I'm addicted to my phone.

Whenever I have a moment to myself, I always reach for my iPhone 17 Pro and start scrolling through one of the several social media platforms I'm constantly glued to, whether it's Twitter, Threads, Bluesky, or the truly mind-dumbing addition to this list that I got hooked on during the pandemic, TikTok — and that constant scrolling has gotten notably worse now that I have a very active 11-month-old son running around my house like a tiny Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. When he's busy playing with something, taking a nap, or down for the night, I'm usually too tired to really want to do anything else but mindlessly scroll on my phone.

I know it's not good for my brain, and at times I can feel my attention span actively deteriorating. Filling those rare moments of quiet with something more stimulating and useful, like one of the countless books I've started but haven't finished, or catching up on the deluge of news and features I save to read later. This is where Boox's pint-sized Palma 2 Pro comes in.

If you follow my work, you'll know that I wrote about the original Palma and then the Palma 2 a few years ago. Back then, I tried to use the limited e-ink device as a replacement for my phone. The idea was that I'd leave my device at home or tucked away in a bag and tether the Palma to it. That way, I could still check my email occasionally, get important notifications, or listen to a podcast, but the "friction" of the device's low-refresh-rate display would reprogram my brain and eventually get me to stop filling my time with social media doomscrolling.

To my surprise, it really worked — until it didn't. Eventually, I just started busting out my phone again, and the Palma found its way into my tech drawer.

I'm trying to simplify things with the Palma 2 Pro

The phone-like e-ink device has become my go-to e-reader

With the Palma 2 Pro, I've tried a different approach. I know the whole friction angle didn't work for me in the long term, and that at this stage in my life, leaving the house with an often frustrating e-ink phone all the time just isn't a totally realistic option, even if the Kaleido 3 color E-Ink successor to the Palma 2 now features a SIM card slot. Instead, I've honed in on one sole purpose: reading.

I had a theory behind this. It's not like I haven't tried to get back into reading over the past few months. I have a Kobo Libra Colour loaded with several books I need to finish and articles I want to catch up on thanks to Kobo's Instapaper integration. I find that the Libra Color is a bit too large to carry in my pocket, so when I have moments I could use to catch up on reading, I just don't have the e-reader on me.

I've also sadly come to the conclusion that my brain is just very used to reading on a phone-like device I can hold with one hand, and that's exactly what the 6.13-inch Palma 2 Pro is. With that in mind, I put together a very simple app setup on my Palma 2 Pro that includes a few key apps and removes pretty much anything I don't think I'll need.

First off, I have the Kobo app installed on my device because that's where all of my e-books are stored (I've been a Kobo user for years). Additionally, I installed the Instapaper app to catch up on stories I've saved throughout the day that I want to read later. I also have 1Password, the Google Play Store, and Firefox installed for just-in-case situations where I might need to use the Palma 2 Pro more like a phone (all of Boox's apps are stored in the same folder).

It's only been a few days, but I already feel like this more focused approach to curbing my phone addiction has been working. During the day, I do my best to leave my iPhone 17 Pro either at my desk or on my nightstand in my bedroom. I then carry the Palma 2 Pro around with me, whether that means keeping it in my pocket or placing it on my couch beside me when I'm watching TV in the evening. When I have the urge to scroll social media, I whip out the Palma 2 Pro and read a couple of pages of a book or knock out a few stories off my never-ending Instapaper list.

I might eventually take the minimalist smartphone plunge

Compared to the Palma 2, the Palma 2 Pro is far more capable

Would I like to eventually shift to using the Palma 2 Pro as my out-and-about smartphone? You bet. Unfortunately, this would require me to sign up for a second phone plan, since I wouldn't want to use it as my primary phone all the time, and transferring eSIMs can be finicky. The cost of subscribing to another phone plan is also an issue. I already have a lot of monthly expenses, and don't need to pay roughly $70 more a month for a device I only use sometimes (phone plans are pretty expensive in Canada).

Still, I think about it sometimes, especially since I could have done this experiment months ago with the Palma 2, given I'm not really taking advantage of the improvements the Palma 2 Pro offers. That friction I've mentioned several times in this story has been significantly reduced by the Palma 2 Pro's various upgrades, including 8GB of RAM instead of 6GB, its color E-Ink screen, and the fact that it runs Android 15 instead of Android 13, which improves the number of apps that can run on the device. Additionally, it's compatible with Boox's InkSense Plus Stylus, though I personally don't have much use for stylus input on a phone-like device.

I don't know if it'll stick this time, but I'm hoping this more focused approach will help reprogram my brain to reach for the Palma 2 Pro and not my smartphone.