The Boox Palma 2 has a faster processor and adds a fingerprint reader

Boox has announced the Palma 2, the next version of its popular smartphone-sized e-reader. The Palma 2 addresses some of the original’s shortcomings, with a faster processor to address the original’s laggy interface and by running a newer version of Android.

The new Boox Palma 2 is available for preorder today in ivory white or deep cyan black for $279.99, which is exactly the same price as the original. That’s still more expensive than premium e-readers, including the recently announced $199.99 Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, which features a much larger screen and a more polished interface than the original Palma.

But it was the Palma’s compact size and access to thousands of apps that helped it become a popular Kindle and Kobo alternative, and Boox isn’t messing with that formula for the Palma 2. It features the same 6.13-inch 300ppi E Ink Carta 1200 screen as the original (a generation behind what’s found in the latest Kindle Paperwhite) and once again comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

Although Boox hasn’t shared specific details, it says the new Palma 2 now runs a “faster octa-core CPU,” which will hopefully help speed up the new e-reader’s interface. It also runs Android 13 instead of Android 11. That’s still a few generations behind the latest version of Android, but it means the Palma 2 will get newer features like improved copying and pasting. It should also give the e-reader a few more years over the original before apps stop supporting its version of the OS.

The other notable upgrade for the Palma 2 is the addition of a fingerprint sensor integrated into its power button, making it easier to secure the device while still being able to quickly unlock it with just one hand.

Although leaked images from earlier this week suggested Boox could be eliminating cameras from its smartphone-sized e-readers, that was only the case for a version of the Palma limited to China. The Palma 2 has the same 16MP rear camera with flash as the original, which the company suggests is useful for digitizing documents.

Alongside the Palma 2, Boox also announced two new e-paper note-taking devices. The 10.3-inch Note Air4 C features the latest-gen Kaleido 3 color E Ink display with improved refresh rates and an octa-core processor that Boox says makes the tablet 50 percent faster than the previous model. The $499.99 Note Air4 C also runs Android 13 and has a new “tablet-like UI” that the company says makes it easier to customize its homescreen and organize apps.

The new Boox Note Max is a black-and-white, stylus-capable tablet featuring a larger 13.3-inch E Ink Carta 1300 display powered by a 2.8GHz octa-core CPU. At just 4.6 millimeters thick, the Note Max is almost half as thick as the Boox Palma 2. But unlike Boox’s other two devices introduced today, it won’t be available for preorder from the company’s online store for a few more weeks.