The Ordo Sonic Lite toothbrush is simple, affordable, and does the job very well. It compares favorably to others in its price category, like the Mode electric toothbrush (which only has one setting) and Colgate Hum (which has less pulses per minute). The Ordo Sonic Lite has a long quoted battery life at five weeks, so the lack of a charging dock isn’t an issue. During my tests, I found that it lasted even longer – I’d estimate that I made it to around six weeks before needing to charge it.
It’s got an automatic two-minute timer, a setting for sensitive teeth, a 35,000 pulse-per-minute motor, and a light indicator that flashes red when the brush movement is being interfered with because you’re pressing too hard.
However, let’s get this out the way now: this is not a terribly exciting toothbrush. It doesn’t oscillate, a function that’s scientifically proven to reduce plaque more effectively than simple sonic motors; it’s not “smart” in that it doesn’t interface with a companion app, and nor does it offer any brushing guidance beyond a two-minute timer.
That said, at this very cheap price point ($39.99 / £29.99 / AU$59.99) you don’t often get a toothbrush that;s stuffed with the features listed above, so those omissions aren’t major negatives from a design standpoint. Even though it’s a bare-bones product, everything is well-designed here. It uses USB-C charging and, while it doesn’t have a dock, it does have a hefty five-week battery life, so you won’t have to worry about charging it every week.
For comparison, some of the other toothbrushes you can find in this price range, even from bigger brands like Colgate, offer less in some areas. For example, the Colgate Hum, which we’ve also tested, has a companion app, but it uses AA batteries, and its motor only reaches 30,000 pulses per minute. There’s unfortunately no travel case and no replacement heads included with the Ordo, but that’s not a dealbreaker when it’s this cheap; the head can be popped into a polythene bag inside a wash bag for easy traveling, and new heads are easy to find on Amazon or the Ordo website.
(Image credit: Future)
Ordo Sonic Lite: Scorecard
Ordo Sonic Lite: Should I buy?
Buy it if...
You want simplicity
Hate the idea of needing an app to clean your teeth? This is the toothbrush to get.
You don’t have a plug in your bathroom
No plug for a charging dock? The Ordo Sonic Lite only needs to be recharged every five weeks or so.
You’re on a budget
It’s cheap, it’s good – no frills, no fuss.
(Image credit: Future)
Don't buy it if...
You want an oscillating brush Prefer a brush that uses a circular motion for a better clean? This isn’t it, and you’ll likely need to go up a price level.
You want more modes The Ordo Sonic Lite only has standard and soft modes, while other, pricier brushes generally have around four to six different settings.
You want a travel case
Other cheap brushes in this price range, like the Colgate Hum, come with a hinged plastic case.
Also consider
Colgate Hum:
One of the best cheap electric toothbrushes, the Hum comes with a companion app and travel case, but it runs on disposable batteries, which dents its eco credentials and ups the long-term cost.
One of the most stylish electric toothbrushes at any price point, the Mode comes with a nifty wall-mount, but it’s slightly pricier and only offers one setting.
I used the Ordo Sonic Lite for six weeks, draining the battery down to test its lifespan and testing the two-minute timer and pressure-sensitive light features. I compared the speed of the motor and other specifications against its competitors, combining it with my personal experience to determine its place in our list of the best electric toothbrushes.
The Endgame Gear OP1 8k is the German gaming peripheral specialist’s enhanced version of its OP1 wired mouse, which is capable of polling rates of up to 8,000Hz, hence the '8k' appendage to the model name. Users can also open it up and swap out the switches, which will appeal to the subset of gamers who are very particular about their clicks.
However, what might divide that group is the form factor of the OP1 8k. The small size, combined with the pronounced hump, might make it difficult for some to achieve a secure grip – although Endgame Gear does specify that the mouse only supports a claw grip, making it a suitable option for those who prefer this style. The super-lightweight, which Endgame Gear approximates to be about 50.5g, also helps rapid movement.
Everyone will welcome the lack of drag, though. The USB cable is light and flexible, and the cable base stress-relief is angled upwards – a smart design choice that helps to further reduce surface contact, acting like an ersatz mouse bungee. However, the cloth material surrounding the cable is very thin; during my time with the OP1 8k, it already began to fray slightly, spelling trouble for its long-term durability.
Although the lack of cable drag helps the mouse to perform at its best, the same can’t be said for the PTFE skates. They cover a small surface area, so glides aren’t as smooth as they are with the best gaming mouse options. Thankfully, larger PTFE skates are included in the box, which helps to reduce friction. What’s worse, though, is that using the OP1 8k on hard surfaces can cause the middle to grate unbearably, and even the optional skate that goes around the optical sensor doesn’t fix the problem. But if you’re using the OP1 8k exclusively on padded surfaces, this will be a moot point.
Another disappointing aspect of the OP1 8k is the button quality. The mouse clicks aren’t as snappy as I would have liked, taking too long to rebound. Endgame Gear claims that its Kailh GX switches that come preinstalled have a short internal travel and good “spamability”; I found they couldn’t be actuated quickly enough to make them suitable for such quickfire pressing.
(Image credit: Future)
The side buttons also feel harsh since they aren’t dampened at all, while the scroll wheel is a little too notchy for my preferences, and the middle button doesn’t feel as solid or as secure as it should be. I didn’t have enough confidence to use it in the heat of battle, worrying that I’d trigger the scroll function by mistake. Admittedly, this is an issue I tend to find with many gaming mice.
On the surface, the free configuration tool is as basic as it gets; it wouldn’t look out of place on a Windows 95 machine. The argument could be made that the barebones interface makes it an extremely lightweight application, therefore saving precious computing power. However, during my time with it, it did crash on one occasion, when I was switching back and forth between it and a game window to change settings on the fly. On other occasions when switching, the “Apply” button for confirming adjustments failed to appear. It could well be the case that such problems may not be experienced on setups beyond my own, but it’s an issue worth noting all the same.
There are various settings that can be adjusted using the tool – but, unfortunately, none of them is explained, so unless you’re au fait with the terminology, you’ll likely have some googling to do.
First, it measures sensitivity in the less common unit of counts per inch (CPI) rather than dots per inch (DPI), but essentially they amount to the same thing. Between one and four quick settings are available, which can be cycled through using the mode button on the underside of the OP1 8k. There’s also the ability to adjust the sensitivities of the X and Y axes independently.
