Verdict
Going far beyond what ’s ordinarily look from an e - ink equipment , the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra is a full - on Android tab that combines the benefits of vitamin E - ink applied science with the wealth of apps on the Google Play Store .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
High - end e - ink devices are still a clean young conception but the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra makes a compelling pillow slip for their macrocosm .
While Amazon has lead the charge on Es - ink technology with itsrange of Kindle Es - reader , we ’re now starting to see other companies contrive their chapeau into the ring by reinventing how e - ink could be used beyond the ebook experience .
I latterly reviewed theRemarkable 2which is an excellent digital notebook that attractively recreates the feeling of pen and report , and now Onyx is looking to move the ceiling for what ’s possible on an east - ink gimmick .
As its name suggests , the Tab Ultra is choose for a no - detainment - barred due east - ink experience , and it ’s even marketed as a ‘ Tablet PC ’ on Onyx Boox ’s website . Given that the machine runs full Android 11 , I was intrigued to see if Onyx could actually deliver on the Tab Ultra ’s gamey - end concept , and after pass several weeks with it , I can safely say that it ’s an experience like no other .
Design
powerful off the bat , the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra sense first-rate sleek in the script . liken to the lofty bezel found on the Remarkable 2 , the Tab Ultra keeps thing a raft slimmer with only a large portion on the unexpended - script side for your thumb to rest against .
Even with a large 10.3 - inch display , the equipment is easy to hold one - handed , weighing in at just shy of 480 g. The included stylus can snap magnetically to the right - hand side of the machine , and with the whole thing only being 6.7 millimetre fatheaded , it can easily slide in beside a laptop in your packsack .
Much like the Remarkable , there ’s only one physical button and it ’s used for waking up the Tab Ultra or for order it back into standby mode – all other inputs are made via the touch screen .
On the back of the machine , there ’s a minuscule bit of genius with a texturised panel designed to proffer some travelling bag for the rest of your fingers when holding the machine , which is always a welcome consideration . What you may point out however is that the branding on both the front and back is in landscape mode , which just goes to show how confident Onyx is in the Ultra ’s microcomputer - style feature , much like how we ’ve seen Apple switch to hug the preference for landscape painting in itsiPad rangeover the last few years .
Display
Even though its feature set far outweighs that of the Remarkable 2 , both devices share identical specs when it come to their displays , with the same 10.3 - in cover and a 1872 x 1404 answer .
I will say that when using the built - in apps like notebook , and say anything download via the Onyx Boox store , it all looks very crisp and gentle on the eye but there is a noticeable softening when using some third - company apps . school text is a little easygoing on the Kindle app for case , so you ’ll still find a good reading experience for the Amazon ecosystem on the companionship ’s own - brand e - readers .
What utterly works in the Tab Ultra ’s favor though is the mien of a backlight . The deficiency of such a lineament on the Remarkable 2 ultimately hold it back from grandness , but on the Tab Ultra it ’s a Godsend , so you’re able to keep read and working well into the night without the need for an external light source .
This is particularly handy for me as I ’ve swapped over to using the Tab Ultra for any last - bit bits of work before retiring for the day , and discover the experience to be a lot more forgiving on my eyes than a smartphone or traditional lozenge .
There ’s even a warm - light build up into the system , which is far better suited for those moments when there ’s dead no light sources around you and a smart low backlight might be too much to deal with .
It ’s also deserving mentioning that the Tab Ultra does n’t habituate the same theme - like coating above the display that can be found on the Remarkable 2 . While this does n’t ruin the note - pickings experience by any means ( in fact it ’s a loyal experience overall on the Tab Ultra ) , it does n’t get quite as close to the feeling of pen and paper that the Remarkable is able to reach .
Unlike its challenger however , the Tab Ultra does let you choose between several refresh modes , helping to speed things up if you ’re taking on more demanding undertaking and see to it that the screen does n’t get too cluttered with the obsess impression that you usally see on an e - ink showing .
Features
compare to most e - ink devices , which tend to only be good for a place of reading and notation - taking , the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra exist on a altogether unlike level . This is due to the fact that , unlike its challenger , the Tab Ultra lean on Android 11 , think of that you have full approach to the Google Play Store and the apps therein .
Unlike the Remarkable 2 , I ’ve been able to employ the Tab Ultra to check my Gmail inbox , my to - do listing in Notion and even add to this very same recapitulation via Google Docs . It ’s as full-bodied an experience as I ’ve yet to find on an e - ink gimmick and when pair off with the keyboard causa that Onyx sells , you’re able to genuinely use the Tab Ultra as a productiveness machine , much like you would an iPad .
As previously refer , the front of the Google Play Store also mean that you may download the Kindle app , devote you approach to Amazon ’s evergrowing hoarded wealth trove of ebooks . As if that was n’t enough , the fact that there ’s Bluetooth built - in means that you could also connect a couplet of headphones and hear to audiobooks , podcasts , Song dynasty and more via the likes of Spotify , YouTube and Audible . you could even customize your homepage with doojigger , much like how you would on a distinctive Android smartphone .
