The Kindle e-reader was the original ‘Amazon device,’ and the heart of its e-reading lineup has long been the Paperwhite. So much so that Panos Panay, Amazon’s head of devices, described it as the “most loved Kindle” and the one that, as he admitted, owners with the current or previous-gen models are hesitant to upgrade.
That reluctance notwithstanding, Amazon has set out to make the best Paperwhite yet, with the all-new Kindle Paperwhite and more premium Kindle Paperwhite Signature. There are a lot of similarities between the two – both are thinner, lighter, and faster than the previous Paperwhite, with a better, larger 7-inch display that’s designed to be easily readable in any conditions.
It’s still only black-and-white, though – you’ll need to opt for the new Kindle Colorsoft if you want a color display for comics and the like – and is only for reading – get a Kindle Scribe, or maybe a Remarkable, if you want to write.
(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)
The new Paperwhite's colors are fantastic, and Raspberry is certainly my favorite. While I haven’t read a book on it yet, I got to spend some time with the Signature Edition at Amazon’s hands-on launch event. So, let’s talk through the new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition.
Pricing and Availability
If you’re a Kindle lover, here’s some good news – the new Paperwhite and Paperwhite Signature Edition are shipping now. The Kindle Paperwhite costs $159.99 / £159.99 (we’re waiting for Australian pricing to be confirmed) and comes in a matte, soft-touch Raspberry, Jade (a green), or Black.
The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition costs a bit more at $199.99 / £199.99 (again, we’re waiting for Australian pricing to be confirmed) and comes in metallic variants of those same three colors – aptly named Metallic Raspberry, Metallic Jade, and Metallic Black, which have some extra sparkle thanks to aluminum flakes being sprinkled in. That extra spend also doubles the storage to 32GB, and adds wireless charging capabilities and an auto-adjusting light sensor.
Both are shipping now, and Amazon has also debuted a bunch of new cases, including color-matched ones.
Kindle Paperwhite (2024): One Minute Review
(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)
As soon as I lifted up the new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition – technically now the 12th generation – it was clear that Amazon has focused on refining an already successful model. It’s the most popular e-reader in the Kindle lineup, and the one we’ve recommended for most people, at least with the last generation.
It’s still very comfortable to hold with just a hand, and while the back is more reflective on the Signature Edition, it’s still easy to get a grip. Amazon says the Paperwhite weighs in at just 211 grams, which is a good bit under half a pound at just 0.47lbs or 7.5oz. I found it easy to navigate the interface with just one hand, though I think most folks will use both. You’ll still turn pages, scroll through your library, and adjust settings like font size, brightness, or warmth, by touching the screen.
The thinness here shouldn’t be underestimated either – it’s super portable, and at just 7.8-millimeters thick, which is a small but considerable decrease from the 8.1mm of the previous Paperwhite. Just take a look at the photos; it’s thin, and it has a good center of gravity for easily holding it. It’s also still waterproof, so you can safely read in the bathtub or by the pool, and with an anti-reflective coating over the display, it’s easy to see the screen even in bright sunlight.
(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)
The display here is a bit bigger than on the last-gen Paperwhite, and feels more front and center thanks to thinner bezels all around. It measures 7 inches diagonally, up from 6.8 inches on the previous version, and has 300 pixels per inch (ppi) resolution. Amazon says it also boasts a higher contrast rate, making it easier to read displayed text in any lighting.
I found that the text looked plenty inky, and it was easy to make out what was on the page… err, screen. The same goes for scrolling through Manga or a Comic on the Paperwhite; this is still very much a screen that’s easy on the eyes, and it’s even easier if you have the Signature Edition, thanks to its light sensor, it will automatically adjust the brightness and temperature throughout the day for better clarity.
What might be most impressive, though, is the speed, and how close to instant the new Paperwhite feels. Thanks to a new custom processor under the hood and a new Oxide back panel, the Paperwhite can refresh and update the E Ink display in record time. It’s 25% faster – at least what Amazon promises for both models – and it really shows when scrolling through a library or zooming through pages.
The Kindle Paperwhite simply flies. Unless you’re a speed reader, being able to quickly flip pages may not help, but it should make the Kindle Paperwhite feel more like a real book, or faster, since it can update what’s being displayed even quicker. This could make a really big impact, especially if you’re upgrading from an older model.
(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)
You’ll also have plenty of room to store your books and other documents, with 32GB of storage on the Paperwhite Signature Edition or 16GB on the standard model. Remember, you can offload books to the cloud as well, should you run out of space.
The only physical button for the Kindle Paperwhite still lives on the bottom, slightly off-center to the right, next to the USB-C port. You’ll use this to jump into the Kindle’s interface from the lock screen’s E Ink lock screen or to put the Paperwhite to sleep. The USB-C port may not see much action either, as Amazon promises up to 12 weeks of use on a full charge, and judging by my experience with previous models, it may last even longer, depending on use. This is also an improvement of the previous generation, which topped out at 10 weeks. You can also charge your Kindle wirelessly if you get the Signature Edition, which is convenient as you can simply lay it on a charging pad to ensure it’s always topped off.
All-in-all, with a larger display to let you see more of whatever you might be reading (it’s likely a reread of Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen for me, or diving into The World’s Worst Assistant by Sona Movsesian), an even lighter design that does indeed suggest ‘paper’, faster performance, and even better battery life, there’s a lot to like here.
And at $159.99 / £159.99, or $199.99 / £159.99 with the bells and whistles of the Signature Edition, it’s a bit more than the previous generation, which was $149.99 for the standard and $189.99 for the Signature Edition. We’ll need to spend a bit more time with it, and do some serious reading, but from our early impressions, fans of previous Paperwhites will be happy with the latest one, and those looking for a Kindle that can go anywhere will be equally pleased.
It wouldn’t be a Kindle family without a junior member. Arriving alongside a new Kindle Paperwhite, a Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, first ever color Kindle – the Colorsoft – and a next-generation Kindle Scribe that’s been dubbed a 2-in-1 by Amazon device’s chief Panos Panay, is the all-new entry-level Kindle.
The new Kindle costs $109.99 / £ 94.99 (we’re waiting for Australian pricing to be confirmed). It remains pretty basic – although there is a new color option, a sage-green shade that Amazon calls Matcha, but if you’re alright with a few compromises, there’s no doubting the portability and appeal here.
I got to spend a bit of time with the newest, most affordable Kindle on the block, and while it looks nearly identical to its predecessor aside from the fresh paint job, Amazon has made some upgrades to arguably the most important aspect of the Kindle experience – what it’s like to read on the device.
Pricing and Availability
Whether you’re hunting for a gift or simply want a new Kindle, Amazon isn’t making you wait. The all-new core Kindle is up for order now in either Matcha or Black priced at $109.99 / £94.99, and it starts shipping now. We’re waiting on Amazon to confirm pricing and availability for the e-reader in Australia.
Amazon Kindle (2024): One-Minute Review
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Amazon’s entry-level Kindle still features a 6-inch E Ink display at 300ppi (pixels per inch), but it can now get as bright as the Kindle Paperwhite and offers higher contrast, just like the other new Kindles. In my brief demo, text was inky black, and I could comfortably read what was on the page without feeling any eye strain. Further, considering that lighting in the hands-on space in which I got to try out the new Kindle was varied and frequently changing – at times there was bright glare from the sun and at other times no sun at all – I could still make out what was on the display at most angles. However, if you want supreme viewing angles, you’ll want to opt for the Paperwhite or Paperwhite Signature Edition. Still, with the improved brightness – now matching the more expensive Kindles – you can better enjoy reading in a range of conditions.
If you want to read in bed after a long day's work, the Kindle is fit to do that too, with four LEDs built in to illuminate the display. You cannot adjust the warmth of light here; it’s just standard LEDs for backlighting whatever you’re reading. Turning the light on and off and adjusting brightness is done onscreen with your fingers. That’s also the same method for controlling everything else. You can tap the right of the screen or swipe from right to left to turn the page forward, and do the opposite to go back a page, tap at the bottom of the display to adjust how the book is displayed, and at the top for everything from quick settings to going to the home screen.
There’s also the promise of faster page turns and general navigation, with Amazon promising a 10% speed boost. We’ll need to spend a bit more time with the new Kindle, and likely put it head-to-head against the previous generation, to fully test Amazon’s claims, but the reading experience felt plenty fluid in my hands-on time, and I didn’t notice any hiccups or speed bumps.
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You’ll still find the power button – which is the only physical button – on the bottom of the Kindle next to the USB-C port. Amazon again promises battery life of up to six weeks, which is half the battery life of the new Paperwhite and two weeks less than the Kindle Colorsoft, although still plenty long enough. There’s still 16GB of storage inside, which should equate to plenty of room for all your e-books.
It’s essentially the same compact e-reader as before, measuring 6.2 x 4.3 x 0.32 inches / 157.5 x 109 x 8mm. That last spec is only 0.2mm thicker than the Paperwhite, meaning this is still plenty thin, and it won’t weigh you down either at just 5.6oz / 158g. The coolest part of the design, though (aside from, in my opinion, the new Matcha color), remains the fact that the Kindle can fit in most jacket pockets or a small bag. That’s pocket-sized reading, pardon the pun.
Going by size alone, the new Kindle is very demure – and judging by Kindle Tok (a trending term on TikTok), I think the TikTok community will be on board – but for me, the new Matcha color is really delightful. It’s cutesy, in keeping with the demure trend, but it’s also just a nice shade, and a welcome pop of color amid a sea of mostly black, grey and silver tech. It’s truthfully a pale sage-green, and I prefer it over the Denim that the last-generation Kindle was offered in.
(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)
At $109.99 / £ 94.99, it’s not just an affordable e-reader from Amazon, but it checks off the basics in a familiar build that still screams Kindle. If you can live without a bigger display that you can adjust the warmth on or a super long battery life, it’s still the core e-reading experience from the brand.
If the main thing holding you back from buying the 2-in-1 Amazon Kindle Scribe was that it wouldn't let you scribble on books or in the margins, I have some good news for you.
Amazon's latest Kindle adds markup capabilities (of a sort) and throws in a subtle yet spiffy redesign for the big-screen eReader and notetaker and its stylus companion. There's even a small yet important helping of generative AI.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Pricing and availability
Amazon unveiled the 2024 Kindle Scribe on October 16 along with a new Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, and its first color E Ink device, the Kindle Colorsoft. The Kindle Scribe lists for $399.99 and will ship in December.
The look of it
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Amazon Kindle Scribe has never been your typical Kindle e-reader. At 10.2 inches, the screen is more than three inches larger than the biggest Kindle screen (currently the new 7-inch Paperwhite). In addition to touch, it supports high-precision pen input thanks to a Wacom Digitizer panel below the surface.
The new Amazon Kindle Scribe 2024 edition doesn't change any of that. Size, weight, and specs are the same as last time, but the reader does look different all the same. The metal body is now a brighter green and, in an unheard-of move, Amazon surrounded the display with a wide white border.
As Amazon's Kindle VP Kevin Keith told me, it is much harder to hide things like components and sensors behind a thick white bezel. Still, I get the intention; that white border is intended to make the thin and light e-reader look even more like a giant white piece of paper. It's a pretty good effect.
The Pen probably got a bigger redesign, with refined looks and now an elastomer eraser nub on the back end that feels like a real eraser when used on the Scribe's screen.
Display: 10.2
Storage: 16 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB
Dimensions: 196 x 230 x 5.8mm
Weight: 433g (Pen: 17g)
Am expansive display
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The E Ink display remains a wonder. It has just enough roughness to feel like paper and that's especially effective when you put the new stylus to work on it. There's just enough friction to feel like you're dragging a real pen across paper.
When you combine it with the 300 ppi resolution and near-zero latency, it's easy to forget that you're writing and drawing on a digital panel and not real, if slightly gray, paper. These capabilities are largely unchanged from the original Scribe, though the redesigned pen does feel better in the hand, and the eraser is now fun to use. Though I was surprised that when I erased digital ink, the little rubber nub seemed to leave some actual elastomer crumbs on the display – this may be taking verisimilitude a tad too far.
While my hands-on time was brief, it was enough that I could try out writing, reading, and drawing on the large display. It's all quite satisfying, but it's also not necessarily what defines this new Amazon Kindle Scribe.
Intoducing Active Canvas
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The new Kindle introduces Active Canvas, which finally adds some in-book notetaking to the Scribe experience. It was not live yet on most of the demo units I tried, but I got a few solid demonstrations and think that this will please those who thought the original Scribe was lacking this key feature.
