As usual these are the best tech reviews on the platform. Extensive and yet not bloated. I finally decided to buy an e-ink device since I spend way too much time staring at screens and miss reading a good book... but I simply don't have the room to actually collect physical books. Note air 3 c it is. Not planning to use anything heavier than a browser with some extensions on it so I didn't need the tab ultra. Books, Manga/Comics, light sketching, light browsing (as in reading instead of watching content), handwriting and language learning will be its purpose. If I ever have something heavy to do... well, I have a PC lol.
I appreciate that - thank you for taking the time to watch and leave a comment!! Note Air 3C is a great choice IMO for reading.. especially for manga/comics - if you were just reading novels, I'd suggest going for the B&W version for the extra crispiness of the text and clearer screen. Also, great devices for chilling in bed, writing down ideas, and browsing the web without destroying your eyes. It's still the device I gravitate toward when I crawl into bed and first thing when I get out of bed. Also, I recommend ordering from Amazon (if you are able in your region) so you can return it gracefully. I've read a bunch of horror stories on Reddit about folks unable to return their devices to Boox direct.
This is the best and most concise video by far. I have the TUC and was wondering if I should upgrade to the Pro. You have me tempted, but I am still ok with my TUC, I think I will upgrade when there will be new screen technology. I would like a bit more speed when multitasking, but I am good in general with my TUC.
Truly appreciate that! And definitely good to hear; I think the TUC is still an excellent device and the Pro is not a *necessary* upgrade (especially considering its only been out for 6 months). The constraint shows you have a good quality/personality set to avoid shiny object syndrome. Unfortunately, I get a bit too frustrated with limitations that I feel waste my time or impede my productivity.. so I end up in situations like this where I'm buying the upgraded tablet not 6 months after I shelled out $700+ for the last one. Don't let me push you over the edge.
Yeah....I can't see upgrading until 3 things happen... 1. Better Screen 2. Faster Processor/Better Battery 3. More Ram Honorable mention: 4. Commitment from Onyx that promises at least 1 OS gen upgrade for no charge.
Truly appreciate that, Kit! The performance updates are quite nice; loving the responsiveness.. It feels like what the TUC should have been.. and rather a v2.0 vs. a "Pro" considering the previous is discontinued. Something's going on with the screen with this software update, ghosting has been outrageous for me. I'm curious if you're experiencing the same; writing my scripts (white background, black text) is almost unbearable, even on Balanced mode.
Thanks for another great video! I’m definitely not upgrading from the TUC. My use cases (read, note taking and work) do not require the Pro’s specs. Might only upgrade if there is a TabX C or a new color screen tech, which doesn’t seem to happen anytime soon.
Thanks again for tuning in! And wise choice. It does feel like Kaleido is at its limits and a Gallery 4 or new tech is in like 2026 land. Curious to learn if the e-ink industry has a trick up its sleeve.
Thanks for the review. I am currently a student looking for a good note-taking replacement for notebooks to where I can download and read eBooks, take extensive notes, and annotate/markup various files. I have stumbled upon the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C Pro and the Onyx Boox Note Air 3C. Even though both of them are very similar, I do like the fact that the Ultra C Pro has the keyboard, so this puts me in thr tough spot of being on the fence.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and apologies for the delayed reply! The keyboard, in my opinion, is a staple. I honestly use it more than the pen as typing is much faster. You can use a third-party bluetooth keyboard with the NA 3C - but the TUC Pro's package of the keyboard built into the case is optimized for the least possible hassle. This new keyboard also has a track pad which I've found to be extremely useful. If you write more than typing, NA 3C is probably the way to go. If you type a lot, I'd go with the TUC Pro and get the keyboard case - so you don't have to carry around an extra keyboard and have to remember to pack it/keep it charged.
Thanks for the update, I highly value your take on things. I'm quite frustrated I only bought my Ultra C at the start of my 3rd year studies doing Computer Science. Would appreciate if you shared some of the scenarios you faced that made you think it was worth the upgrade.