(Image credit: Future)
The lift-off distance (LOD) can be altered to between 1mm and 2mm, which are increments so small that I could barely discern the difference during gameplay. Of course, I’m far from being an esports pro. For most gamers, though, this won’t be a setting worth adjusting given its limited range.
There are also toggle boxes for angle snapping and ripple control, which aren’t settings you always see in peripheral software. There’s no explanation as to what these settings do within the app. So, for those who aren’t familiar with the terms, angle snapping is an aid to help keep your cursor movements along a straight path, whereas ripple control is meant to help smooth mouse movements.
Angle snapping does indeed work as intended; however, I also found that it increases the acceleration of cursor movements, which is jarring. As for ripple control, its aim of reducing mouse jitter comes at the expense of “a few frames of added motion delay,” as Endgame Gear explains on its website, which is anathema to competitive gamers and not worth the cost of activating. Regardless, in practice, I found it made little difference to the smoothing of my movements.
Under the advanced settings tab, you’ll find adjustments for the polling rate, with options between 1,000Hz and 8,000Hz. The aforementioned mode button can cycle through four different poll rates within this range.
There’s a Motion Sync checkbox as well; but yet again, there’s no explanation on what this does. Endgame Gear explains on a Reddit post that the polling events and sensor data become synchronized when enabled, in order to make data more consistent, but at the cost of adding a 1ms input lag. Again, this is something that will probably make some players wince, and during my tests I failed to notice any real difference with this setting turned on.
(Image credit: Future)
One feature that certainly is noticeable is the slam click filter, which prevents accidental mouse button activation when vigorously swiping, as you might when using low DPI/ CPI settings in FPS games, for instance. This is a setting that definitely works as intended, and will likely be one you’ll want to have enabled permanently.
Another set of adjustable (and not always seen) parameters are the multiclick filters. These determine how many button presses can be registered in quick succession – more commonly known as debouncing. Those who play Minecraft PvP will be among those most interested in these settings, as rapid-fire clicks are a core part of that game.
There are multi-click filter adjustments for every button on the OP1 8k (barring the underside mode switcher), ranging from 0-25. Lower values increase the number of clicks registered when spamming the given button; but misclicks are more likely, too, so you’ll want to find the setting that works best for you.
The right and left mouse buttons also have an optional dropdown box next to their respective multi-click filter settings, labeled SPDT (single pole, double throw). This refers to the type of switches the mouse buttons use, which allow for greater debouncing adjustments. You’re given three modes to choose between: GX Speed Mode, GX Safe Mode, or off.
The former lowers click latency, while the latter increases it. If off is selected, then you can use the standard 0-25 multi-click filter sliding scale instead. I noticed no real difference between these GX modes and the sliding scale, so it ultimately seems like a wasted addition.
(Image credit: Future)
Aside from these tweaks, the software also allows you to remap the buttons on the OP1 8k. This doesn’t merely involve swapping them around: you can also assign them to trigger a keyboard key, cycle the CPI, or perform certain media-based functions, such as play, pause, open Windows Explorer or even a web browser – although the latter didn’t work on my PC.
It isn’t just the software that’s customizable; one of the biggest draws of the OP1 8k is that the hardware is customizable, too. A small screwdriver is included, so you can open up the base and swap out the main button switches (and the USB cable) if you so choose.
Endgame Gear offers a variety of different switches, which can be installed without soldering; it’s merely a case of inserting terminals. Endgame Gear even has a universal switch set, so you can use the OP1 8k with any mechanical switches you like, again without soldering. You can also take out the side button switches, although Endgame Gear offers no replacements for these.
I wasn’t able to test out these various switch options for myself, but having opened up the OP1 8k and removed the switches, I can say that it’s a fairly straightforward process. However, I did find that the right mouse button terminal wasn’t as easy to detach as the left. Also, make sure you have the terminal the correct way around when inserting it into the right mouse button slot – I found this was easy to get wrong.
While the OP1 8k aims high in its pursuit of being a high-end gaming mouse, featuring some useful software and hardware customization options, ultimately, it’s let down by its build quality and overall feel, failing to live up to its relatively high asking price.
Endgame Gear OP1 8k: Price and availability
$74 / £69 / AU$125
Available now
Black and white colorways
The OP1 8k is priced at $74 / £69 / AU$125 and is available in the US, UK, and parts of Europe. Despite it having an Australian list price on Endgame Gear’s website, it isn’t currently available in the territory.
Compared to other wired gaming mice on the market, the OP1 8k doesn’t fare well against the competition. Razer is currently offering its DeathAdder V3 wired mouse for less than the current price of the OP1 8k, and although it’s a few years old at this point, it offers a similar spec, including an 8kHz poll rate and an only slightly heavier weight of 59g.
However, the click filtering and movement smoothing parameters that the OP1 8k’s configuration tool offers stand in its favor. Razer’s equivalent software, Synapse, doesn’t provide these same tweaks; but it does offer a whole host of other customizable options with which you can experiment.
Unlike many other gaming mice, you can open up the OP1 8k and change out the switches. However, buying new switches is of course an extra expense, and there’s no option to spec the OP1 8k with the switches of your choice from the outset.
Endgame Gear OP1 8k: Specs
Should you buy the Endgame Gear OP1 8k?
Buy it if...
You want something small and very light With a weight of about 50g, the OP1 8k is on the lighter end of the scale, and the small size will be welcoming to those with similarly proportioned hands who prefer using a claw grip.
You want to tweak your settings and hardware Alongside the standard mouse sensitivity adjustments, the configuration tool for the OP1 8k allows you to set smoothing options and alter the debounce sensitivity, too. You can also take it apart to swap out the switches.
Don't buy it if...
You want a wireless gaming mouse Gone are the days when wireless gaming mice were considered too slow and unreliable for gamers. As a result, hybrid models that allow for both wired and wireless play are more popular than ever; but unfortunately, the OP1 8k is wired only.
You want high-quality clicks None of the buttons or the scroll wheel on the OP1 8k feel particularly great to actuate, which is a serious problem for gamers. In particular, the mouse buttons just aren’t snappy enough.
