Boox Palma Alternatives Phone-sized eReaders
A smartphone sized eReader sounds like a great idea, right? Devices like the Boox Palma 2 have become increasingly popular among minimalists and e-ink enthusiasts for their portable form factor.
But the Palma 2 isn’t your only option.
In this guide, we’ll explore some of the best alternatives to the Boox Palma 2, compact eReaders that provide convenience and readability in a small package.
Boox Palma – Why it’s Unique?
Before getting to the alternatives, let’s quickly review what makes the Palma so special
- 6.13″ E-Ink Carta 1200 display
- Android 11 with Google Play support
- Snapdragon 662 processor, 6GB RAM
- Pocketable smartphone-like form factor
- Lightweight (only 170g)
- Physical navigation buttons
- Read, browse, and take notes
Best Boox Palma Alternatives in 2025
1. Bigme Hibreak Pro
The Bigme Hibreak pro is basically a phone with an 6.13″ epaper display Carta 1200, 300 ppi. In this device you get warm and cool adjustable brightness and its a very powerful device as an ereader because of the Dimensity 1080 5G chipset combined with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB storage. You wont even need a microSD card if you only store books. It runs on android 14, has Google Play and a 4500 mah battery with 18W fast charging. It also has a 20MP rear and 5MP front facing camera. The reaer camera has OCR text recognition for documents. The device is plastic build and has no IP rating, weighs approximately 181g and priced at $439. It is a powerful device, but the high price may not be justified for users focused mainly on reading.
2. Bigme Hibreak
It is the previous generation of the Hibreak Pro. You can get this in two option color Eink and BW Eink display. It has a 5.84″ display with no temperature control. The device is powered by a Helio P35 Octa core processor equipped with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of Storage, which is expandable up to 1TB via SD card. It runs on Android 11 with Google Play and a 3300 mAh battery. It comes with a 13 MP rear camera and 5MP selfie camera. It has USB C but no 3.5mm jack and no IP rating. The color version is priced at $275 and BW version is $245. A solid mid-range device that closely competes with the Boox Palma 2 in both price and features.
3. Hisense A7 CC
Hisense is known for it’s eink phones and the A7 CC is one of them. It has a 6.7″ 2nd gen Kaleido color eink screen, but you don’t get warm cool temperature control option. It is powered by a Unisoc Tiger T7510 Octa core Cortex A75 cores combined with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is expandable via SD card. It runs on Android so you can sideload android apps, you can also install different ROMs. A 4770 mAh battery powers it up and you get 18W charging support. You also get 3.5mm jack, a 13MP back and 5MP front camera which is okayish for casual clicks, on top of that it has 5G support NSA/SA and 4G n41/n78/n79 bands. You get all these for a price of $400, prices may vary time to time. It has a better Processor than the Bigme Hibreak so performance will also be better.
4. Moaan Inkpalm 5 / 5 Plus
If you do not want to spend a lot and need an ereader as a secondary device Moaan Inkpalm 5 is perfect Moaan Inkpalm 5 and 5 plus are good device considering their price. Inkpalm 5 Plus is around $170 and Inkpalm 5 is around $120. If you dont want to spend a lot and need an ereader as a secondary device its perfect. The Inkpalm 5 Plus has a 5.84″ Carta screen, 276 ppi, 2:1 aspect ratio, with warm/cool light control. It is powered by a Rockchip RK 3566 Quad Core 1.8Ghz with 2GB RAM and 64GB emmc storage. It runs on Android 11 and a 2250 mah battery powers it up. You get USB C, a slim 6.9 mm plastic body and it’s very lightweight weighing around 140 grams.
Coming to the Inkpalm 5, its a good distraction free device for reading purpose only, why I’m saying this because of its weak hardware (slow processor and 1GB RAM only) you might feel it slow and laggy. Apart from that it has 5.2″ eink screen a quad core cpu, 1Gb RAM, 32GB storage, runs on Android 8.1 and is powered by a 1500 mAh battery. It is also very lightweight weighing around 115 grams. Ideal for distraction-free reading, but noticeably slower due to weaker specs.
Upcoming Phone sized Ereader
PUBU Mobile
Pubu Mobile is an upcoming eink device similar to Boox Palma. Pubu mobile is not available yet but we can expect it by the starting of 2026. It will have a 6.13″ Kaleido 3 panel with smart phone form factor, adjustable color temperature. Pubu mobile is rumored to have an octa core processor. It is still unknown of what manufacturer. Expected to have 6GB RAM, 128GB storage and Android OS. No information about battery is there yet, looks like a good alternative to the Boox Palma 2, although it will depend on the chipset battery and other specs. We will have to wait for the official confirmation. Promising specs, but details are still unconfirmed. Worth watching if you’re not in a rush to buy.
The Verdict
Coming to the conclusion, I have listed out the good alternatives of Boox Palma 2 and their technical specs, but which one is worth buying at their price point? Thats a tough decision. The Boox Palma 2 is priced at $280 so around that price The Bigme Hibreak comes closer to the Palma on top of that it has a color screen option too for $275. The Pro version is more powerful but expensive as well and does’t really justify the price. The Hisense A7 cc for $400 is a good eink phone then also most people do not want to spend $400 on a reading device like that. But in $100 -$150 range, if you want a device only for reading books or documents then Moaan Inkpalm 5 and 5 Pro would be good for you. The Inkpalm 5 Plus wont be as snappy as the Hibreak or Hibreak Pro but only as a dedicated portable reader its pretty good, you can get the Inkpalm 5 the non plus version around 100 dollar but it will be a bit laggy and slow. The Inkpalm 5 Plus would be a better choice around $150 and Bigme Hibreak around $250.
Quick Summary
| Device | Best For | Approx. Price | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boox Palma 2 | All-rounder | $280 | Balanced, reliable option |
| Bigme Hibreak | Affordable power | $245–275 | Great value, color screen option |
| Bigme Hibreak Pro | Power users | $439 | Overkill for most readers |
| Hisense A7 CC | E-ink phone lovers | $400 | Great if you want phone + reader |
| Inkpalm 5 Plus | Budget readers | $170 | Best value under $200 |
| Inkpalm 5 | Minimalist readers | $120 | Good for pure reading, but slow |
| Pubu Mobile | Future buyers | N/A | Wait and see |
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