Boox Phrase Air4 C overview: Solely refined upgrades
I’m nonetheless a sucker for taking handwritten notes in plenty of situations. For some goal, it helps me focus additional on what I’m taking notes on than if I had been to type notes. As a consequence of that, I truly liked the Boox Phrase Air3 C. It provided an beautiful handwriting experience with a versatile Android OS that was intuitive to me as a long-time Android cellphone particular person. So when Boox launched the Phrase Air4 C, I was excited. In the end, any enhancements to a instrument I already like and advocate sound partaking.
Sadly, just a few of my excited anticipation was unwarranted. To spoil the shock, the upgrades are, to put it mildly, refined. It represents additional of a modest iteration than a significantly new product. That said, it’s nonetheless an excellent gadget for lots of causes and could also be very pleasurable to utilize.
Editor’s Choice
Boox Phrase Air4 C
The Boox Phrase Air4 C is an E-Ink capsule that may be utilized with a stylus to take handwritten notes. It runs on Android 13 for bigger flexibility and suppleness. The ten-3-inch coloration present makes it easy to see content material materials and presents a great deal of customization selections.
- Unbelievable writing experience
- Sharp, clear present
- Android OS provides plenty of flexibility and customization
- New UI helps widgets and acquainted tablet-like experience
- Further options to utilize handwriting
- Not many important upgrades from the sooner model
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Worth, availability, and specs
The Onyx Boox Phrase Air4 C is on the market from Amazon, Walmart, Boox’s web page, and the Onyx web page for $499.99. It’s solely accessible in a single coloration and measurement and comes with the Boox Pen Plus. To ensure that you a cover or the Boox Pen Skilled 2, chances are you’ll should purchase these individually.
Bodily, the Phrase Air4 C appears practically an an identical to the Phrase Air3 C. Boox modified its model placement on the doorway of the gadget (it’s now additional refined and inside the bottom left as an alternative), nonetheless in every other case, it’s subsequent to inconceivable to tell them apart just by wanting. The model new model is one gram lighter than the Air3 C, nonetheless the thickness stays the an identical. It moreover retains the an identical Kaleido 3 Shade Show, adjustable entrance delicate, microSD card slot, fingerprint lock, 3700mAh battery, and 64GB of memory.
What I favored in regards to the Onyx Boox Phrase Air4 C
A tablet-like experience on an e-reader
The Phrase Air4 C shares a protracted itemizing of similarities with its predecessor. That isn’t a foul issue given that Phrase Air3 C is an excellent gadget. Initially, similar to the Phrase Air3 C, the Phrase Air4 C provides a implausible writing experience. It feels remarkably like writing on paper, because of the refined texture of the glass. The stylus, which is analogous as a result of the sooner model, is as cozy to hold as a pen or pencil, and it glides simply all through the ground of the gadget.
The Phrase Air4 C provides a implausible writing experience. It feels remarkably like writing on paper, because of the refined texture of the glass.
The C inside the determine signifies that this is usually a coloration E-Ink gadget. Whereas you don’t get the colorful, saturated colors of tablets similar to the Apple iPadthere’s adequate of a selection to be helpful when highlighting textual content material or sketching designs. I am an enormous fan of color-coding notes and charts, so I love that I can proceed that conduct on this capsule. It moreover makes for a nicer experience when using apps which could be rich with coloration.
Previous coloration, the present is sharp and clear, making it quite simple to be taught textual content material. Graphics won’t look exceptionally detailed, as a result of it is additional like a newspaper than a high-resolution capsule, nonetheless it is well-detailed for an E-Ink present. It presents a greater choice for black and white content material materials (300 ppi) versus coloration content material materials (150 ppi), so main textual content material appears pretty a bit increased than coloration graphics, nonetheless coloration provides are by no means unhealthy for an E-Ink gadget.
The matte finish on the present makes it easy to see in any delicate, even good daylight. In distinction to completely different tablets with fancier exhibits, there are hardly any reflections or glare. You probably can go for no entrance delicate or flip the doorway delicate to very good for simple use in any lighting situation. That entrance delicate could be coloration temperature adjustable, all one of the simplest ways to orange, saving your eyes (and circadian rhythm) at night time time.
