ONYX BOOX Note vs ONYX BOOX Nova

2025. Onyx Boox ereaders are now powered by Chinese-propaganda AI assistant



Azure GPT-3 on Onyx Boox devices was silently replaced by a Chinese large language model by Bytedance, the company behind TikTok. It's not a big surprise because Onyx International is also Chinese company. But this new AI assistant is propaganda-based. It refuses to mention anything remotely negative about China (or it's allies, like Russia, the Assad regime and North-Korea). But is happy to do so about any other country on earth. The LLM in question is Doubao, which is offered as an API under ByteDance’s cloud services division Volcano Engine. But the model is only meant to be used within China’s mainland. Boox launched the AI assistant feature last summer. It's available in the Naviball and Control Center, ready to answer any of your questions.


2024. New Onyx Boox Note Air 4C gets new note management features with Android 13



Onyx Boox has introduced the new Note Air4 C E Ink tablet, which has several improvements over its predecessor. It has the same 10.3-inch display (2480 x 1860) with a Kaleido 3 panel for color effect. The accompanying stylus, which Onyx refers to as the Pen Plus, offers a natural paper-like writing feel as it supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. Thanks to the new high-powered processor, Boox is claiming an outright 50 percent improvement in performance. It runs the more recent Android 13 that allows better organization of notes with the help of folders and tags. The new Outline feature lets you outline your notes in a clear structure. The Link tool connects all your notes, other documents and online information to be more accessible when needed. The device has 3,700 mAh battery which should last a week or so. The price is $500.


2023. Onyx Boox Note Air3 is now available



Onyx BOOX has released the Note Air3, an exceptional black and white E-Ink notepad designed for distraction-free note-taking. The Note Air3 series offers users a choice between the Note Air3 and Note Air3 C, offering a monochrome screen or a colour screen, respectively. The Note Air3 is available with a free magnetic case and the Boox Pen 2 Plus stylus for $399.99 The Note Air3 boasts a 10.3-inch E Ink Carta 1200 screen offering a crisp reading experience while minimizing eye strain. There is WIFI to connect to the internet and it has a USB-C port for transferring data or charging. It is powered by a 3700 mAh battery. Running on the Android 12 OS, the Note Air3 gives access to numerous apps for note-taking and reading. Equipped with the latest firmware, the Note Air3 comes preloaded with the game-changing Smart Scribe feature, empowering users to refine their note-taking skills effortlessly. With this innovative addition, users can annotate books with handwritten notes and seamlessly transform them into perfect shapes, highlights, underlines, or even easily erase their handwriting. Furthermore, the Note Air3 features a more realistic handwriting experience. It also offers comprehensive note-taking tools, including keyword search to find relevant notes instantly, converting handwritten notes into editable text and seamless integration with related files or websites for quick reference.


2023. Onyx Boox firmware update adds note-taking functionality



The Onyx Boox Firmware V3.5, in a remarkably uncharacteristic burst of cosmic inspiration, now offers a veritable arsenal of cunningly advanced tools, undoubtedly designed to make you feel both highly efficient and faintly more productive as you navigate the infinite mysteries of your BOOX device. This perplexing yet exciting update has graciously descended upon various models, including—but not limited to—the Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2, Note Air 2 Plus, Note Air 2, Palma, Page, Note 5, Note 5+, and the Nova Air C. Within this swirling, improbable medley of new features, you’ll find the rather novel ability to append blank pages in PDFs (for those of you whose ideas refuse to be contained), a nifty AI Read function that conjures book summaries, author trivia, and literary recommendations in under two minutes, and an improved scrolling view option for the chronically impatient. But that’s not all: your note-taking arsenal has been enhanced with upgraded hyperlinks for seamlessly hopping between sections, a lasso tool for wrangling snippets of text, and a fill tool for the artistic amongst you who wish to color within (or outside of) the lines. Rounding off this dizzying upgrade are a calendar screensaver, adjustable split-screen dimensions, a spectrum of customizable system fonts, and even personalized mouse settings, all thoughtfully engineered to let you boldly tailor your BOOX experience as you drift through the absurdity of existence.