Truly appreciate your continued viewership! And it means a lot that you value my opinion; that said, I feel obligated to remind you it's very important to internally assess your own use cases and needs to avoid getting sucked into shiny object syndrome and marketing hype. =) The Tab Ultra C is still a fully capable device. It's definitely annoying that they've released an upgrade so quickly after the previous, but I would not let that contaminate your mind if the TUC is still satisfying your requirements. Technology upgrades typically come once a year and it's not advisable to get trapped in the feeling of needing to upgrade every year. Marketing is designed to make you feel that way so you hand over your $$. I do my best limit my cycle of tech upgrades like my phone/computer/etc. to a minimum of 3-5 years before upgrading. This particular tablet, however, was purchased to offload some of my heavy workloads to give my eyes a break. I've had enough annoyances with it (I pointed out many in my full review and the "7 worst things about the TUC videos) that I was pushing BOOX to deliver something with more performance for those of us that multi-task heavily. While the TUC helped, it was a very frustrating device for my personality type. I am no longer a developer, though I do still code when I need to jump in to help my team. I now hold a Director position where I manage client projects, architect development solutions for the dev team, and manage teams of devs + designers + marketers to reach our outcomes. For perspective, I'm accountable for intaking, deciphering, and communicating multiple channels of information to ensure all our company's dev projects are moving forward and meeting the requirements we promised we'd meet. It requires a lot of app and context switching and reviewing of documentation. Here are some scenarios that pushed me to upgrade: - Too many times the TUC has "frozen up" on me when interacting with elements. The CPU seems to get tied up running background processes and doesn't respond to new user input as quickly as I'd like. Not only that, it becomes very unresponsive when handling tasks like selecting text, copy/pasting, or converting data. - The upgraded CPU allows for better scheduling - the prime core can handle the bursty tasks much more quickly and the sub cores can keep churning through background processes (more effectively than the TUC). This gets rid of that stalling I mentioned in bullet #1. - The time to load an app, or switch between two apps, has decreased significantly. This sounds like a minor thing, but when you're switching between apps every few minutes, those little delays add up to a lot of wasted "idling" time. Android inherently increases load on CPU by making things a bit more complicated than say a Windows device, so the extra performance is nice to have. - The sub cores of the TUC Pro are near the same performance of the prime cores of the TUC - there's a big boost in multi-core performance specifically - which is used by apps in the background (as each CPU core can only run 1 thread at a time). Android's ecosystem is constantly running API calls in the background for apps. - I ran into a limitation with the TUC where I would have enough apps open that my apps in the background would "unload" - this means when I would go to switch back to them, my state would be reset and it would have to re-load the app as if I was opening it for the first time. It's very easy to hit a 4GB limit when multitasking as some Android apps consume up to 500MB-1GB of RAM. The increase to 6GB stops this from happening as often - and I haven't yet had anything unload (I will see how it holds up once I can do my full workload with the keyboard). - I don't believe the TUC will get the upgrade to Android 12 - so the security updates of those devices is basically stopped. I perform work for Fortune 5 + 500 companies, large organizations, and my own 2 small businesses. It's just not a risk I want to take and my use of the TUC has been limited due to their lapse in security (which is now updated at the Android OS level, but may still be lacking at the kernel level). - The TUC keyboard design was just awful. I write all my TH-cam video scripts on it from my couch or in bed, and I can't move without the keyboard disconnecting. It's a flawed design that BOOX should never have let out their door. (FYI, I see you posted this comment from two accounts; I hid the other one in case you didn't mean to make that alias public / were on the wrong account).
@@aline.tech.reviews thankyou very very much for your detailed use case. I think I will continue to use the TUC for now, as I explore using it primarily to build an Obsidian vault (which btw, I'd be interested in you sharing anything about if you use it. Especially the zettelkasten method) I just wish there would be a merged balance between the company visions of Ratta and BOOX. A supernote that has all the new colour tech and android interface, whilst putting a high priority on customer interaction, long term use, eco friendly etc And yes, I seemed to have been using an auto generated account I couldn't log back into to delete that comment - sorry and thanks!
Of course! Happy to help. I doubly agree if you are using it mostly to take notes and build your mind map then the TUC is very capable and doesn't warrant the upgrade. I haven't gotten super deep with Obsidian - I don't take a lot of notes for learning purposes or to look back on (I record most of my thoughts temporarily and either release them to the world or archive them and never look again). I have been dipping my toe in Obsidian by using it to stash my philosophical/life thoughts to see how it works out for me; I haven't committed to it and have 0 organizational methods in place there. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts here! What's in your vault and how are you utilizing it? I've never heard of the Zettelkasten Method until your message here so curious how you're integrating that into your life and what the outcomes are. Are you using it for studies, personal use, or both? My management stack is: Monday for my work project management; Notion for my personal project manage (e.g., this TH-cam channel + content creation); Evernote + Google for my personal data and personal life checklist; and Sunsama for my daily time blocking management.
Hi! My biggest concern with Tab Ultra C was the writing experience. I watched your 50 min long in-depth review of Tab Ultra C (it was fantastic btw) and my biggest concern, was the first pen stroke not registering and the poor palm rejection mostly. Those drawbacks can ruin the writing experience. I just would like to know how the writing experience is in the pro version? Would love if you could comment!
Hey there! The TUC Pro and TUC are the same in this regard as they share an identical screen and software; however, Boox pushed a software update that makes the delay much more manageable on both devices. If you check out my TUC Beta 3.5 video, you should be able to see it in action! That update is live now on all color devices; it's not a complete fix, but it's way better than it used to be. For palm rejection: I don't know that they can fix it, but in that same 3.5 software update, Boox added a lot of new touch controls. We can now turn off individual gestures (so you can turn off the ability to touch/tap the screen, but turn on the ability to pinch and zoom). Similar to above, it's not a complete fix, but it's much more manageable than it used to be. If those two things won't frustrate you, then the writing experience is excellent. I hope that helps! Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions!
I *think* this is a feature/upgrade of Android 12 - so they would have to push Android 12 backwards. I haven't yet gotten a response from BOOX on whether or not they are able or planning to do that.
Thank you for the first impressions. I am looking forward for the full review, aspecially about the other security concerns (forced connction to the Boox servers or the possibility to access your device from the same network for example). I am also interested if the TUC Pro can power a workstation with secondary screens and a proper keyboard ect... If it solves the issues of the last generation and can power workstations, it is a true gamechanger. I would be very grateful if you could include these points in your review. I am looking forward to it.
Thank you for watching! Duly noted on all the review points - I will include all those points in my review. I haven't yet tested the USB-C DP Alt mode, but my assumption is that it's not here. I've tried many different combinations of connectors with the base model, including DisplayLink adapters, to no avail. I feel it would have been in their marketing material if they had added it. It still supports Bluetooth & wired keyboards. I will update you will full confidence on display out in the review. I think to get what you're after you would need a dedicated laptop docking station with a DisplayLink chip. I have that on my list as a possibility of things to buy and test as a setup, but it's a low priority currently.
@@aline.tech.reviews Thank you for the answer, looking forward for your review. But I guess you are right, it probably would have been in their marketing material. I will look for a laptop docking station, if its not included. Thank you.
Thanks, this is a great video - as others have mentioned, the only comparison out there at the moment. Would you be able to elaborate more about differences between the TUC and TUC Pro keyboard, aside from the trackpad? Is the new TUC Pro keyboard more "smushed" since everything is jammed up to the top so that there is space for the trackpad? Anything else you have noticed, such as "phantom swipes" while typing? Also, any thoughts on whether a Tab X C will be out this year?
Truly appreciate that, thank you for watching! Yes! My keyboard was only delivered yesterday (it was out of stock since launch so I couldn't include it in this video). It's not smushed or compacted at all; the key cap area is the same size as the old version. Instead, it's now longer in front to accommodate the track pad space (where the previous keyboard's spacebar ends, there's an extra 3.5 inches extending out). The engineering difference is in the triangular base that supports/holds the tablet up - it was previously in the middle of the keyboard cover and folded outward, they've now migrated this to the top edge so that it folds down, freeing up that previous middle space to extend the keyboard length (hard to put in words, but I'll demonstrate it visually in my full review). The downside is that is requires more desk space, but I haven't yet found that to be a limitation as even in my bed it provides more stability. I haven't yet noticed any phantom swipes - but I haven't used it enough in real world scenarios. I plan to write my next video scripts this weekend, so I will have a better indication of phantom swipes then and will follow up with you here! The mouse is surprisingly responsive on Ultra Fast refresh mode. My Bluetooth mice have all been extremely lagging and unresponsive - this feels much smoother, quicker, and usable. I'm going to do some tests comparing the two input methods. I have no idea if a Tab X C will come out but I presume it will eventually. As far as I've read, 13" Kaleido 3 displays now exist.. so if it's going to be released my guess will be in 2024 so they can be one of the first.
