BOOX Palma 2 · Guides
Make Android apps look right on the BOOX Palma 2
What the BOOX refresh modes do, which to use for reading versus scrolling, and how to stop ghosting and grey text on the small screen.
Almost every complaint about a BOOX comes down to refresh settings left on the defaults. The Palma 2 gets used for both still reading and heavy scrolling, so set text apps to HD and scrolling apps (feeds, article queues) to a faster mode with periodic full refresh. Put a one-tap full refresh on the Navigation Ball for everything else.
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Understand why apps look wrong at first
Android apps assume a fast colour screen that redraws 60 times a second. E-ink redraws slowly and leaves a faint trace of the last image (ghosting). BOOX bridges the gap with "refresh modes" that trade sharpness for speed, applied globally and per app.
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Learn the four modes
From sharpest and slowest to fastest and roughest: HD (or Regal), Balanced (or Normal), Fast (or Speed), and Ultrafast (or A2). HD is for reading still pages. Balanced is a good all-rounder. Fast and Ultrafast are for scrolling and make text grainy.
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Set a sensible global default
In the control centre, set the global mode to HD or Regal. Do not leave it on a fast setting — everything will look grey.
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Give reading apps a slow, clean mode
For the Kindle app, Kobo app, KOReader, article readers and any text reader, set the per-app refresh mode to HD or Regal.
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Give feeds and browsing a faster mode
Because the Palma 2 is often used with scrolling apps — RSS, social, read-it-later queues — set those to Balanced or Fast with full refresh every few screens, so scrolling is not painful.
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Fix ghosting with full refresh
In a per-app setting, turn on "full refresh every 1 page" for the worst offenders, or every 5 for a compromise. There is also a manual "full-screen refresh" in the control centre and on the Navigation Ball.
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Fix grey or faint text
Turn on "bleach whites" or "enhance contrast" for the app, and set its own theme to plain light. Avoid dark mode on e-ink — inverted text ghosts badly.