Active Canvas is simple. If you want to annotate a book, you can just start writing right on top of the section in the book. As you write, the text under where you're writing fades away, and then a box appears, and the book text automatically flows around it. You select a check to set the box, which you can then resize, but more importantly, that annotation remains anchored to the text in the book. I watched as an Amazon rep resized the font, and the annotation held fast.
Amazon is also adding expanded margins for annotations that will similarly anchor to positions in the book. That feature, which I did see working in demos, will ship sometime after Amazon ships the Scribe.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
A dose of AI
The Amazon Kindle Scribe wouldn't be a new product in 2024 if it didn't get a little dollop of AI. In this case, it's a two-pronged attack: Refinement and Summarization.
Again, I could not try these features out for myself, but I did watch closely as another Amazon rep demonstrated them.
Refinement seems tailor-made for me and my very messy handwriting.
The Scribe has extensive note-taking features, but I find it fairly useless if all my notes are not organized or clarified in some fashion. The Refinement feature is a good first step. It uses a cloud-based generative AI to read and clean up my notes.
The process, which starts with you selecting a little quasar-like icon in the upper right corner of the screen, takes 15-to-20 seconds and sends the encrypted data to Amazon's Bedrock Gen AI server. The system returns an incredibly cleaned-up version of your notes. They look handwritten, but that's because they're now in Amazon's custom handwriting font, which can be easily resized.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
This process certainly makes the notes more glanceable, but I think it's the Summarization feature that will change things the most for avid Kindle Scribe notetakers.
It goes through the same process of selecting the AI icon, but you then have to choose if the system is to summarize the current page or all your pages in that note file. I, naturally, would always choose the latter.
What's returned looks like a brief, handwritten, and concise summarization of what can be quite lengthy and messy notes. Unlike your own handwritten notes, it's the kind of thing that you might be comfortable sharing with coworkers.
Amazon uses a variety of LLMs (large language models) to figure out all handwritten notes. When I asked Amazon Kindle VP Kevin Keith which LLMs it was employing he demurred, telling me instead, "We continually look for the best models, and that's what's great about Bedrock. You can change out different models."
There was, by the way, no mention of Alexa AI or Alexa AI integration in these new Scribe tools, which is a shame but perhaps we'll see it in future Scribe and its Gen AI updates.
The pens' the thing
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Because Amazon Kindle Scribe uses Wacom digitizing technology, the Scribe Pencil needs no power source. So, while you can magnetically attach it to the side of the e-reader, it doesn't need that connection to juice up. The pen could be unattached for months and still work.
That's pretty impressive when you consider all this pen can do. It's got a high degree of pressure sensitivity, tilt recognition, and a newly redesigned eraser. In my experience, the latency was essentially zero. It kept up with fast and slow strokes.
It's fun to use, and that big canvas cries out for an illustration. It's also nice that the pen ships with the Kindle Scribe.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Battery life
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Amazon Kindle Scribe is rated for 12 weeks of battery life, but that's if you keep the WiFi off. Your battery life will also vary based on how often you use the lights to illuminate the reflective screen in the dark and how much you annotate your books. Still, battery life will invariably be "weeks" and not "days" or "hours" with a Kindle.
Unlike some of the smaller Kindles like the new Paperwhite and Colorsoft, the Scribe is not water resistant, so just keep that in mind if you take it to the pool or beach.
Color me not surprised but genuinely pleased that Amazon has finally delivered its first color Kindle.
In the 17 years since the first Kindle first arrived, e-reader display technology has moved at a glacial pace, especially when compared to, for instance, the iPhone, which was released that same year. While that product has seen significant updates across every aspect of the mobile device, Amazon's Kindle has more or less tried on different outfits, from the giant DX to the oddly-shaped Oasis. Amazon and its display partner E Ink gradually improved the pixels per inch to a robust 300 and the contrast ratio to something approaching paper (marked with the breakthrough product Paperwhite). Along the way, we got touch screens and far better LED support lighting for when there isn't enough sunlight.
Nothing, though, has felt like a breakthrough or something that might fundamentally alter our Kindle e-reader experience. Not until today, that is.
I get that a color screen in our world of Ultra HD, Super Retina, and QuadHD displays might seem quaint but delivering color on an e-reader is no trivial matter. E Ink display technology is the opposite of active. It's a physical technology where tiny black and white balls are energized to turn to the black or white side to generate an image. Once the image is on your E Ink screen, it takes zero energy to keep it there. E Ink displays generally only use battery power when refreshing the screen. It's why your Kindle battery lasts weeks instead of hours (WiFi and the LED lighting will eat up the most juice) and why these screens are not intrinsically designed for full color.
And yet, I just spent an afternoon with Amazon's new Kindle Colorsoft and was pleasantly surprised at the richness of color. While it is nowhere near as vibrant as an LCD or OLED display, it is a significant step forward for e-reader technology.
Pricing and availability
Amazon announced the Kindle Colorsoft on October 16 along with a new Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite 12 gen, and Kindle Scribe. The Kindle Colorsoft lists for $279.99 with 32GB of RAM and ships on October 30.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
It's Paperwhite plus color
Amazon's first color e-reader is still built on the foundation of what is ostensibly its best Kindle: the new Paperwhite Signature edition. That means it has the same 7-inch screen (up from 6.8 inches), wireless charging, and a thin and light, virtually waterproof chassis. It's still a 300 ppi Oxide backplane display, and in black-and-white mode, it offers page turns that are virtually as fast as those of the non-color display.
The 4000-color capabilities come by way of a filter co-developed with E Ink that uses Nitride LEDs to assign pixel-level colors. This is in contrast to the color E Ink Gallery 3 display on the new Remarkable Pro, which uses colored particles to generate on-screen colors. Amazon Kindle VP Kevin Keith told me Amazon chose the color filter because the other technology suffers from too much flashing, ghosting, and latency.
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft specs
Display: 7 inches
Resolution: 300 ppi (150 ppi color)
Dimensions: 127.6 x 176.7 x 7.8 mm
Weight: 219 grams
Amazon chose to move forward on a color Kindle now because it saw the opportunity to build a better color filter with E Ink and rebuild the display stack to support it. In other words, Amazon saw a chance to do a color Kindle its way. "Everything we do is customized. None of it is off the shelf. It's all customized by our display engineers and every level of the stack is created by our team," said Keith.
Part of that stack is the new oxide backplane (also found in the new Kindle Paperwhite), which replaces the amorphous silicon of previous models. This change improves the refresh speed (on the Kindle Paperwhite, it's by a full 25% faster than on the last model, but it's' slightly slower here and noticeably so on the color images) and the contrast ratio.
It turns out that the oxide backplane and Nitride LEDs were also crucial to maintaining the contrast. "The [color] filter pulls down the contrast ratio a little bit," Kieth told me, "and we were able to use the backplane and the LEDS to boost the contrast back up. If we hadn't done that, it would dramatically make the reading experience worse."
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Even though Kindle e-readers eat most of their energy on page refresh, and you would think faster refreshes would eat more power, the opposite is true. The oxide backplane has a higher peak voltage than amorphous silicon, 24v versus 15v, which helps it drive faster page refreshes and richer contrast. One Kindle engineer explained to me that because the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Colorsoft are spending less time building these pages, they're saving energy.
There is, however, a battery hit. The Kindle Paperwhite is now rated for 3 months of battery life, while the Kindle Colorsoft, which has a slightly larger battery, offers up to 8 weeks. I know that's still a lot of use for one charge, but it is worth noting that the color display comes with a cost.
Keith told me the Nitride LEDs are more color-friendly than the white LEDs used on previous Kindles. "Then we use these coatings to focus the light through individual pixels instead of mixing colors together. The Nitride LEDS are key to that but it's also with these coatings that they put through the display stack that enables the focus to happen." Put another way, Keith explained, it's focusing the light through individual pixels of color instead of just a spray that mixes color together.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
A color experience
With each generation, Amazon's best Kindles get closer and closer to a paper (or paperback) experience. Like the Kindle Paperwhite Signature on which it's based, the Kindle Colorsoft is about 2mm larger than the last Paperwhite, but it's also thinner and lighter. The larger screen, going from 6.8 inches to 7 inches diagonally, is simply icing on the cake of an ultra-thin book-like experience.
The new color display brings living color to all the book covers in your Kindle Library. It doesn't matter if you downloaded the book last week or five years ago; if it had a color cover, then the book jacket will be in color today on the Kindle Colorsoft.
If you're like me, then you spend most of your time reading lots and lots of black-and-white text on your Kindle. Sometimes, I scroll through my Kindle Library and pause on one of the few graphic novels because I sometimes read these colorful tomes on an iPad. When I consider reading them on the E Ink Kindle, I always pass because I can't see the point of reading them in the comparatively dull monochrome.
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Naturally, the experience on the Kindle Colorsoft is significantly different. It's built to deliver a relatively rich color experience that dives below the surface of a cover and into, for instance, the richly drawn and colorful panels of a Deadpool comic book.
Viewing the panels in direct sunlight and indirect light, I thought the colors looked good and warm but not particularly vibrant. They're clear and easy on the eyes (no blue light!), but you should not expect the visual punch you'd find from, say, an iPad, iPhone, or Samsung Galaxy Tab display. E Ink, even color ink brought to you by some clever color filter, will never be the same as a backlit display.
It's a level of color that I think works as a proxy for print. It has that kind of feel and holds up to the same kind of scrutiny.
Unlike true print, though, the Kindle Colorsoft screen supports pinch and zoom. I found I could zoom in and use gestures to move around a graphic novel page. Granted, the redraw on some of this was a bit pokey; you could see the Kindle Colorsoft screen doing its color work. Keith told me the system automatically does more flashing with color to remove ghosting. "If we don't do that, you'll start to see images behind images," added Keith.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
In another experience, I viewed a National Geographic book full of wildlife imagery. Again, the images are sharp and colorful but a bit muted. I also read some anime that looked pretty good. One thing I did do with a couple of the Kindle Colorsofts was raise the brightness to 100% to try and improve the vibrancy. After my all-too-brief hands-on time, I learned that while you cannot turn off color mode on Colorsoft, there is a color vibrancy setting; I have no idea if that's on by default, though.
The color abilities even play out in highlighting content, offering four highlighter colors. Those colors are not just for variety. You'll be able to search based on highlight color, and if you open your Kindle app on the iPhone or iPad, those same highlighted colors will appear there, too.
While I was generally pleased with the color performance, there is no escaping one important and niggling fact: color mode is only 150ppi. That's right – half the resolution you will see when reading a monochrome book on the same device, and everything looks so good at that reduced resolution is an achievement in itself.
It's hard to draw conclusions from my limited hands-on time, especially because the lighting situation was so inconsistent. Bright light bouncing off skyscrapers and into the demo space was a kind of harsh yet indirect light that didn't necessarily suit the Kindle Colorsoft's new screen technology. To truly assess the color and overall image quality, I need to move this device to my test bed, or rather bed, where I do all my Kindle reading.
You see, that's the real test for Kindle Colorsoft. Can I comfortably and enjoyably read these new color images from the comfort of my favorite reading spot.
You don’t own the reMarkable Paper Pro, it owns you. This is a tablet with a single purpose – to capture your ideas. It does that almost perfectly. There are other things you can do with the reMarkable Paper Pro, but it won’t do anything as well as keeping your thoughts and ideas organized and flowing.
It does this by doing almost nothing else. The reMarkable Paper Pro is the follow-up to the reMarkable 2, a monochrome writing tablet with an E Ink display and a Wacom-licensed EMR stylus. The earlier reMarkable earned fans by offering simplicity and a distraction-free environment. It's so well designed and pleasant to use that it becomes addictive, and that’s why I keep using it.
I bring my reMarkable 2, and now my reMarkable Paper Pro, to every event I cover as a journalist. It’s not just because I love flashing the most pretentious, manicured, single-minded tablet you can own; it’s because the reMarkable feels free and easy in a way my laptop cannot.
When I have to type notes on a keyboard, I feel constrained. I need to sit. I need to follow the rules of the document app. I can’t easily create and organize notes in the way I want, not without fighting the app.
When I use my reMarkable, I can put my ideas to paper the way I like, and I still get to save everything to Google Drive. In fact, reMarkable has finally relented, and you can now edit documents from the reMarkable app, away from the tablet. That’s been a long-requested feature from reMarkable’s devoted fan base.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The Paper Pro finally gives the most-requested features to reMarkable fans, including a front light for reading in the dark (seriously, you can’t read the reMarkable 2 in the dark), and – drum roll please – a color E Ink display!