Yes! I ran 5 tests of each for you. TUC Pro: averages ~20-22 seconds from off to on TUC: averages ~25-26 seconds from off to on On low battery, it takes longer (TUC Pro took 32 seconds one time, but it was on 3% battery). I hope that helps!! Let me know if you need anything further.
Appreciate it! And I promise it's almost here. I started filming in December and had to go out of town for 5 months.. I just finished filming it last week so now it's down to editing.
@@jUDASFERRET - It's moving! I have to get my Quest 3 review video out this weekend, and then the TUC Pro video is next! ETA is somewhere Dec 2-6. I've tested the TUC Pro inside and out - found a few issues that I am still testing to lock in confirmations (one involves the battery charge which takes a long time to test as I have to wait for it to charge, and then full decharge). The video will be out sooner if this ends up not being the issue I think it is.
Only real comparison out there, thx.. i put my tab ultra c away, and tried the supernote a5x, but felt like i still needed more and the supernote just cant deliver... so went back to my tab ultra c and then the pro hits, 😢 i have deaided to give the pro a try, amazon sells it if i dont feel it is better then the none pro c i will return it
Thanks for taking the time to watch! Supernote is the only e-ink brand I haven't yet tried (and as I've tested more devices and researched the others, it's clear that BOOX is leading the market with the best experience). I am holding out for the A5 X2 so that I don't have to go backwards a generation. It sucks to have an upgrade less than 6 months after the Tab Ultra C launched.. 😢 I wish they had taken their time and released the Pro version as the base. They didn't need the community to point out the hardware limitations for a "productivity tablet PC" (they could have realized this with internal testing). That's a smart choice! Please come back to let me know which you decided to keep.
Hi! i recently get a Tab Ultra BW with a very convenient price, but, i used to use a Nova Air C, and i fell that i'm going to miss the color. Regretebly, Tab Ultra C is not abailable in my country yet, and the only option in color is the Note Air 3 C. My Question here is, its better to keep this TUBW, or get an Note Air 3C? i'm an spanish Lenguage proffesor, so, i dont going to use the tablet to take the hardware to the limit, the thing is if color worth it to down grade, or i better keep the TUBW? You're videos are great!
Hey there! Honestly, it sounds like you got a good deal the TUBW and it's still a great device. While color is fun to have, I don't think it's a necessity by any means - especially if you're mostly dealing with text/language. Color also comes with downsides: a darker screen that I very much dislike, and visible pixels in the color layer. I would stick with the TUBW unless you feel you REALLY need the colors to get your job done.!
Thank for your comment and advice. The only thing that I dont like that much about the TUBW is its size, cause when I want to read a book on bed, it came heavy in the hands. But, in every other case, its a great device. Now im trying to use a little ring controller to read and avoid the weigth, and to be honest, since I started to try the TUBW, I realized that the lack of color isnt important to me.
Great video as usual! Some people say it is good to have a small e-reader because it can be held in one hand. Is it comfortable to read or it is better to have a small device?
Appreciate that! Are you planning to use it for reading & marking up PDFs, reading comics, or something of that nature.. or are you mostly reading novels & ebooks? If the former, you will probably find that a 7.8" screen is too small to read PDFs comfortably (without a ton of zooming and panning). If the latter, I think a smaller reader will be your best bet. The Tab Ultra C & Pro (10.3" screens) are quite heavy for one-handed use.. so you won't get a comfortable 3-hour, one-handed reading session on the couch unless you are a body builder. You would prefer something like the Tab Mini C (7.8" screen) or a smaller Amazon Kindle for that use case.
Appreciate that, thanks for taking the time to watch! I have a full TUC Pro video written and filmed - I am behind schedule but hope to have out by March 1 at latest.
From my point of view, it's not worth changing just to be a little faster when you have less battery capacity. By the way, the trackpad looks horrible and useless for a tablet. And congratulations on another great video!
Appreciate you tuning back in! I definitely understand your perspective. The battery capacity is, no doubt, a hindrance, and I'm not sure why they made that decision. That said, I'm a home hermit and I'm always next to a power source so it's more pestering than it is a limitation; I can't remember the last time I actually took the TUC down to 0%.. because I'm always plugging it in when I swap away from it. The exchange in performance and being able to keep all my apps open in the background was worth it for me in that sense. The trackpad feels like a great addition to me! I've had a lot of trouble with touch registrations in my keyboard writing and project management apps - where I tap to put my cursor somewhere and it pops up an autocorrect menu or doesn't put the cursor in the correct place, or I'm dragging to select text and it just stops selecting so I have to re-try 3x to select the text I want. I've tried using a bluetooth mouse, but it's cumbersome to carry around the house and is very laggy. ^ I don't yet have it yet, it should be here by this weekend so I can give my actual thoughts.
