Boox’s Picco Is a $100 E-Reader That Sticks to the Back of Your Phone

Most e-readers want to replace your phone for an hour at bedtime. The Boox Picco wants to ride along with it all day.

Boox has opened pre-orders for the Picco, a credit-card-sized E Ink reader that weighs 58 grams and comes with a magnetic case so it can snap onto the back of a phone. The idea is almost aggressively simple: when you reach for your phone in a checkout line, flip it over and read a chapter instead of scrolling.

Tiny screen, real specs

The Picco has a 3.97-inch monochrome E Ink touchscreen at 480 x 800, which Notebookcheck puts at 235 pixels per inch. That is sharper than you might expect for the price, though short of the 300 ppi that premium e-readers use. There’s a front light with adjustable warmth for night reading.

Android Authority says the 920mAh battery should last “a few days, if not weeks” depending on use, and that the microSD slot takes cards up to 2TB. Physical page-turn buttons sit on the side, and a separate switch flips between light and dark mode. The Picco works in all four orientations, so left-handed readers aren’t stuck.

The surprise: it doesn’t run Android

Boox built its reputation on E Ink devices that run full Android with the Google Play Store, like the phone-sized Palma. The Picco breaks from that. It runs a stripped-down Boox operating system with no Play Store, so there’s no Kindle app, no Libby and no browser to pull you back into the feed.

You load books by transferring files over Boox’s companion app or USB-C, or by dropping them on a microSD card. Notebookcheck lists support for a long list of formats, including EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, TXT, RTF and HTML. Boox also added a few focus tools: a countdown timer, a Pomodoro timer and a to-do list.

Whether the missing Play Store is a flaw depends on why you want this thing. If your library lives in Kindle or Libby, it’s a real obstacle, because DRM-protected purchases won’t just copy over. If you read DRM-free EPUBs, public domain classics or saved articles, it’s the whole point. A reader that can’t open Instagram is a reader you’ll actually read on.

How it works with an Android phone

The included magnetic case is the key accessory. Notebookcheck notes it sticks to iPhones with MagSafe, and it should do the same on Android phones with built-in Qi2 magnets, such as Google’s recent Pixels. Most other Android phones will need a magnetic case or ring first. Given the Picco’s weight, it shouldn’t make your phone feel much heavier, though it will make it thicker.

Price and availability

Pre-orders are open now on Boox’s website, with Amazon listings coming, according to Notebookcheck. Android Authority lists the price at $99.99, while 9to5Google and Notebookcheck say U.S. buyers ordering from Boox’s U.S. warehouse will pay $109.99. Shipping starts in late October, with deliveries expected in early November.

Should you pre-order?

If you already read on your phone and wish you did less of everything else on it, the Picco is a clever, cheap fix, and one of the more original gadgets of the year. If you’re a Kindle loyalist, a regular e-reader is still the better buy. Know which camp you’re in before you order.

Sources: 9to5Google, Android Authority, Notebookcheck. Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash.