I am nonetheless a sucker for taking handwritten notes in loads of conditions. For some purpose, it helps me focus extra on what I am taking notes on than if I had been to kind 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 consumer. So when Boox introduced the Notice Air4 C, I used to be excited. In spite of everything, any enhancements to a tool I already like and advocate sound attractive.
Sadly, a few of my excited anticipation was unwarranted. To spoil the shock, the upgrades are, to place it mildly, refined. It represents extra of a modest iteration than a considerably new product. That mentioned, it is nonetheless a wonderful system for a lot of causes and could be very satisfying to make use of.
Editor’s Alternative
Boox Notice Air4 C
The Boox Notice 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 coloration show makes it simple to see content material and presents loads of customization choices.
- Implausible writing expertise
- Sharp, clear show
- Android OS gives loads of flexibility and customization
- New UI helps widgets and acquainted tablet-like expertise
- Extra alternatives to make use of handwriting
- Not many vital upgrades from the earlier mannequin
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Value, availability, and specs
The Onyx Boox Notice Air4 C is out there from Amazon, Walmart, Boox’s web site, and the Onyx web site for $499.99. It is solely accessible in a single coloration and dimension and comes with the Boox Pen Plus. If you’d like a canopy or the Boox Pen Professional 2, you will have to buy these individually.
Bodily, the Notice Air4 C appears to be like virtually an identical to the Notice Air3 C. Boox modified its emblem placement on the entrance of the system (it is now extra refined and within the backside left as an alternative), however in any other case, it is subsequent to unimaginable 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 Coloration Display, adjustable entrance gentle, microSD card slot, fingerprint lock, 3700mAh battery, and 64GB of reminiscence.
What I preferred concerning the Onyx Boox Notice Air4 C
A tablet-like expertise on an e-reader
The Notice Air4 C shares a protracted listing of similarities with its predecessor. That is not a nasty factor because the Notice Air3 C is a good system. At the start, just like the Notice Air3 C, the Notice Air4 C gives a unbelievable writing expertise. It feels remarkably like writing on paper, because of the refined texture of the glass. The stylus, which is identical because the earlier mannequin, is as comfy to carry as a pen or pencil, and it glides easily throughout the floor of the system.
The Notice Air4 C gives a unbelievable writing expertise. It feels remarkably like writing on paper, because of the refined texture of the glass.
The C within the title signifies that it is a coloration E-Ink system. 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 an enormous fan of color-coding notes and charts, so I respect that I can proceed that behavior on this pill. It additionally makes for a nicer expertise when utilizing apps which are wealthy with coloration.
Past coloration, 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, nevertheless it’s well-detailed for an E-Ink show. It presents the next decision for black and white content material (300 ppi) versus coloration content material (150 ppi), so primary textual content appears to be like fairly a bit higher than coloration graphics, however coloration supplies are not at all dangerous for an E-Ink system.
The matte end on the show makes it simple to see in any gentle, even shiny daylight. Not like 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 shiny for straightforward use in any lighting state of affairs. That entrance gentle can be coloration temperature adjustable, all the way in which to orange, saving your eyes (and circadian rhythm) at evening.
Whereas there are loads of similarities with the earlier mannequin, there are a couple of appreciated updates. First, Boox upgraded the Notice Air4 C to Android 13. Android 15 is probably the most present Android OS, and whereas I do not anticipate the most recent model in an E-Ink pill, the Android 12 OS (which got here out in 2021) within the Notice Air3 C felt unnecessarily outdated. Evidently, I used to be glad to see a step-up within the OS. As a part of that swap, the brand new system presents an up to date UI that features like a well-known 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 finally increase so I can have my Google Calendar and Spotify widgets as effectively.
Associated
4 reasons I’d buy the Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C over a reMarkable 2
Although lesser identified, the Onyx Boox Notice Air 3 C has some vital benefits over the reMarkable pill.
The brand new UI additionally makes it sooner to entry your apps. On the Notice Air3 C, you first needed to navigate to the Apps folder (or change the default startup web page to that). Now, identical to whenever you flip in your telephone or pill, you’ve gotten a house display the place the apps are entrance and heart (or at the 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 among my favourite issues about Boox E-Ink tablets. I can obtain no matter apps I would like or need, reminiscent of Spotify, all of my Google apps, Libby, and extra. New this time round, although, is a slight repair to one among my complaints concerning the Notice 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 primarily write on something because of the Free Mark choice and expanded handwriting instruments in apps like Google Docs. It does not work together completely with each app, however it’s good to see the handwriting characteristic expanded since that is likely one of the primary causes for getting this pill. It is price stating that Boox additionally prolonged this characteristic to the Notice Air3 C, so it is not unique to the Notice Air4 C.
What I did not like concerning the Onyx Boox Notice Air4 C
Solely a refined improve from the earlier mannequin
Whereas there’s lots to love concerning the Boox Notice Air4 C, it does not symbolize a lot of an improve from the earlier mannequin. On paper, there may be 2GB extra RAM on the Notice 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 unimaginable to discern a distinction in efficiency between the 2.
Whereas there’s lots to love concerning the Boox Notice Air4 C, it does not symbolize a lot of an improve from the earlier mannequin.
On a couple of 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 e-book pages. Even when paying shut consideration to look at for any distinction between the 2, I can not discover an actual distinction.
I loved utilizing the Notice Air3 C, so it is not essentially horrible that there is not an enormous efficiency leap. Nonetheless, it might have been good to see extra of a rise in a brand new mannequin, at the least to the purpose the place it is noticeable. In spite of everything, a lot of the adjustments appear to be in software program, which may have merely been a software program replace as an alternative of a wholly new system.
Do you have to purchase the Onyx Boox Notice Air4 C?
The Boox Notice Air4 C is a extremely succesful and versatile E-Ink pill that provides a unbelievable writing expertise. The E-Ink show has inherent lag and ghosting, so it is not a worthy system for graphic or color-focused packages like YouTube, Photoshop, and many others. Nonetheless, it’s a nice choice if you need a extra primary system with a long-lasting battery for taking notes.
What about these with the Boox Notice Air3 C? Due to the very refined and modest upgrades, it is not price upgrading. Moreover 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.
Editor’s Alternative
Boox Notice Air4 C
The Boox Notice Air4 C represents a gentle improve from the earlier mannequin. It now runs on Android 13, providing a well-known tablet-like UI, nevertheless it retains the identical unbelievable writing expertise.
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