If you’re looking to get a Boox Palma 2 with a black and white E Ink screen, you might be disappointed to find out that it’s no longer available to purchase.
All the listing are out of stock on websites like Amazon and B&H, and even Onyx’s US warehouse is completely sold out. There is still one bundle package in black available through Onyx’s Hong Kong warehouse, but it’s starting to look like the Palma 2 is on its way out.
The Palma 2 was released in late 2024 so it’s about time for Onyx to replace it considering their quick refresh schedule. Plus they already released a new BW Palma with a Carta 1300 screen in China a few months ago when the new Palma 2 Pro with a color E Ink screen came out.
Onyx only released the color version internationally, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them bring a version of the black and white model to the international market now too.
The question is what will they call it, and what features will it have? The hardware of the China model, the P6 Pro (pictured above), is similar to the Palma 2 Pro, but it has a Carta 1300 screen instead of a Kaleido 3 screen, and it lacks stylus support and it has less RAM. If they call the new version the Palma 3 then that insinuates the Palma 2 Pro is outdated, which it is not. They could call it the Palma 2 Pro BW. Or maybe they’ll change some things from the China version. Who knows…
The point is there’s probably a new black and white Palma incoming soon. Onyx doesn’t usually change much from one generation to the next so I wouldn’t expect any major changes, other than an upgrade from Carta 1200 to Carta 1300, and of course they’ll slap a newer version of Android on it like a fresh coat of paint.
Hopefully they won’t stick the new BW Palma with an expensive data-only SIM card slot like they did with the Palma 2 Pro. They should at least offer a cheaper version without it. It would also be nice if they would offer versions with and without stylus support. I’m holding out hope for a Palma Lite for $220 (that’ll never happen).
The Palma seems to be one of Onyx’s most popular models, and it might actually be their best-selling model. I reviewed the Palma 2 last year and it’s a really nice portable reading device with a wide range of features. They really should offer more variety with Pro versions and Lite versions. Not everyone wants to spend $400 on a color E Ink phone that can’t actually be used as a phone.
These devices are great if you want a large number of features in a pocket-sized format (I finally bought the Viwoods AiPaper Reader, as it was the cheapest and lightest of its kind), but if you only use it for occasional reading on the go (just reading, without any additional features), there are much cheaper options that will give you equally satisfactory results. I’m thinking of the XTEINK or the Y-BEN. The price difference is huge (as is the difference in features, obviously). Ultimately, it depends on what you’re looking for. What is certain is that the entire Palma series is very useful for those who want a pocket-sized e-reader with maximum functionality.
If Xteink ever released 5″ version, it would be perfect. Until then 4.3″ is too small for me personally.