Endgame Gear OP1 8k: Also consider
How I tested the Endgame Gear OP1 8k
Tested for two weeks
Used for FPS titles and general PC use
Over a decade of PC gaming experience
To test out the OP1 8k, I played FPS titles Ultrakill and Day of Infamy, which cover both the fast-paced and tactical ends of the genre. I also played strategy, action and adventure games, as well as using it for general PC use, such as web browsing.
I have a decade of PC gaming experience, and my mouse of choice for most of that time has been the evergreen Logitech G502 Lightspeed wireless mouse, which was my main point of comparison alongside the Razer Viper V3 Pro.
Last year Huawei surprised everyone when it launched its Mate 60 Pro with a 7nm 5G-capable Kirin 9000s chipset, SK Hynix RAM chips and other components that should not have been available to Huawei with the ongoing sanctions against the company. While we’re waiting for a successor, tipster DigitalChatStation claims that the Mate 70 series is delayed and will launch in China in mid-to-late Q4 this year.
The new report suggests we’ll see some upgrades like a more capable Kirin 9100 chipset, a 1.5K LTPO OLED with 3D face scanning and an OmniVision OV50K sensor on the main cam which will...
Last year Huawei surprised everyone when it launched its Mate 60 Pro with a 7nm 5G-capable Kirin 9000s chipset, SK Hynix RAM chips and other components that should not have been available to Huawei with the ongoing sanctions against the company. While we’re waiting for a successor, tipster DigitalChatStation claims that the Mate 70 series is delayed and will launch in China in mid-to-late Q4 this year.
The new report suggests we’ll see some upgrades like a more capable Kirin 9100 chipset, a 1.5K LTPO OLED with 3D face scanning and an OmniVision OV50K sensor on the main cam which will...
Ugreen is probably best known for its line of power stations, chargers, power banks - and now docking stations.
But even with the company powering some of the best portable power stations we've reviewed, we were curious: how does the Revodok Max 208 8-in-1 stack up? We've reviewed the best laptop docking stations, so we put Ugreen's Thunderbolt hub to the test.
Ugreen Revodok Max 208: Design & build quality
Specs
Ports:
• 3x Thunderbolt 4 (40Gbps, 15W)
• 3x USB-A 3.2 (10Gbps)
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 140W DC power port
Display Support:
• Dual 4K@60Hz or single 8K@30Hz for Windows laptops
• Dual 4K@60Hz or single 4K@60Hz for MacBook Pro/Max
The Revodok Max 208 8-in-1 features eight accessible ports on both the front and back of the unit. The packaging is simple and easy to open, and the unit is securely protected. This dock comes with the dock itself, a 140W GaN charger, a Thunderbolt 4 cable, and the user manual, which I should read in its entirety one of these days.
Overall, the build quality is sleek and durable without being bulky or cheesy. I noticed immediately that the air vent is made to flow through the product through the air-cooling aluminum shell. This is brilliant in function and design.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Ugreen Revodok Max 208: In use
One thing worth mentioning right off the bat is that the charging brick is built into the plug. This means that instead of having a thin plug head, running down a thin cable to a brick, then from the brick to the device, like most docking stations, Ugreen chose to build the brick portion of the power line into the head of the cable, making it relatively large therefore too big to plug into a power strip, for example.
Some great features of the Ugreen 208 docking station include its breathable design, which keeps it cool even under heavy loads. Additionally, the variety of ports available makes it an excellent option for those with modern devices. While it mainly supports Thunderbolt 4, it's still a fantastic choice for users with minimal desk space or anyone with modern (or somewhat modern) devices to connect to this docking station.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Speaking of devices or somewhat modern devices, the Thunderbolt ports are all wonderfully fast for data transfer and charging, and they are spaced out quite nicely on the back of the dock so that I can easily plug in and swap out different cables if needed without accidentally bumping or unplugging the wrong cable.
To test this dock's display output ability, I hooked it up on one of my team's desks that still has an Intel-based MacBook Pro ( I know, I know, I'll upgrade him soon). With the Intel i7 Chip and DisplayLink, I got two full displays running through this dock, though one of them has been a bit fussy; that could be the monitor or the computer's fault, too. Another thing worth mentioning about this setup is that while plugged in, the MacBook Pro charges surprisingly fast, even for an older MacBook, and while under a heavy usage load.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
For this desk setup, the team member who uses this workspace does a lot of creative work in addition to the classic "admin" work. He also has a lot of virtual meetings, runs an iPad Pro in his workflow, and has a hardline CAT 6 Network line. The Ugreen Revodok Max 208 can handle this basic yet high-demand workflow without slowing, throttling, or overheating. So far, we have not seen any issues or other concerns after quite a bit of use. All around, this dock works incredibly well.
Ugreen Revodok Max 208: Final verdict
The Ugreen Revodok Max 208 8-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station is notable for its high-speed data transfer, wide range of ports, and impressive display capabilities. Although priced at a premium, its performance and versatility make it a worthwhile investment for professionals needing a comprehensive docking solution that includes three extra Thunderbolt 4 ports.
Google is working on a new Chromecast with Google TV device, and it looks drastically different from what we have seen so far.
According to 9to5Google, it would be called TV Streamer and would have a set-top box design rather than an oval dongle. The remote would also get slightly redesigned but will keep its oval form.
The Google TV Streamer looks like it will be similar in size to a Pixel Tablet Charging Speaker Dock but more slanted. It has two cables coming out of the back; likely, one is the HDMI, and the other is the power cord. It may or may not have some display or touch...
AI image generators have come a long way from the early days of surreal distorted abominations. Leonardo.ai, one of the early players on the scene, offers a great selection of tools that cater to both hobbyist prosumers and professionals.
The Australian company has clearly set its sights on being a jack of all trades in the best AI image generator space, and from early impressions, it's got a good chance of pulling it off. The combination of some solid Stable Diffusion models foundations, and a welter of cool tools makes it pretty compelling. Sure there’s still some work to do, but the platform’s latest improvements have really thrown down the gauntlet in a big way.
You can check out Leonardo by clicking here. The service is offered primarily via an online web presence, but there’s also an IOS app available, and an Android version threatened for some unspecified time in the future.
Leonardo.ai: Pricing & plans
(Image credit: Leonardo.ai)
Setting up a Leonardo account is pretty straightforward. You can sign in with Apple, Google, Microsoft, or plain old email.
