The Onyx Boox Note Air 2, Note 5, Note Air 1 and Note 3- four similar but also different 10.3″ Android eink tablets with note-taking capabilities. Because of their similarities it can be difficult to choose which one to get. I hope the specs comparison table below will help you in your decision making process-
| Specs | Note Air 2 | Note Air | Note 5 | Note 3 |
| Launch Date | October 2021 | September 2020 | October 2021 | September 2020 |
| Price | $499 | $419 | $569 | $479 |
| Product Page | Boox Shop Worldwide | Boox Shop Worldwide | Boox Shop Worldwide | Boox Shop Worldwide |
| Boox Shop US | Boox Shop US | Boox Shop US | Boox Shop US | |
| Boox EU Shop | Boox EU Shop | Boox Shop | Boox EU Shop | |
| Screen | 10.3" HD Carta glass screen with flat cover-lens | 10.3 " E ink HD Carta screen with AG glass flat cover-lens | 10.3" HD Mobius flexible Carta screen with flat cover-lens | 10.3 " E ink Mobius flexible screen with AG glass flat cover-lens |
| 1404x1872px | 1404x1872px | 1404x1872px | 1404x1872px | |
| PPI | 227 | 227 | 227 | 227 |
| OS | Android 11 | Android 10 | Android 11 | Android 10 |
| CPU | 4x2Ghz & 4x1.8Ghz | Octa-core 1.8 Ghz | 4x2Ghz & 4x1.8Ghz | Octa-Core |
| RAM | 4 GB LPDDR4X | 3 GB LPDDR4X | 4 GB LPDDR4X | 4 GB LPDDR4X |
| Storage | 64 GB UFS 2.1 | 32 GB eMMC | 64 GB UFS 2.1 | 64gb UFS 2.1 |
| Battery | 3000 mAh | 3000 mAh | 3000 mAh | 4300 mAh |
| Frontlight | Yes Warm & Cold | Yes Warm & Cold | Yes Warm & Cold | Yes Warm & Cold |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| WiFi | 2.4GHz + 5GHz | 2.4GHz + 5GHz | 2.4GHz + 5GHz | 2.4GHz + 5GHz |
| Connect | USB-C w/ OTG | USB-C w/ OTG | USB-C w/ OTG | USB-C w/ OTG |
| Audio | Speaker & Mic | Speaker and Mic | Speaker & Mic | Speaker and Mic |
| G-Sensor | Yes | Yes | Not Sure | No |
| Fingerprint Sensor | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Weight | 418g | 420g | <380g | 378g |
| Dimensions | 229.4 × 195.4 × 5.8 mm | 229.4 × 195.4 × 5.8 mm | 249.5 x 176.5 x 5.8mm | 249.5 × 177.8 × 7.1 mm |
| Color | Navy Blue | Navy Blue | Black | Black |
Note Air 2 VS Note Air
The main changes here are the RAM and internal storage along with the OS upgrade from Android 10 to 11. Also the firmware 3.2, but that will come to the Air 1 soon enough. In my opinion it’s not worth the $500 if you already have the 1 but it’s nice that new buyers get the option to choose the 2 or the now cheaper Note Air 1.
Note5 vs Note 3
It’s interesteing that they both weight the same even though the battery on the 5 is 1300mAh smaller than the 3. I guess its more about the thinness because the Note 5 is slimmer at 5.8mm compared to 7.1mm on the 3.
Note Air 2 VS Note 5
The predecessors of these two devices used to be quite different (Air and 3) but now that the Ram and storage of the Air 2 has been upgraded. And with the reduction of the Note 5’s battery (which made it as slim as the Air) they’re almost the same with very little differences– the main one being the design.
For future genertions it’d be better for Onyx Boox to combine the best features of these two and put it in a NovaAir-like body (that thing is simply beautiful) – with the same color please. This will make things less confusing to buyers especially when the eink color (Kaleido 3 probably) versions come out.
That’s just my opinion though; what do you guys think?