Boox's compact Picco e-reader expected to launch in November

Boox first teased its upcoming Picco e-reader back in July, positioning it as a rival to the popular Xteink X4, but offered few specifics at the time. New reporting from the IFA trade show has now filled in several details, though the price still hasn't been disclosed.

Unlike Xteink's devices, the Picco won't feature magnets on its back for phone attachment. It does, however, include a 3.97-inch e-paper display with touchscreen capability — an improvement over the X4 Pro that one Verge reporter described as welcome. The device also has physical page-turn buttons that can be set to perform different actions depending on whether they're pressed briefly or held down.

Storage and connectivity

The Picco has no built-in storage, relying entirely on a microSD card to hold reading material. Beyond loading files directly onto the card, users will be able to transfer books to the device via USB-C or wirelessly over WiFi through a companion app — a USB-C option that Xteink's devices don't offer.

Rather than running Android like Boox's other products, the Picco will use a pared-down, Linux-based operating system. It will ship with a few extra built-in apps, including a timer, a to-do list, and a reading statistics tracker. However, Boox is unlikely to make the device's firmware as open as Xteink has with its own hardware, meaning the Picco may end up being less customizable and hacker-friendly.

Several details remain unconfirmed, including price, battery life, Bluetooth capability, and whether the device will support audiobook playback. Those answers are expected to arrive in November, when the Picco is slated to go on sale.