Next, choose your plan— ranging from $0 for the Free version up to $60 for Maestro Unlimited. There’s also a Teams Plan coming soon, but there’s no pricing given as yet. I joined up to the $12 a month Apprentice Plan, which gives 8500 image tokens a month, token rollover and the ability to keep your images private. Marketeers will also appreciate the ability to fine tune up to 10 models a month, which should cover their brand identity needs.
The account dashboard is full of tools and options, which is a little confusing at first, but it doesn’t take long to work your way through the features and find what you need.
Leonardo.ai: In use
(Image credit: Leonardo.ai)
Did I mention that Leonardo is pretty feature-packed?. There are tools to generate images from prompts, create AI images from your hand drawn sketches, edit existing images, and even turn still images into videos. One fun option is Realtime Generation. Start typing a prompt, and watch the image materialize before your eyes. It feels like magic, minus the wand.
You can fiddle with various settings to tailor the result, which is even better. The only downside is you’re limited to the models you can use, and the text generation is a bit random. But it’s a great way to quickly test out ideas before you jump into the prompt engineering in earnest.
So the million-pixel question, how does it stack up against the best AI art generators and image generators? Well, if Midjourney is the top choice in terms of solid, reliable, beautiful images, Leonardo is the Swiss Army knife. The kind of versatility the platform offers - from professional text handling to community created fine tuned models - is something others should envy.
Leonardo.ai: Features
(Image credit: Leonardo.ai)
Leonardo can definitely produce some excellent image results. A testament to the solid Stable Diffusion models underpinning the platform.
I tested out prompts for a variety of animals, and they delivered some solid if predictable results. However it’s text generation that really stands out. Like Ideogram, Leonardo seems to have no problem with delivering consistent coherent text on demand, which is very cool.
(Image credit: Leonardo.ai)
But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. The Motion function, which aims to create video animations from stills, is still a bit suspect. I could generate clips, but for the most part they didn’t really work very well. Having already reviewed the best AI video editors, the only video shorts that worked here were camera pan type clips, similar to Apple’s Live Photos. I guess this is inevitable given the parlous state of current AI video generation in general. Other areas like inpainting (editing small image sections) can also be more tricky than necessary. On the other hand, I found outpainting, where you add sections onto the original image, to be a real breeze. The results were great.
Leonardo.ai: Business use
(Image credit: Leonardo.ai)
Business users will be pleased to know there’s lots of stuff to keep the marketing department happy.
The Training & Datasets feature lets you train models using your own brand assets. Need new social media content that mirrors your brand identity? You got it. The caveat: it’s only useful if you have a robust brand presence or aspire to build one. Because your personal fine tuned models won’t cope with text generation, you’ll be limited to creating brand assets with the right plumage, and then have to finish off with some of the best graphic design software like Canva or Photoshop to add the text and details you need.
For some reason the fine tuned output I created - I trained a pizza dataset of course - kept throwing up NSFW errors. I understand some people can be a little over obsessed with Italy’s finest, but I fail to see why that warrants a lockdown. A bit annoying, even though the general NSFW lock can be switched off in settings.
Leonardo.ai: User experience
(Image credit: Leonardo.ai)
While the platform’s overall UI is great, there are areas where it’s a little clunky. For example the Canvas Editor - a comprehensive tool allowing inpainting, outpainting, model-swapping and more - could do with some extra help, especially in the inpainting department. I had to resort to the excellent Leonardo help guides a few times, and even then it definitely wasn’t as intuitive as it should be. I found myself struggling to erase or change small areas of an image, which probably reflects my inept prompting.
Speaking of help, the community aspect of the service is also pretty good. As well as the guide, there’s community support from the product’s Discord channel, or via Facebook or Reddit. Users can also share their work on these channels, as well as the in-app gallery.
(Image credit: Leonardo.ai)
Leonardo.ai: Final verdict
(Image credit: Leonardo.ai)
Leonardo is not just 'another wannabe' in the AI image generator crowd. It’s easy to use, versatile, and offers excellent value for money given the array of features. Professionals will appreciate the real-time editing, upscaling, and the plethora of various models to choose from. Over one hundred at last count. Speed is another forte. Leonardo is seriously fast. The Lightning XL model generations are under 30 secs per generated set, while the default Phoenix model results are not far behind.
Leonardo is rapidly turning out to be a top contender in the AI image generation space. It’s not perfect, but the impressive thing is it’s improving rapidly. Which is often a solid signpost to a product’s future potential.
For more artificial intelligence, we reviewed the best AI tools.
The vivo V40 Pro is expected to arrive soon, as the phone appeared on multiple certification websites from regulators all over the world. The latest confirmation of the phone comes from the Bluetooth SIG website, which listed the V2347 model number.
The same device also appeared on Geekbench, revealing key details about the phone, including its chipset, RAM option and Android version.
vivo V40 Pro on Geekbench
The vivo V40 Pro will have a Dimensity 9200+ platform, as evident in the Geekbench CPU information. The phone will have a 1x core @ 3.35 GHz + 3x cores @ 3.0 GHz + 4x...
Onyx’s Boox Note Air 3 may not be the Chinese company’s thinnest e-paper tablet (having been usurped by the recently announced Boox Go 10.3), but this slim and comfortable Android device still has plenty of appeal for anyone after a flexible way to create digital handwritten notes.
With a sleek and relatively thin chassis, plus a slightly asymmetrical design, the Note Air 3 is great to hold and, despite its large size, can be comfortably supported with just one hand for both reading or writing. The monochrome E Ink Carta 1200 display is the same one used broadly across many other 10-inch epaper devices, and performs well when it comes to handwriting with the included stylus or text-based productivity and entertainment tasks. Being black and white, it’s not as geared towards highly visual tasks – images can sometimes be hard to make out – and if you’re after a device where you can highlight and mark up text with bright hues, then you’ll likely be better off with the color version – the Note Air 3 C.
