Summary
- The Boox Note Air4 C has a colored E Ink screen and is ideal for reading and drawing.
- It runs the Android 13 operating system and lets you install apps from the Google Play Store.
- The front light feature with an adjustable color tone enhances the reading experience.
Although E Ink tablets are niche products, their extreme battery life and the limited distractions they offer are perfect for those who want to read more and be more creative. The Onyx Boox Note Air4 C is very effective in serving this purpose.
Boox Note Air 4C
The Onyx Boox Note Air4 C is a colored eInk tablet great for reading and drawing. It’s wireless features also make it an excellent device for basic productivity.
- Colored screen
- Android 13 OS
- Frontlight with adjustable color tone
- Difficult to access USB-C port when magnetic cover is attached
Price and Availability
The Onyx Boox Note Air4 C is available on Amazon and the Boox website for $499.99. However, if you buy it from the Onyx website, you will get a magnetic case and an extra set of tips included in the bundle. Furthermore, if you add $48, you could get the premium stylus bundle, which includes the Pen2 Pro for a better writing experience.
A Colored Reading and Writing Experience
The number one thing that sets the Note Air4 C from the rest of Onyx’s lineup is its color E Ink screen. This makes it perfect for appreciating the art of colored book covers and enjoying graphic novels and comic books. Aside from that, it also gives you different colored inks, allowing you to express yourself more freely, whether during note-taking or while drawing.
The built-in Notes app on the Note Air4 C is great for taking down handwriting, especially with the included stylus. It has five pen styles—fountain pen, brush, ballpoint pen, pencil, and marker—giving you more freedom to execute your vision. It also has other tools, like insert shape, fill, and even images and attachments, allowing a completely interactive note-taking experience. And if you’re not happy with the stock app, you can use some of the best stylus note-taking apps until you find one you like.
Of course, the Boox lineup is also designed for reading, so it has an online library where you can get a few titles for free. Aside from that, its library feature allows you to sync to multiple cloud services, including OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneNote, Evernote, and more.
So, if you already have a massive database of books online, you don’t have to manually transfer them to your new device. Finally, if you use other services like Kindle, you can download the app directly from the Google Play Store and start reading without going through the hassle of manually setting up these cloud services.
Features for Reading and Drawing Anywhere
Since the Note Air4 C does not use an LED screen with a backlight or an OLED display emitting its own light, Onyx added a frontlight to the E Ink tablet. This allows you to use it anywhere, even without ambient light to help you see the screen. You can also change the brightness and color temperature of the light, making it easier on your eyes if you’re using the tablet just before going to bed.
If you prefer listening to music while reading or drawing, you could do so with the built-in Music app or install Spotify to stream your tracks. It doesn’t have the best sound quality, but it’s loud enough to enjoy some sounds while doing something else. Alternatively, you could connect your Bluetooth headphones to the Note Air4 C and enjoy your music without disturbing the people around you.
Aside from its creativity chops, the pre-installed Boox Neo Reader app lets you directly annotate what you’re reading. It even gives you all the handwriting tools in the Notes app, allowing you to mark text, write some notes on the margin of your eBook, or even type text. This makes it perfect for students and professionals who frequently review files and documents.
Google Compatibility Makes It 10x More Useful
The combination of Android 13 and the Note Air4 C’s wireless connectivity features makes it a great device for basic productivity. That’s because you can install word processing apps like Microsoft Word or Google Docs on it and get some typing done by connecting a wireless Bluetooth keyboard. Alternatively, you can use a wired USB-C hub to attach a keyboard and mouse if you want a distraction-free device to get some work done.
It’s a little bit weird, though, that the single USB-C port on this tablet is located on the bottom of the tablet. This isn’t an issue in itself, but if you use the magnetic case included with the Standard Bundle from the Boox Shop, you’ll have to open the cover to charge it. Its power/lock button is located in the upper left corner, which isn’t an intuitive placement, especially if you’re used to iPads, and it doesn’t have physical volume control buttons at all.
Nevertheless, it has a few other tools you’d normally find on a tablet, like a voice recorder and a basic calculator. And just like everyone getting on the AI bandwagon, the Onyx Boox Note Air4 C has a built-in AI assistant, allowing you to ask it some general things.
However, even Onyx says that the output is for reference only and shouldn’t be treated as gospel. You’re also only limited to 3000 characters per day. Still, it’s a good tool if you need general information quickly and don’t want to bother searching the Internet manually.
Another thing you should know, though, is that this doesn’t sport a powerful processor like what you’d find on an iPad Pro (or even just the basic iPad), so don’t expect it to have lightning-fast responses. But this is actually a feature, as it will allow you to have more thinking time, helping you breathe a little as you write on it. Aside from that, it allows the tablet to have an amazing battery life, so you don’t have to keep on charging it every day.
No Need to Worry About Charging
One of the primary reasons that people purchase an E Ink reader over a tablet is the amazing battery life these devices offer. With the front light turned off and all battery settings set to default, the Onyx Boox Note Air4 C could last several weeks on a single charge. I even used the E Ink tablet as a desk clock that refreshes its screen every minute, and I was able to use it for at least a week before needing to charge it again.
However, it doesn’t charge quickly, with the tablet taking a couple of hours to go from empty to full. But with a battery life spanning weeks, this will likely be a non-issue as even just 10% of the remaining battery life would be more than enough to last you a couple of days. As long as you don’t forget to charge it and use several battery-consuming features (like the frontlight and background playing of Spotify), the slow charging of the Note Air4 C will never be a problem for you.
Should You Buy the Onyx Boox Note Air4 C?
The Onyx Boox Note Air4 C is a great E Ink tablet for reading and drawing, especially with its color screen. It may not be as vibrant or responsive as a full-on tablet, but its epic battery life and limited functionality make it perfect for those who want to focus intensely on their work and have limited distractions.
Aside from that, its Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity makes it useful for a few productivity-related tasks. So, you can turn it into a distraction-free digital typewriter for writing, allowing you to get your creative juices flowing without getting notifications from your various apps every now and then.
However, one thing that might prevent you from getting it is the price—at $499.99, it’s about $150 more expensive than a vanilla iPad with the same 64GB storage and a USB-C Apple Pencil. The latter has a larger, more vibrant screen and can do so much more than the E Ink tablet. However, it also comes with a chockful of distractions, and you’ll have to charge it daily if you frequently use it.
But, if you’re an avid reader and draw a lot, the Onyx Boox Note Air4 C’s high price should be well worth it, especially if you’re trying to be more mindful and avoid distractions. Because it runs on Android 13, this E Ink reader could also do you well as a light productivity device that is great for typing and some basic internet browsing.
Boox Note Air 4C
The Onyx Boox Note Air4 C is a colored eInk tablet great for reading and drawing. It’s wireless features also make it an excellent device for basic productivity.