I would agree to an extent...It's not worth upgrading if you already have the Ultra C, it's not obsolette by any mean whatsoever. But it can be worth choosing the Ultra Pro C if you hesitate between both devices. It just depends on your priorities... I understand that some may favor battery life, and if it comes to that then yes the Ultra C lasts longer. But the better Multitasking, more overall reactivity/speed(an no it's not marginal, it just depends on the apps you use, for some apps it also helps in other aspect of the experience like scrolling smoothness,etc), it's speed in online related tasks, etc. Those factors made it for me. It makes the versatility of the overall product shine and versatility is exactly why i chose a Boox Tab over the more "focused" competitors.. On top of it, it's battery power may be questionable compared to it's closest competition but it good enough. I've yet not seen a moment when i discovered that i urgently need to charge my device(even through multiple days usage). Especially since it last enough for me to cross a power outlet either at home or outside anyway. Pretty sure Ony made that much device a year as a "Anybody gets a device fitting it's usage" strategy. It actually shows here. We are all happy with ours.
Nice review, Quite frankly it says it lot that you're so positive knowing your detailed reviews of shortcoming of other devices. Good stuff. I love my Tab Ultra but wish I would have waited 6 months, having said that, it is eminently useful in my day to day stuff and when it wears out I will likely get whatever the next generation is at that time.
Truly appreciate that! While I enjoy the upgrades (and felt they were necessary - I'm glad BOOX took our feedback), I am upset that BOOX didn't just produce this device first instead of releasing an "entry-level" base version and replacing it less than 6 months later. They should have taken the time to do the market research, get user feedback, and produce it right the first time - all they've done now is put a sour taste in everyone's mouth and "wasted" a lot of our money. Everyone will forever have a hesitance to buy a new BOOX device because they have no confidence that their device won't be forever stuck on an unsupported version of Android or that an upgraded version isn't 5 months away. I think waiting for your current one to wear out is a wise choice. By then, they may have an upgraded 2019-2020 chipset with 8GB of RAM for the same price.
Thank you for the comparison. Is there any chance you would compare the Tab Ultra C with the Note Air 3 C, looks like the 3C has a higher CPU score? Not sure if this means scrolling will be smoother on the 3C
I would love to! I am in contact with BOOX and am going to see if they will ship me a review unit so that I don't have to keep spending $600 to test all their devices. Otherwise, when I sell my TUC, I will use those funds to buy a NA 3C. On paper, the 3C should result in a lower computational score. However, scores vary based on a number of factors - including chip binning - so would need to run a handful of tests with both to get a more accurate average.
Thank you! 🙏 maintaining good quality and quality information 👍👍👍👍 I don’t think it’s worth it for me to upgrade but the FOMO in me is struggling 😂 If I give in, it will not be because the TUC is anything less but because vanity is getting the better of me. I am sure I’ll find an excuse 😂😂😂😂
Appreciate that, and thank you for always showing out! 🙏 There's a little bubble on your name now, on my side, that says you have the most hearted comments! And lololol. Yea, no doubt. I let the frustration of my apps de-loading constantly, touch inputs lagging, and future security updates justify my upgrade. There's a noticeable improvement in touch input lag and apps load more quickly and smoothly scroll that cause less friction and frustration for me when trying to be productive - stuff like that "pulls me out" of the flow state I'm in. A complete guess, but I also don't imagine BOOX making a third version with 8gb of RAM and a newer processor (they actually went back in time on the back-end in these upgrades, even though it was a performance boost). Seems likely they will do a round of black-and-white device upgrades before pushing another hardware upgrade for color.