With ‘Note’ right in its name, this is obviously a tablet geared towards productivity, and it’s undeniably a wiz when it comes to taking hand-written notes, with a full-featured app that allows a lot of sophistication and customization for both editing and sharing your documents. Editing features include the basics you’d expect, with a variety of notepad templates (from standard ruled lines to checklists or grid paper) and pen styles, alongside expected smart features like layers, shapes and converting handwritten notes to digital text. But beyond that, there’s advanced capabilities like being able to paste images or insert web links (or links to other on-device documents) and even record voice memos directly into notes. Note files can also optionally be saved as vector-based PDFs, then automatically synced to several cloud storage or online note-taking platforms (including Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, OneNote and more) for easy access on other devices.
Reading on the Note Air 3 is more of a mixed affair. While the integrated NeoReader app is admirably full featured and capably renders a variety of document and image formats (including ePub, PDF, Mobi, TXT, HTML, JPEG, PNG and plenty more) and there’s a large library of freely downloadable public domain books, there’s no ebook store from which to purchase titles. To satisfy your thirst for new titles, you’ll need to resort to third-party sources such as the Kindle or Kobo stores. If those platforms have an Android app, you can read your books in that, but otherwise you’ll need to manually copy your purchased ebooks over, either from your PC via USB or synced from a cloud storage service. (And if those ebooks happen to have digital rights management applied, then you’ll need to jump through hoops to remove that too.)
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
With the capacity to install Android apps straight from the Google Play Store, the Note Air 3’s capabilities can be expanded well beyond competing devices from brands like reMarkable, Kindle and Kobo – although there’s a big caveat here, in that not all of them are entirely usable on a black-and-white E Ink display. Any app that requires fast on-screen motion provides a middling experience at best – you’ll have to choose between smooth motion and significant ghosting, or juddering movement but clearer images. Certain color combinations can result in parts of user interfaces that are completely unusable too and, because tablet apps are optimized for LCD or OLED screens, on e-paper you’ll find fonts are often fuzzy or have ragged edges, lacking the sharpness of an app made with E Ink rendering in mind. The Note Air 3 fares best with high-contrast Android apps that avoid any kind of on-screen scrolling or video – which, thankfully, does include many productivity and reading apps.
Driving the Note Air 3 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor. Although this is an aging midrange chip, it provides enough power to deliver a generally speedy and frustration-free user experience here. And the battery life is fantastic thanks to a 3,700mAh capacity, meaning that, even with daily use, it can last a minimum of a week between charges – and sometimes between 2-3 weeks when used for an hour or two per day.
When it comes to price and overall value, the Note Air 3 likewise generally impresses. At $399.99 / €449.99 (about £380) / AU$749, in most territories it’s roughly the same price as competing devices like the reMarkable 2 and Kobo Elipsa 2E, and although it’s not as polished when it comes to UX and UI, the fact that it’s running Android means it’s unmatched for versatility.
Although it’s a bit rough-and-ready in parts, the Note Air 3 is ultimately a likeable and supremely flexible and full-featured e-paper tablet. It nails note-taking and can be easily integrated with a wide range of third-party cloud and productivity platforms, so it’s an easy recommendation if those are your primary needs.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Onyx Boox Note Air 3: Price and availability
Announced and shipping since December 2023
Standard bundle: $399.99 / €449.99 (about £380) / AU$749
Premium Stylus bundle: $479.98 / €529.98 (about £447) / unavailable in AU
The Note Air 3 starts at $399.99 / €449.99 (about £380) / AU$749 for the standard bundle, which includes Onyx’s basic stylus (without the eraser), five replacement stylus tips and a faux-leather folio case. In the US and Europe, you’ve also got the option to upgrade to the Premium stylus bundle for an additional $79.99 / €79.99 which, as the name suggests, adds in one of Onyx’s Pen2 Pro styluses, albeit at their normal retail price – there’s no discount being offered.
It’s worth noting that if you buy the Note Air 3 directly from Onyx or at Amazon in the US, it’s almost always discounted – during my months-long testing of the device, the US price was regularly reduced to $379.99 at the Onyx store, for example. Australians may also be better off buying the device directly from Onyx’s online store in US currency versus local retail, where there’s a considerable AU$150 mark up.
Given that discounting, the Note Air 3’s price is fairly competitive for a 10-inch note-taking e-reader – although the Note Air 3’s US price makes it more expensive than Amazon’s similar Kindle Scribe ($339.99), it matches the Kobo Elipsa 2E and reMarkable 2 (both around $399), and none of these competitors include a case, which usually adds a minimum of $50 to the price.
There’s also a color version of the Note Air 3, which costs an additional $100 / €100 / AU$170.
Value score: 3.5 / 5
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Onyx Boox Note Air 3: Key specs
Onyx Boox Note Air 3: Design and display
Thin design that’s easy to hold one-handed
Built-in frontlights for use in dim lighting
Stylus detaches too easily
At first glance, the Note Air 3 appears very similar to its Air 2 predecessor and its two most notable upgrades are invisible ones that reside under the hood – a 20% faster processor and bigger battery (3,700mAh vs 3,000mAh). In many other respects the Air 3 is almost identical to its forebear – its 10.3-inch E Ink display uses the same generation of Carta 1200 e-paper tech with a resolution of 227 pixels per inch, and the aluminum-magnesium alloy chassis is basically indistinguishable when it comes to both looks and dimensions – although the color has been dialed down slightly, going from a dark metallic blue to a greenish gunmetal grey. The Air 3 is 40g heavier than its predecessor, coming in at 460g on our scales, with the extra weight likely due to that larger capacity battery.
While it’s not as physically wafer-thin as the 4.7mm reMarkable 2 or Onyx’s newly announced 4.6mm Boox Go 10.3, the Note Air 3 is still slim for an e-paper tablet, measuring just 5.8mm thick. And critically, that width squeezes in frontlights for screen illumination – a feature both the reMarkable and Boox Go 10.3 lack – and that makes the Note Air 3 more versatile, particularly when you’re working or reading in dimmer lighting.
If you’re tossing up between the Note Air 3 and one of Onyx’s Tab Ultras, I found the Air 3’s thinner profile and wider left-side bezel made it a considerably more comfortable device to use. That wider bezel (measuring 28mm vs the Boox Tab Ultra C’s 20mm), in particular, means it’s much easier to hold in one hand for both reading and writing, and its 5.8mm thickness means it’s a bit less obtrusive when sitting on a table too – the Tab Ultra C is 6.7mm.
