack of access to Marvel Unlimited or DC Infinite subscriptions is a downer, our review says that "the Kindle Colorsoft feels like the fastest, smoothest e-reader I've ever used, whether reading in color or just black and white text."

That includes rivals like the Kobo Libra Colour, so if you've been waiting for a Kindle upgrade, we reckon it's the one to go for – despite those small display issues on certain units.

You might also like

• Amazon Kindle Colorsoft review: the Kindle of your dreams in color
• I love my Kindle but the one thing I don't like won't change anytime soon – and now I know why
• Amazon has a big problem as AI-generated books flood Kindle Unlimited