Hi aline, this is a great review, and I'd like to ask an advice: I have the NA3C and I love it. However as I need to have 2 to 3 very large college ebooks opened plus the note writing app, I found the device gets quite slow and sluggish. I used the cpu-z app to understand how much ram it was using with those apps and e-books loaded in memory and out of the 4gb I had only 0.8gb left of available ram; so me not being an expert in hardware/system performance, I inferred low ram could be the main issue for the slowness. Hence, I am willing to return my na3c and get the tab ultra c pro assuming the performance would improve for my use case by having the extra 2gb ram and slight faster processor. Here is my question: how bad is it to take notes on the TUC pro on a flat surface without a case? I know it sounds crazy but I must use the device without a case/cover (for medical/physical reasons). But having read about the wobbling created by the camera bump when placed flat on a desk, I wonder how bad this wobbling effect really is? Can you simply get used to taking notes with the wobbling or is it just too annoying, distracting and cumbersome to the point where the only alternative is to have a cover? Can the wobbling be overcome by simply getting used to it or another workaround, or is the design makes writing on a flat surface simply impractical? My iPad has a camera and it’s about +-2.5mm high and it’s not that bad to write on it, but TUC pro camera bump looks more like 5-6mm (guestimate)?? I was hoping you could provide your take on this since the comments and other video reviews about the TUC pro don’t provide enough detail of whether the camera bump makes it impossible to write on a flat surface without a case. I would appreciate your honest perspective and insight on this as it would help me make an educated decision. Thanks for the great work and amazing content produced.
Hey there; appreciate that and thanks for watching! The TUC Pro's camera bump definitely makes it wobble on a flat surface without a case. There's no denying that it's annoying and poor design. It will wobble and be unusable (in my opinion) unless you work around, but it is easily solvable (even without a case). Solution #1: without the case it's probably going to slide around on you anyways, so simply placing your hand on the side of the device to stabilize it will stop the wobble (which is how I naturally write anyways - with one hand stabilizing the notebook). In this instance, the device will be at a bit of an unnatural angle but is writable. Solution #2: you could buy #M rubber pads with sticky tape one side - find a pad that is roughly the same thickness as the camera bump and place that on the other 3 corners to 'even it out' OR place a single strip horizontally, in line with the camera bump, all the way across the top to create an angle. This pad solution would solve 2 issues (the wobble + the sliding around). Mind you, if you plan to take the device home and use it in a case.. now you can't without removing the pads lol. Solution #3: a manual habitual solution, but you could use the edge of a desk to brace it or place something else under it (like you might with an uneven table at a restaurant). If all of those sound like unnecessary workarounds for you, then I would suggest avoiding the device since you can't use a case in your environment. It does not feel good having to attach rubber pads to your $700 device to solve a basic problem engineers overlooked. The bump is small enough that it's hard for me to accurately measure without specialized tool (which I should get as a reviewer), but eyeballing with a tape it looks to be exactly 1/8 in or 3.175mm (just under half the device's thickness for comparison). I hope that helps. I'm happy to send a video of it wobbling on a flat surface, if that is beneficial to you; you can use the e-mail in my TH-cam "About" profile and just reference your username here.
I don't have a Mac handy, but yes I believe it is possible wired if you use a third-party app. You can also stream a virtual desktop wirelessly. Check TH-cam for "MyDeepGuide" external Mac - I believe he has a tutorial to demonstrate the process! It's not possible natively - you have to use apps or converters
@@aline.tech.reviews Thank you.. How well does the stylus work with SketchUp or any software that detects the stylus on Windows using the Spacedesk app? (It doesn't work well in Paint, but there are some software programs that do recognize the stylus). And how about the Obsidian app with the Excalidraw plugin (which is used for note-taking with the stylus and embedding it in Obsidian notes)? These two things run slowly on my Note Air 1; do they perform more smoothly on the Note Air 3C, or is there still room for improvement? Thanks for your videos and for listening to the community.
When you turn off the brightness and turn off all of your lights in house and move to complitely dark room, is there any light appearing from the device? I would like to know if it is like a real paper when it comes to lighting.
No light appears from the device when brightness is turned off. In a dark room, you can not read the screen at all. If you check my "7 bad things" about the TUC video, I show a piece of paper next to the screen for comparison. You can see that the screen is much darker and much more grey than a piece of recycled paper.
This product is all it promises but they forgot to mention that the display is extremely fragile. It's so delicate that you can not take it anywhere because it might break in your bag. The worst thing is that if that happens Onyx is not taking any responsibility (display failure is categorically denied warranty) so you end up with a brick.