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Likewise, the rounded edges on all four sides mean handling the Note Air 3 is generally friendlier, although those curves do come with an unfortunate side effect: even with magnets to help hold it in place, the stylus only loosely attaches on the right edge and often sits slightly off-kilter. The fatter and squarer edges on many competitors’ e-ink tablets (and even Onyx’s own Tab Ultras) provide more surface area for stylus magnets to grip onto. Conversely, it’s very easy for the stylus to fall off the Note Air 3. Storing the tablet in a bag or even just carrying or moving the device about with a bit of jostling is enough for the stylus to detach.
To its credit, the Note Air 3’s folio case (which comes included in the box) does hold the stylus far more securely thanks to a clasp it nestles inside, although using the case also adds an extra 260g to the carry weight and doubles the device’s thickness. If you don’t plan on using that case however, you really do need to be careful about stowing the pen separately.
Onyx has made one extra addition to the Note Air 3 that you won’t find on any other Boox devices: a fingerprint reader on the power button. This makes unlocking the device a little more seamless if you want to keep it secure (you’ll otherwise be tapping in a pin every time) and, in testing, I generally found it worked well about 90% of the time, but occasionally required a rescan or two to recognize my fingerprint, particularly when using the device in its folio case.
Design & display score: 4 / 5
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Onyx Boox Note Air 3: Software and user interface
Productivity
Powerful and flexible note-taking capabilities
Great support for cloud storage and notes services
Interface still a little inelegant
Onyx has heavily streamlined the Android interface on the Note Air 3 so it revolves around reading and note-taking. Instead of the typical home screen with app icons and widgets, the default interface has a menu bar that runs down the left edge of the screen, with icons that will jump you to one of six screens – Library, Store, Notes, Storage, Apps and Settings.
Those sections largely do what you’d expect, letting you browse, view and manage various elements. Library, for example, is the central place for reading, with access to any documents, ebooks, digital comics, presentations or images you’ve saved into the device’s Library folder, while the Apps pane displays all the Android applications you’ve downloaded, also letting you uninstall them or sort them into groups. Storage is where you can go for basic on-device file management, with shortcuts to key folders (Downloads, Documents, Images and Fonts, for example) or just straight access to the device’s full filesystem.
Notes is the key section here as it’s where you can create, browse, search and open notepads, and optionally move, delete or organize them into folders and subfolders. With more than half a dozen e-paper tablets under Onyx’s belt, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Note Air 3 delivers a mature and feature-laden note-taking experience. It offers all the basic features you’d expect, starting with a range of different notepad templates in various categories (ranging from standard lined notes to grid paper and checklists), five different pen styles with various thickness settings and colors (yes, on a monochrome display, and they’re named so you know what color you’re using) and inherent capabilities like undoing or redoing changes and converting handwritten notes to text.
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There’s a ton of advanced capabilities beyond these basics, such as editing shortcuts like gestures (scribbling over a word or drawing will erase it, for example, and you can draw a ring around a piece of text or object to ‘lasso’ and move it around within a note, or even copy or cut it to paste into an entirely separate document), the ability to add tappable links within a note’s body to link to websites or other notebooks on the device, and the optional capacity to sync vector-based PDF versions of your notepads to a wide variety of cloud storage services and note-taking apps (such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, OneDrive and OneNote). There’s also a built-in text-search feature that works on hand-written notes – even those that have never explicitly been converted into text.
In terms of the physical interface, not much has changed between the Note Air 3 and its predecessor – and that’s a good thing. While basic, the ridged stylus is comfortable to hold and write with on screen, and the display provides enough of a matte texture and friction to at least vaguely mimic paper.
While Onyx’s UI and UX aren’t quite as slick or clean as what you’ll find on Kobo, Kindle or reMarkable’s note takers, the Note Air 3 arguably makes up for that with an admirably large and flexible set of tools that can more easily integrate with your existing productivity workflow and apps.
Productivity score: 4.5 / 5
Reading
Opens a huge range of file types
Lackluster font support
Store app only offers public domain titles
The reading experience on the Note Air 3 is a bit more of a mixed affair. If you’re viewing one of the plethora of supported document or image types (which includes the likes of ePub, PDF, Mobi, Word Doc, TXT, RTF, HTML, CBR, CBZ, PowerPoint, JPEG, BMP and PNG) and you’ve opened it via the Library or Storage screens, it’s displayed using Onyx’s native NeoReader app. NeoReader has been tailor-built for e-paper screens, so fonts are generally crisp and well-defined and, like you’ll find on Kindle and Kobo, there’s a lot of leeway for customizing things like font size and weight, or the spacing of paragraphs, line and margins. You can also leave handwritten notes directly on document pages – provided there’s clear space to do so, which is quite easy to add simply by increasing that line, paragraph or margin spacing.
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Where the Note Air 3 reading experience disappoints is in its lack of onboard fonts – there’s only one English font included (an unnamed serif) and this doesn’t have dedicated type subsets for weights or style variations, like bold and italic. When needed, those styles are applied by digitally manipulating the original font – italics just lazily tilts the text to the left by a certain percentage, for example. Sideloaded third-party fonts are treated the same way, with NeoReader offering no capacity for properly loading full font families – something that both Kobo and Kindle do support. If you’re a diehard font nerd, this makes reading on the Note Air 3 (or indeed any Onyx E Ink device) a decidedly second-rate experience. It's a puzzling oversight, and one that's gone frustratingly unaddressed by Onyx for years.
Unlike Kindle and Kobo, the integrated Boox Store doesn’t actually sell any books. There’s a large selection of public domain titles that you can download for free, but you won’t find any modern bestsellers, so you’ll need to purchase any books you want to read on third-party stores and either use that platform’s Android app (if one’s available), or sideload them via USB or cloud storage. Sideloading may also first require you to jump through some hoops to strip the book’s DRM, if it has any.
Reading score: 3.5 / 5
Android system & apps
Highly customized Android interface
Full access to the Google Play Store
App usability varies
Of course, with its Android OS, the Note Air 3’s big advantage over other brands’ E Ink tablets is that it can download apps from the Google Play Store, unlocking capabilities beyond what you’ll find on devices like the Kindle Scribe, Kobo Elipsa 2E and reMarkable 2. How useful that actually is depends on the specific apps you want to use, in particular how friendly their UI design is to E Ink displays, and how reliant they are on real-time responsiveness. Although its mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon processor is technically enough to handle them, the Note Air 3 is not a device I’d ever use for watching videos or real-time gaming, for example.