I wasn’t expecting a color reMarkable this year, because the color E Ink tablets I’ve seen haven’t been spectacular. reMarkable has incredibly high standards, and the company seemed in no hurry to launch a new, sub-par product.
The reMarkable Paper Pro is a different color E Ink panel from anything I’ve seen before – I’ll talk later about the technology that brought reMarkable out of Kansas to the Land of Oz.
The reMarkable Paper Pro is electronic paper (ePaper), pure and simple, and it’s best not to expect too much from this tablet. It’s the best ePaper you’ve ever used. Since the reMarkable 2 launched in 2020, the company has spent a great deal of its effort improving the writing experience beyond all expectations. There's no perceptible lag between the pen and the ePaper. Writing feels like writing, as it should.
If that doesn’t appeal to you, you may be outside of reMarkable’s target audience, because the reMarkable Paper Pro is truly a luxury device for people who want the feeling of writing on paper, with the convenience of digital storage. This is not a versatile tablet. The list of things the reMarkable cannot do is longer and more surprising than the list of what it can.
There's no web browser on the reMarkable Paper Pro, because the company says the primary goal of the Paper Pro is to help you avoid distractions. To that end, not only can you not browse the web, you can’t even check the time. There's no visible clock on the Paper Pro. No web windows, no clocks – it’s like a Las Vegas casino, if Vegas was about creativity instead of gambling.
Why is there no clock? Because reMarkable knows this won’t be your only screen, or even your second screen. This is the device you buy after your iPhone and MacBook, instead of a distractingly bright and colorful iPad.
The reMarkable Paper Pro is the anti-iPad (Image credit: Future)
The company is unapologetic about its spartan attitude. It takes pride in rejecting far, far more feature requests than it grants: around 95% of the features that users request are rejected, according to reMarkable reps.
If you want a tablet that does a lot more, get an iPad. If you want an E Ink tablet that does a lot more, like running apps and a browser, get an Onyx Boox Note Air 3. If you want an E Ink tablet that's good for reading books, buy an Amazon Kindle Scribe.
The reMarkable Paper Pro will have none of that silliness. This tablet is not for reading, and it’s not for apps, and if you want those things in an ePaper tablet, it’s not for you, either.
reMarkable Paper Pro review: price and availability
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Starts at $579 / £559 / AU $929 with a Marker
New Type Folio available at launch for $229 / £180 / AU $330 extra
The reMarkable Paper Pro is very expensive, especially considering how much this tablet doesn’t do. An Apple iPad costs from $449 / £499 / AU$749, without an Apple Pencil of course, and Apple’s tablet can do just about everything. The reMarkable Paper Pro, on the other hand, seems positively archaic by comparison.
That’s entirely the point, and the design and materials are deceptively advanced, as I’ll discuss below in the Design section. This is an ultra-premium, luxury device, even though it lacks features we normally associate with luxury tablets.
Depending on your region, reMarkable might try to sell you a tablet without a Marker, but don’t buy it – or rather, buy the Marker. You need it. The reMarkable Paper Pro isn’t a very good reading device. Also, unlike the reMarkable 2, the new Paper Pro doesn’t use Wacom’s EMR technology for its pen. The Marker is now proprietary reMarkable technology, so you can’t just get the tablet and then buy your own cheaper pen. A Samsung S Pen will not work with the reMarkable Paper Pro, as it will with a reMarkable 2.
You really should use a case or folio with this tablet, and the reMarkable Book Folios are very nice, whether you choose the recycled fabric or the leather. The newer Book Folios have a strap to hold the Marker in place. If you don’t like these covers, just wait a bit, because I’d expect a robust market for third-party covers will pop up on Etsy, just as it did for the reMarkable 2.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
If you want to type on the reMarkable Paper Pro, in addition to writing with the Marker, reMarkable is offering a Type Folio keyboard for $229. Just like the tablet itself, the Type Folio keyboard is incredibly thin. With the Type Folio attached, the reMarkable is about as thick as most tablets with a basic folio cover. The Paper Pro is a larger tablet than the reMarkable 2, so the older Type Folio will not work with the new reMarkable.
The reMarkable 2 will still be available, now for even less. A bundle starts at $379, which is a drop from the previous $399 / £399 / AU$679 pricing, though still more than the Kindle Scribe, which sells for $339 / £329 / AU$549.
Unfortunately, reMarkable will not be accepting any older tablets as a trade-in for the new reMarkable Paper Pro. This is a big mistake, but for a company that started on Kickstarter, I get it. It’s not like reMarkable makes a new tablet every year and encourages regular upgrading. If you have the reMarkable 2, just keep it, it’s still great.
Value score: 4/5
reMarkable Paper Pro review: specs
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
reMarkable Paper Pro review: display
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
New E Ink Gallery 3 display isn't being used in other tablets
Color is built into the pixels, not a separate layer
If you’re not familiar with E Ink, you should know about ePaper first. Unlike an LCD or OLED computer monitor, ePaper is a category of display that is designed to emulate paper. You can read an ePaper display outdoors in bright sunlight because it reflects light. An ePaper display also usually looks the same whether it's powered on or off.
There are a few different types of ePaper technology, and reMarkable uses an ePaper display from a company called E Ink – the screen tech is also called E Ink. Amazon’s Kindle e-reader tablets all use E Ink displays, and so do the reading and writing tablets from Kobo and Onyx.
E Ink is an amazing technology. Where your phone screen lights up and makes a picture when electricity passes through it, E Ink doesn’t light up at all. It makes a picture with tiny, almost microscopic balls. These balls sit in tiny little wells, and when electricity is applied, they rise to the top so you can see them.
The benefit of E Ink displays is that they can consume less power, because the screen will draw a page of words and then… do nothing. It sits still while you read, and it doesn’t require any juice. The screen only uses power when you have to turn the page, or scroll down. This makes it ideal for applications like reading and writing, where there isn’t a lot of page-turning and scrolling.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
E Ink is very bad at displaying video and any task that requires a lot of movement on-screen. The screen cannot refresh nearly as quickly as a phone screen. Your phone's display can update at up to 120 times per second, while the fastest E Ink screen can barely top 10-15 frames per second – and even then, it’s drawing a lot more power than an E Ink screen was intended to use.
The reMarkable Paper Pro is a brand new E Ink screen, at least for tablets. The E Ink Gallery 3 technology has been used in digital signage commercially, but it hasn’t been used in a successful writing tablet. reMarkable is calling its brand of Gallery 3 E Ink the Canvas display.
There are other E Ink color tablets, like the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C and the Kobo Libra Colour. Those tablets use an E Ink Kaleido screen. The difference is where the color sits. On the Kaleido display, you have a black-and-white E Ink layer, just like any e-reader. Then you have a layer of color that sits just above the black-and-white layer.
The Kaleido display can refresh quickly, but the color has to allow the black and white layer to be visible beneath, so it uses a lower color resolution. The color does not look very saturated. If you see one of these screens in person, they almost have a layered effect to the color that seems off compared to color print or a similar medium.
Macro close-up of the reMarkable Paper Pro's E Ink display (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The new Gallery 3 E Ink panel on the reMarkable Paper Pro, on the other hand, puts the color in the same layer as the black-and-white. This gives you better color resolution and a sharper image, but it takes the display longer to draw and update color. In fact, E Ink told me that while the black ink can refresh in 350 milliseconds (ms), the color ink can take anywhere from 500ms to 1.5 seconds to finish drawing, for the most accurate color.
We’ve been waiting four years for a new reMarkable tablet, and the addition of color was highly anticipated by fans, though I was skeptical, as I’ve seen tablets that use color E Ink ‘Kaleido’ panels. I can’t say that the reMarkable color display is perfect, but it definitely looks better than the E Ink competition, and it adds a layer of usefulness.
The colors are still faint, even though reMarkable has added a light to the new Paper Pro tablet. The light is very dim, just barely bright enough power to let you read in the dark. Unlike the Amazon Kindle Scribe, which packs a bevy of LED backlights, the reMarkable Paper Pro gives you a meager candle for reading, and little more.
That said, if you know where to look for the quality, you’ll find it. The reMarkable Paper Pro looks like paper and ink. The display may seem a bit grey, but it looks bone-white compared to other ePaper tablets. The ink color is highly visible and looks like real ink, no matter what color you now choose. The display feels great for writing – not so much like paper, but like expensive stationery. All around, this is a writing tablet for connoisseurs of writing tablets.
Display score: 4 / 5
reMarkable Paper Pro review: Design
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Thinner than an iPad Pro, even with the new lights
Accessories are a must, not a maybe
The reMarkable Paper Pro is an incredibly well-built device, and it has a premium finish and design that is truly… impeccable. Even though the new reMarkable Paper Pro has a larger battery than the reMarkable 2, a fully-lit display, and new color E Ink technology, it remains one of the thinnest tablets you can buy, if not the thinnest.
The new iPad Pro that Apple brags is its thinnest product ever? That 5.3mm fatso needs to lose a couple tenths of a millimeter if it wants to brag against the 5.1mm reMarkable Paper Pro, or the even thinner (and still available) 4.7mm reMarkable 2.
The latest reMarkable is larger than before, so unfortunately the older accessories like the Type Folio won’t work. And you’re definitely going to want a case for this tablet. It feels solid, but it's so thin and light that I’d hate to put its durability to a stress test. The reMarkable folios are all very high-quality, and I expect third party options will appear before long.
Design score: 5/5
reMarkable Paper Pro review: Software
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Not so much software, more like paper with some features
No apps, no home screen, just notes
The reMarkable Paper Pro keeps things very simple. You have notes (called Notebooks) and folders. That’s it. You can tag your notes, then search those tags later to jump to a specific notebook or section in a book.
There is no app store. There is no home screen with widgets and icons. You can see your folders, and you can click on the folders to see the notes inside them. That’s all. I love the simplicity. If you’re tired of saving photos or files on your phone, then having no idea where they went, the reMarkable Paper Pro is a soothing balm. You will never lose anything, because it’s simply right in front of you.
When you write a note, you can handwrite or type text. There's an onscreen keyboard for typography if you don’t buy the Type Folio.
The Paper Pro can convert handwriting to typed text, but the feature is very rudimentary. It was able to recognize most of my writing, but when it could not figure out my chicken scratch, it just skipped that word.
Worst of all, the final product is ugly and hard to correct. In fact, a huge weakness of the reMarkable software is how difficult it can be to edit, change, and move things around, especially typed text. It's very hard to select the right word, or a group of words, because the screen can feel unresponsive. It is almost impossible to create a proper layout using type – you’re better off just drawing what you want.
Sadly, there are very few helpful drawing tools, either. There is no help making straight lines, and nothing to make shapes. You can’t create stickers to add to your documents, which would be a boon for journaling fans.
Close-up of the highlighter tool on the color reMarkable Paper Pro (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
You can write in color, or paint in color, or highlight in color, but the color features are just as limited as everything else. Don’t expect the reMarkable Paper Pro to be your new drawing tablet. The color options are scant and unalterable. You can’t tap to fill a space with color, for instance.
You can’t even pick your own colors. You get the colors reMarkable has chosen, and that’s all. No color picker, no blending colors. Colors are for organization and ideas, not, well, coloring.
Actually, that’s not true, because I downloaded a PDF with some mindfulness exercises that include coloring, and though my color options are limited, I can still have fun making pretty pictures. You can load any PDF or ePUB document onto the reMarkable Paper Pro, either through the mobile or desktop app, or using a Chrome extension that converts web pages into PDFs. Once you have a document loaded, you can draw and color upon it to your heart’s content.
Software score: 2/5
reMarkable Paper Pro review: Performance
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Amazing pen response, with new pen technology
Screen can feel very sluggish with touch, especially swipes
The reMarkable Paper Pro has a lot more power than before, but for what? The most advanced feature, and maybe the only advanced feature, is handwriting recognition, a technology that predates the earliest iPhone.
Actually, I’ve talked to developers who work with E Ink who tell me that the screen technology is astonishingly difficult to program, so perhaps the improved performance is driving the more complex color display.
The problem is that the reMarkable Paper Pro feels very slow. Not when you’re writing. Writing works at light speed. The new Marker uses an active technology, powered by a rechargeable battery, that makes response time even faster, according to reMarkable. Writing feels very fast and fluid, with absolutely no discernible lag.
Navigating the reMarkable Paper Pro, though, feels like a serious drag. Swiping to the next page often took multiple swipes. Scrolling could be unresponsive on longer documents, and pinch-zooming might not work on the first attempt.