Whereas there are a variety of similarities with the sooner model, there are a few appreciated updates. First, Boox upgraded the Phrase Air4 C to Android 13. Android 15 might be probably the most current Android OS, and whereas I don’t anticipate the latest mannequin in an E-Ink capsule, the Android 12 OS (which received right here out in 2021) inside the Phrase Air3 C felt unnecessarily outdated. Evidently, I was glad to see a step-up inside the OS. As part of that swap, the model new gadget presents an updated UI that capabilities like a well-recognized capsule experience. Now, widgets offer you sooner entry to books, notes, or newest apps. Sadly, the accessible widgets are restricted to Boox apps significantly, nonetheless hopefully, these will lastly broaden so I can have my Google Calendar and Spotify widgets as correctly.
Related
4 causes I might buy the Onyx Boox Phrase Air 3 C over a reMarkable 2
Though lesser acknowledged, the Onyx Boox Phrase Air 3 C has some important advantages over the reMarkable capsule.
The model new UI moreover makes it faster to entry your apps. On the Phrase Air3 C, you first wanted to navigate to the Apps folder (or change the default startup internet web page to that). Now, an identical to when you flip in your cellphone or capsule, you’ve got a home show the place the apps are entrance and center (or at least an online web page away). Complete, it makes for a additional acquainted and intuitive experience.
That Android OS means chances are you’ll entry the whole Google Play Retailer, which is one in all my favorite points about Boox E-Ink tablets. I can get hold of irrespective of apps I would like or want, similar to Spotify, all of my Google apps, Libby, and additional. New this time spherical, though, is a slight restore to one in all my complaints in regards to the Phrase Air3 C. It was that handwriting was solely attainable inside the Boox apps and was not acceptable with third-party apps.
Now, though, chances are you’ll principally write on one thing because of the Free Mark risk and expanded handwriting devices in apps like Google Docs. It could not work collectively fully with every app, nonetheless it is good to see the handwriting attribute expanded since that’s no doubt one of many main causes for getting this capsule. It’s worth stating that Boox moreover extended this attribute to the Phrase Air3 C, so it’s not distinctive to the Phrase Air4 C.
What I didn’t like in regards to the Onyx Boox Phrase Air4 C
Solely a refined enhance from the sooner model
Whereas there’s tons to like in regards to the Boox Phrase Air4 C, it will not characterize a number of an enhance from the sooner model. On paper, there’s 2GB additional RAM on the Phrase Air4 C compared with the 3C, and Boox promised a 50% effectivity enhance inside the new model. Nonetheless in exact daily use, it’s virtually inconceivable to discern a distinction in effectivity between the two.
Whereas there’s tons to like in regards to the Boox Phrase Air4 C, it will not characterize a number of an enhance from the sooner model.
On a few occasions, I started up the 3C and 4C at the exact same time, they normally every loaded inside a fraction of a second of each other (the 4C was ahead by a hair each time). The an identical is true when opening up apps or flipping by information pages. Even when paying shut consideration to watch for any distinction between the two, I can’t uncover an precise distinction.
I liked using the Phrase Air3 C, so it’s not basically horrible that there’s not an unlimited effectivity leap. Nonetheless, it might need been good to see additional of an increase in a model new model, at least to the aim the place it’s noticeable. In the end, a number of the modifications look like in software program program, which can have merely been a software program program exchange as an alternative of a completely new gadget.
Should you buy the Onyx Boox Phrase Air4 C?
The Boox Phrase Air4 C is a extraordinarily succesful and versatile E-Ink capsule that gives a implausible writing experience. The E-Ink present has inherent lag and ghosting, so it’s not a worthy gadget for graphic or color-focused functions like YouTubePhotoshop, and so forth. Nonetheless, it is a good risk to ensure that you a additional main gadget with a long-lasting battery for taking notes.
What about these with the Boox Phrase Air3 C? As a result of very refined and modest upgrades, it’s not worth upgrading. Furthermore the UI, you’ll not uncover any precise distinction between the two fashions, and it’ll not be worth spending money on. You might be increased off prepared for the next iteration, which we hope introduces additional substantial modifications.
Editor’s Choice
Boox Phrase Air4 C
The Boox Phrase Air4 C represents a mild enhance from the sooner model. It now runs on Android 13, offering a well-recognized tablet-like UI, nonetheless it retains the an identical implausible writing experience.
