Boox Palma 3 is a pocket E Ink reader running Android 16 with stylus support
Boox has announced the Palma 3, a phone-sized E Ink reader that brings its first significant price hike to the core Palma line — up $60 to $339.99 from the Palma 2's $279.99 launch price in 2024. In exchange, you get a proper premium build, stylus support, and Android 16. Whether that trade-off lands depends on how much you care about handwriting on a device that fits in your pocket.
The build
The biggest change from the Palma 2 is physical. Boox has dropped the plastic construction in favor of an anodized aluminum frame and a textured fiberglass backplate designed to mimic the feel of paper. The 6.13-inch E Ink Carta 1200 display stays the same — 300 ppi, monochrome, with adjustable dual-tone front lighting — but the Palma 3 now accepts the optional Boox InkSense Plus stylus ($46, sold separately) for handwritten notes, sketches, and annotations directly on screen. That's a feature its predecessor couldn't offer at all.
Under the hood: a Qualcomm octa-core processor, 6 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage, and a microSD slot that supports cards up to 2 TB. The 3,950 mAh battery should comfortably last several days of typical reading use.
The Palma 3 features an anodized aluminum frame and a textured fiberglass backplate, replacing the plastic build of its predecessors.
Android 16 and the camera
Running Android 16 with full Google Play Store access, the Palma 3 can install any app you'd normally use on a phone — a rare feature in the E Ink space, and one of Boox's core selling points. It supports a wide range of formats out of the box: PDF, EPUB, MOBI, DOCX, CBR, DJVU, and more, plus common image formats and audio files (WAV, MP3) via built-in speakers and dual microphones.
There's also a 16MP rear camera with flash, aimed squarely at document scanning rather than photography. It's a practical addition for anyone who regularly digitizes physical notes or paperwork.
Availability and competition
The Palma 3 is listed at $339.99 on the Official BOOX Store with a launch price of $319.99, in black and white. No confirmed release date has been announced — the store currently shows "Available Soon." UK pricing hasn't been officially confirmed; rough currency conversion puts it around £250.
The competition is real. The ViWoods AiPaper Reader undercuts the Palma 3 at $279, which means Boox is leaning on Android 16, premium materials, and stylus support to justify the premium, per TechRadar. If you already own a Palma 2, the upgrade case is thin unless you specifically want stylus input or the redesigned shell. For new buyers, the Palma 3 is now one of the most capable pocket E Ink devices on the market — if and when it actually ships.