Once you have your document template set up, everything feels snappy. Writing, drawing, and coloring with the new brushes works with perfect fluidity. It feels like writing on real paper, not writing on a laggy screen. Once you’re done, have some patience, because it could take a while to send your file, or navigate to the next folder.
Performance score: 3 / 5
reMarkable Paper Pro review: Battery
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Two weeks of battery life, even with the light continually on
That's because the light is very dim
Before you get impressed by the two weeks of battery life that the reMarkable Paper Pro can offer, remember that an Amazon Kindle with an E Ink display can last more than a month with steady use. The reMarkable is impressive, but it isn’t the best ePaper device for battery life.
It’s still much better than competing devices from Onyx, like the Onyx Boox Air 3. Onyx pushes its E Ink displays to the limit, and Boox tablets can actually display videos, or browse regular web pages, or even run games, like any other Android tablet (almost). Pushing E Ink faster drains power very quickly, though. E Ink is meant to be slow and steady, not fast.
The reMarkable Paper Pro charges via USB-C, and it comes with a charging cord. I’m not sure how fast it charges because the battery lasts two weeks, so I didn’t mind a slower charge-up.
Battery score: 5 / 5
Should I buy the reMarkable Paper Pro?
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Buy it if...
You want a premium digital pen and paper experience
At its heart the reMarkable Paper Pro is simply electronic pen and paper, with all the benefits of the cloud. If you embrace that simplicity, you’ll love it.
You need freedom from distractions There is no web browser, no games, no app store, not even a clock to tell you how long you’ve been procrastinating.
You’ve been waiting for a color reMarkable with a light
A color screen and a light are by far the two biggest requests I hear from vocal reMarkable fans. Those folks get their wish with the Paper Pro.
Don't buy it if...
You want to read books, or do anything else but write
The reMarkable Paper Pro can read PDF files and ePUB books, but it's better for marking up documents than for reading a novel.
You’re going to complain about what it can’t do Look, the reMarkable Paper Pro can’t do a lot, that’s the point. It’s time to simplify! If you can’t get with that, buy something complicated.
You lose pens all the time
The Paper Pro Marker pen is proprietary, so there are no cheap third-party options, and it’s easy to lose since it only attaches magnetically.
Also consider
Amazon Kindle Scribe
If you read more than you write, get the Amazon Kindle Scribe, which gives you access to Amazon’s huge Kindle library, without all the distractions of an iPad or Android tablet.
Apple iPad 10.9
If you need a lot of distractions, or a more capable tablet, the Apple iPad is the same price as the reMarkable Paper Pro, and it has a lot more colors. It’s very distracting, indeed, and it works with an Apple Pencil.
I received the reMarkable Paper Pro a few weeks before this review was published, and I used it as my primary note-taking and journaling tool, both for work and personal use. I normally use a reMarkable 2 for these tasks, so I'm familiar with the tablet’s capabilities and limitations.
I charged the reMarkable Paper Pro at the beginning of my review period and then didn't charge it again until I needed to take photos for this review, to ensure that reMarkable’s battery-life claims were accurate. After two weeks, I tested charging again on my standard USB-C charger.
I connected the reMarkable Paper Pro to my Google Drive account for document synchronization, as well as the Google Chrome browser. I used the reMarkable app on my MacBook, Android phone, and iPhone.
I gave the reMarkable Paper Pro to folks with more drawing ability and artistic talent than I have and asked them what they think. I did not tell them what tablet they were using. I also downloaded a number of third-party PDF files from Etsy to try them with the reMarkable Paper Pro.
I used the reMarkable Paper Pro with reMarkable’s Book Folio and Type Folio cases, typing extensively with the keyboard.
I’ve reviewed quite a few Boox ereaders over the last few years and have always been impressed by their design and the versatility of having Android as an operating system. The Go series carries on this tradition with the 7-inch Boox Go Color 7 ereader, which is essentially a color version of the Onyx Boox Page.
They’re both quite similar physically, featuring page-turn buttons on the wider bezel, flush screens and a plastic build, but the Go Color 7 features a textured rear panel that makes it grippier to hold, and that’s a good thing as it’s quite a thin device (6.4mm / 0.25 inch thickness). The texture also means you won’t see any fingerprints on the rear of the ereader but, sadly, the smooth front panel is a magnet for smudges.
Onyx says that the Go Color 7 is water resistant, but doesn’t provide any rating to suggest how much moisture it can survive. My suspicion is that it might just be splashproof and not submersible as the Kindles and Kobos are, but that’s better than the Page which has no waterproofing at all.
Physically, the Go Color 7 is a lovely device, although I personally would have preferred a little space between the two page-turn buttons, but that’s me nitpicking. What really lets this ereader down is its usability.
For starters, the black-and-white text, which has a resolution of 300ppi, lacks contrast and sharpness as compared to the Kobo Libra Colour, despite both ereaders using the same E Ink Kaleido 3 screen technology. Adding weight (or Enhancement as Onyx calls it) does absolutely nothing. Colors face a similar problem, and they’re noticeably more muted on the Boox compared to the Kobo, and any text in color comic panels, for example, isn't as sharp. If you make adjustments to the color, which Onyx lets you do but isn’t possible on the Kobo, they reveal a lot of texture on the page background that detracts from the reading experience.
That’s not to say the readability is bad – it could be better – but it’s compounded by a whole lot of other software flaws. For example: tap-to-turn doesn’t auto rotate when you turn the device (when you swap hands); the default fonts folder isn’t linked to Storage to make sideloaded fonts work easily; and you have to jump through hoops to use a wired connection for file transfers when using an Apple PC (MacBook or iMac).
These issues become cumulative and make using the Go Color 7 far from enjoyable and hard for me to recommend, at least not till Onyx releases firmware updates to fix some of the software problems that plagues this ereader. It also means that despite the versatility of having the Google Play Store at your fingertips, the higher price tag compared to its Kobo competitor doesn’t add any value.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Onyx Boox Go Color 7 review: price and availability
Announced June 2024
Launch price of $249.99 / €279.99 / AU$459
Available to buy directly from the Boox Shop and at select retailers
The Boox devices aren’t known for their affordability, but can offer bang for buck because of how versatile they can be on account of running Android. So it’s not surprising that the Boox Go Color 7 comes into the market with a price tag of $249.99 / €279.99 (about £239) / AU$459, which is the same price as the Boox Page (the B&W version of the Go) in the US and the European Union, but AU$40 more expensive in Australia. If you purchase it directly from the Boox Shop, it’s possible to get a little discount, but I think the Kobo Libra Colour offers more bang for your hard-earned buck.
With writing capabilities and a more optimized display that offers both superior sharpness and color saturation, in my opinion the Kobo Libra Colour for $219.99 / £219.99 / AU$359.95 is the better device. Even if you pay extra to buy the Kobo Stylus 2 to take advantage of the note-taking features, it’s still the better purchase on account of its more intuitive user experience and fewer software issues.
• Value score: 3 / 5
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Onyx Boox Go Color 7 review: specs
Onyx Boox Go Color 7 review: design and display
Slim design with plastic build
Page-turn buttons
7-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 display doesn’t seem to be optimized for reading
With a similar aesthetic to the Boox Page, the Go Color 7 has a lovely slim profile with an even thickness of only 6.4mm (0.25 inches). That’s just marginally thicker than the Page (6mm / 0.24 inches), but they both weigh in at a mere 195g and don’t put any pressure on the hand or wrist during long reading sessions.
The Go Color 7 takes it a step further by offering a little extra grip via a textured rear panel, which I found good to have as it makes holding the device a little more secure than the Page. However, I personally prefer the asymmetric thickness of the Kobo Libra series and the Kindle Oasis – this ensures your thumb is more securely placed on or near the page-turn buttons and is a little more ergonomic. With the Go Color 7 and the Page, I found I had to keep shifting my grip marginally every few minutes to avoid building up fatigue in the thumb joint and wrist. So while the slim profile is lovely to look at, it’s not ergonomic for single-hand use. I also think Onyx should consider adding a small gap between the two buttons – an issue I also had with the Page – to make each easier to find by touch and improve the ergonomics.
Subtle Boox branding on the rear of the Onyx Boox Go Color 7 (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
What I really love about the buttons is the ability to customize them on a per-app basis. You can set one of three specific functions for all the apps you have on the device (including those downloaded from the Play Store), choosing between page-turn for library or reading apps, set them to scrolling (which is great for web browsing), or use them as volume controls for music or audiobooks. You can even set secondary functions for long presses if you want to via the Settings pane.
Despite having the page-turn buttons, you can use tap-to-turn via the screen if you prefer. However, I found that this functionality doesn’t auto-rotate when using NeoReader (the native library app). It does work for third-party reading apps like Kindle or Kobo, however.
Along with the page-turn buttons, the Go Color 7 also features a single speaker and a mic, housed at the top and bottom of the edge bordering the broader bezel. There’s even a microSD tray that can add more storage to the already-available 64GB. This is handy if you like audiobooks – audio files are typically larger than ebooks, so can eat through onboard storage quite quickly. The top edge houses a small power button.
I was sent the black Go Color 7 for this review, but there’s a white option as well which, I think, looks nicer – all the buttons are silver, adding a little life to the otherwise featureless plastic build. I also think that smudges and fingerprints will be a lot less visible on the white than on the black – the textured rear panel picks up nothing, but the top, smooth bezels are magnets for any oily substance on your fingertips.
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The page-turn buttons are close together on the Onyx Boox Go Color 7 (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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A speaker and a microSD card add value to the Go Color 7 (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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The smooth rear of the Onyx Boox Page (left) shows fingerprint smudges more than the textured rear of the Go Color 7 (right) (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
The 7-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 display is currently the best color e-paper screen tech available and has been used on my pick of the best ereader you can buy right now – the Kobo Libra Colour. The difference here is that the screen is set flush with the bezels on the Go Color 7, which makes it a little more reflective compared to the sunken display on the Kobo. It also means it picks up a lot of fingerprints when you use the screen for functions like tap-to-turn or the keyboard.
The screen is front-lit, with both white and amber LEDs, so you can adjust from cold to warm hues as you see fit. However, there’s no way to make this transition automatic at a specific time – as is available on the Kindle Oasis and several Kobo models – so that you read in colder light during the day and warmer light for evening or nighttime reading. That said, no Boox tablet has this feature, but you can always find your preferred brightness, then add in a little warmth to suit your needs and leave it at that.
I did, however, find that the screen light isn’t as bright as I’ve seen on other ereaders, Boox models included. For example, a side-by-side comparison with the Boox Page shows the latter can get a lot brighter at full bore, while the Go Color 7 looks like it’s barely at half brightness even though I’ve got the light turned up to the maximum. This isn’t a huge concern, but it could make a difference to some users when reading in certain light conditions.
My biggest concern with the Go Color 7’s display is its lack of sharpness in grayscale and comparatively low saturation when reading in color. I go into more detail in the User Experience section of this review, but it seems like Onyx hasn’t optimized the E Ink Kaleido 3 screen correctly for use. In comparison, the Kobo Libra Colour is sharper and the colors look better on the same screen tech.
• Design & display score: 3.5 / 5
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Onyx Boox Go Color 7: Software
Slim version of Android 12
Full access to the Google Play Store
Microsoft OpenAI Azure GPT-3 available as an AI assistant
Onyx has been using Android as its operating system for a long while, with full Google Play Store access on its devices. The latest version of the OS to be used in Boox tablets is Android 12, which might seem outdated and can be deemed a security concern, but I doubt anyone will be using an ereader like the Go Color 7 for any sensitive transactions.
If you’ve used an Onyx Boox device before, you’ll be quite familiar with the setup on the Go Color 7 – nothing has really changed on that side of things. You get easy access to the library app, the bookstore, device storage, apps and settings via a navigation menu on the bottom of the home screen, and you can experiment with each of them quite easily. The bookstore, however, is not ideal as there’s really not a lot of options available to purchase, so you’re better off using the native browser to purchase content online, which then gets saved to the device.
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(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
There’s a lot going on in the Settings pane, and that can take some time to wrap your head around, but there are settings for each native app as well, accessible when you open them. That said, some of these individual settings are hidden away, which isn’t ideal. The Apps pane is arguably the most intuitive section on the device, and it lists the Play Store separately. You just need to sign in and you’re ready to download any app you see fit for use on the Go Color 7 – in my case, I had the Kobo reading app installed, along with a couple of benchmarking applications I used to get more information on the device. I also downloaded a Mahjong game app for a bit of distraction.
