The trend with E Ink devices lately has been pretty clear. For the most part, they’ve been getting bigger, with recent models like Boox’s 13.3-inch Tab X C pushing the tech firmly into tablet territory. The Picco bucks this trend: its 3.97-inch display sits in a compact body roughly the size of a playing card, weighing just 58 g (2 oz).
This makes it significantly smaller than even the company’s own pocket-friendly ePaper models. The more interesting part, though, is how you carry it around. An included magnetic-ring case lets you snap the Picco to the back of your smartphone, so you can always have it handy and won’t need a separate full-size e-reader.
Boox is pitching it for things like queuing, commuting, and quick breaks – the short spells of downtime that we’d probably usually fill by scrolling social media. Rather than replacing your smartphone, Picco is meant to travel with it as a less distracting alternative.
The Picco’s screen is modest by design. Its monochrome ePaper panel runs at 235 PPI, with anti-aliasing to smooth fine text and an adjustable front light that can shift between warmer and cooler tones. You can turn the pages using either the touchscreen or physical buttons, and the display rotates through four orientations.
Boox supports a wide range of eBook and document formats, and you can adjust the fonts, margins, and line spacing to what works best for you. This tiny format probably won’t be the best for dense PDFs, but it makes sense for short bursts of straightforward reading.
When detached from your phone, the device is small enough to slip into a pocket or bag on its own. The magnetic case also allows it to stick to other metal surfaces, like a fridge, making it easy to keep nearby around the house in a place you can’t miss.
The Picco’s software is deliberately simple, but there’s still more than enough room to hold a sizable library. It comes with a 16 GB microSD card and supports up to 2 TB, and you can transfer files through the Boox Tiles app, booxtiles.com, or using a direct USB-C connection. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built-in, too.
Rather than recreating Boox’s full Android-style tablet experience, the dialed-back interface stays focused on reading and a handful of utilities including Pomodoro, Todo, and Countdown apps, plus customizable screensavers.
Preorders went live yesterday, with pricing starting at US$99.99 and shipping expected by November. The Picco also marks the debut of Boox Tiles, a new category focused on smaller, more lifestyle-oriented ePaper gadgets.
Its intent clearly isn’t to replace a larger e-reader. Ultimately, the appeal comes down to convenience and focus – and a way to minimize the temptation to doomscroll. By hitching a ride on the very device most likely to distract you, the Picco could turn routine phone-checking urges into quick reading sessions.
Product page: Boox Picco