2023. Onyx Boox Note Air 3C is released



Picture, if you will, the Onyx Boox Note Air 3C, a device so marvelously over-engineered it might just wink at you if you look too closely. With a vast 10.3" screen—a space generously capable of displaying A5 documents, mind you—it lets you dive into a reading and writing experience that manages to be both technologically dazzling and unfathomably gentle on the eyes. It features the latest E INK Kaleido 3 color e-paper, an invention that blends contemporary "electric" sorcery with the humble comforts of traditional paper, much like hitchhiking through a book and a spaceship simultaneously. Running on Android 12, it gives you unfettered access to the *Google Play Store*—all for the mere sum of $499.99, and it even throws in a magnetic case and stylus, free of charge. There's a fingerprint sensor hidden in the power button, WiFi connectivity (dual-band, no less), and a USB-C port that whispers "plug me in." With a battery the size of a small moon at 3,700 mAh and a featherweight build of 430g, it promises to last you through untold adventures. And for those who love a smooth read, the Boox Super Refresh technology optimizes every page, and it even speaks all Android languages, welcoming readers from across the galaxy with ease.


2023. Onyx Boox adds new text processor, increases cloud storage



Chinese e-reader manufacturer Onyx Boox has released a new firmware update for their latest e-readers and e-notes. It features a brand-new word processor specifically for typing text. Comprehensive format settings such as font style, size, spacing and more allow you to easily insert links, images and attachments and even record meetings while taking text notes. Whether creating a work report, a meeting minute, or a reading note, it empowers you to write like a pro. The company also increased the cloud storage, which you get access to when you register and log in to your account. One of the advantages of this is if you ever upgrade to a newer model, all of your content can be accessed on the new device via the cloud. The cloud storage service used to max out at 5GB, but Onyx Boox has just increased it to 10 GB.


2023. Onyx Boox adds ebook syncing and opening external hyperlinks



Onyx has released a software update for Boox devices, including many of their older models, that introduces a variety of new features and a revamped user interface. The V3.3 firmware adds the capability to sync book information. This is fairly common on most e-readers and it’s great to see Onyx finally incorporate it as well. You can synchronize reading data across all Boox devices, including reading progress, bookmarks, highlights, underlines, annotations and handwritten notes. You can also view annotated content using the Boox Assistant app or the send2boox website. There’s a useful new feature that allows you to send PDFs and notes to a printer and the eBook app now supports opening external hyperlinks. They also enhanced text recognition with the Notes app, added a new link tool for including links and attachments in notes pages, enabled bookmarking for recorded audio clips and introduced a tagging system in the Notes app. The V3.3 firmware also boasts a redesigned user interface with a new control center, as well as additional navigation options via an optional control bar at the bottom of the screen.


2022. Onyx Boox upgrades its note-taking ereader Nova 5



Onyx Boox has refreshed its Nova5 e-reader, which features a 7.8-inch E Ink Carta 1200 display with a 300 PPI resolution of 1872 x 1404. Under the hood is a 2.0GHz Qualcomm octa-core processor paired with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. It operates on Android 11 and supports external memory expansion of up to 512 GB. The e-reader offers 2.4G and dual-band 5G wireless connectivity. It is powered by a 2000 mAh battery. Additional features of the Nova5 include a highly responsive microphone and a dual-speaker setup. The page turn buttons are located on the left side. The device includes a Type-C port and weighs a convenient 240 grams. The Nova5 is priced at $277 and comes with the BooxPen Plus.


2022. New Onyx Boox Note Air2 Plus Released



Onyx has introduced a new Android-powered e-reader and eNote called the Note Air2 Plus. It's nearly identical to the previous Note Air2, but with a few modifications. Onyx has revived their strategy of releasing a “Plus” model, which previously indicated increased storage and RAM. This time, however, they have simply added a larger battery and introduced the option for a magnetic cover accessory. Additionally, the new version is in dark green rather than blue. The battery capacity has increased from 3000mAh to 3700mAh, which has also raised the overall weight of the device by 25 grams, making it 445 grams in total.


2021. Onyx BOOX Nova Air - 7.8 inch E Ink tablet



The Onyx BOOX Nova Air is a new E Ink tablet featuring a 7.8-inch, 1872 x 1404 pixel E Ink Carta display, support for both finger and stylus input and software based on Android 10. Available for pre-order at $350, the Nova Air can be used for reading eBooks, taking notes, or running third-party applications from the BOOX Store (or sideloading other Android apps from different sources). Onyx claims the BOOX Nova Air supports over 10 different text file formats, as well as JPG, PNG, TIFF and BMP images and WAV and MP3 audio. It also includes text-to-speech functionality, enabling the system to read books aloud through the device’s speakers or headphone jack.


