Boox Be aware Air4 C evaluate: Solely delicate upg...

I am nonetheless a sucker for taking handwritten notes in lots of conditions. For some purpose, it helps me focus extra on what I am taking notes on than if I have been to sort notes. Due to that, I actually loved the Boox Note Air3 C. It offered a beautiful handwriting expertise with a flexible Android OS that was intuitive to me as a long-time Android phone person. So when Boox introduced the Be aware Air4 C, I used to be excited. In spite of everything, any enhancements to a tool I already like and suggest sound attractive.

Sadly, a few of my excited anticipation was unwarranted. To spoil the shock, the upgrades are, to place it mildly, delicate. It represents extra of a modest iteration than a considerably new product. That mentioned, it is nonetheless a superb machine for a lot of causes and could be very pleasurable to make use of.

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Editor’s Alternative

Boox Be aware Air4 C

The Boox Be aware Air4 C is an E-Ink pill that can be utilized with a stylus to take handwritten notes. It runs on Android 13 for better flexibility and flexibility. The ten-3-inch colour show makes it simple to see content material and presents loads of customization choices. 

Execs

• Incredible writing expertise
• Sharp, clear show
• Android OS supplies lots of flexibility and customization
• New UI helps widgets and acquainted tablet-like expertise
• Extra alternatives to make use of handwriting

Cons

• Not many important upgrades from the earlier mannequin

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Value, availability, and specs

The Onyx Boox Be aware Air4 C is on the market from Amazon, Walmart, Boox’s web site, and the Onyx web site for $499.99. It is solely accessible in a single colour and dimension and comes with the Boox Pen Plus. If you need a canopy or the Boox Pen Professional 2, you may must buy these individually.

Bodily, the Be aware Air4 C seems to be virtually equivalent to the Be aware Air3 C. Boox modified its brand placement on the entrance of the machine (it is now extra delicate and within the backside left as a substitute), however in any other case, it is subsequent to inconceivable to inform them aside simply by wanting. The brand new mannequin is one gram lighter than the Air3 C, however the thickness stays the identical. It additionally retains the identical Kaleido 3 Colour Display, adjustable entrance gentle, microSD card slot, fingerprint lock, 3700mAh battery, and 64GB of reminiscence.

What I appreciated in regards to the Onyx Boox Be aware Air4 C

A tablet-like expertise on an e-reader

The Be aware Air4 C shares a protracted checklist of similarities with its predecessor. That is not a nasty factor for the reason that Be aware Air3 C is a superb machine. Firstly, just like the Be aware Air3 C, the Be aware Air4 C supplies a incredible writing expertise. It feels remarkably like writing on paper, due to the delicate texture of the glass. The stylus, which is identical because the earlier mannequin, is as snug to carry as a pen or pencil, and it glides easily throughout the floor of the machine.

The C within the title signifies that it is a colour E-Ink machine. Whereas you do not get the colourful, saturated colours of tablets just like the Apple iPad, there may be sufficient of a spread to be useful when highlighting textual content or sketching designs. I’m a giant fan of color-coding notes and charts, so I admire that I can proceed that behavior on this pill. It additionally makes for a nicer expertise when utilizing apps which might be wealthy with colour.

Past colour, the show is sharp and clear, making it very simple to learn textual content. Graphics will not look exceptionally detailed, because it’s extra like a newspaper than a high-resolution pill, but it surely’s well-detailed for an E-Ink show. It presents a better decision for black and white content material (300 ppi) versus colour content material (150 ppi), so fundamental textual content seems to be fairly a bit higher than colour graphics, however colour supplies are not at all dangerous for an E-Ink machine.

The matte end on the show makes it simple to see in any gentle, even brilliant daylight. In contrast to other tablets with fancier shows, there are hardly any reflections or glare. You possibly can go for no entrance gentle or flip the entrance gentle to very brilliant for simple use in any lighting scenario. That entrance gentle can be colour temperature adjustable, all the way in which to orange, saving your eyes (and circadian rhythm) at night time.