Yea, most definitely - Boox, at the very least, needs to include a warning and care guide to educate users before and after purchase. It's not something a user should discover after they've broken it. In my full Tab Ultra C review, I had a section demonstrating just how fragile the screen felt.. even placing pressure on it with the eraser caused it to bend inward to an uncomfortable level that felt like it would crack the glass if I pressed slightly harder. I think a lot of people are unknowingly chucking this thing in their backpacks and going about their normal day - and the force of that or pressure against something else in their bag will crack it. It requires a mindful diligence to pack it in a back with a dedicated laptop/tablet cushion and light packing. I have also seen instances, though, where there is no clear damage line and the Boox shills will circle a point of the image where the "device was dropped" and you can clearly see there is nothing there - a good example of this was when they blamed the user and circled a piece of "damage" that was just the user's other Kindle case below it. It doesn't seem to matter if the screen breaks naturally or from an accident, they always put the blame on the user and are too broke to offer a replacement.
any thoughts on using this device with a non-native BT keyboard and mouse (or a BT keyboard with a trackpad)? The BOOX keyboard flap is both out of stock and ridiculously expensive, so I guess it's a loss-loss...
I have used both a Bluetooth keyboard & mouse, and a combined one with a trackpad. They have all worked just fine! There isn't a major noticeable delay in a bluetooth keyboard vs. the connected case (I also don't notice any real delay in say using the tablet as a virtual screen from my PC and using my PC keyboard through apps like SpaceDesk). There's a little more latency, but because e-ink is already generally slow it's not something you notice. Using a BT mouse is a very slow and laggy experience. I don't know if the new keyboard case will have that same problem yet - mine doesn't get here until the weekend (it was out of stock at launch). I wouldn't suggest using a dedicated mouse unless you have to - a keyboard with a track pad will reduce the number of accessories you have to carry and provide the same performance. It's mostly useful for placing your cursor exactly where you are in text while avoiding the "auto correct" popup that happens when you tap on words, or your finger tap putting the cursor in the wrong place. I agree the BOOX keyboard is ridiculously expensive.. too much so. The problem is the chokehold they have on that particular accessory because it's designed specifically as a case for the device, which makes portability seamless. It's the only reason I could have justified the extra $150 purchase. Lugging an external keyboard and mouse around my house is just silly (say when I want to move from desk to couch, or couch to counter, or counter to bed).
Out of the box it has barely enough juice to get the heavy user through the day and that is only going to degrade with time. Many laptops ability to hold a full charge nose dives at around one thousand cycle counts, but my experience says much earlier... yet no one appears to be concerned, maybe because they are brand new units. I'd like to know the cycle count on the battery as I can see those who are recharging most days _[heavy users]_ discovering that they are back in the old days when our laptops were often tethered to a power-brick much of the day. Do you think my concerns are unfounded? Maybe I'm missing something, but if Onyx continues down this route I think this issue may take the shine off the company name.
I don't think your concerns are unfounded. I feel 1,000 cycles are a bit inflated and typically find that tablets, or even high-end laptops like Razer Blade, start to have battery issues in as little as 2-3 years (which would presumably be much under the 1,000 cycle mark). We have no idea what quality battery Onyx is using here outside the capacity and charge rate.. based on their other tech, I can't help but wonder if these batteries were also made in 2018 and just been sitting around in a warehouse until being put in the tablets. A smaller battery was just a bad decision all around here, regardless. It's hard to believe they ran out of space inside so I think they were simply catering to a market that doesn't exist so they could say it was "lighter". I also ran into a scare this week where I charged the battery Friday night, removed it from the charger, and didn't touch it until Saturday evening - at which point the battery was 0%. It was odd, so I tried it again and it didn't happen that time. However, I charged it again last night and removed it from the charger.. and now it's at 65% without me having touched it. I can't tell if it's a battery issue or if they have a software bug that is causing the device to fail to sleep or is running code in the background.. but something is definitely awry. I first thought it was the keyboard case - but I was able to test 2 full charges without it draining so I don't believe it's that. I will keep you updated once I can pin down the issue.
@@aline.tech.reviews Appreciated, it would be interesting to hear what becomes of it. I have a Supernote A5X and to keep in line with an EU directive Supernote are about to bring out the A5X2 and A6X2 with... *replaceable batteries.* I have my heart set on the Supernote A4 Slim but haven't heard anything about it having a replaceable battery yet, but I'm guessing must have. I burned through 40% of a full charge this morning, writing notes... I've been tempted by the _'Boox Note Air 3 C'_ but guess I'd burn through a full charge most days, and that would give it a couple of years before I'd be tethered to a powerpoint. If the Supernote A4 Slim hasn't got a replaceable battery, I might just go for the A5X2 instead, as it'll last for years and years as all I really do is write.
