E-readers are sometimes mistaken for single-purpose gadgets with eye-friendly shows. In fact, trendy e-paper gadgets are a lot greater than that. Onyx Boox is a model that has labored laborious at excelling on this class, defeating the likes of the Amazon Kindle for the throne.
The Onyx Boox Word Air 4 C is a colorized and up to date iteration of the Onyx Boox Word Air 3, reviewed by my colleague Harish Jonnalagadda. The Word Air 3 has a colorized model referred to as the Onyx Boox Word Air 3 C, which begs the query, why must you purchase the newer, dearer mannequin?
As with all new launch, the Onyx Boox Word Air 4 C has upgraded internals and software program. After utilizing it for just a few months, I’ve some ideas concerning the Word Air 4 C. Let’s dive into the small print.
There is a new shade Onyx Boox on the town and it is as modern as ever
Onyx Boox stays busy, launching new fashions of its black & white in addition to coloured E Ink tablets loaded with Android each few months. The Onyx Boox Word Air 4 C was launched on October 23, 2024. Curiously, there is no such thing as a grayscale Word Air 4 to go together with the 4 C.
You should purchase the Word Air 4 C for $499.99 from Onyx Boox’s web site or retailers like Amazon. It comes with a stylus within the field and a charging cable, however the accompanying Word Air 4 C Cowl must be purchased individually for an additional $50.99.
Onyx Boox outfitted the Word Air 4C with an upgraded Kaleido 3 shade E Ink panel which delivers higher brightness and distinction ranges, in addition to the next display refresh charge. The ten.3-inch e-paper show has an anti-glare layer on prime and a Wacom layer to help the included EMR stylus.
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Design smart, the Onyx Boox Word Air 4 C seems precisely the identical because the last-gen Word Air 3 C. Each e-readers are equally slim at light-weight, measuring 226mm x 193mm x 5.8mm in dimension and coming in at a light-weight 430 grams.
To make you perceive simply how modern this factor is, I in contrast it to the brand-new Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely. Subsequent to this slim and trim e-ink pill, the S25 Extremely seems chunky. It is superb, contemplating that is an older design, whereas Samsung’s flagship cellphone is sizzling out of the oven and hasn’t even began transport but.
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There are not any bodily buttons other than the ability button. The microSD card slot remains to be situated within the backbone of the pill, together with the USB-C port for 15W wired charging. You can even use a USB-C thumb drive with the Word Air 4 C because it helps USB-C OTG.
Sadly, there is no ingress safety but once more this 12 months, so it’s important to be tremendous cautious when dealing with the Word Air 4 C close to liquids and grainy stable particles.
The software program is the largest draw with Boox tablets
As I discussed earlier, the Onyx Boox Word Air 4 C has a speedier octa-core chipset and beefier 6GB RAM, including 2GB to the Word Air 3 C’s 4GB of RAM. The result’s noticeably improved efficiency, fewer cases of ghosting, and higher loading instances basically. It is nonetheless nowhere close to as snappy as a full-blown Android pill, in fact, but it surely’s one of many quickest e-paper tablets that cash should buy proper now.
Boosted internals go hand in hand with newer software program. The Onyx Boox Word Air 4 C comes with Android 13 put in out of the field versus the Word Air 3 C, which got here with Android 12. This may appear outdated seeing as we’re on Android 15 within the smartphone sector now. However for e-readers, that is fairly superior. To not point out, Onyx Boox guarantees to ship not less than three years of firmware updates to all of its gadgets. Most Boox tabs most likely get greater than that.
The largest draw with an Onyx Boox e-reader is that you just get unfettered entry to Android apps, and the Play Retailer is pre-installed. Amazon blocks this capability on all Kindle e-readers, limiting what you are able to do with a Kindle to an excellent extent. The Word Air 4 is ripe with potentialities. You possibly can attempt putting in any Android app within the solar. Even when it is incompatible, you may tweak and optimize it utilizing Onyx Boox’s built-in customizability instruments.
The NeoReader is a implausible e-book app with intensive instruments and choices baked in. Word-taking can be a deal with on the Word Air 4 C, because of Boox’s Notes app, which has OCR built-in so as to convert hand-written notes on the fly. Onyx Boox affords so many helpful studying and writing capabilities that it is laborious to listing out all the things.
Like each different tech model, Onyx Boox has additionally hopped aboard the AI bandwagon. You get neat AI options pre-loaded on the Onyx Boox Word Air 4 C, such because the Boox AI Assistant and AI Learn. This makes the NeoReader extra clever than ever earlier than.
Only a few rivals provide what the Word Air 4 C does
There are many e-readers on the market, however only a few can do what the Onyx Boox Word Air 4 C can. In the event you do not care about Android smarts and simply need an inexpensive e-reader for nothing however studying, essentially the most easy reply is an inexpensive Amazon Kindle.
Different competing manufacturers embody Bigme, Kobo, and Pocketbook. Nevertheless, none of those corporations have e-readers that run Android 13, include shade shows, and constantly obtain software program updates.
Mockingly, in the event you’re on the lookout for a less expensive various, the most suitable choice comes from Onyx Boox themselves. The smaller Boox Palma 2 launched alongside the Word Air 4 C and prices solely $279.99. It includes a 6.13-inch E Ink Carta 1200 show that solely outputs shades of black and white. The nifty little Palma 2 has lots of the smarts of the 4 C regardless of its stature, and it one-ups the bigger tab because of its splash-proof design.
Is it price shopping for the Onyx Boox Word Air 4 C?
You should purchase it if…
- You need the most recent processor and better RAM
- You need a versatile e-reader for note-taking
- You are a scholar or somebody who wants to jot down quite a bit
- You need a colourful e-reader
You should not purchase it if…
- You want ingress safety like water-resistance and dust-proofing
- Your finances is extraordinarily tight
As a lot as I really like the Onyx Boox Word Air 4 C, virtually $500 is a hefty value to pay for such a distinct segment system. It is a fantastic e-reader that is good for note-taking, with no limitations and unrestricted entry to Android apps by way of the Play Retailer. Nevertheless, all the things that I really like about this pill overlaps with the Onyx Boox Word Air 3 C.
Frankly talking, past the menial {hardware} improve such because the sooner processor and newer Bluetooth chip, there’s not quite a bit there to justify shopping for the Word Air 4 C over its predecessor. You possibly can rating the Word Air 3 C for $50 much less and it nonetheless will get the identical firmware upgrades because the Onyx Boox Word Air 4 C.
If Android 13 is of nice significance to you, the newer Boox e-reader is sensible. However typically, I would recommend choosing the older Word Air 3 C as an alternative. Make no mistake, the Onyx Boox Word Air 4 C is a spectacular system. It is simply that it does not add a lot over the last-gen 3 C, not less than not sufficient to justify a $50 value distinction.
Get faculty prepared
Onyx Boox created the Word Air 4 C for studying firstly, and the system excels at that. Along with an exquisite built-in e-reader with exhaustive choices, this Android pill additionally capabilities as a spectacular note-taking system with native OCR. Now outfitted with a number of AI options and a sooner processor, it is the best non-intrusive system for a studious particular person, working skilled, or school-going individual.