Whereas there are lots of similarities with the earlier mannequin, there are just a few appreciated updates. First, Boox upgraded the Be aware Air4 C to Android 13. Android 15 is essentially the most present Android OS, and whereas I do not anticipate the newest model in an E-Ink pill, the Android 12 OS (which got here out in 2021) within the Be aware Air3 C felt unnecessarily outdated. For sure, I used to be glad to see a step-up within the OS. As a part of that swap, the brand new machine presents an up to date UI that capabilities like a well-recognized pill expertise. Now, widgets offer you faster entry to books, notes, or current apps. Sadly, the accessible widgets are restricted to Boox apps particularly, however hopefully, these will ultimately increase so I can have my Google Calendar and Spotify widgets as nicely.

Associated

4 reasons I’d buy the Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C over a reMarkable 2

Although lesser identified, the Onyx Boox Be aware Air 3 C has some important benefits over the reMarkable pill.

The brand new UI additionally makes it quicker to entry your apps. On the Be aware Air3 C, you first needed to navigate to the Apps folder (or change the default startup web page to that). Now, identical to while you flip in your cellphone or pill, you may have a house display the place the apps are entrance and heart (or at the very least a web page away). Total, it makes for a extra acquainted and intuitive expertise.

That Android OS means you may entry the total Google Play Retailer, which is one in every of my favourite issues about Boox E-Ink tablets. I can obtain no matter apps I would like or need, similar to Spotify, all of my Google apps, Libby, and extra. New this time round, although, is a slight repair to one in every of my complaints in regards to the Be aware Air3 C. It was that handwriting was solely attainable within the Boox apps and was not suitable with third-party apps.

Now, although, you may basically write on something due to the Free Mark possibility and expanded handwriting instruments in apps like Google Docs. It would not work together completely with each app, however it’s good to see the handwriting function expanded since that is without doubt one of the important causes for getting this pill. It is price mentioning that Boox additionally prolonged this function to the Be aware Air3 C, so it is not unique to the Be aware Air4 C.

What I did not like in regards to the Onyx Boox Be aware Air4 C

Solely a delicate improve from the earlier mannequin

Whereas there’s so much to love in regards to the Boox Be aware Air4 C, it would not symbolize a lot of an improve from the earlier mannequin. On paper, there may be 2GB extra RAM on the Be aware Air4 C in comparison with the 3C, and Boox promised a 50% efficiency increase within the new mannequin. However in precise every day use, it is almost inconceivable to discern a distinction in efficiency between the 2.

On just a few events, I began up the 3C and 4C at the very same time, they usually each loaded inside a fraction of a second of one another (the 4C was forward by a hair every time). The identical is true when opening up apps or flipping by guide pages. Even when paying shut consideration to observe for any distinction between the 2, I can not discover an actual distinction.

I loved utilizing the Be aware Air3 C, so it is not essentially horrible that there is not a large efficiency leap. Nevertheless, it will have been good to see extra of a rise in a brand new mannequin, at the very least to the purpose the place it is noticeable. In spite of everything, many of the adjustments appear to be in software program, which may have merely been a software program replace as a substitute of a wholly new machine.

Must you purchase the Onyx Boox Be aware Air4 C?

The Boox Be aware Air4 C is a extremely succesful and versatile E-Ink pill that provides a incredible writing expertise. The E-Ink show has inherent lag and ghosting, so it is not a worthy machine for graphic or color-focused applications like YouTube, Photoshop, and many others. Nevertheless, it’s a nice possibility if you need a extra fundamental machine with a long-lasting battery for taking notes.

What about these with the Boox Be aware Air3 C? Due to the very delicate and modest upgrades, it is not price upgrading. Apart from the UI, you will not discover any actual distinction between the 2 fashions, and it will not be price spending cash on. You are higher off ready for the subsequent iteration, which we hope introduces extra substantial adjustments.

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Editor’s Alternative

Boox Be aware Air4 C

The Boox Be aware Air4 C represents a light improve from the earlier mannequin. It now runs on Android 13, providing a well-recognized tablet-like UI, but it surely retains the identical incredible writing expertise.