Onyx Boox has opened pre-orders for the BOOX Picco, a 3.97-inch ePaper device the company describes as the first entry in a new BOOX Tiles category of lifestyle gadgets. The Picco weighs 58 grams and is built for short reading sessions in the gaps of a day, such as standing in a checkout queue or waiting at a pickup, rather than for long sessions on a full-size tablet. It is available for pre-order now through the official BOOX Shop.
The screen is the centerpiece. It is a 235 PPI ePaper panel with built-in front lights, so brightness and color temperature can be adjusted from bright daylight to late-night reading. A customizable Function Switch toggles the front lights or flips the reading theme to Dark Mode with one flick. Onyx Boox says the display uses anti-aliasing to smooth fine text.
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The Picco ships with a case that has a built-in magnetic ring, letting it snap onto the back of a phone so the two devices travel as one unit. With that magnetic case, the Picco can also be stuck to a fridge as a decorative display. Custom screensavers, including artwork or motivational quotes, are supported.
Reading controls are split between a touchscreen and physical buttons, and the display rotates through four orientations. Onyx Boox says the device supports a wide range of eBook formats with adjustable fonts, margins and line spacing. Storage starts with a 16GB microSD card in the box, with support for cards up to 2TB. Books can be loaded wirelessly from a phone through the BOOX Tiles app or booxtiles.com, remotely over the web, or over a USB-C cable.
Beyond reading, the Picco runs a minimalist operating system with a handful of utility apps, including a Pomodoro timer, a Todo list and a Countdown tool. Onyx Boox positions the device for commuters, travelers and readers who want to avoid phone notifications, and frames it as a way to reclaim scattered minutes that would otherwise go to scrolling.
What the announcement does not include is a price. Onyx Boox confirmed pre-orders are open but did not disclose what the Picco costs, what colors it comes in, or when orders will ship. Those details would normally decide whether a novelty reader competes with the cheapest dedicated e-readers on the market.
The Picco also marks a structural shift for the brand. Onyx Boox describes the Tiles line as a branch of lifestyle companions and novelties that sits apart from its classic BOOX Tablets, with the Picco as the first product in that family. The company is betting that a phone accessory, not a tablet replacement, is what gets casual readers to pick up a book more often.
