What just happened? E-ink panels traditionally appear on e-readers and signage, but some companies started using them for monitors and other general-purpose devices a few years ago. The Mira Pro Color makes Boox the latest entrant into the color e-ink monitor market.
E-reader manufacturer Boox recently introduced a version of its Mira Pro e-ink PC monitor that displays colors. Although its media capabilities are far inferior to similar panels from the likes of Asus, Dell, or Gigabyte, this monitor might offer a more comfortable and versatile workstation viewing experience.
Boox updated the Mira Pro with a Kaleido 3 color ePaper panel, featuring 16 grayscale levels and 4,096 colors. Although the colors might look muted compared to most LCD and especially OLED screens, the glare-free e-ink technology consumes far less energy and makes reading text in bright rooms easier. The Mira Pro Color primarily targets tasks like reviewing color-coded data and coding for long hours.
The company hasn't specified the Mira Pro Color's precise refresh rate, but it is probably a fraction of that of the latest gaming monitors. Other e-ink PC monitors from companies like Dasung typically support 40Hz or 60Hz.
Still, Boox's new offering allows users to customize its responsiveness level toward different tasks to maximize colors or minimize ghosting. Four presets are available for web browsing, watching videos, reading text, and displaying slideshows.
Like its monochrome predecessor, the Mira Pro Color supports a 3,200 x 1,800 pixel resolution at 145ppi and measures 25.3 inches. The monitor includes HDMI, mini HDMI, USB-C, DisplayPort, and 240V DC ports. Supported operating systems include Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, iPadOS, and Android. The Mira Pro Color is available now, starting at $1,899, but the company warns that it can only ship from China, meaning US customers will likely encounter steep tariffs.
Boox also recently upgraded its seven-inch e-readers. Starting at $219 (not including tariffs), new Go 7 and Go 7 Color Gen II retain their 150-to-300ppi e-ink screens, eight-core processors, and microSD card support, while also adding e-pencil support and upgrading to Android 13. Although the company advertises the Go series devices as e-readers, their full Google Play Store support makes them e-ink tablets in practice.
With the new Tab X C, Boox has also updated its 13.3-inch pro-level tablet with a higher resolution color e-ink screen, e-pencil support, Android 13, and a faster CPU. Despite the upgraded feature set, the new model is $50 cheaper than its predecessor, with a $749 pre-tariff price tag.