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Is there an e-reader you'd recommend for reading Wikipedia? If so, why do you like that one?

There is nothing quite like the wiki-linked articles Wikipedia offers for exploring non-fiction topics. But reading these articles from a self-lit LCD screen is much harder on my eyes than reading paper pages. For that reason I am looking for an e-reader that is not self-lit, enables access to Wikipedia, with easy navigation of wiki-links. I would likely also load PDFs onto the device - books and webpages I want to read offline.

I don't know much about e-readers and will probably get a used one to avoid buying new electronics. Big bonus if it is a 'lower environmental impact' device.

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BOOX Poke5 ($170), Leaf2 ($200), or Page ($250)

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Pros:

  • Android 11-based, with Google Play support
  • microSD card slot to allow for extra storage
  • Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 support
  • E-ink screen with optional temperature-adjustable frontlight

Cons:

  • No cellular data support

While there are e-readers with cellular data support and built-in web browsers that can access Wikipedia—notably the Kindle Oasis ($250), which includes it for free—using a web browser to read Wikipedia on an e-reader is frequently a subpar experience:

  • Most e-readers run semi-proprietary OSs, and typically their included web browsers are poorly supported.
  • Because of their low refresh rate, e-ink screens don't work particularly well with modern scrolling-oriented web design, including Wikipedia's mobile layout. Though modern e-ink screens are much improved compared to older screens, they're still not going to be a great experience.
  • Kindles—though famed for free Wikipedia access, even on budget devices—aren't actually very reliable these days when it comes to accessing Wikipedia.
  • You'll still be dependent on access to cellular data, which isn't universal. Furthermore, especially on budget devices like the Kindle, cellular data tends to be slow.

As such, I'd recommend using an offline version of Wikipedia. While you'll have to connect to Wi-Fi if you want to download the absolute latest copy of a page, Wikipedia isn't the kind of site where you need the latest updates all the time. In particular, I'd recommend using Kiwix to download and browse Wikipedia offline. Kiwix uses the open-source ZIM format1, which supports hotlinks, images, formatting, and more; it's supported by the Wikimedia foundation; and it's available for a wide variety of platforms, including Android (via Google Play, F-Droid, or as an APK.) You can easily fit the entirety of English Wikipedia, with images, onto a 128 GB microSD card. Since all the BOOX models support microSD cards and run Andriod, you should have no problem loading Kiwix onto them. Plus, you can download other Kiwix libaries—including StackExchange!

Since the BOOX devices are intended as e-readers, they support plenty of e-book formats, and there's no restrictions on what stores or libraries you can use. Also, since they're running normal Android, you can also run whatever other apps you want, including your preferred PDF viewer/editor.

1 While popular Kobo line of e-readers used to unofficially ZIM files, this feature has been removed and no longer functions on firmwares released after 2016. Given that this method was always sort of sketchy and no longer functions at all without a lot of work, I can't recommend a Kobo.

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