2021. Onyx released Boox Nova 3 with color E Ink screen


Onyx has launched a new version of its e-reader, the Boox Nova 3. This model is nearly identical to the standard Nova 3, but it features a color 7.8-inch E Ink display. Additionally, it includes a cool-colored frontlight (without the warm light option) and an improved touchscreen with stylus support, though the resolution remains unchanged. The other specifications are the same: 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, USB-C, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0. Like other Boox e-readers, it operates on Android 10 and supports the installation of Android apps. Users can draw in 16 colors, use 5 different brushes and read and annotate PDF documents. The device also offers new customizable settings, additional gestures, screen recording and updated sharing options for easy content transfer. Additionally, the ePub engine has been enhanced. It is priced at $419.99 and includes a complimentary case.


2020. All new Onyx Boox Note Air is now available



Onyx has delightfully unveiled the Onyx Boox Note Air, a device so sleek and elegant that one might suspect it evolved from a particularly stylish ruler. This slim marvel comes armed with a front-light boasting a color temperature system that, frankly, seems cleverer than it has any right to be. Running on Google Android 10, it partners perfectly with a redesigned stylus that carries just enough gravitas—literally—to make sketching and scribbling feel satisfyingly weighty. At the heart of this 10.3-inch E INK Carta HD Display wonder (complete with white and amber LED lights) lies a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage, offering a sort of digital tea party for all your data. With Bluetooth 5.0, it cheerfully links to your headphones, speakers, or even the onboard speaker, ensuring your audiobooks, podcasts, or galactic-themed playlists reach your ears in style. All of this whimsy can be yours for the thoroughly terrestrial price of $459.


2020. Onyx Boox Nova 2 is available now for $339


In a move that would have the denizens of the Hitchhiker’s Guide headquarters nodding approvingly, Onyx has unveiled the rather impressive Nova 2, a contraption that’s part e-reader, part digital note-taker, and entirely too clever for its own good. This pocketable marvel boasts a 7.8-inch E INK Carta HD display so sharp you could slice a Vogon poem with it, and it comes with a stylus—because fingers are so last galaxy. Running Android 9 out of the box, it houses a Qualcomm octa-core 2 GHz Cortex A53 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage, which is more than enough space to store the entirety of Earth’s literary output, assuming no one counts the self-published fanfiction. A 3150mAh battery hums along nicely, Bluetooth 4.1 keeps things connected, and USB-C with OTG means you can plug in gadgets and watch them spring to life with an ease that borders on sorcery. Priced at $339 and bundled with a free case and screen protector, it’s almost suspiciously convenient—like the universe whispering, “Don’t Panic” with a sales pitch.


2018. Onyx Boox Note+ features scratch resistant screen



Onyx Boox has launched a new e-reader called the Boox Note+. It features a 10.3-inch e-reader with a flexible E-ink Carta display and includes a glass-based layer for scratch resistance, as well as an electromagnetic handwriting (WACOM electromagnetic) layer for stylus support. Some users prefer taking notes on a glass-based screen because it resists scratches, allowing for more pressure with the stylus. It operates on Android 6.0 and a forthcoming firmware update will address the Google Play issue that affected other models. The Note+ will be $30 more expensive than the original Note, which is a worthwhile upgrade if you desire a flush screen and bezel, along with a glass-based display. It is currently available on the Onyx site in China, with no information yet on an international release.


2018. Onyx Boox unveiled 3 new e-Readers



Onyx has just unveiled three new e-Ink readers. The Onyx Boox Nova e-Reader features a 7.8-inch display and includes Google Play, allowing you to install your favorite apps. It is likely that Onyx will offer their optimized apps, such as Kindle, which removes animated page turns. The Onyx Boox Poke is a 6-inch Quad-Core e-Reader operating on Android 6.0. The Boox Note S e-Reader is a more compact version of the Boox Note, with a 9.7-inch screen and a lower price point compared to the 10.3-inch model. It also comes with Android 6.0 and Google Play.