Our favorite pocket e-reader is about to get two huge upgrades, and I took an early look

This year at IFA 2025 in Berlin, hundreds of brands are showing off their latest products, highlighting recent additions to their lineups and announcing new gear. But there’s also a lot of tech that’s not quite ready for prime time, and isn’t being publicly exhibited. I visited the BOOX booth today hoping to take another look at its great e-readers like the Palma 2, but ended up getting a surprise early preview of the next generation of Palma, with a couple major upgrades in tow.

Electronic paper displays have been nothing short of a revolution, and their ultra-low power demands, image retention capabilities, and exceptionally eye-friendly output have formed the foundation of the e-reader industry. We’ve come a long way from the early days of the Kindle, and companies like BOOX have continuously pushed the tech to new places with things like stylus input, color screens, and useful new form factors.