Productivity apps fare a bit better. Thanks to that Android OS, you can theoretically use any note-taking or document system you want that has an Android app – that includes the likes of Notion, Obsidian, Microsoft OneNote, Evernote, Google Docs and more. It’s worth noting that native handwriting support can be hit and miss in these apps however, so if you’re heavily invested in one of the systems, I’d strongly suggest researching this first.
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The other caveat is that Android apps are almost universally designed to work on LCD- or OLED-based color screens – and E Ink doesn’t always respond well to this. Small text and soft colors are difficult for black-and-white E Ink to handle, for example, and font rendering in Android apps can also be hit and miss on e-paper – in both the Kobo and Kindle apps, for example, the edges of fonts are fuzzy and jagged rather than sharp.
I tested over a dozen different apps for this review and found that while most were generally usable, those with high-contrast interfaces worked best. Certain color combinations can result in parts of the UI being invisible in some apps and just how impactful that is depends on how central that UI element is.
To help with general navigation and app switching, the Note Air 3 supports some of Android’s native swipe gestures (swiping from the center bottom of the screen will close the app you’re in, for example, while swiping from the left side in goes Back) and also includes Onyx’s optional NaviBall button – a small circle that can be moved around the screen and overlays whatever app you’re in. Tap it and it quickly expands a selection of up to nine reconfigurable buttons which can trigger around 30 different Android functions – things like mimicking Back, Refresh and Multitask Switcher buttons, toggling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, taking a screenshot and more.
Android system & apps score: 4 / 5
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Onyx Boox Note Air 3: Performance
Adequately speedy for reading and note-taking
E Ink display limits usability of some apps
Significant ghosting if refresh rate set too high
The Note Air 3 runs on a mid-range 2.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 chipset. Paired with an Adreno 610 graphics processor, that’s plenty of horsepower for core tasks like reading and note taking without any real lag. When writing, there’s no noticeable delay between putting the stylus to screen and the digital ink appearing on the page, for example, and browsing and opening notebooks and other documents (including images) generally takes no more than a few seconds. Launching and using Android apps is likewise fast enough that you never feel like you’re stuck waiting.
There’s a wrinkle to performance, however, in that e-paper is not designed for real-time responsiveness, so if you try to use the Note Air 3 like a regular tablet, you’re quickly going to bump up against that limitation. As we noted earlier, tasks like scrolling through social media, watching videos and playing fast-paced games are all lackluster experiences on the Boox’s black-and-white E Ink screen – it’s simply not fast enough to keep up with the high rate of on-screen motion that’s required.
As on its other Boox devices, Onyx has tried to remedy this shortcoming by having a built-in tool that lets you switch between five different screen refresh rates on a per-app basis. When choosing a refresh rate, you’re basically making a trade-off between faster on-screen responsiveness – making scrolling web pages and motion in videos and games smoother and with less image flickering – at the cost of ghosting. The default setting works well for most reading and note-taking apps, and gives you a fairly traditional e-paper experience: slower and more juddering on-screen motion and image flickering, but with fairly minimal ghosting.
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For third-party apps, the idea is that you’ll experiment to find a setting that works well for the specifical app you’re using. Web browsers (where you’re moving between pages with entirely different content and doing a lot of scrolling up and down) are more pleasant and responsive if you bump up the refresh rate, although if you go too far, you’ll end up with significant ghosting – so much so that some people might find it distractingly unusable. An iPad replacement this is not.
One area where the Note Air 3 is not lacking is battery life, with that large 3,700mAH capacity outclassing most other 10-inch ereaders. There’s minimal drain while the tablet is sleeping (and almost none if completely switched off) and when using the device for about an hour a day at medium screen brightness, I would often go an impressive 2-3 weeks between recharges. While the battery will drain more quickly depending on usage (writing with the stylus has more of an impact than reading), even with 2-3 hours a day of mixed tasks, the battery easily lasted a week. Charging the battery from nearly empty to full does require a bit of patience however, taking around 2.5 hours.
Performance score: 4 / 5
Should I buy the Onyx Boox Note Air 3?
Buy it if…
You want a flexible digital note-taking device Continuing Onyx’s reputation for building highly capable note-taking devices, the Note Air 3 lets you create sophisticated digital notebooks, then easily sync them with other cloud storage and productivity platforms.
You want to run specific Android apps With the ability to install Android apps from the Google Play Store, the Note Air 3’s capabilities for both work and entertainment can be expanded well beyond most other e-paper tablets.
You’re OK with a bit of inelegance Boox devices often have a rough-and-ready approach to getting things done, and the Note Air 3 certainly fits that bill. It offers a plethora of features and tools, but that diversity means it’s sometimes not as polished or refined as other brands’ ereaders.
Don’t buy it if…
You only need basic note taking If your note-keeping needs are relatively simple, the Note Air 3 is likely going to be overkill, and you might appreciate the slicker and more minimal experience offered by a note-capable Kobo or Kindle device.
You want a large-screen ereader The Note Air 3 really is a device geared towards note taking, so if you don’t plan on using it for that purpose, then there are arguably better and cheaper alternatives, such as the Kindle Scribe or Kobo Elipsa 2E.
You want to use apps that need a high refresh rate While it might be sized like a tablet and provide full access to the Google Play Store, the e-paper display on the Note Air 3 limits how usable it is with apps that require fast on-screen motion. It’s not great for scrolling web pages, watching videos or playing real-time 3D games.
Also consider
If this review of the Onyx Boox Note Air 3 has left you wondering if it’s right for you, I’ve listed a few other alternatives below, complete with specs and price comparison, so you can choose the best option for you.
Amazon Kindle Scribe Amazon’s one and only note-taking ereader arguably has one of the best screens on a 10-inch e-paper tablet. It’s bright, and its 300ppi resolution makes reading on it a pleasure. Where it falls short is in its note-taking features – while Amazon has been adding to the Scribe’s capabilities, they’re still a little niche compared to its biggest rival, the Kobo Elipsa 2E (listed below).
Read our in-depth Amazon Kindle Scribe review for more details.
