The Boox Go 6 Gen 2 is a super cute, ultra-portable Kindle alternative – and you can write on it!

My beloved Kindle is one of those models that's so old Amazon recently stopped supporting it. While I can still read the books I've already bought, I can't add any more. So, despite being hesitant to leave the Kindleverse, I tried the Boox Go 6 Gen 2 – an Android e-Paper reader you can also write on with a stylus and run Android apps on.

That means you can run any book app on it you can think of rather than being trapped inside the ecosystem of one maker (looking at you Amazon). The fact you can write on this ePaper reader takes the offering into another realm – you can doodle, sketch out ideas and take notes, and all on the screen of a pocketable device. It's not a full tablet like those in our best e-ink tablet guide, but it's certainly more than a standard e-reader.

Design and build

The Boox Go 6 Gen 2 is seriously cute, but my main concern was that it would feel too small to get truly immersed in a book. It has a six-inch screen (the same as the basic Kindle), but I'm used to the Kindle Paperwhite, which has a 7-inch screen and a wider bezel, so there's quite a difference. It's also much smaller than a physical book. But it's mega light (just 160g), which feels like a plus.

My fears were mostly unfounded. I really like reading on this beautifully designed tablet. It does feel different to hold as it's more 'in the palm' than a bigger e-reader, but I'm already appreciating how easily it fits into any bag or even, dare I say, pocket. The screen is bright and clear, so the size doesn't impact there.

The Go 6 works super-smoothly. You can tap or swipe to turn pages with zero lag, which is impressive for any e-ink tablet given the tech is always subject to the dreaded glitch. This is down to the upgraded RAM of 3GB (compared to 2GB on the previous model), which makes a big difference to its run speed.

It's also a really useful little jotter for taking notes. The screen is remarkably responsive with the InkSense stylus (not included) and, as with the larger Boox Go 10.3 tablet I've been using regularly, the writing experience feels natural and very smooth.

The Go 6 comes in several colours – plum, shell, custard, and stone. I have the custard model and it looks lovely. The colour is soft, and there's good attention to detail for example, the back of the tablet is textured to make it easy to hold. The device also leans into a "cute" aesthetic, featuring sketches of baby elephants on the power-off and loading screens.

There is the expected light on the display, which can be adjusted for brightness or warmness/coolness, and you can do all the usual customisations like making fonts bigger.

Software and UI

The Boox Go 6 Gen II comes loaded with Android 11. For context, the latest release is Android 17 – and while I don't have any issue with the older platform for what I want to use the e-reader for (reading books), it's likely many Android apps won't run on software from 2020. At the moment, this is fine for the device's main purpose, as there's no reason to use it as anything other than a reader or notepad.

I have read that some users are concerned library apps might stop working sooner on this older Android version, but I understand that the demands of more up-to-date software could negatively impact display/refresh performance and battery life. So this seems like a compromise worth making – though as a regular user of the library app Libby, I certainly hope those app support issues don't happen.

While the UI is slightly less simple than Kindle, this is because it does more than just serve up books from the Amazon catalogue. It's easy to add books to the device through the store, or any of the book apps (library or Google Play). And because the tablet connects to your Google account, if you're using Android book apps anywhere else then you can sync your books or magazines across devices. This is a big plus over Kindle if you move from device to device.

Do I recommend the Boox Go 6 Gen 2?

I do! It's a neat little eReader that has the benefit of being a notepad, and it has far less of the glitchy UX of many e-ink tablets out there. I love that it's so portable, and while it does feel a bit smaller in the hand than I'd like, I did get used to the feel – and the general build, look and feel makes up for it.

It's a more expensive option than other e-readers at $199.99/$189.99 but if you're looking for a device that feels different and does more than offer books, then it's a real winner.