Comparing Our Favorite E-Readers
Honorable Mentions
Below, find a few more e-readers I like but don’t necessarily love as much as my top picks.
Boox Go 7 ($270) and Boox Go Color 7 ($290): Boox is known for its wide range of e-paper tablets, including the Boox Go 6 (Gen II) I recommend above. If you’re looking for something a little larger with a similar Android-based experience, the Go 7 and Go Color 7 are both solid choices. There are page-turner buttons, and it’s a nice square shape that’s easy to hold and use. If you, like me, don’t use color features a ton, it’s worth saving the extra money on the black-and-white model. Regardless, it’s great that the price difference between the two models isn’t steep.
Boox Palma 2 for $250: This is a fun, pocket-sized device, with fingerprint recognition, a faster CPU, and a newer version of Android than previous models. Former WIRED reviewer Adrienne So loved using it with the Kindle app, but she wishes it cost less. Boox recently announced the Palma 3 is coming out (though it doesn’t have a confirmed launch date) which explains why it’s been unavailable for so long. The Palma 3 is next on my testing list, but if you want a similar device you can purchase now, the Boox Palma 2 Pro ($400) is available with a higher price tag, but color screen.
Nook GlowLight 4 Plus for $200: The 4 Plus is the only waterproof Nook in the lineup, and it has the biggest screen at 7.8 inches, along with 32 GB of storage. It also has physical page-turn buttons and a headphone jack for listening to audiobooks (you can also connect wireless earbuds via Bluetooth). Unfortunately, it was often slower than my Kindle and tended to freeze. While the large library has cheap and even free ebooks, it’s not as good of a selection as Kindle Unlimited. The process of getting a book from the library on a Nook is also frustrating. You’ll need to download either Adobe Digital Editions or Android File Transfer before physically connecting the device to your computer and then transferring the files.
Nook 9-inch Lenovo Tablet for $150: If you mainly read cookbooks or other color-intensive materials, and you want a dedicated reader, you might want to consider this affordable tablet from Nook and Lenovo, which has the Nook app built in. It’s a tablet rather than an e-paper device like the rest of the gadgets in this guide, so you’ll lose the E Ink screen and the distraction-free nature of an e-reader. You can at least turn off notifications while in certain apps, which I recommend doing for the Nook app. It uses Android 13 OS, and it’s not built for heavy work, like video or photo editing.
Xteink X4 for $69 and X3 for $69: These are similar to the Xteink X4 Pro above when it comes to the app and basic capabilities, but you’ll lose out on the touchscreen, home button, and front light. Instead, there are more buttons, providing a Tamagotchi-like experience as you tap them to go back and forth between menus and pages of your reading material. The X3 is super small, with just a 3.7-inch screen that fits on the back of my iPhone 16 Pro, and it has stronger magnets to put itself into place. But the standard X4 is more comfortable to read on than the X3 since it’s larger (and won’t require quite as many page turns, though it’ll still need a lot) with a 4.3-inch screen, like the X4 Pro above.
What I’m Testing Next
There have been several new e-readers announced, mainly new models from Boox like the Palma 3 and Picco, that I’ll be reading my latest books on this fall, which will include R.F. Kuang’s Babel and the latest ACOTAR book, along with an alarmingly long list of suspended holds in my Libby app that I really need to work on. Here’s what I’ll be testing next:
Boox Palma 3 for $320: Boox’s popular Palma devices are made to be mobile e-paper screens, and are a popular choice as a smaller e-reader. The new Palma 3 has been announced after months of the Palma 2 being out of stock, and it promises a 6.13-inch screen, dual-tone front light, a rear camera, dual microphones, and a customizable smart button. There’s no timeline yet for its launch, but I’m hoping we see it available before the end of the year.
