Best E-Reader for PDFs, Bed, Mobile in 2025

I just spent a stupid amount of time down a rabbit hole in search of the Goldilocks of e-readers for my use-case. I wanted to report back on that research.

• My current winner: Viwoods Aipaper Mini
• Wait for: Boox Note X5, if/when it comes to USA, hopefully October/November 2025.
• 99% almost-winners: iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 (but I don't trust it). Meebook M8 (but it's too small). iPad Mini (but I need e-ink). Boox Go 10.3 (but I need front-light). Boox Note Air4 C (but color means 150 PPI). Bigme B1051 (slightly clunky).

Profile: "The Sleepy, Mobile Researcher." I'm a programmer / ML engineer, wanting novels & continuing education. Occasional note-taking & apps. Mostly in bed, sometimes traveling or outside.

• Requirements: E-ink (rules out iPad). Front-light. ~300 PPI (this rules out color devices). Android, so I can do Github, Gmail, and Workflowy (my Notion).
• 60% importance: bed-time reading. Reading helps you sleep via TPN activation; but best without LCD + blue-light. So front-lit, warm-light e-ink is a powerful sleep aid. And it's two-bird: spend this wind-down time with a novel, or catching up on research.
  • 10" is too big for holding in bed. Use an arm like this (better if one attaches to your headboard) with a magsafe adhesive affixed to the back of your device. Then cap that magnet with a magnetic pop-socket for when you're on the road.
• 20%: PDFs. Multi-column, images & diagrams. This rules out Kindle. As a machine learning engineer, I need to stay abreast with PDFs from arXiv, in a format incompatible with reflow. Most online recommend a 10" or 13" device. Unfortunately, few in these sizes have B&W + front-light. So you can settle with 8" in landscape if the device has strong PDF + landscape support (eg via KOReader).
• 15%: Mobility. The devices I found with the fewest compromises are 13", eg Boox Note Max. But they're just too big to bop around with.
• 5%: Writing. A nice-to-have. Most modern e-readers support it; so all else being equal, I weighed the quality of writing.
• And I prefer light-weight. I excluded some devices which met most marks, but were pointlessly heavy. 200-300 grams is ideal for 8", 300-450g for 10".

As you can see, everything has like one compromise killing it for my use-case. In fact, Viwoods Mini's primary compromise is: cold-light, bright lowest-setting front-light. Making it a poor in-bed device! With bed being my 60% importance, you'd think this would get the ax first. But since it won in every other category, I've decided to test its lowest setting in dark mode, and if it's too bright I'll return it, and report back here. The one device that's compromise-free is Boox Note X5, if it comes to USA.

Note: I suggest B&W for e-readers, unless you know you want/need color. If your instinct is "but isn't color better?" (B&W TV vs color TV), the answer is "not yet." Color e-ink technicals reduce effective pixels per inch (PPI) of e-ink by nearly half (typically 300 PPI -> 150 PPI). This makes text harder to read, and it's noticeable. Think a clearly, beautifully printed new book on quality paper; vs an old newspaper clipping with splotchy cheap print. The tech will get there in time, but it's not there yet. So unless you're reading comic books, or something else where you know for sure you want color, don't.

Ok, let's do use-cases and in-depth descriptions of these e-readers, and their compromises.

"I don't read outside"

Get an iPad Air or iPad Mini. Seriously, e-ink devices have major compromises as you see in this article. iPads are perfect for this profile, except for reading outside (yes, even with a paper-like screen protector). Regarding bed-time reading, LCD, and blue-light: you can turn on True Tone, Night Shift, and turn brightness all the way down. The negative impact on eye-health and melatonin are significantly reduced, and worth the overall benefits. It's outside reading that's a real no-go here. Trust me, I tried. I have an iPad 8th Gen since 2020, and am finally tossing in the towel (hence this post).

"I just want an e-reader, shut up"

You don't care about ethics & politics. You're non-technical. You just want something that works:

• Black & White (preferred): Kindle Paperwhite
• Color: Kindle Colorsoft
• With writing (stylus): Kindle Scribe

Again, B&W means 300 PPI; color means 150. So unless you need color, roll B&W here.

"I just want an e-reader, go on..."

You hate Amazon. Or, you have enough technical chops to exchange "buy a book and read it" for "fiddle just a smidge for superior hardware and software support" (KOReader is a huge jump in software quality, and supports PDFs).

• B&W (preferred): Boox Go 7
• Color: Boox Go 7 Gen II or Kobo Libra

Both Boox & Kobo are beloved by e-book snobs. Kobo is closer to Kindle, in that you just buy a book and get reading. Boox - yes it's easy - but it's also powerful and extensible, being Android native. Both support KOReader, open source e-reader software which is significantly more powerful, customizable, clean, fast - just, better in every way - than Kindle's native ebook reader. And Boox / Kobo's native readers (which are already superior to Kindle's).

"I can wait"

If you can wait, you win. Boox Note X5 has 0 compromises. 10.3", B&W (300 PPI), Android 13, front-light (and adjustable warmth), light (TMK ~350 grams).

Currently only in China. And while that's true, no Google Play support. But a common pattern is they release something in China around July-ish, then bring it to USA around Oct/Nov -ish, then (1) enable Google Play; (2) rebrand it into one of their American lines. This will likely be Boox Air4 (aka, the B&W version of Air4 C, C for Color). This is basically Boox Go 10.3, but with front-light. Go 10.3 is their most popular flagship; and front-light is the most common complaint. So this is their best, patch the problem.

Alternatively, there's iFLYTEK AINOTE 2 (without "Air" in the title), which looks very similar in specs. Currently a Kickstarter Campaign. But assuming both as identical, go Boox. If X5 doesn't come to America, go iFLYTEK. Welp, iFLYTEK AINOTE 2 doesn't have front-light. I just found out today (2025-09-09).

