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Tappy, sadly, only makes me a little happy
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(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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Remote page turners for ereaders aren’t a new concept — several options are available for Kindles made by third-party manufacturers, while Kobo has a proprietary one for its own devices. They’re made for people like me, who are too lazy to even use the physical page-turn buttons on the likes of the Kobo Libra Colour — especially when lying in bed to read. (I mean, who wants to stick their finger out from under the blanket on a cold night to touch the propped up ereader?)
The other thing they have in common is that they pretty much look the same, like tiny remote controls.
There’s one page turner, though, that’s unlike any I’ve previously seen. The moment I saw pictures of the Boox Tappy in early May after it was announced, I couldn’t help but smile. It looked more like a cute retro toy than a Bluetooth page turner for an ereader.
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I finally have it in hand and it’s even more adorable in person, thanks to the little design details I’ve discovered. Suffice to say, Tappy made me very happy as soon as I opened the box. I mean, just look at it!
It’s styled like a miniature retro typewriter with two keys only, each featuring a pixelated image, but a pair of spare key caps are provided that you can swap out for the default ones. In my humble (and overly biased) opinion, the extra key caps marked with a X and an O aren’t as appealing to me as the pixelated heart and steaming cuppa.
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The attention to design detail doesn't stop there. The tiny ‘Tap This’ printed on the front of the page turner where a typewriter’s brand name would typically be sparks joy. The power switch — a tiny silver toggle — is kinda reminiscent of an actual typewriter cartridge release (for those of you that remember such things…).
The only ‘modern’ elements to the otherwise retro design are an indicator light next to the power switch and a USB-C port on the rear to charge the page turner.
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More than just a head... no, page turner
The fun design aside, the Boox Tappy can do more than just turn pages on a reading app.
It can be paired with an Android phone, for example, and its default Reading Mode automatically becomes volume control. It has a MultiMedia Mode to switch tracks on a music app like Spotify, while a Browsing Mode allows you to scroll on a browser tab or on social media apps.
I tested this on the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro and it worked a charm in all three modes, but keep in mind that button functionality isn’t customizable.
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The button presses are arguably the best part about using the Boox Tappy — they’re so satisfying. It’s practically effortless to press down and there’s a small feedback, like a muffled click. I would absolutely use this as a fidget toy if it wasn’t paired with the Boox Go 10.3 Gen II Lumi digital notebook that I’m currently testing for TechRadar.
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(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)It uses the Bluetooth 5.4 standard to pair with compatible devices, which is quite stable, and has a wireless range of about 33 feet/10 meters. That last spec is probably moot as I don’t envision anyone using it to control device functionality — especially reading — from a distance.
Oh, for proprietary’s sake!
As much as I love the Boox Tappy, it sadly doesn’t play nice with other ereaders. For example, it paired with my Kobo Libra Colour but failed to turn pages, while three of my Kindles didn’t even pick it up as a Bluetooth device.
It connected with the Android-toting ViWoods AiPaper digital notebook but was a glorified sound adjuster rather than a page turner. Heck, it even connected with my iPhone 17 Pro and MacBook Pro but, again, could only adjust volume on the Apple devices.
I can’t fault Boox for that — after all, the Kobo Remote doesn’t work with a Kindle either. This compatibility issue has to do with the limitations of the operating systems used by ereader manufacturers. While there’s a universal command to make wireless headphones work with ereaders for audiobook playback, the same can’t be said about page turning as it’s a relatively more niche use case.
Until ereader makers add that additional software prompt to allow all wireless page turning, it reduces the Boox Tappy’s usability. Sadly Boox doesn’t provide a comprehensive list of compatible devices (other than some of its own ereaders), but if you or a loved one use a Boox device or an Android phone, it might be a fun little treat.
Given its functionality and it's good looks, the Boox Tappy is competitively priced — $25.99 / €29.99 / AU$49 isn't too bad in my opinion.
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Sharmishta SarkarSocial Links NavigationManaging Editor (APAC)While she's happiest with a camera in her hand, Sharmishta's main priority is being TechRadar's APAC Managing Editor, looking after the day-to-day functioning of the Australian, New Zealand and Singapore editions of the site, steering everything from news and reviews to ecommerce content like deals and coupon codes. While she loves reviewing cameras and lenses when she can, she's also an avid reader and has become quite the expert on ereaders and E Ink writing tablets, having appeared on Singaporean radio to talk about these underrated devices. Other than her duties at TechRadar, she's also the Managing Editor of the Australian edition of Digital Camera World, and writes for Tom's Guide and T3.
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