There’s a customizable Floating Toolbar in the library app that I really like. It gives me quick access to some shortcuts, particularly the font styling and menu options for each book. While you can sideload fonts, you will need to create a new Fonts folder within the Storage pane for them to get activated – the existing Fonts folder listed in the Storage menu is not linked correctly and doesn’t work – just one of Boox’s many software failings on the Go Color 7, but this issue plagues all of Onyx’s tablets.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
You can use a wired connection to transfer files, but I found that Apple devices like MacBooks and iMacs don’t register a Boox device – it’s only possible on a Windows PC. Again, another software issue. I’ve found that the best way to add content to the Go Color 7 is wirelessly by either using BooxDrop or signing into a supported cloud service like Dropbox or Google Drive. However, files downloaded via the cloud don’t seem to get stored anywhere on the device – when plugged into a Windows PC, I found the library to be empty despite having ‘downloaded’ a bunch of EPUB files. Checking the breadcrumbs on the device for the files also show no pathways. I even tried an app called File Manager+ to find the files, but to no avail. So while I can open and read the files I’ve transferred, I actually can’t find them within the device’s internal pathways – another software issue that I haven’t come across on other Boox tablets previously.
To change things up on the Go Series of Boox tablets, Onyx has added an AI Assistant app. This is essentially Microsoft’s OpenAI Azure GPT and you can get it to write you a short story or start a simple conversation. It works fine, but I think it’s superfluous – I never found the need to use it, but did so only for testing purposes.
• Software score: 3 / 5
Colors on the Kobo Libra Colour (right) have a touch more saturation than the Go Color 7 (left) and a lot of grain/texture is visible on the Onyx too (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Onyx Boox Go Color 7: User experience
Nice to use in one hand
Clunky, overwhelming interface
Screen not optimized for readability
One of the best things about a Boox tablet is the native file support, which is handy because you can sideload a heck of a lot of files to read on the Go Color 7. New here is the addition of one used in China for some academic journals, so while it may not have wider appeal, it takes the document file support to 20 – one more than the older models of Boox tablets.
However, having extensive file (and font) support only goes so far if the screen itself hasn’t been fully optimized for reading – the main function that the Go Color 7 should be good at. I found that despite the 7-inch screen having a 300ppi resolution for black-and-white text, the displayed page lacked sharpness and contrast. Edges are fuzzy when compared to the Boox Page and the Kobo Libra Colour, and the latter uses the exact same screen tech.
Onyx allows you to add weight to the text – it’s called Enhancements and is available in the NeoReader (the default library app) settings – but it does absolutely nothing. And I do mean nothing – as you slide to enhance text, there is no visible change at all. This isn’t a problem with the Boox Page, it works just fine there, even for sideloaded fonts. And a side-by-side comparison with the Kobo Libra Colour revealed a marked difference in contrast between the two competitors that you can see in the image below.
A closer look at the difference in color saturation and page texture between the Onyx Boox Go Color 7 (left) and the Kobo Libra Colour (right) (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
The optimization (or lack thereof) of the screen also affects the color saturation which, compared to the Kob Libra Colour is lacking. However, unlike the text Enhancements, the color customizations work. Some users might like the changes these offer, but I personally didn’t like any of the tweaks I made, but I should note that this was because I also had the Libra Colour in front me at the same time and much preferred the default color settings there – so I will admit to a bias in this case.
I tried adjusting the screen’s light to see if that helped with the display issues but the Boox frontlight system isn’t as bright as what you’d find on the latest Kobos or Kindles. Moreover, the light on the Boox is a lot bluer than on a Kobo or Kindle, which I personally didn’t find pleasing. That said, the Boox allows much more warmth to be added to the frontlight compared to a Kobo or Kindle, which can turn a page entirely yellow. If that’s not to your liking, you can opt to read in dark mode, which will reverse the grayscale display colors but not affect anything in full color.
The Onyx Boox Page (right) has a brighter screen light at the same setting than the Onyx Boox Go Color 7 (left) (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
The device can be set to automatically rotate orientation when you swap hands, which also swaps the page-turn buttons accordingly. What it doesn’t do is automatically change the tap-to-turn functionality, which is strange as it works fine on the Boox Page – another software failing on the Go Color 7.
This isn’t the first software issue I’ve listed – all the previous issues I’ve noted previously in this review have a cumulative effect on the user experience, making it rather difficult to recommend the Go Color 7 to anyone looking for a new ereader. Some of these niggles can be solved via firmware updates but Onyx isn’t very good at fixing existing problems, so I won’t be holding my breath.
The image doesn't do it justice, but the text on the Kobo Libra Colour (left) is sharper than the Onyx Boox Go Color 7 (left) when using the exact same font (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
As with all Boox tablets, the user interface requires some getting used to – there’s a lot happening here and it would be nice if Onyx could figure out a way to simplify the settings. Some important settings – like those from NeoReader – are hidden away while there are other not-so-important features that take center stage – like choice of servers (which automatically connects you to the closest option as soon as you set up the device). Using NeoReader as the default library app is also not the most enjoyable – there’s a lot of information included on a page that can be distracting. I’m referring to the battery, time, page numbers and the like shown on the screen when you’re reading. You can choose specific combinations of these, but I found them all to be overkill for a library app – I would prefer to be given the option to select individual bits of information that I want to see rather than combinations (or pairs) of them, just so I can reduce the clutter on a page.
I no longer expect finesse from Onyx’s user interface but what makes these little niggles stand out even more is the Go Color 7’s other software flaws.
• User experience score: 3.5 / 5
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Onyx Boox Go Color 7 review: Performance
Not a lot of ghosting
Impressive battery life
Snappy screen responsiveness
Despite the software problems plaguing this ereader, the Go Color 7 performs well – so well, in fact, that this is the first Onyx device that I’ve tested that hasn’t made me complain about ghosting. That’s not to say it’s entirely gone, but of all the very many Boox tablets I’ve tested over the years, this has the least amount of ghosting issues. It’s most prevalent when using the AI Assistant app, where the keyboard invariably has an underlay of the graphics visible when the app is first opened, and then the shadow of the keyboard remains when the AI-generated response is displayed. That said, I think the AI Assistant app is superfluous on an ereader and really didn’t use it much, so the ghosting didn’t bother me overmuch.
The Go Color 7 uses the 2.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor that has been used to previously power budget phones like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11, Samsung Galaxy A53, Oppo Reno 7 and Realme 9 – when used in a low-power device like an ereader, it’s more than enough to run it smoothly. Paired with an Adreno 610 graphics chip, the Boox Go Color 7 has the exact same specs as the note-taking 10-inch Onyx Boox Note Air 3, which also performed quite well in our tests.
I didn’t notice any lag in opening apps, nor were there any problems with rapidly switching between apps or features. The screen is very responsive, whether you’re tapping to turn a page or typing something via the on-screen keyboard. In fact, it has one of the fastest response times when using the on-screen keyboard to type – it’s still not quite real-time and I don’t expect it to be, but it’s as close to that as is possible for an e-paper display to be.
The black Onyx Boox Go Color 7 (left) beside the slightly larger, white Kobo Libra Colour (right) (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Like other Boox devices, you can, in theory, watch videos and play some mobile games on the Go Color 7, but don’t expect refresh rates and graphics like you’d see on your phone or tablet – E Ink screens aren’t optimized for real-time responsiveness. Even a simple task like scrolling through social media or even the Play Store can cause a few little hiccups as the refresh rate is not high enough for these kinds of tasks. That said, it’s good enough to play something like Solitaire or Mahjong, or browse the internet.
And even with internet usage, there’s more than enough battery life to last you a few weeks before requiring a top-up. There’s a decent 2,300mAh battery pack in the Go Color 7 and, in my tests, that gave me about 5 weeks of use before the level dropped to 19%, and included approximately two hours of reading each day, about 80 minutes of browsing or mobile games and about 3 hours of audio listening. This was also with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth switched on at all times, the frontlight set at a little over 50% brightness and the system refresh rate set to 5 taps. That’s not too bad considering I also saw about a 12% battery drain while the device was sleeping across the same time period of 5 weeks.
Topping up the battery takes approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes – that’s with the device plugged into a 65W wall charger and using a USB-A to C cable. If you use a PC dock to plug in the Go Color 7 for a charge, note that this will take a very long time as a dock may not offer the 5W of power needed for normal charging speeds. For example, during my testing, the Go Color 7 took about 9 hours to go from 0% to 100% when plugged into an Anker PC dock.
• Performance score: 4 / 5
Smudges and fingerprints are visible on the smooth broad bezel near the page-turn buttons (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Should I buy the Onyx Boox Go Color 7?
Buy it if...
You want a slim, lightweight ereader
The Go Color 7 is one of the slimmest 7-inch ereaders I’ve tested. It’s also compact and quite light, making it ideal for carrying around.
You like the option of having physical page-turn buttons
The advantage of having physical page-turn buttons on an ereader is that it makes it easy to use single-handed. The Go Color 7 takes it a step further by giving you the option to customize the buttons for other functions, and on a per-app basis too. That’s a lot of versatility.
Don't buy it if...
You care about user experience
As nice as it is physically, the Go Color 7 has too many software flaws that make the user experience far from enjoyable.
Value for money is important
It’s not too expensive for a color ereader, but it doesn’t offer as much as some of its competition. For example, you can get writing features, better sharpness and more saturation from the Kobo Libra Colour at a slightly lower price.
Also consider
If this review has you wondering if there are other options you can check out instead of the Go Color 7, take a look at the three alternatives below. They're great alternatives at approximately the same price point, although note that the Kindle option listed here is from 2019 and Amazon has slowly been removing it from some markets.
Kobo Libra Colour
Arguably the best color ereader on the market, with a streamlined, easy-to-use interface and the note-taking features, the Kobo Libra Colour is also slightly cheaper than the Go Color 7.
Onyx Boox Page
It may not have a color display, but if that’s not an issue, the Boox Page is a better Onyx choice than the Go Color 7. It doesn’t suffer from all the same issues as its Go-series cousin, and has sharper text and a brighter light for better readability.
Amazon Kindle Oasis
It’s a little long in the tooth now, but if the page-turn buttons are important to you, then the Oasis is one gorgeous ereader with a metal chassis. In terms of overall performance, it will be a little slower than newer models, but it’s the ereader that pioneered the asymmetric design that’s perfect for single-hand use.
How I tested the Onyx Boox Go Color 7
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Used as daily ereader for approximately 7 weeks
Sideloaded books, music files and fonts via cloud transfer
Use the AI Assistant to write short stories
As soon as I received the Go Color 7 for this review, I signed into my existing Onyx account to sync files and documents I had on my previous device, then logged into the Google Play Store. I downloaded the Kobo app to access my purchases so I could read and listen to them on the Go Color 7, then downloaded a couple of benchmarking applications – CPU X and Geekbench 6.
I ‘bound’ my Google Drive account to the device to access ebooks I have saved on the cloud, but also used the desktop version of Onyx’s BooxDrop to sideload more content for reading. I had a mix of ebooks and comics, plus a few audiobooks and music files on the device.
I used the Go Color 7 for approximately 7 weeks as my regular ereader, during which time I charged it twice. I also compared it directly with the Onyx Boox Page and the Kobo Libra Colour, both of which I’ve previously tested for TechRadar.
I didn’t find a lot of use for the AI Assistant application but used it a couple of times by asking it to write me short stories based on a premise I provided.
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
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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.
The smaller sibling of the OnePlus Pad, the OnePlus Pad Go continues the brand’s tradition of making budget mobile devices to take on the higher-priced giants in the space.
Despite the relatively low asking price, the OnePlus Pad Go still looks like a premium product. It’s light and slender, although a few design flaws undermine the experience in the hand: chief among these is the placement of the camera at the center of the long edge, which is simply asking to be smothered by your fingers every time you grasp it. The build quality doesn’t seem to be up to quite the same standard of more premium tablets either, as I did notice small imperfections in the construction of my test model.
The 11.35-inch, 2.4K display is crisp and conveys colors with brilliant vibrancy, and the 60-90Hz adaptive refresh rate offers a smooth, seamless experience. Despite this, it is overshadowed – literally – by its high reflectivity. Dark hues essentially turn the Pad Go into a glorified mirror, so you’ll struggle to see much of anything in dimly lit scenes.
When it comes to actually using the Pad Go, OnePlus’ Android-based system, OxygenOS, performs well. It ran smoothly during most of my time with it, but I did have a few issues, including the incongruous way you manage app windows, and the inconsistent functionality of the face unlock and auto-rotate features. Those points aside, it was refreshing to be presented with a minimalist Android interface that was as easy to use as that on many of the best tablets.
