I’ve been journaling on this color ePaper tablet for over a month – and it’s better than Remarkable

Key points of ZDNET

• Boox Note Air4 C is a color ePaper tablet for note-taking and reading, priced at $500.
• The tablet’s screen is sharp and paper-like, and the included pen is precise and pressure-sensitive, making it easy to create highly detailed sketches.
• Note Air4 C is not cheap, at 500 USD, the included pen is much thicker than the tablet so it easily falls off.

I have used it Boox Note Air4 C tablet for several weeks now as my digital laptop. This tablet is the perfect companion for those who like to take notes on the go, but it’s also become an effective replacement for my bullet journal.

Writing on the Boox Note Air4 C tablet feels similar to writing on paper, although it’s never exactly the same. However, the included pen is very fast and responsive. The pressure-sensitive Boox pen is non-irritating, providing a contrasting experience Apple Pencil Pro.

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I am using Apple Pencil Pro on iPad Mini 7 and found that it makes calligraphy a breeze, hides uneven strokes, and makes most handwritten cursive fonts look attractive. The Boox Pen on the Note Air4 C is better than the Apple Pencil Pro for more precise, meticulous work such as sketching and drawing. The pressure-sensitive mechanism also works great for calligraphy, but sometimes it fails to smoothly transition from thick to thin strokes.

I’m an avid writer — I love the freedom of creating a calendar and page layout that suits my needs. Naturally, I switched to using the Boox Note Air4 C as my new journal, especially since this hobby is difficult to maintain, work consumes a lot of my time, and the kids eat up my pens.

The 10.3-inch screen of Boox Note Air4 C is a Kaleido 3-color E Ink screen. The black and white resolution of this monitor is 300 ppi, but its color resolution is only 150 ppi. Color images will not be sharp and detailed on Boox Note Air4 C; instead, they look a bit blurry and noisy.

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Kaleido 3 screen, also used in Kindle Colorsoftuses a basic monochrome E Ink layer with electrophoretic technology that displays sharp details at 300 ppi. But adding color is done through a color filter array layered on a black-and-white screen. This divides each pixel into RGB sub-pixels, each taking up the space of one pixel, halving the resolution of a color display.

In addition to photos that often look confusing up close, the screen also displays some color images with a denim-like pattern, which upset some users. The Boox Note Air4 C’s colors are also limited, so you don’t get the full spectrum of over 16 million colors, and they look dimmer than on a traditional tablet. The same applies to other color ePaper devices, such as Kindle and Colorsoft Paper can be re-marked.

Despite being muted, I like the colors of the Boox Note Air4 C because they maintain the same aesthetic throughout my work. I like having a dedicated note-taking tablet so I don’t mind the limitations of the color ePaper.

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In terms of performance, the Boox Note Air4 C runs on Android 13, with an octa-core processor and 6GB RAM. It has up to 64GB of internal storage, expandable up to 2TB using a microSD card. However, don’t expect it to be as fast as the iPad. While you can increase the refresh rate significantly by changing the settings, the Note Air4 C is slower than a traditional tablet – but not as slow as a Kindle.

Some ghosting issues are common with E Ink tablets, including the Note Air4 C, when switching from page to page, but this didn’t bother me.

My bigger complaints with the Boox Note Air4 C are very specific. Depending on the content, each page takes a long time to display, up to 30 seconds, which can be annoying. The screen’s palm recognition failed when I zoomed in to work on detailed drawings, changing my image when I accidentally touched my hand and causing the tablet to pause for display. in seconds.

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Boox’s AI features leave a lot of room for improvement, but that’s common across many companies’ AI products. I tried all the features and found them to fail frequently so it’s best to turn them off. The most obvious was when the tablet automatically “corrected” my drawing, accidentally erasing part of my work.

I also wish there was handwriting optical character recognition (OCR) by default, but it’s included as an AI feature and isn’t very accurate. Handwriting conversion tends to require computer resources that often exceed the capabilities of tablets, which may be why the Boox Note Air4 C, like the reMarkable Paper Pro, doesn’t offer this feature as a result. default feature.

Boox’s pen attaches magnetically to the side of the tablet but falls off easily, likely due to the tablet’s slim 5.8mm design. I recommend purchasing a case to keep the pen in transit. The pen operates using electromagnetic resonance (EMR) mechanism so it does not need to be charged; It attaches magnetically for convenience.

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The Boox Note Air4 C works great as a bullet journal, especially because the pen is precise and responsive, making it easy to draw or color accurately. I can save all my pages to a single, lightweight device and don’t have to carry a pencil case full of pens and markers when I want to sit down and start journaling. I also like the benefit of adding external files, like photos, to add memories without having to print them out.

ZDNET Buying Tips

the Boox Note Air4 C is great for professionals and creatives. It’s not a productivity tablet or a laptop replacement, but it’s perfect for note-takers who like to write by hand, journal writers, avid readers, and even Even the designers.

Aside from other Boox tablets, the only real competitor to the Boox Note Air4 C is the reMarkable Paper Pro, a color ePaper tablet that retails for $629. Although both tablets have similar drawbacks, I would choose the Boox Note Air4 C among them. In addition to being $129 cheaper, the new Boox is an Android tablet and doesn’t require a paid subscription to access additional features, like reMarkable does with its Connect membership.

Like any traditional Android tablet, the Boox Note Air4 C lets you download any app available in the Google Play Store, like games and social networking apps. However, those looking for a device that focuses on writing and reading can keep their Boox tablet distraction-free. I downloaded the Kindle and OneDrive apps to transfer files and add photos to my notes, keeping my Boox Note Air4 C as a dedicated device.