Just when you thought the feature go under was sufficient enough , turn over the Tab Ulta over and you ’ll blob a 16MP photographic camera – yes , a camera . Do n’t get too transmit off , it ’s not the type of detector you ’d use for taking holiday snaps , but rather for skim document that you’re able to then convince into a PDF and scribble all over with the stylus .
Even in sorry surroundings , the camera does a great job of analysing textual matter and presenting a fresh look on the back - oddment , even if smaller bit of school text incline to get squished together . All of this is helped by the Qualcomm octa - core chipset execute the show , which also contributes to the Tab Ultra ’s impressive speeds – easily the quick I ’ve ever see for a gadget like this .
To have this much functionality available is a little surreal , particularly after just having used the Remarkable 2 which prides itself on keeping things simple . On the one hired man , it ’s incredible , and I ’ve been using the Tab Ultra to plunk back into pieces of study after my eye experience a small agonistic from using a blue - luminousness emitting showing , but I ’ve been less inclined to utilise the twist for handwritten note as a resolution .
This is n’t to say that the writing experience is uncollectible , far from it . The response time is super tight and crucially , the Onyx Boox playpen is admit from the get - go which should be standard practice across the board . It still boggles my creative thinker that the Remarkable Marker is sold one by one from the principal tab .
My issue is that the script UI gives you too many option to the point where it can feel a trivial convoluted . One flavour at how the Tab Ultra ’s UI equate to Remarkable ’s should prove my head straightaway . You ’ve got the ability to set multiple types of pens and pencil that you may switch between in a flash , insert hyperlinks next to your writing and even tote up recording to a page .
This might appeal to some but when all I want to do is get away from incoming email , notice and quagmire content to jot something down , the last affair I need is another littered page to make out after my attention . The attach to Boox Assistant app also suffer a bit from this design mindset .
For starters , the app but refused to sync my notes from the Tab Ultra because I had initially logged into the app with another Onyx Boox tablet , and the only fix I could find was to erase the app wholly and restart the login physical process . On top of that , the homescreen within the app is just confusing .
alternatively of the noteworthy app which read you direct to your most recent promissory note ( which is why I ’d desire to dive into the app to begin with ) , you ’re stage with several options without any open explanation as to what they are . It all starts to make horse sense after spending a prolonged amount of time diving into the app , but I do n’t understand why it has to be so obtuse from the get - go .
Battery
In a rather unknown break from tech tradition , Onyx does n’t actually define a claimed battery life for the Tab Ultra , other than to refer that there ’s a 6300 mAh cell inside the machine . This has only made the mental process of test the battery living , which ordinarily amounts to several weeks of use of goods and services on other e - ink devices , even trickier .
What I can say is that I ’ve been able-bodied to use the Tab Ultra sporadically , using it to redact Google Docs one day , take some handwritten notes on another and even pop out on a YouTube television , and in roughly a hebdomad and a one-half I ’ve only managed to whittle the battery down to 30 % , which is impressive in compare to a traditional Android tablet .
bill the gimmick to 100 % from a stagnant bombardment took roughly two and a half hours which is par for the course with this type of twist and at the very least , it ’s something you wo n’t have to do often grant how long the battery lasts , so you ’ll have plenteous metre to charge the Tab Ultra when it ’s convenient for you .
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Should you buy it?
The Onyx Boox Tab Ultra easily has the largest feature lot of any e - ink twist I ’ve come across , and with amply access code to the Google Play Store it ’s keen for productiveness that ’s well-fixed on the eye .
As great as the Tab Ultra is , it may finger overstuff for someone who just desire a twist for taking handwritten notes that they can then easily share to their speech sound or desktop .
Final Thoughts
On a technical level , the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra is like nothing I ’ve ever seen before . I never await to have YouTube video recording play smoothly on an e - ink screen door , nor did I anticipate angling up a shot via a television camera on that same eccentric of video display . It ’s so far before of the competition in carrying into action that it feels almost comical . If you invest in one e - ink machine , then you ’ll be severely pushed to be let down with what ’s on offer here .
With that say , I still see myself relying on theRemarkable 2after this revaluation as its simplicity and easy - to - employment ecosystem make it the thoroughgoing antithesis to a fully - featured laptop computer , and ideal for those consequence where I just take to get away from sempiternal notifications .
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Unlike other sites , we thoroughly try every product we refresh . We use industry standard tryout in lodge to compare features by rights . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever take money to review a product .
FAQs
Yes , there is a MicroSD expansion slot usable to increase the gimmick ’s computer storage content .
you could download the Kindle app via the Google Play Store on the Tab Ultra and record your intact Kindle depository library through there .
Yes , the Boox Pen2 Pro is let in with the Tab Ultra as standard .
Full Specs
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