BOOX Palma 2 vs Palma 2 Pro: Which Pocket E-Reader Should You Buy?
Both Palmas are the same idea: a phone-shaped, pocketable 6.13″ E Ink reader that runs every Android reading app and takes no calls. Where they part ways is the screen. The Palma 2 has a monochrome Carta 1200 panel; the Palma 2 Pro has a Kaleido 3 colour panel, with the extra memory, stylus support and mobile data to go with it. Here is the honest breakdown.
At a glance
| Palma 2 | Palma 2 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 6.13″ E Ink Carta 1200, black and white, glass with flat cover lens | 6.13″ E Ink Kaleido 3, 4,096 colours, glass with flat cover lens |
| Resolution | 824 × 1648, 300 ppi | 824 × 1648 at 300 ppi for text; colour at 412 × 824, 150 ppi |
| Front light | Warm and cold, adjustable | Warm and cold, adjustable |
| Stylus | Not supported | BOOX InkSense Plus (optional, sold separately) |
| Processor and memory | 8-core with BSR GPU, 6 GB | 8-core with BSR GPU, 8 GB |
| Storage | 128 GB plus microSD | 128 GB plus microSD |
| Android | 13, with Google Play | 15, with Google Play |
| Mobile data | Wi-Fi only | Wi-Fi, plus a SIM slot for data (no calls) |
| Audio | Microphone; Bluetooth for headphones | Speaker and microphone; Bluetooth for headphones |
| Camera | 16 MP rear, for scanning documents | 16 MP rear, for scanning documents |
| Body | 159 × 80 × 8 mm, approx. 170 g, fingerprint power button | 159 × 80 × 8.8 mm, within a few grams, fingerprint power button |
| Best for | Novels, articles, library books | Comics, magazines, colour-coded notes, reading on the move without Wi-Fi |
Neither device takes calls. That is the point: all your reading apps, none of your notifications. The Pro's SIM slot is for data only.
What the Pro buys you
- A colour screen. Kaleido 3 puts 4,096 colours over the same 300 ppi text layer. Book covers, comics, magazines, highlighted PDFs and colour-coded notes all gain from it. Colour resolves at 150 ppi and reads as soft, printed tones rather than a phone's glow. That is the trade of colour E Ink, and it is worth knowing before you pay for it.
- Stylus support. The Pro takes the BOOX InkSense Plus active stylus, sold separately, so you can annotate a PDF or jot a note without a second device. The Palma 2 is touch only.
- More memory and a newer Android. 8 GB of memory against 6, and Android 15 against 13. Page turns feel the same in a novel; the difference shows in heavy PDFs, comic readers and app switching, and in how long the device stays current.
- Mobile data. The SIM slot means Libby holds, Kindle downloads and news apps work on the train or at the cottage without a hotspot. Data only; it is still not a phone.
- A speaker. Audiobooks and text-to-speech without headphones. The Palma 2 has a microphone but no speaker, so it needs Bluetooth for audio.
What stays the same
The pocket-reader experience. Same size and shape, same 300 ppi text, same warm and cold front light, same 128 GB of storage with a microSD slot, same fingerprint button and 16 MP camera for scanning pages, same 3,950 mAh battery, and the same Android openness: Kindle, Kobo, Libby and your own EPUB and PDF files all live together on either device.
Is the colour screen worth it?
If you read text, the Palma 2's monochrome Carta panel is the purer reading surface. Kaleido 3 puts a colour filter over the monochrome layer, so the background reads a shade less bright and the front light does more of the work. Side by side in the showroom the difference is small, and most Pro owners stop noticing it within a day, but it is real.
If your reading includes comics, magazines, children's books, textbooks with colour diagrams, or you highlight and annotate in colour, the Pro changes what the device is for. Colour covers in your library are a bonus, not the reason.
BOOX 6.13" Palma 2 - Black$349.99
BOOX 6.13" Palma 2 Pro - Black$531.99
Our recommendation
- Choose the Palma 2 if your diet is mostly novels, articles and library books through Libby. It is the sharper black-and-white page, and it costs less. BOOX has stopped making it, so what we hold is the last Canadian stock; the product card above shows live availability.
- Choose the Palma 2 Pro if you read comics or magazines, want to mark up documents with a stylus, need data away from Wi-Fi, or keep devices for years and want the newer Android and the extra memory.
The Pro comes in black or white; the Palma 2 in black while stock lasts. A matching case can be added at checkout for 30% off either device. And if you are torn, come handle both at our Oakville showroom; thirty seconds with each screen usually settles it. Free shipping across Canada and 30-day returns on new devices either way.