Goodbye, brain rot I'm ditching my smartphone for this tiny ereader in 2026, here's why

Date:
Thu, 01 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Description:
Can an ereader do everything a phone can? I found out by giving the Boox
Palma 2 Pro a whirl, comparing its features to those of my Android phone.

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Ive 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 Im on vacation I guess I associate them with holiday reads.

In the past Ive 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 Ive 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 (Image credit: Future)

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

Ereaders were always designed for reading, and its 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 its 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

Ive enjoyed Boox devices for marking up documents and making notes too, but while I was sent a stylus with the ereader, the case doesnt 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 cant 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 (Image credit: Future)

Heres the real test of a phone replacement: how does the Boox work as a way
to communicate? Now, theres no getting around the fact that you cant make calls or texts with the device; personally, I dont remember the last time I received either of these solicited, but its worth pointing out.

What I havent 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 havent 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 youre in the large group of people who havent received an actual phone call in years, you wont miss a thing here. Staying entertained (Image credit: Future) Other game-changing ereader apps (Image credit: Future) Calendar
I like having an organized calendar, but too often 'adding a new reminder' leads down a slippery slope which ends with time wasted on games or social media. But on the Boox I can quickly add an event and put down the device again. Crossword apps
When I'm commuting, I always use an offline crossword app for fun. With an ereader, it's just as easy to use yet gentler on the eyes. Kindle
Yep, the Kindle app works on the Boox, so I can read all my previously-bought ebooks on the rival company's device. Ordering apps
I don't like how so many bars or restaurants require you to place your order on their app, but at least it's something I could do easily on the Palma.

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 youd 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 youll 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 arent 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. (Image credit: Future)

However its not quite enough. I tried to watch the new Knives Out movie on Netflix and even though Ive already seen it, I was struggling to work out what was going on. The lack of dynamic range isnt 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 (Image credit: Future)

Theres 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; its 16MP and has a flash module!

Looking through the devices viewfinder, youd be forgiven for thinking that snaps have the same inverted coloration and muted colors as the ereaders display. Thats not the case, though, and I moved some pictures over to my computer to better examine them.

Im 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. Id happily use this camera to scan documents or grab reminders, but I wouldnt
use it to capture an important moment or cute animal pic.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/tablets/ereaders/goodbye-brain-rot-im-ditching-my-sm artphone-for-this-powerful-ereader-in-2026-heres-why


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