A few months ago, we unboxed the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, the first Android device we ever tried on this channel. We’re excited to bring you the very first E-ink tablet we’ve ever tried! Our whole team was super excited about these tablets, so everyone wanted to unbox them, especially the non-creative team.
Onxy Boox sent us these two beautiful E-ink tablets; the Max Lumi 2 and Note Air 2 Plus. They also gave us some covers for them, thank you! The Samsung tablet got me excited about Samsung Notes, but the Max Lumi 2 has me excited about taking notes (in general)!
The packaging
Of the two devices, the Max Lumi 2 is the bigger one, with a 13.3″ screen; which is slightly bigger than the iPad Pro 12.9 inch. We loved the matte black packaging of the devices; it looks and feels premium. The box comes with some manuals and a stylus. You also get a USB-C charging cable. It could use a head for that, but those are not expensive to get, right? The Max Lumi 2 costs $879.99.
Built quality
The tablet feels good in the hand, it’s a well-built device that doesn’t feel cheap at all. For something this big, it doesn’t feel heavy. It has a matte finish on both the front and back, but the back is more fingerprint resistant than the front.
For the Note Air 2 Plus, our team thought the writing on the tab was on the screen cover that came with the device. So we took that off, only to realise that even when turned off, the device has a screensaver. We have no idea how that works, but we are eager to find out!
The stylus
Both devices don’t have a microphone jack. Perhaps they are too thin to accommodate one. The Max Lumi 2 came with a navy blue stylus, and the Note Air 2 Plus had the black one. These styluses are much thicker than the Apple Pencil and S Pen, but they are just as comfortable. It might be the corrugated finish that helps with that.
Their tips are very tiny and fragile, which explains the rubber tips. We’ll try not to lose them. What we love most about these styluses is that they don’t need to pair with your devices. You can just pick it up and start writing. We’d choose them over any other stylus we have tried so far!
First impressions
The electronic paper technology on these devices is amazing. For those who have always preferred paper, these E-ink tablets may be just what you need to go digital. It looks and feels like paper! We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these devices if you:
- want distraction-free technology to help you focus (the black & white screen makes sure you stick to just doing productive tasks).
- hate writing on glass because it alters your handwriting just a bit (no matter the note-taking app you use). Writing on glass isn’t for everyone, Onyx Boox knows that. Hence, they created these tablets.
Stay tuned for a more detailed examination of these devices and e-ink technology. This was just our team’s first impressions of the Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2 and Note Air Plus E-ink tablets. Is this the kind of technology you need to go digital?