Kobo Elipsa 2E Balancing both digital reading and note-taking well, the Kobo Elipsa 2E is our pick of the best large-screen ereader you can buy today. Kobo’s Advanced Notebook features can compete with what Onyx Boox tablets offer without being too complicated, and its handwriting recognition is one of the best in the business. While reading on the Kindle Scribe might be better, the Elipsa 2E surpasses in writing features.
Read our full Kobo Elipsa 2E review to find out more.
Onyx Boox Tab Mini C If you want a similar experience to what the Note Air 3 offers but not too enthused by its size, you can opt for a 7.8-inch Boox e-paper tablet with a color screen instead. While it might be smaller, it is bulkier on account of its large battery, and it runs Android 11 out of the box rather than Android 12. It also costs about as much as the Note Air 3, but you do get to read, write and draw in color. And, for now, it’s our pick of the best Android ereader.
Read our in-depth Onyx Boox Tab Mini C review to learn more.
How I tested the Onyx Boox Note Air 3
Used for business and personal note-taking for 3+ months
Read ebooks and articles and tested various Android apps and games
Compared with similar size e-paper tablets with note-taking capabilities
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I jumped into testing the Note Air 3 by incorporating it into my daily work activities for several months, using it to create a wide variety of handwritten documents, including meeting notes, to-do lists and even the notes for this review.
For productivity tasks and note taking, I primarily used Boox’s own Notes app and set it up to use the Note Air 3’s in-built cloud-syncing capabilities with services including Dropbox, Microsoft OneNote and Google Drive. I also tested several third-party Android productivity apps including OneNote and Evernote to see how they fared on an E Ink screen when using a stylus as the primary input device.
To assess reading on the tablet, I loaded a variety of PDF documents and ePub books onto the device and opened them in the native reader app, NeoReader, judging areas like text legibility, customizability of fonts and other layout elements.
Lastly, to test how the Note Air 3 fared with the widely varying requirements of Android apps, I downloaded and used a wide range of popular examples, from video-driven services like YouTube and TikTok, to charting games, read-it-later services like Pocket, and RSS readers such as Feedly and NewsBlur.
There are a lot of monitor companies out there. If you are in the market for a monitor, odds are you have half a dozen or so phenomenal options that you could choose for just about any scenario. Our expert reviews of the best business monitors should be a testament to that very fact -- there are some incredible displays out there. Notably, in the world of the best ultrawide monitors, a gaggle of options still skilfully serve their purpose at your desk.
The Dell Ultrawide U4024QW monitor is yet another Ultrawide monitor; this one is a 5K2K panel with a built-in Thunderbolt hub, some impressive onboard software, and outstanding ports. It's not great for gamers or those who want just a casual monitor; this is far too much of a screen for that, but for those who need an acre of screen real estate, need it to be crisp and clear, they want the simplicity of a hub built-in (Thunderbolt at that), and they don't mind paying for it, this is a phenomenal option, with very few drawbacks.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Dell U4025QW: Unboxing & first impressions
The Dell U4025QW comes well-packaged in an eco-friendly, 100% recyclable box. Inside, you'll find the monitor, a sturdy stand, power cable, DisplayPort cable, USB-C to USB-A cable, HDMI cable, Thunderbolt 4 active cable, a quick setup guide, and the standard documentation. Right off the bat, Dell includes everything needed to plug the monitor into your laptop or computer and get to work. There is no need for extra steps or accessories -- plug and play at its most basic.
Setting up the Dell U4025QW was straightforward. I chose to pop this on my monitor arm, adding the Vesa mount on the back and the mounting plate on the arm bracket. The 40-inch curved screen immediately impresses with its immersive size and sleek design. Admittedly, I was shocked by how vast this screen was after it was plugged in.
Dell's U4025QW fits the design language I have come to expect from Dell monitors. I could line up nearly every Dell monitor side by side, and they would all look almost the same, less the screen resolutions and sizes, etc. The silver color, simple border, minimal Dell badging, and screen coating are all the same. The default basic stand was the same, so I wasn't worried about testing that and jumped right to my heavy-duty monitor arm.
Like other Dell monitors, most of the ports are on the back lower half of the monitor. What's great about this one is that it has a pop-out hub on the bottom bezel on the left half of the monitor. This allows for easy access to the built-in hub without having cables dangling weird or oddly placed ports that are hard to reach for some.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Dell U4025QW: In use
For everyday use, the Dell U4025QW is a master at productivity tasks. The extra screen real estate from a more traditional monitor layout and size is incredibly noticeable in any application. I found myself spreading my entire workflow across 40 inches of pixels, where I usually have two virtual displays that I swipe between depending on the type of task, and I utilize my iPad for even more screens.
However, I didn't need multiple displays with this display. I could fit everything comfortably on this screen, all at once, or I could still focus on something in the middle and minimize everything else. Perhaps it was a comfort or what I am used to, but I did find myself overwhelmed at some points with just how much I had on the screen. This issue, of course, is a personal flaw and not one of the monitor, as the monitor is only doing what I tell it, but it is worth noting too that if you are someone who struggles with focus or can get easily overwhelmed, this may not be for you.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
While working on this screen, the 120Hz refresh rate delivers smooth scrolling and highly responsive performance. It's worth noting that you'll need a beefy graphics card to push this thing to its highest performance. I even noticed my M2 MacBook Pro lagging if I had too much going on. Further, the image is clear and crisp while staying bright and color-accurate, making this great for business and creative professionals using photo or video editing monitors.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
The built-in Thunderbolt dock works excellent and allows me to plug in cameras, a light bar, a mic, Ethernet, extra computers, and devices through the other IO; it allows me to charge my MacBook and run a dongle for even more responsive mouse and keyboard experiences, making it a strong contender for best monitor for MacBook Pro at the least.
Dell U4025QW: Final verdict
The Dell U4025QW is an impressive monitor for professionals needing a large, high-resolution display for productivity or creative work. The color accuracy is excellent, boasts a robust feature set, and has a fantastic array of inputs, making it a true jack of all trades regarding workspace additions. It may not be the best 5K monitor for you - the high cost and need for a powerful graphics card to utilize this display fully make this unattainable or unreasonable for most. Still, for those who need an enormous screen with all the features, this monitor is literally, exactly that.