Performance wise, the Pad Go can handle all the basic tasks expected of a modern tablet, including browsing online content and streaming HD video. It can manage the latter with aplomb, barring the occasional slowdown on loading and buffering, but such occurrences weren’t enough to detract from the overall experience.
It’s also capable of playing the latest and most popular mobile games, albeit they won’t look as impressive as they will on dedicated mobile gaming devices. Productivity is well within the Pad Go’s wheelhouse too, although power users shouldn’t think about substituting it for their laptop or desktop, as it will struggle with high-demand workloads.
The battery life is generous enough to handle a good day’s worth of varied use, and although it does have fast charging capability, it wasn’t that fast, taking around a couple of hours to get back to full. Gaming and other demanding tasks will drain the battery quicker, and the 14-hour video playback claim made by OnePlus didn’t bear out in my tests – it seemed closer to 10.
When stacked up against its nearest competitors, the OnePlus Pad Go’s sleek design and capable performance make it very good value. It won’t be able to handle the most professional of tasks, and it’s a shame the screen is so reflective, but aside from those setbacks, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better tablet that’s cheaper than the OnePlus Pad Go.
(Image credit: Future)
OnePlus Pad Go review: price and availability
Launch price of £299, but now £269
Available now in UK only
Only comes in Green
The OnePlus Pad Go is available now for £269 from the OnePlus website, down from its original price of £299. You can also choose between a charger or the Folio Case as a free gift, but unfortunately there is no official keyboard, at least not yet. Currently, the OnePlus Pad Go isn’t available in the US or Australia.
While £299 is still a large amount of cash to part with, it’s much more affordable than its rivals, particularly the iPad 10.9-inch from 2022, which still retails for £349. For everyday use, the Pad Go offers close to the same performance, working well as a media playback device with light productivity pedigree.
It’s also considerably cheaper than the OnePlus Pad, the company’s higher-spec tablet, which is equipped with a more powerful chip, a better display and a marginally better rear camera.
However, as we noted in our OnePlus Pad review, that tablet still isn’t powerful enough to be a productivity powerhouse, and with that being the case, there’s less reason to buy it over the cheaper Pad Go.
Value score: 5 / 5
OnePlus Pad Go review: specs
(Image credit: Future)
OnePlus Pad Go review: display
Vibrant and bright
Effective automatic warmth adjustment
Reflective screen not great for dark images and video
The 11.35-inch 2.4K display on the Pad Go is, for the most part, a joy to look at. It’s bright and renders colors vibrantly and clearly, and the adaptive refresh rate offers between 60-90HZ, making for smooth transitions. Up against an iPad with an IPS LCD screen, the OnePlus Pad Go acquits itself well.
There are also settings to make the screen easier to look at, such as a reduced blue light mode, which OnePlus calls Eye Comfort, as well as a feature called Nature Tone, which automatically adjusts the display to emit a warmer color palette based on the ambient lighting in your environment. Both of these work well while maintaining the same levels of image clarity.
However, the screen is extremely reflective, which is particularly noticeable with dark images. No matter where you are or what adjustments you make to the brightness settings, this is always a persistent issue, and one of the Pad Go’s biggest weaknesses from a usability perspective. It becomes a real problem when watching movies with darkly lit scenes, and even using dark mode creates noticeably reflectivity.
Smudges, dust and other debris are picked up very easily by the display too. There’s also no fingerprint sensor, meaning you’ll have to secure your Pad Go with a facial scan or a PIN, password or pattern.
Display score: 3.5 / 5
(Image credit: Future)
OnePlus Pad Go review: design
Sleek and slim
Slightly uncomfortable to hold
Camera position can be awkward
Opting for a more rounded geometry than Apple’s squared-off look, the OnePlus Pad Go is very sleek and thin, and the materials feel premium to the touch. The bezel that runs along the camera, though, has a finish that picks up fingerprints and smudges very easily, and the join as it meets the chassis is quite pronounced, which you can feel under your fingertips.
The sides are also very acutely curved, which can feel uncomfortable and less secure in the hand. The test model I was given also had a small but noticeable panel gap in the chassis joint on one side, suggesting it isn’t as well-built as its rivals.
Perhaps the biggest contention I have with the design is the position of the camera, which is located in the center of one of the long sides. This makes it all too easy to clasp the lens with your fingers when holding the tablet in portrait. And since the front camera is in the same position, taking selfies in portrait means you’ll have to look askance into the lens, lest you’ll be caught looking off-center in the photo.
Design score: 3.5 / 5
OnePlus Pad Go review: software
OS is intuitive and uncluttered
Almost no bloatware
A few usability issues with navigation buttons and managing app windows
OxygenOS, the iteration of Android used by the OnePlus Pad Go, is for the most part a robust and very intuitive system to use. It’s very minimal and responsive, rarely getting in the way of the experience. There are also plenty of settings that are easy to find and understand, with useful explanations accompanying many of them.
In practice, the operating system runs smoothly, barring a few minor usability issues. Both the autorotate and face unlock functions were temperamental in my experience, with the former being too eager or not eager enough to switch orientations, and the latter failing half the time to take me straight to the home screen after unlocking, despite the fact I’d toggled the setting instructing it to do so.
Managing multiple app windows isn’t as smooth as it could be either. It takes just a few too many swipes to switch between them, and the Floating Windows feature is too clunky and limited to be used frequently. I also found it to be largely irrelevant, since there aren’t enough compatible apps (the same is also true of the Split Screen function).
As with other Android systems, there is an option to change the navigation method from gestures to buttons, which I personally prefer. However, with the OnePlus Pad Go, the buttons constantly shift position depending on whether or not you’re focused on an app, making it harder to use them than it has to be. The only way to prevent this shifting is if you also disable the task bar along the bottom from showing when in apps.
The aforementioned are only small niggles, though – there is plenty to like about the Pad Go’s software. Mercifully, there is next to no bloatware preinstalled, which can be a common problem with Android devices.
OnePlus has kept everything minimal, and the first-party apps that are present work well and are non-intrusive. The Notes app, for instance, is modeled heavily on Apple’s, and functions as expected, while OnePlus’ own photo gallery app has some useful people-related editing options that aren’t present in Google’s Photos app.
OnePlus has also added what it calls a Gaming Panel, a drop-down menu where you can make various tweaks and access certain tools, such as screen recording, while playing. OnePlus’ HyperBoost Gaming Engine is also located here, which lets you adjust performance modes, ranging from Low Power to Pro Gamer. In practice, however, I didn’t find these modes had any substantial impact on either performance or battery life.
Software score: 4 / 5
(Image credit: Future)
OnePlus Pad Go review: performance
Helio G99 chip handles work and media playback well
Mobile gaming graphics somewhat limited
Speakers are pretty mediocre
The OnePlus Pad Go handles most standard tasks well, from productivity to media playback. The 8GB of RAM is sufficient, and so too is the 128GB of storage. The MediaTek Helio G99 chip is a step down from the OnePlus Pad’s Dimensity 9000, and neither tablet will be able to take the place of a laptop for professional workloads. The Pad Go only suffers from the occasional minor slowdown or stutter, but even with High Performance mode enabled (which is buried in the settings with no shortcut available), I didn’t notice any discernible improvements.
Wi-Fi connectivity doesn’t seem to be the best either. As it happened, during my test I experienced a weak connection. However, my phone was still getting an internet connection, whereas the Pad Go failed to connect until I restarted it.
Mobile games ran relatively smoothly on the whole, although both FIFA Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile did look rather rough around the edges, despite upping the graphics settings as high as I could (in FIFA Mobile, I could not choose high or ultra settings, as the game stated my device did not support them).
Despite warnings about the device getting hot when using Pro Gamer mode, I only ever noticed a slight warming in the top corner of the tablet. But regardless of which mode I chose, I was only able to get around 40 frames per second in Call of Duty Mobile, and FIFA Mobile was capped at 30fps due to the aforementioned lack of device support. Asphalt 9 ran better in my experience, hovering somewhere around the low to mid 50s, but again, the different performance modes didn’t seem to make a difference.
If you’d prefer to use a gamepad instead of a touchscreen, then you can connect a wireless Xbox One controller via Bluetooth. In my experience this worked flawlessly, even letting me control certain aspects of the main UI, although this functionality is limited. I also used a keyboard and mouse for productivity purposes, the former connected via Bluetooth and the latter via the USB-C port. Again, both of these worked without issue. The same was also true when connecting wireless headphones.
When it comes to sound, the four speakers are nothing to write home about. There is a distinct lack of bass, and mild distortion occurs all too easily, as sudden peaks in volume aren’t contained well. The addition of Dolby Atmos, however, is a nice touch. It’s largely redundant when used with the average inbuilt speakers, but when watching movies with a good pair of headphones, it improves the stereo field substantially and imparts a greater sense of space.
The front and rear cameras are middling in their spec, offering only 8MP each and video capture at 30 frames per second at 1080p. There are at least panoramic and time lapse modes, as well as an image stabilization feature. They function well enough, but the 10th-gen iPad is better for shooting, thanks to its 12MP cameras. At this price point, though, there aren’t many tablets that have better cameras than the Pad Go.
Performance score: 4 / 5
(Image credit: Future)
OnePlus Pad Go review: battery
Lasts over a day for casual use
But intensive tasks drain it much faster
‘Fast’ charging takes two hours to charge to full from 5%
For casual use, I found that the battery life of the Pad Go will last over a day, However, intensive tasks such as gaming will naturally drain the battery quicker. After an hour of gaming, with high performance mode and pro gamer mode turned on, the battery went from full to 85%.
OnePlus claims that the Pad Go will last 14 hours when used for playback alone. During my tests, however, I found this figure to be rather optimistic, as I could only manage around 10.
Fast charging speeds are only adequate: it took two hours to charge to full from 5%, since the Pad Go is only capable of charging speeds of 33W; that’s significantly down on the OnePlus Pad’s 67W capability, which can charge from empty to full in two-thirds of that time.
Battery score: 3.5 / 5
Should you buy the OnePlus Pad Go?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
OnePlus Pad Go: Also consider
How I tested the OnePlus Pad Go
Used the device for two weeks
Consumed various forms of content, including video, games and music
Conducted heavy-duty workloads, such as image editing and music production
I spent two weeks with the OnePlus Pad Go. During that time, I used it to watch YouTube videos, live streams and movies, as well as play various games and listen to music.
I also used it for general internet browsing and light productivity, including document writing and spreadsheet creation. For more heavy-duty workloads, I edited images using Adobe Lightroom and played around with the music production app Cubase LE 3.
I used the cameras for taking photos and videos, trying out all the different shooting modes and the integrated editing features. I connected various peripheral devices, such as a keyboard, mouse, and headphones via Bluetooth and the USB-C port.
The Kobo Clara BW is the first big-brand ereader to feature the latest E Ink grayscale screen tech. While the screen resolution remains at the standard 300ppi, the E Ink Carta 1300 display promises a 25% increase in screen responsiveness and better contrast than the previous Carta 1200 panels being used in the current crop of ereaders, and these improvements are on full display on the Clara BW.
I initially began using the ereader without removing the plastic screen protector that comes stuck on newly-purchased tablets, and every light tap was registered by the Clara BW with the function correctly implemented. That’s an improvement over the Kobo Clara 2E and the base Amazon Kindle (2022) model, both of which sport the Carta 1200 screen and did have a few misses when I tried them with the sticky plastic film still on.
There’s also a visible difference in contrast between older 6-inch models using the Carta 1200 screen and the Clara BW, meaning the text on the device appears sharper and clearer, no matter how small or large you like your fonts to be, or how bright you set the frontlight. And that makes reading on the Clara BW an absolute pleasure, although some users might prefer a slightly larger screen.
The Kobo interface, as always, is easy to use and navigate around, which adds to the Clara BW’s appeal, and the ecosystem doesn’t keep you as locked in as Amazon does with its Kindles. Where you do get locked in with Kobo is audiobook support – the only ones a Bluetooth-enabled Kobo ereader will play are those purchased from the Kobo Store or downloaded as part of a Kobo Plus subscription.
Unfortunately, there’s no support for cloud file transfers via either Google Drive or Dropbox, as is available on the Kobo Libra Colour – you can, however, easily sideload content via a USB-C cable linking the device to a laptop or PC. You do, of course, get OverDrive support to borrow digital content from a public library that supports the platform.
