Summary
- Boox’s next Palma adds color E Ink and 4G+/LTE connectivity, making it a viable dumbphone.
- Cellular data fixes my Palma tethering problem — it lets me message and call without carrying a smartphone.
- The next-gen Palma likely runs Android 14/15, allowing for better Play Store access. It’s still unclear when it’ll release.
When I tried Boox’s Palma and Palma 2 a few months ago, I couldn’t quite fit either device into my life. For the most part, certain aspects of the friction so many people appreciated felt like too much of a hassle. However, it seems like the China-based company could be working on what might end up being the first dumbphone worth buying.
At IFA in Germany, Boox showed off an upgraded Palma with a color E Ink display, which of course, is a welcome upgrade over the first and second generation’s black and white E Ink screen, but the key new feature that caught my attention is 4G+/LTE cellular connectivity (hopefully, it has a physical SIM card slot and not just eSIM). This means that the next Palma can far more easily work as a basic Android smartphone with intentionally limited features.
While I enjoyed my time with the Palma 2, one of my key issues with the E Ink tablet is the fact that it relied solely on Wi-Fi connectivity. This meant that if I took it out on the go with me, I needed to either tether it to my smartphone, defeating the purpose of how I wanted to use the Palma in the first place, since I needed to bring my iPhone 16 Pro, or connect to public Wi-Fi.
And if you’ve ever tried to use the internet on a Palma, you’ll know that it’s a bit of a nightmare, particularly when trying to move through finicky Wi-Fi authentication screens at Starbucks. Since the Palma and Palma 2 aren’t technically smartphones and were instead designed to be pint-sized e-readers, this makes sense, but a common observation I’ve seen regarding the E Ink tablet is how much more capable it would be if it featured a data connection. It feels like a lot of people bought the Palma to use as a smartphone replacement, rather than an e-reader, and it seems like Boox noticed that.
The next-gen Palma could be the dumbphone I’ve been waiting for
It’s unclear when Boox plans to release it, though
Of course, the new Palma will still be awful at doomscrolling social media, particularly with video-focused platforms like TikTok, but that’s the point of a dumbphone. The addition of a data connection lets me easily receive Google Chat messages from my partner or Facebook Messages from my friends and family, allowing me to keep tabs on things that are important to me, while still featuring enough friction to prevent me from aimlessly surfing the internet. In theory, I could even take a quick call from this Palma if I needed to. This means that I’m still able to take a healthy break from the siren call of my smartphone, but I’m not that disconnected.
Boox hasn’t officially announced the third generation Palma — it doesn’t have a release date or an official name yet, either.
This upcoming Palma could be the first dumbphone that works for me, while building on what other similar phones like the Light Phone III started. The new Palma looks pretty much identical to the original Palma and the Palma 2, but there are a few upgrades under the hood. First off, the e̶-̶r̶e̶a̶d̶e̶r̶ dumbphone features an upgrade Kaleido 3 color e-paper display, and it’ll probably run on a new version of Android, likely Android 14 or Android 15, giving it access to more apps in Google’s Play Store. The demo version at IFA ran Chinese firmware that doesn’t have access to the Play Store, but that probably won’t be the case with the North American version of the third gen Palma.
Check out the video above from YouTube channel Kit Betts-Masters for a glimpse at the upcoming device. Boox hasn’t officially announced the third generation Palma — it doesn’t have a release date or an official name yet, either.
