E-readers are sometimes mistaken for single-purpose units with eye-friendly shows. After all, fashionable e-paper units are a lot greater than that. Onyx Boox is a model that has labored laborious at excelling on this class, defeating the likes of the Amazon Kindle for the throne.
The Onyx Boox Notice Air 4 C is a colorized and up to date iteration of the Onyx Boox Notice Air 3, reviewed by my colleague Harish Jonnalagadda. The Notice Air 3 has a colorized model known as the Onyx Boox Notice Air 3 C, which begs the query, why must you purchase the newer, costlier mannequin?
As with every new launch, the Onyx Boox Notice Air 4 C has upgraded internals and software program. After utilizing it for just a few months, I’ve some ideas in regards to the Notice Air 4 C. Let’s dive into the small print.
There is a new colour Onyx Boox on the town and it is as glossy as ever
Onyx Boox stays busy, launching new fashions of its black & white in addition to coloured E Ink tablets loaded with Android each few months. The Onyx Boox Notice Air 4 C was launched on October 23, 2024. Curiously, there isn’t a grayscale Notice Air 4 to go together with the 4 C.
You should buy the Notice Air 4 C for $499.99 from Onyx Boox’s web site or retailers like Amazon. It comes with a stylus within the field and a charging cable, however the accompanying Notice Air 4 C Cowl must be purchased individually for one more $50.99.
Onyx Boox outfitted the Notice Air 4C with an upgraded Kaleido 3 colour E Ink panel which delivers higher brightness and distinction ranges, in addition to a better display refresh price. The ten.3-inch e-paper show has an anti-glare layer on prime and a Wacom layer to help the included EMR stylus.
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Design smart, the Onyx Boox Notice Air 4 C seems to be precisely the identical because the last-gen Notice Air 3 C. Each e-readers are equally slim at light-weight, measuring 226mm x 193mm x 5.8mm in measurement and coming in at a light-weight 430 grams.
To make you perceive simply how glossy this factor is, I in contrast it to the brand-new Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely. Subsequent to this slim and trim e-ink pill, the S25 Extremely seems to be chunky. It is wonderful, contemplating that is an older design, whereas Samsung’s flagship telephone is scorching out of the oven and hasn’t even began delivery but.
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There aren’t any bodily buttons aside from the ability button. The microSD card slot remains to be positioned within the backbone of the pill, together with the USB-C port for 15W wired charging. You may also use a USB-C thumb drive with the Notice Air 4 C because it helps USB-C OTG.
Sadly, there is no ingress safety but once more this 12 months, so it’s important to be tremendous cautious when dealing with the Notice Air 4 C close to liquids and grainy strong particles.
The software program is the largest draw with Boox tablets
As I discussed earlier, the Onyx Boox Notice Air 4 C has a speedier octa-core chipset and beefier 6GB RAM, including 2GB to the Notice Air 3 C’s 4GB of RAM. The result’s noticeably improved efficiency, fewer situations of ghosting, and higher loading instances normally. It is nonetheless nowhere close to as snappy as a full-blown Android pill, in fact, nevertheless it’s one of many quickest e-paper tablets that cash should buy proper now.
Boosted internals go hand in hand with newer software program. The Onyx Boox Notice Air 4 C comes with Android 13 put in out of the field versus the Notice Air 3 C, which got here with Android 12. This might sound outdated seeing as we’re on Android 15 within the smartphone sector now. However for e-readers, that is fairly superior. To not point out, Onyx Boox guarantees to ship no less than three years of firmware updates to all of its units. Most Boox tabs most likely get greater than that.
The largest draw with an Onyx Boox e-reader is that you simply get unfettered entry to Android apps, and the Play Retailer is pre-installed. Amazon blocks this means on all Kindle e-readers, limiting what you are able to do with a Kindle to an awesome extent. The Notice Air 4 is ripe with potentialities. You possibly can attempt putting in any Android app within the solar. Even when it is incompatible, you’ll be able to tweak and optimize it utilizing Onyx Boox’s built-in customizability instruments.
The NeoReader is a implausible e-book app with in depth instruments and choices baked in. Notice-taking can also be a deal with on the Notice Air 4 C, because of Boox’s Notes app, which has OCR built-in so as to convert hand-written notes on the fly. Onyx Boox provides so many helpful studying and writing features that it is laborious to record out every part.
Like each different tech model, Onyx Boox has additionally hopped aboard the AI bandwagon. You get neat AI options pre-loaded on the Onyx Boox Notice Air 4 C, such because the Boox AI Assistant and AI Learn. This makes the NeoReader extra clever than ever earlier than.
Only a few opponents provide what the Notice Air 4 C does
There are many e-readers on the market, however only a few can do what the Onyx Boox Notice Air 4 C can. If you happen to do not care about Android smarts and simply need an inexpensive e-reader for nothing however studying, probably the most simple reply is an inexpensive Amazon Kindle.
Different competing manufacturers embody Bigme, Kobo, and Pocketbook. Nonetheless, none of those corporations have e-readers that run Android 13, include colour shows, and constantly obtain software program updates.
Sarcastically, when you’re on the lookout for a less expensive various, the most suitable choice comes from Onyx Boox themselves. The smaller Boox Palma 2 launched alongside the Notice Air 4 C and prices solely $279.99. It includes a 6.13-inch E Ink Carta 1200 show that solely outputs shades of black and white. The nifty little Palma 2 has most of the smarts of the 4 C regardless of its stature, and it one-ups the bigger tab because of its splash-proof design.
Is it price shopping for the Onyx Boox Notice Air 4 C?
You should purchase it if…
- You need the most recent processor and better RAM
- You desire a versatile e-reader for note-taking
- You are a pupil or somebody who wants to write down lots
- You desire a colourful e-reader
You should not purchase it if…
- You want ingress safety like water-resistance and dust-proofing
- Your finances is extraordinarily tight
As a lot as I really like the Onyx Boox Notice Air 4 C, virtually $500 is a hefty value to pay for such a distinct segment system. It is a great e-reader that is good for note-taking, with no limitations and unrestricted entry to Android apps by way of the Play Retailer. Nonetheless, every part that I really like about this pill overlaps with the Onyx Boox Notice Air 3 C.
Frankly talking, past the menial {hardware} improve such because the quicker processor and newer Bluetooth chip, there’s not lots there to justify shopping for the Notice Air 4 C over its predecessor. You possibly can rating the Notice Air 3 C for $50 much less and it nonetheless will get the identical firmware upgrades because the Onyx Boox Notice Air 4 C.
If Android 13 is of nice significance to you, the newer Boox e-reader is smart. However generally, I might recommend choosing the older Notice Air 3 C as a substitute. Make no mistake, the Onyx Boox Notice Air 4 C is a spectacular system. It is simply that it does not add a lot over the last-gen 3 C, no less than not sufficient to justify a $50 value distinction.
Get faculty prepared
Onyx Boox created the Notice Air 4 C for studying before everything, and the system excels at that. Along with an exquisite built-in e-reader with exhaustive choices, this Android pill additionally features as a spectacular note-taking system with native OCR. Now geared up with a number of AI options and a quicker processor, it is the perfect non-intrusive system for a studious particular person, working skilled, or school-going individual.