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Do you have an iPhone or Android phone? Of course you do. Do you have an e-reader? Maybe. Have you ever wanted to turn your smartphone into an e-reader? Probably.
If so, there’s a wacky little accessory from Astropad: the Bookcase. It basically makes your smartphone feel like an e-reader, like a Kindle, but without the actual benefits of an e-ink display.
It’s certainly one of the more, well, interesting accessories that I’ve come across in my years of covering mobile phones. I got my hands on one, so let’s find out if there’s any point to this little gizmo.
What is the Astropad Bookcase anyway?
First off, you likely haven’t ever heard of Astropad. It’s a small startup company that creates apps and accessories that are designed for reading, writing, and drawing. One of the bigger things that it’s known for was turning iPads into Wacom-like drawing tablets or wireless displays for your Mac, at least until Apple implemented that feature natively.
The Bookcase isn’t exactly a “case” in the normal sense. It’s a magnetic attachment that will add plastic handles on the side of the phone, and it becomes about as wide as an average paperback book. Compared to the base model Kindle, it’s a bit wider.
Since it uses MagSafe to attach to the iPhone, it can be used with a naked iPhone or even one that’s in a MagSafe compatible case. For Android phones, the Bookcase comes with a MagSafe conversion kit, allowing you to add MagSafe compatibility to your Android phone of choice.
OK, that’s all fine and dandy, but the real benefit of e-readers is the distraction-free reading experience. Astropad knows this, and it tries to replicate this with the Bookcase by adding an NFC chip inside. With the companion Bookcase app, users can configure it to launch their preferred reading app, and it will also temporarily turn off other distractions, such as notifications. Of course, you can still manually distract yourself by going into other apps while having your phone in the Bookcase, but the idea is there.
What I like about the Astropad Bookcase
Lately, I’ve been trying to read more books in my spare time. I typically reach for my Amazon Kindle (2024) or Kindle Scribe (2024) because I love the comfort of reading on an e-ink display, and the Scribe is especially useful when I need to write notes or highlight parts of my book.
But when I don’t have my Kindle with me, I may use my iPhone 16 Pro in a pinch to read with the Kindle app. I set my Bookcase app to launch the Kindle app when I place my iPhone inside the case, but it can be changed to open up a webpage or another reading app, like Apple Books.
You can also choose to not utilize the NFC chip and do nothing. Those who want to really utilize the NFC chip can even use it for a Shortcuts automation to basically launch any app you want.
Though I still think it’s a very niche product, I do appreciate the more ergonomic feel that the Bookcase adds when I’m using it. It’s more comfortable to hold my iPhone 16 Pro with two hands with the Bookcase, and I can use it one-handed, which means easy page turning on the Kindle app.
What could be improved with the Astropad Bookcase
My biggest annoyance with the Bookcase is that it is quite bulky to take with you, so I basically only use it at home. It would take up too much space in my bags since it doesn’t fold up or anything. Perhaps the next iteration of the product could fold to make it more compact and portable.
I’m also surprised that an accessory that aims to turn your phone into an e-reader lacks hardware buttons. It would have been nice to have a button on each side that would let you go forward or backward in a book, as this is a feature that Kindles have been lacking as of late.
It’s also a bit disappointing that the Bookcase doesn’t have a charging port for passthrough charging, or even pack in a battery. For an accessory of this size, it’s just a MagSafe “case” with an NFC chip.
Again, while the idea behind the Bookcase is neat and all, I still find it a bit, well, silly in general. Sure, it can help you achieve a distraction-free setting with your iPhone or Android phone so you can focus on reading, but you’re still lacking the actual benefits of an e-reader like a Kindle. And since it’s not super portable, might as well just bring your Kindle instead, as the Bookcase is about the same size anyway.
In the end, this little accessory just feels like a solution in search of a problem.
