Look, we've all been there. You're reading in bed, perfectly horizontal, blanket tucked in, absolutely zero desire to move your thumb the full three centimetres required to tap your e-reader screen. It's a tragedy. A modern crisis. And Boox has apparently decided to solve it.
Meet the Tappy - a tiny two-button Bluetooth remote that Boox just announced and is already selling for $25.99 through its own store and Amazon. Think of it as a clicker for your reading life, except it's actually more useful than that sounds.
So what does it actually do?
The obvious use case is page-turning on Boox's own tablets and e-readers, but the Tappy isn't just a one-trick pony. According to The Verge, it connects over Bluetooth to various devices - not just Boox hardware - which immediately makes it a lot more interesting.
Beyond flipping pages, the remote can scroll vertical content in browsers and social media apps, and skip forward or backward between tracks when you're listening to music or audiobooks. Two buttons, genuinely surprising range of functions.
Why this is smarter than it looks
Boox is essentially going head-to-head with the Kobo Remote here, but pitching its version as the more versatile option. If you're the kind of person who uses an e-ink tablet for everything - reading, browsing, podcasts, the occasional doom-scroll - having a single physical remote that handles all of it is actually a pretty tidy proposition.
There's also something weirdly delightful about a dedicated physical button making a comeback in 2025. While everyone else is cramming more touch gestures and swipe patterns into devices, Boox is out here going: here are two buttons, they click, you're welcome.
Is it worth $26?
That depends entirely on how serious you are about your reading setup. For casual readers, probably not. But if your e-reader is a genuine daily driver and you've ever wished you could turn pages without breaking your grip on a cup of tea - or, critically, without disturbing the cat - the Tappy is a pretty low-stakes experiment.
It's not going to change your life. But it might change your Tuesday evening. And honestly, that's enough.