It's also a shame that Kobo hasn’t improved the battery life or increased the storage from 16GB. It also still uses a 1GHz processor. While none of these affect how good the ereader is, it does make a difference to the overall value of the Clara BW over its color sibling, the Kobo Clara Colour. With similar specs but a color display, the Clara Colour costs more, but offers you a little more too.
That said, if you don’t need a color screen, then the Clara BW is competitively priced considering it’s boasting a much-improved display, and the ability to repair it to prolong its lifespan makes it easy to recommend to anyone looking for their first ereader.
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
Kobo Clara BW review: price and availability
Announced April 2024
Launch price of $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$239.95
Repair kits and guides available from iFixit
Available to buy now directly from Kobo for $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$239.95 apiece, the Clara BW is only a little more expensive than the 2022 release of the Amazon Kindle (which costs $119.99 / £94.99 / AU$179 for the non-ads option), despite boasting a better screen. That’s good value for money where performance is concerned.
To give it another point of comparison, the Kobo Clara 2E had a launch price of $129.99 / £129.99 / AU$229.95, but was last listed for $139.99 in the US (UK and Australia pricing remained the same) on the Kobo Store, so the Clara BW is well priced compared to its predecessor too.
Moreover, the Clara BW is repairable, which can increase its life once its warranty has expired. Kobo has partnered with iFixit to provide both spare parts and the repair kits you will need, plus there are step-by-step instructions you can follow to perform the self-repair.
The parts – screen, motherboard, front and back covers, and battery – aren’t cheap, but they’re not what I would call terribly expensive either. For example, a new battery will cost you $39.99 / AU$67.99 (price not listed for UK and Europe at the time of writing), plus you need to factor in the repair kit too. However, it’s definitely cheaper than buying a new ereader when you’re still happy with the one you have… and you’re comfortable with self-repairing the tablet.
Value score: 5 / 5
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
Kobo Clara BW review: Specs
Kobo Clara BW review: design and display
6-inch E Ink Carta 1300 display – the latest in E Ink’s grayscale screen tech
Same design as used in the Kobo Clara line since 2018
85% of the body is recycled plastic
The Kobo Clara series of ereaders all look the same, resembling the Amazon Kindle, including raised side bezels that provide just enough room to hold the tablet without accidentally touching the screen while reading. The sunken screen also helps in reducing glare from overhead lights and can hide smudged fingerprints better than a flush screen.
According to Kobo, the Clara BW comes in just one colorway – black. Strangely, though, my test unit had black bezels on the front but a navy-blue rear panel. I’m going to assume this is an anomaly with just the test sample, but it looks a little odd – I’d much prefer a single-color body for an ereader or something with a bit of trim or detail using a lighter color, like silver maybe.
I personally think the overall design is getting a little stale, although I understand that not a lot can be done to make the 6-inch ereaders look more modern, other than perhaps making the screens flush with the bezels, like on the Onyx Boox Poke 5.
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
Using recycled plastic to make the body is a good trajectory, though, and Kobo says the Clara BW, like the Clara 2E before it and the Clara Colour, has about 85% of recycled plastic in its body. Even the packaging it comes in is fully recycled and recyclable, with the soy ink used to print the boxes being biodegradable.
Its eco-friendly credentials aside, the device’s repairability is also a good move by Kobo, making it an industry first. There are parts available on iFixit in some countries, with very detailed, step-by-step guides on how to go about self-repairing the tablet when the need arises. These parts include a rear panel, which might also explain why my test unit looked like it was cobbled together.
The display here, though, is the headline. The 6-inch E Ink Carta 1300 screen makes its debut on the Kobo Clara BW, with a 10-inch iReader note-taking model being the only other ereader to boast this screen technology thus far. The Carta 1300 makes the screen more responsive and adds more contrast. The screen resolution remains at 300ppi, but the text on the display appears clearer and sharper than older models using the Carta 1200 screens.
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
The Clara BW shares the same proprietary ComfortLight Pro screen lighting tech as the other Kobo ereaders, and this adds to the device’s readability. Boasting both white and amber LEDs, the Clara BW can be set to automatically change its frontlight to warmer hues for evening and nighttime reading, or you can adjust it manually whenever you feel the need – a feature missing in the current base Kindle (2022) model. Brightness, too, is adjustable.
The dimensions here are identical to the Clara Colour, with the BW model also tipping the scales at 174g, a mere 4g more than the Clara 2E. It’s still light in the hand, comfortable to hold for long periods of time and the perfect size for a travel partner that can carry your entire digital library for you wherever you go. The fact that it’s got an IPX8 waterproof rating helps with giving you some peace of mind.
Design and display score: 4.5 / 5
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
Kobo Clara BW review: user interface
Simple, easy-to-use UX
Good font and file support
No Google Drive or Dropbox support
I’ve said this several times in my previous Kobo reviews and I’ll say it again – I’m a fan of the interface. Kobo’s UX is user-friendly and easy to navigate around. There’s no extraneous options in the settings to confuse matters and anyone can quickly learn their way around, even if they’ve never used an ereader before.
More importantly, I like how open the ebook ecosystem is – you can sideload your own collection of titles if you already have a bunch, and good font support means EPUB and MOBI are both natively supported (unlike on a Kindle where you need to jump through a few hoops to sideload an EPUB file). PDF and TXT files are also natively supported, plus two comic formats help display manga well.
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
The only audio format that any Bluetooth-enabled Kobo ereader supports, though, is the Kobo Audiobook, so you can’t sideload audiobooks you’ve sourced from outside the Kobo Store. This is the only part of the ecosystem that’s closed and, to me, that’s a little disappointing from a company that has always been more open than Amazon.
Font support is also excellent and you can sideload any that you think is missing, including Amazon’s own Bookerly and Ember fonts.
Whether it’s file transfer or font upload, getting the Clara BW loaded up is as simple as plugging it into a laptop or PC with the files already stored via an USB-C cable, then hitting the Connect button on the ereader screen, and finally dragging and dropping what you need onto the device. You can then move any fonts you’ve transferred to the Fonts folder or, if it’s missing, just create a new one. Disconnect, allow the ereader to finish a sync and you’re ready to get reading. Sadly there’s no Google Drive or Dropbox cloud transfer support on the Clara BW – these are only available on Libra Colour and the more premium Kobo models.
Like the Carta 1200 screen, a dark mode is available here, so if you prefer, you can switch that on and the colors get inverted to white text on a black background.
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One interesting feature on all Kobo ereaders is the Activity option in the Settings pane. This displays the total time you’ve spent reading, although specific stats are only related to ebooks you’ve purchased from the Kobo Store or read via a Kobo Plus subscription. Importantly, Kobo rewards you for reading more, awarding you badges as you hit specific targets and milestones. This goes a long way in developing reading into a habit.
As with all Kobo ereaders, OverDrive and Pocket support are baked in. The former allows you to borrow titles from a public library directly from the device – you just need a library card from one that supports OverDrive. The latter is essentially a browser plugin that allows you to save longform web articles for reading offline and you can access these on a Kobo ereader by just signing into your Pocket account on the ereader.
If you are buying the Clara BW for your child, Kobo allows you to block access to its store and the web – a very basic browser is available in the Beta Features section under the More tab. Kobo also allows you to lock the device by applying a four-digit PIN.
Bluetooth connectivity is also available so you can pair a set of wireless headphones or earbuds to listen to Kobo Audiobooks.
User interface score: 4.5 / 5
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
Kobo Clara BW review: Performance
Improved screen responsiveness
Best-in-class contrast and readability
Good battery life
I’ve barely ever complained about a Kobo ereader’s performance – they do what they do well. With the Clara BW, that performance has gone up a notch because of the Carta 1300 screen. Despite still using a 1GHz processor, it’s faster than the previous Clara models or the Kindle. As I’ve said previously in this review, even with a plastic screen over the display, the Clara BW registers taps correctly and implements them without any lag.
Even when it comes to displaying text, there’s none better. Not yet at least, as I’m sure other brands will follow suit by adopting the new generation of screen technology soon enough. Even if they do, not many ereader makers give you the option to add ‘weight’ to the fonts or make them slightly thicker, making them even easier to read.
The Amazon Kindle (left) doesn't have as much contrast as the Kobo Clara BW (right) (Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
I compared the 2020 Amazon Kindle with the Clara BW and, to make sure it was a fair comparison, I sideloaded Amazon’s Bookerly font onto the Kobo. Displaying a page from two different books but in the same font, with the frontlights switched off and no weight to the font on the Kobo, the Clara BW was still superior, with the text looking darker and crisper on the screen. Even at full brightness, the Clara BW screen was the clear winner when comes to readability. I also did a side-by-side comparison with the 6-inch Onyx Poke 5 and, again, the Clara BW wins hands down.
Other functions are also snappy – opening a title (ebooks or audiobooks), turning pages, or navigating around the UX is quick. Even inputs via the on-screen keyboard didn’t have any lag during my testing period.
Kobo hasn’t changed the battery pack inside the Clara BW over the Clara 2E, meaning you still get only a 1,500mAh battery. This isn’t too bad but it’s not quite earth-shatteringly good either – you can get approximately six weeks of use if you read about an hour each day, depending on how bright you have the screen set and how often you keep turning pages.
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
During my testing, I had the Clara BW set at 15% brightness with auto light temperature change for 9:30pm local time, Wi-Fi always on, Bluetooth only on when listening to audiobooks, and the refresh rate set to every chapter. Reading for approximately 2 hours each day at these settings gave me 35 days of use – five weeks. This is good but I should point out that I didn't do a lot of listening during my testing period, which would have made a bigger dent on the battery. So I'd say you can get anywhere between 4-6 weeks of use from a full charge, depending on your use of the device.
Topping up the 1,500mAh battery in the Clara BW doesn’t take long – about 57 minutes to go from 19% to full during my testing period. I saw no trickle charging here, which I’ve seen in other Kobo ereaders, including the 2024 Clara Colour and Libra Colour. This seems a little strange for Kobo to not have trickle charging here as well when its other ereaders do, but I suspect a future firmware update might change that. Trickle charging will help maintain battery health, so it's not a bad thing, but if this happens, the charging time will likely double.
Performance score: 5 / 5
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
Should I buy the Kobo Clara BW?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider
How I tested the Kobo Clara BW
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
Used it as my main reading device for five weeks
I used it to listen to some preloaded audiobooks
Sideloaded my own ebooks and fonts
The Kobo Clara BW test unit that was sent to me for this review came preloaded with a few ebooks and audiobooks. I didn’t reset the device to sign in with my own Kobo account, but I sideloaded a few titles that I was reading on another ereader. So while I didn’t read any of the preloaded ebook titles, I did listen to a couple of the audiobooks that Kobo had set up for me. For the latter, I paired a set of Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds to listen.
I used the Clara BW to read more than listen though, spending about two hours each day over a period of 5 weeks to finish a book. Through this testing period, I spent approximately three hours listening to audiobooks.
To see how different the new screen is, I did a side-by-side comparison with the Amazon Kindle and the Onyx Boox Poke 5 – both 6-inch ereaders – and, to make the comparison as fair as possible, I sideloaded Amazon's Bookerly font onto the Clara BW. This also gave me an idea of how easy it is to add new fonts to the device.
Does it bother me that the new iPad Air is no longer Apple’s lightest iPad? Not really. It’s just the irony of the thing. The Air branding was always intended to signify lightness in weight and design, and even at 13 inches the new iPad Air still fulfills that promise; just don’t hold it next to the more advanced and pricier iPad Pro, which is thinner and lighter than not only this tablet but the new 11-inch Air.
What does matter here is the now vast creative and entertainment landscape that is the iPad Air 13-inch. It’s a screen size I never thought I needed, let alone would enjoy; but in a way, I’ve been lying to myself.
I used the 12.9 iPad Pro all the time. It’s kind of heavy and a bit awkward, but I can’t argue with the huge display when it comes to big drawings and big-screen mobile TV and movie viewing. In fact, I love watching content from my favorite streaming services on it. But it’s expensive, and it perhaps feels like overkill for the task at hand. The iPad Air 13-inch is the more affordable option for those with big-screen iPad dreams.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
It’s also a worthy update for any current iPad Air owner. You get a significant screen-size bump (almost 20% more real estate), more storage (it now starts at 128GB), more power thanks to the impressive M2 chip, and a far better placement for that sharp and useful ultra-wide FaceTime camera.
You could spend less on a 10.9-inch iPad, but then you’d miss out on that next-generation Apple silicon performance, Apple Pencil Pro support, and the svelte 6.1mm frame.
