Boox Picco: A Card-Sized E-Reader That Lives on Your Phone
The Boox Picco is a 3.97-inch e-reader the size of a card, with page-turn buttons and a magnetic phone case, from about $100. Specs, price and the catch.
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Phones made reading easy and focus hard. The Boox Picco tries to fix the second part without giving up the first: an e-reader small enough to ride on the back of your phone. This is our read of Boox's own product page, not a hands-on test.
What it is
Picco is part of Boox's new Tiles line of small gadgets. It has a 3.97-inch monochrome e-paper screen at 480 x 800 (235 ppi), a front light you can shift between warm and cool, and physical page-turn buttons. Boox puts the size at 105.5 x 62 x 5.5 mm and the weight at about 58 g, so it is roughly the footprint of a credit card, just thicker.
The phone trick
The headline feature is the case. Boox says it has a built-in magnetic ring that snaps Picco onto the back of your phone, so the two travel together. Reach for the reader instead of the feed, and the phone stays a phone. It is a simple idea, and the reason this is more interesting than another small e-reader.
Storage, formats and battery
Books live on a microSD card: a 16GB card comes pre-installed and Boox says it takes cards up to 2 TB. Files move over the Boox Tiles app or a web transfer, and there is Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a USB-C port. Boox lists formats including EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, AZW and FB2. The battery is 920mAh; the page does not give a reading-time figure, so treat battery life as unknown until reviews arrive.
Price and availability
Boox's store listed Picco on pre-order on October 3, 2026: $109.99 for the US version and $99.99 for another regional version, both "to be shipped around October". The US version showed as unavailable when we checked, so it may come and go. The case is included at no extra cost, per Boox.
Who it is for, and the catch
It suits the man who reads in short bursts (commutes, queues, ten minutes before sleep) and wants a reason not to open his phone. The catch is the screen: under four inches is fine for a few pages, tiring for a long novel. If you read for hours, a full-size Kindle-class reader is the better buy. It also belongs in a small kit with the rest of your daily carry, like the Spyderco Para Military 2 Lightweight Salt, and it packs into the smallest corner of a bag in our guide on how to pack a carry-on.
Bottom line
At about $100, Picco is a cheap, clever way to read more and scroll less. Wait for battery numbers if you travel a lot. More in EDC Tech, our take on the screen-free Polaroid Mod, and across Tech.
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FAQ
How much is the Boox Picco?
Boox's store listed the US version at $109.99 and another regional version at $99.99 on October 3, 2026, both as pre-orders shipping around October.
Can the Boox Picco read Kindle books?
Boox lists support for formats including EPUB, MOBI, AZW3 and AZW. Books bought from a store with copy protection may still need that store's app or rules; check before you buy.
Does it attach to an iPhone?
Boox says the included case has a built-in magnetic ring that snaps Picco onto the back of a phone. Fit depends on your phone and its case.