Boox Picco for $100: This miniature e-reader will have a tiny 3.97-inch screen and be Boox’s smallest e-reader to date. The Boox Picco isn’t the smallest e-reader ever—Xteink still holds that crown—but promises a different experience to Boox’s other e-readers and e-paper devices by focusing on Boox’s new Tiles app and productivity tools. Boox says it’s the first of its Tiles ecosystem, so I’m keeping an eye out for more launches within that line. The Picco is currently available for preorder and is due to ship in October.
Boox Note Mini C for $550: When Boox announced the Palma 3, it also announced its new e-paper tablet, the Boox Note Air6 C, and a miniaturized version, the Boox Note Mini C. The Mini C has a smaller 8.52-inch screen that’s more ideal for reading than the larger tablet, and I’m curious how it compares to both the Palma 3 and the Boox Go line.
The 2026 Kindles: Amazon has announced new versions of all three of its main e-readers, with a 2026 version of Kindle ($150), Kindle Paperwhite ($200), and Kindle Colorsoft ($290) coming out this fall, plus a Kids version ($180+) of each of these new models. There are now aluminum-backed versions of all three, though the Paperwhite and Colorsoft have it as part of the higher-end Signature Edition that comes with a few more features. I’ll be testing and will add my top pick to this guide for reference, but this guide will focus more on non-Kindle e-readers going forward.
What If I Want a Kindle?
Maybe you’ve read this guide and decided a Kindle is best for you. That’s fine! Kindle is my longest-used ecosystem and it’s plenty convenient, especially if you already have ebooks purchased through Amazon. While I have an entire guide dedicated to shopping for a Kindle, here’s a quick overview of my top picks (and other models you might spot).
Also, Kindle does have new versions of the base Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Colorsoft, and its Kids versions of each model coming out. You might want to wait and see if you prefer the newest versions to these, and I’ll be testing them soon to see how they compare to past Kindles and other e-readers. Kindle also raised the prices of most of its e-readers at the end of August, and the new models match that pricing.
The Best Kindles
Other Kindles I’ve Tested
Kindle Colorsoft Signature for $320 and Kindle Colorsoft ($290): The Kindle Colorsoft Signature is Amazon’s first Kindle with a color screen. I do like the Colorsoft if you read books with illustrations or heavily annotate your e-books, but the Kobo devices I recommend can do the same thing for cheaper.
Kindle Scribe (3rd Gen, 2025) for $500 and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft for $630: The latest Kindle Scribe arrived in December 2025 with a color version. It also has a new exterior design that does away with the single thicker side and standardizes bezels and frames across all sizes, and a lot of AI features. The older Kindle Scribe (2nd Gen) is still my preferred option if you want a Kindle e-reader that doubles as a digital notebook.
Kindle Scribe Without Front Light for $430: This is the third and final installment of Amazon’s latest generation of Kindle Scribes. It’s similar to the third-gen Kindle Scribe above, but it removes the front light and wireless charging. If you want a cheaper Kindle Scribe, I still prefer the second-generation model, though you’ll lose out on AI reading features and the ability to connect to Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive.
Great E-Reader Accessories
Looking to jazz up your new e-reader? Here are some of my favorite accessories to pair with my favorite non-Kindle e-readers. It’s a tougher buy to find—since Kindles are so popular, most cases and accessories are made with those models in mind, but there are options out there for the rest of the e-reader world, too. Here’s what I’ve tested and liked for my e-readers.
E-Reader Cases and Straps
An E-Reader Remote
Remotes are a popular tool to turn an e-reader’s pages for you, especially if you’re using a holder (options below!) and don’t want to lift your hand to constantly flip the page. Kobo has a remote designed just for its e-readers to connect and turn pages, no extra accessories required.
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Remotes are a popular tool to turn an e-reader’s pages for you, especially if you’re using a holder (options below!) and don’t want to lift your hand to constantly flip the page. Kobo has a remote designed just for its e-readers to connect and turn pages, no extra accessories required.
E-Reader Holders
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: wired.com