If all-out power is your thing, you might be considering the even thinner iPad Pro and its powerful new M4 processor; but if you’re reading this review, that will likely be overkill. In my experience, the M2 chip has more than enough power for most iPad users.
During my testing I used the new Air for everything from content consumption and web browsing to pro-level music editing and console-level gaming, and the iPad Air 13-inch and M2 chip had power to spare.
If you’re looking for the perfect balance of price, performance, and screen size, the iPad Air 13-inch is the tablet I’d recommend and easily joins our list of the best tablets.
Apple iPad Air 13-inch (2024): price and availability
Available May 7 for $599 / £599 / AUS$999 (11-inch) and $799 / £799 / AUS$1,299 (13-inch)
8GB RAM standard. Storage options range from 128GB to 1TB
Apple’s 13-inch iPad Air and the smaller 11-inch model are available now, starting at $799 / £799 / AU$1,299 and $599 / £599 / AU$999, respectively. Both iPad Air options start with 128GB of storage but can be configured with up to 1TB, with 256GB and 512GB options. My test unit was configured with cellular support and 512GB of storage.
Apple iPad Air 13-inch is the biggest iPad Air ever, (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Value score: 4.5 / 5
Apple iPad Air 13-inch (2024): specs
Apple iPad Air 13-inch (2024): design
Bigger but familiar
Solid construction
Design is almost iconic
Air a slight misnomer
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Despite its size, this is a very familiar-looking iPad Air. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
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Just 6.1mm thick. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
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Touch ID button is responsive. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
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No SIM slot for this eSIMM-only tablet. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
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Note the stereo speakers. There's another pair on the other side. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The bottom edge with USB-C power/data port visible and the pair of stereo speaker grills. It's enclosed in the new Magic Keyboard. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
While it’s fair to call the design of the iPad Air 13-inch (2024) familiar, this tablet is also quite different. It’s the lightweight but big-screen iPad Air you dreamed of and, if you can ignore that even thinner 13-inch iPad Pro over there, it’s one of the most exciting new iPad entries in a long time.
While it shares its 6.1mm profile with previous iPad Airs, things diverge from there. This is an 11.04 x 8.46-inch / 28 x 21.5cm recycled aluminum and glass slab that weighs 1.36lbs / 617g. Considering all the extra screen real estate, that’s a pretty remarkable accomplishment (again, pay no mind to the essentially 1lb (579g) iPad Pro 13-inch over there).
Admittedly, little else has changed on this larger slab. The 12MP rear camera is in the same relative spot, as are the volume buttons near the top of one long edge, and the adjacent and responsive Touch ID button. Even the size of the screen bezel looks the same (though it is slightly thinner). But within that black border lies an important update: the FaceTime camera is finally on one of the wider landscape edges, and now sits right below the Apple Pencil magnetic connector (used to pair and charge the Pencil). This small yet significant change required reengineering the charging technology in the new Apple Pencil Pro and inside the new iPad Airs and Pros, which is why the new Pencil Pro is only compatible with the new iPads, and why the new iPads aren’t compatible with all older Pencils. The update also required the shifting of a microphone from the top edge of the iPad to the adjacent bezel (it sits almost an inch away from the camera).
In other words, the iPad Air 13-inch is both fresh and familiar. It’s elegant, thin, lightweight, and big enough to support a wide range of activities. It also makes for a great pairing with Apple’s latest Magic Keyboard, which, while it hasn’t been redesigned to the same extent as the new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, is still an excellent, full-sized keyboard for the iPad Air, with a responsive trackpad.
Thanks to the new Air’s much larger screen, the combination feels more than ever like an ultraportable laptop. Just keep in mind that the Magic Keyboard will set you back an eye-popping $349 / £349.00 (almost half of what you pay for a base-model iPad Air 13-inch). The Magic Keyboard for iPad Air 11-inch costs $299 / £299.00. At that point, you might consider buying a MacBook Air 13-inch running the M3 chip (it costs less); just bear in mind that you’ll be gaining some weight and losing both the touchscreen and Apple Pencil compatibility.
Design score: 4.5 / 5
Apple iPad Air 13-inch (2024): display
Sharp and colorful
The 13-inch model gives you more nits
Roomy and responsive
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Like much of the rest of the iPad Air, the tablet’s Liquid Retina display is basically the same as the display on the smaller iPad Air 5th generation, aside from being much larger. Yes, there are a lot more pixels to play with – instead of 1640 x 2360 pixels, you get 2732 x 2048. It’s still the same 264ppi and eye-pleasing Wide color (P3) support, though you do get 600 nits max brightness on this 13-inch iPad Air (the 11-inch model remains at 500 nits). There’s an anti-reflective coating that does a decent job in bright direct light, and the oleophobic film is somewhat effective at repelling fingerprints. As I write this on the iPad Air 13-inch I can’t spot a single smudge, but if I turn off the screen quite a few are evident.
Numbers aside, what matters here is image quality, and across a wide variety of content types, it’s excellent. Everything from photos I took with the iPad to movies, console-level games, apps, websites, and video calls looks great on it. It only suffers a bit in comparison to its new big brother, the M4 iPad Pro, which boasts Apple’s new ‘tandem OLED’ Ultra Retina XDR display. If insanely deep blacks and eye-popping specular highlights are your thing, you may want to consider this more expensive option.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Display score: 4/5
Apple iPad Air 13-inch (2024): cameras
The FaceTime camera is now on the landscape side
No other significant photography changes
The iPad Air 13-inch has two cameras: a 12MP (f/1.8) wide on the back and a 12MP ultrawide (f/2.4) on the front.
That ultra-wide is there not so much to capture group selfies but for use with Apple’s Center Stage technology, which basically pans the camera frame around the full frame to keep you in view. When I use it during FaceTime calls, it means I can get up and walk around in front of the iPad Air, and the FaceTime camera will crop in to keep me close and in the center of the frame. If you take a selfie, the camera will capture a regular ultra-wide snap.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The rear camera still includes a 5x digital zoom (it’s fine but I would never recommend a digital zoom over an optical one if it’s available) and can even shoot 63MP megapixel panoramic if you fancy holding a 13-inch tablet steady as you slowly pan from one street to another.
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On the video front, the FaceTime camera can shoot up to 1080p 60fps video and timelapse video. The rear camera can shoot 4K at up to 60fps, along with slow-motion video up to 240fps (720p), and timelapse. Both cameras offer cinematic video stabilization, which crops the overall frame to reduce screen shake and give your videos a smoother look.
I understand that some people love shooting photos with their iPads, especially because the screen acts as a huge viewfinder, and I guess they’ll be even more pleased with the even larger display of the iPad Air 13-inch. The photos I took for good. There’s lots of color and detail but I far prefer the image quality I can get with my iPhone 15 Pro Max’s camera array.
Camera score: 4/5
Apple iPad Air 13-inch (2024): software
iPadOS is familiar and full of utility
This much screen real estate cries out for richer multi-tasking
I’m generally a fan of iPadOS, even as it straddles the line between a tablet platform and a more open one designed for a laptop. I appreciate the ease with which I can use Sidecar to connect the iPad 13-inch’s big screen to my MacBook Air and use it as another desktop extension. Universal control mode, where I can seamlessly move my laptop mouse from the Mac screen to the iPad, makes the tablet seem like a cohesive part of the macOS ecosystem.
Being able to have up to three windows open and running different or multiple instances of apps like Safari is useful, but I’m ready to have even more control and start defining the total number of windows I want running on the iPad. Maybe that will come in iPadOS18.
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There are so many things I enjoy doing on the iPad, like writing, communicating, video, messaging, playing games, and watching action movies, but nothing compares to drawing on an iPad.
I spent hours drawing this dog in Procreate. Even though Procreate did not at the time support the new Apple Pencil Pro features like barrel roll and squeeze (more about these below) to change settings and tools (that functionality came later during my tests, and only in beta apps), it was still a pleasure. There is zero delay between my touching the Pencil to the screen and digital ink ‘flowing’ out of it.
For the purposes of my review, Apple provided me with a $129 / £129 / AU$219 Apple Pencil Pro. This new digital stylus is a dead ringer for the Apple Pencil 2nd Generation, but there are some big differences. The new Pencil introduces barrel roll, which uses a gyroscope to track when you’re rolling the pencil. On-screen, the digital pen tip turns from a vertical orientation to a horizontal one.
Once I got my hands on a beta version of Procreate, I found the feature a fun and creative addition to my drawing arsenal. Instead of using the studio pen settings in Procreate to vary the pen width, I just twisted the Pencil Pro in my fingers to switch nub orientation and fluidly change width.
Note how the onscreen tip of the Pencil is wide. I can roll the pencil to make it narrow. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Squeeze, which I accessed while using a beta version of the animation app Procreate Dreams, lets you squeeze the lower third of the pencil to access customized art app features, and haptics gives you vibration feedback on the Pencil. In Procreate Dreams, for example, a squeeze opens a rich circular options menu.
Apple Pencil Pro (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
I’ve been drawing for a while on the iPad Pro 12.9 inch. I love the big canvas, but at 1.5lbs / 680g the iPad Pro 12.9 is a little unwieldy, and the lighter and thinner iPad Air 13-inch is a welcome change. Drawing on a screen this size takes me back to my old pencil and drawing-pad days. Drawing on a 10.9-inch, or even 11-inch display can feel confining compared to 13 inches of digital space.
While Apple is expending considerable effort in pitching the iPad Pro as the ultimate creative tool, the iPad Air can hold its own in this respect, and I had no trouble editing 4K video in iMovie or managing dozens of tracks in Logic Pro.
Software score: 4 / 5
Apple iPad Air 13-inch (2024): performance
M2 is aging but still very powerful
Double the base storage
Hard to find something the tablet couldn't do
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At the heart of the iPad Air 13-inch’s impressive performance is the M2 chip, a piece of Apple silicon I’ve had experience with in the last-gen MacBook Air. Even though this chip is now two generations behind the iPad Pro’s M4, it’s no slouch.
With an 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine (backed by 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage – up from 64GB), there’s still significant headroom on this aging bit of silicon. Even now, the Geekbench 6.3 numbers are impressive, and align with what I saw on the MacBook Air M2; and while its scores are lower than those of the M3, they remain among the best you can get for this class of product. In other benchmarks that looked at gaming and 3D performance, we saw significant improvement over the iPad Pro 12.9’s M1 performance.
Apple iPad Air 13-inch Geebench 6 CPU scores (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
All that performance is only interesting, though, if it powers real-world apps. The tablet is an able gaming platform. I raced around a track in Grid AutoSport Custom Edition, and was pleased to see nothing but smooth motion and zero lag. The iPad Air 13-inch also performed well when I played the incredibly creepy Resident Evil 4. The motion was smooth, and there was only a tiny bit of pixelation in the action sequences. I played that game with and without headphones – the landscape stereo speakers, which are positioned on either side of the tablet, deliver excellent and quite rich audio, but I highly recommend enjoying all videos and gaming content audio through a pair of AirPod Pros 2 to get the full Spatial Audio experience.
Performance score: 4.5 / 5
Apple iPad Air 13-inch (2024): battery and connectivity
All-day battery life depending on activity
Can sip power for basic tasks
More intense ones can drain it faster
No Wi-Fi 7
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Battery life is rated to last a “full day” according to Apple, or around 10 hours. Our test put it at 11 hours and thirty minutes. In more anecdotal tests, my battery life ranged from 10 hours to as little as eight or six depending on the activity and settings (like screen brightness).
My iPad Air 13-inch test unit came with 5G connectivity. It was reasonably solid on my commute home, but my neighborhood is a 5G desert, so I had to make do with LTE. The iPad Air supports WiFi 6E, but oddly not the emerging WiFi 7 standard. There’s also support for Bluetooth 5.3. As with most US-based iPhones, the iPad Air is eSIM-only, but in all markets.
Battery and connectvity score: 4 / 5
Should you buy the Apple iPad Air 13-inch (2024)?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider
Not convinced by the iPad Air 13-inchPad? Here are a few other options to consider:
How I tested the Apple iPad Air 13-inch
Apple loaned me an iPad Air 13-inch, Apple Pencil Pro, and the Magic Keyboard. Over almost a week, I used the iPad Air to do everything from stream content, to draw in Procreate, manage email, and browse the Web. I also used it to write this review.
I ran some of my own benchmarks but also relied on Future Labs for additional benchmark data and battery rundown tests.
I used the new Apple Pencil Pro for drawing, though its barrel roll and squeeze menu access features were not available during the majority of my testing time.
