Boox is an emerging name in the e-reader market and seems to be having a fantastic run. From my perspective, it has established itself as a formidable contender to the likes of the Amazon Kindle or Kobo readers. Its products offer innovative features and a user-friendly experience that appeal to a wide range of readers.
After taking the Go 10 and 7 for a round of testing this past year, both of which impressed me with their performance and design, I was excited to take the new Boox Go 6 for a spin, eager to see how it would stack up against its predecessors and rivals alike.
The Boox Go 6 offers a compact, lightweight design with the versatility of full Android, allowing readers to access their favorite e-book platforms with ease. With expandable storage, Bluetooth support, and long battery life, it’s a flexible and affordable choice for those who want more from their e-reader.
Design
The smallest of the Boox Go series comes in at a 6-inch diagonal e-ink display. Surprised by that spec? Ok, enough jokes, but this screen is a touchscreen unit built on the Carta display tech. This allows for decent text rendering with minimal refresh lag. Its max resolution is 1448×1072 pixels with a density of 300 pixels per inch.
The surrounding has minimal black bezels with a bit of a chin at the bottom. The entire casing is covered in a soft-touch coating that makes for a good grip and is comfy to hold. At the top right lives a power button that’s slightly recessed but easily pressed. The bottom of the unit houses the USB-C power port and a microSD slot that can be ejected with a SIM tray tool.
Internally, you have an octa-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. To power the unit away from the charger is a 1500mAh battery bank. Overall, it’s not a powerhouse, but these specks make it more than competitive in the small e-reader segment.
Software
This isn’t usually a note worth its own paragraph in the e-reader market, but the Boox Go 6 utilizes full Android 12 as its operating system. True to the lineage of the rest of the company’s devices, the Go 6 has full Google Play access by simply logging into your Google account. The Boox skin adds some reading-centric features as well as their optional cloud storage and default Neoreader e-reader app that’s surprisingly good.
The extended app marketplace allows you to download multiple options to read your book libraries. Have books you purchased from Amazon? Download the Kindle app. Have a history of Barnes and Noble e-books? Get that too. Need to access your local library with Libby or Hoopla? Just a download away.
The same is true for alternative reading. With full Play Store you can download your favorite RSS reader, your favorite news app, or take in your local newspapers’ website. You can even download social media apps to supercharge your experience with live events as they happen.
Daily Usage
The general size of the Boox Go 6 is relatively close to that of a passport or a smaller paperback. It makes the unit easy to hold in one hand and casually catch up on your favorite new book. I found the reading to be easy on the eyes with the soft backlight of the Boox Go 6. I also found the refresh rate to be more than capable and rarely saw ghost text from the previous pages that used to plague e-readers in this price range.
Having expandable storage via the microSD slot has been a huge positive as well. I have a large collection of independent e-books and audiobooks (did I mention it has Bluetooth?) from Downpour and IT classes from years past in addition to comic books. Being able to sideload these large archives has been great without having the anxiety of running out of onboard storage.
Speaking of comics… you can read them on the Go 6, but with some caveats. First, the screen isn’t in color. It’s just not great to read the action-packed and fantastic works of amazing artists without it. Second, the 6-inch screen is perfect for text reading, and I found it to be one of the most appealing for books, but it really cramped comics built for the 7×10-inch medium.
General performance has been… OK. There are times the Go 6 seems underpowered and stutters to keep up. Specifically, using the swipe gestures to return home and navigate panels lags at times. At the original price of over $300, this would be an issue, but Boox recently cut the cost to just $150, making this much less of a glaring issue for me.
Final Thoughts
Awarded to products with an average rating of 3.75 stars or higher, the AndroidGuys Smart Pick recognizes a balance of quality, performance, and value.
Products with this distinction deserve to be on your short list of purchase candidates.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time testing the Boox Go 6. The compact, lightweight design makes it perfect to have on the nightstand, in my backpack, or simply carry in my hand. The battery life is good for weeks in standby, and the screen is easy to read. Add in the outstanding ability to install any Android app, and you have one of the best pocket e-readers you can find on the market.
Not to mention that the price isn’t going to break the bank either. At just $150, the Boox Go 6 is well worth the investment if you find this form factor appealing. It’s currently even giving you the magnetic case for free!