"I want a cheap beater"

MobiScribe Wave B&W! Jesus, it's $90, Android 12, 300 PPI, 7.8". Except for support, it's a powerful contender in so many categories! And with a stylus!? And "beater" because it's waterproof, and evidently quite durable.

Seriously, if you're not a picky snob, get this. Or hell, if you want something to hold you over until Boox X5, get this. If e-readers wasn't something I take extremely seriously, this would be my guy, hands down.

What's bad about it? It's a rough experience, from what I've read. Software, mostly. Lag, crashes, been forever since an update. People say "you gotta want it" to work it. Kinda like an old car with 200k miles on it. You know you gotta baby it, but when people insult it, you get defensive. It's cheap because they're liquidating. They might be going out of business, so prepare for "never another update."

"I want big"

Get a 13"+ device. Definitely Boox; Boox Note Max kept coming up. But that's all I know, my research stopped there. Deep-dive this guy.

With those easy tie-breakers out of the way. The nuanced, sleepy, mobile researcher

Ok. Firstly, 10" is the best for this category. 13" is too big for mobility. 7" is too small for PDFs (even in landscape mode). 8", as you'll see, has the best devices with front-light; we're really pushing that PDF-happy size, but we really need a front-light.

10" perfect devices, but no front-light: Boox Go 10.3, Viwoods Aipaper (not Mini). If you never read in bed (or in dark settings), grab one of these. You have a winner. They're tied, I don't know which one I'd pick.

10" but color: Boox Note Air4 C. This would have been my winner. I did a lot of digging on how color brings 300 PPI -> 150 PPI. Users have found hacks to disable color output at the Android level, so software-triggered PPI reduction doesn't kick in. Nonetheless, the Kaleido color matrix overlay reduces contrast and clarity, even when disabled. And evidently it's quite noticeable. People want to love it, so bad. But the clarity is just too noticeable. The ones who do love Air4 C are those who need color. Comic book readers, PDF readers whose papers are difficult without color, etc. Since they need color, compromise isn't in their vision, and they love this device.

Almost big enough: Meebook M8. 7.8", 265g, Android 14, 300ppi, dark mode, warm light. $260, Cheap! It doesn't come with a case +$20 or pen +$40. But even still, $320 is cheaper than most in this category. Really, really strong contender. If that 0.6" difference to 8.2" is splitting hairs for you, get this. For me, 8.2" was already pushing it (10.3" is the ideal).

The final round: Bigme B1051 vs iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 vs Viwoods Aipaper Mini

Bigme B1051. Now we're in the last 3 contenders stretch. This guy is 10.3", Android 14, B&W 300 PPI, 435 grams (a smidge heavy, for B&W), $500-600. Now. Some users complain about its software: laggy, crashy. Others say it's great; or to suck it up since B1051 is such a close mark. I watched some YouTube showcase of the software woes, I found myself frowning and scratching my chin, and it was just slightly enough to tie-break me towards Viwoods. But if I end up returning Viwoods, I'll get Bigme next. Note: I had to disable Adblock to use their website. That took me forever to figure out, I thought their website was broken!

Viwoods Aipaper Mini vs iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2

• Both: 8.2", 292 PPI
• Price: Viwoods=$400-500, iFLYTEK=$500-600 (ranges because accessories & coupons)
• Android: Viwoods=13, iFLYTEK=11

PPI. They both have Carta 1000 (HD), aka the oldest screen tech that E Ink has on the market. 2014 tech. Ridiculous. However! At this size, it's evidently a hair-splitting compromise. 300 PPI is the ideal; 200-220 PPI is "bad" (see what I'm saying about 150 PPI & color?). Most users of Viwoods & iFLYTEK say it's the PPI that matters here, much less than the nuanced technicals (refresh rate, tap responsiveness, etc) - and that 292 vs 300 is not noticeable. So as it turns out, this is only an issue on paper, not in practice.

So it boils down to two contenders. Front-light, and brand.

Viwoods Aipaper Mini has a front-light, unlike their non-mini model. However, it does not have a warm setting (reduced blue-light for better eye health, and better melatonin regulation for bed-time reading). And its lowest setting is too bright for bed-time reading, unless you enable dark mode (through your reading app like KOReader, or via Android - there are tutorials). iFLYTEK does not have these concerns. It has a low lowest-brightness, and warm settings. Viwoods can (and has suggested they will) fix the brightness part via firmware. They can't fix the warmth part, that's a hardware thing.

This is a big deal! You'd think this would be my tie-breaker, especially with how important this use-case is for me. And it may yet, I've purchased the Viwoods and I'll report back on how deal-breaker this is.

But.

iFLYTEK brand. Evidently they've been laggy and sloppy with software updates, which makes software usage difficult. Same complaint as Bigme. And to enable Google Play, you have to jump through major hoops.

Such major hoops, in fact, it has users concerned that it's Google that's saying "are you really sure you want to do this? Because if I were you, I wouldn't." It really has me concerned about privacy & security. I'm not talking "ChatGPT collects your chats" territory, I'm talking "malware territory." I'll stop there, because I don't have enough information, but they make me really nervous. 99% of the reviews are paid reviews. This guy reported on the request-for-review, and it threw some major red flags. iFLYTEK has some surveillance concerns.

I'm still researching the company. If Viwoods' front-light isn't bed-time workable, I'll revisit this post and report further findings (though I'll most likely try B1051 next).

So my "tied for first" models are:

• Viwoods Aipaper Mini (bad front-light)
• Bigme B1051 (a smidge clunky)

And my "perfect if/when" is:

• Boox Note X5 (literally perfect in every way. Just not available)

Compare all the e-reader specs here.

Battery performance tests here.

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