No, only the Android OS has been updated (Android 12 + August 2023 security patches). The rest of the issues still remain. There is still no on-device encryption option that I can find, so any encryption has to be done manually around. Play Store is not Google Play Protect Certified. Thanks for watching! NOTE: I am not a security professional nor do I have any security assessment credentials; everything I comment on is what I spot as a tech consumer. They updated to Android 12 + August 2023 security patches with TUC Pro + v3.5 - which is definitely a positive step forward. The Android 12 update ensures another year of available OS security patches (where Android 11 will fall off and all exploits found will not get patched). The thing to keep an eye out for is whether they keep these Android OS patches coming somewhat regularly (they're already 4 behind as of this comment). Boox has not responded to my inquiries about whether they are also keeping their Linux kernels up-to-date with security patches or if they can let us know their security practices/frequency of checks. Releasing that direct information might be a security risk in itself, but I don't see any security promise nor have I seen any security updates in patch notes - outside the terms basically saying they are not at fault for any lost data. They seem to have gone backwards a kernel build version, which isn't unheard of but is weird they aren't pushing forward unless that's tied to a hardware limitation (believe this SOC, while more performant, was released earlier than the TUC's). I believe support for this kernel v's security ends in 2024. The lock screen issue still exists (if you lock the screen, the content previously on the screen is still visible as ghosting - which seems to be amplified now due to more ghosting). BooxDrop seems to work the same; while you can manually avoid this by severing the connection, I don't think many users are aware - meaning anyone on the same network that knows they're using a Boox device can access files (if that connection is open). It's not really an issue if you're on your own home network.. mostly a public/work concern. I believe it's just running a basic web server, they should put a PIN on it (I looked at this web page before to see the external calls but don't remember what I found, I will re-test for this TUC Pro review). I don't see any built-in storage encryption options still - looks like you would have to do this manually. Assuming all AI/translations/conversions/etc. are being processed on external servers and if you login with a Boox account all your notes are being sync'd to external cloud storage - if that's something you are averse to then I would avoid those functions. You are not getting Microsoft / Apple / Samsung / etc.-level security on a device like this. You just have to decide if that's for you. If you are averse, you can set up firewalls/lock down the device - and login to a Google account dedicated to this device + use a Guest Network + VPN (I do these latter items). If you go forward, you should: - Go with the assumption that everything on your device may potentially become public. - Limit your data shared with the device; for example, I would suggest creating a separate Google account rather than using your personal one, and that way all your Google Drive/etc. data is tied to this device only.. and you will be forced to manually put the files you are intending to into this device's ecosystem. - Disable Boox sync. - Ensure you have MFA/2FA connected to each and every account that touches the device (and do NOT sync that MFA to the device itself). - If it bothers you, check out MyDeepGuide's TH-cam video on setting up NetGuard and blocking outgoing traffic. - You can go crazy and root the device or download apps to implement better lockdown. That's a chore, though, IMO.
Hi, I just discovered your channel. I'm a CAD tech and I am looking for a tablet that can open pdf drawings to review and mark up changes. What would you recommend? I was initially thinking purchasing a samsung tablet until I found your chanel. I am trying to get away from printing printing of drawings to save paper.
I responded to your other comment on my full review! Can you email me one of your cad files so I can see? I think a CAD export might be large in which the Tab X (13" screen) would be your current best bet. I can test how they fit in the 10" for you though.
You should write them with the feedback option on the device about your wishes (brightness with keys). Or if you have a direct channel to them. The battery problem should be addressed. I'm not concerned with a little bit more weight with a device if it has enough battery power.
We recently opened a direct channel, so I am pushing all my feedback through there in batches! I'm also submitting it all via the Feedback screen in the OS (I also don't know that it's even possible for them to do). I haven't yet had any of my questions answered in this direct channel. Agreed on the battery - I'm a bit perplexed at why they were so adamant to advertise 30g lighter instead of leaning into heavily into the tablet PC performance and chucking a heavier battery. I doubt many of their target audience are trying to hold this thing with 1 hand for casual reading sessions.
@@aline.tech.reviews I did have the mouse pointer size fixed with the feedback option. So it seems to work for some topics. I think they want to ride the lighter and thinner wave of mobile devices. I never understood the push for thinner devices like the iPhone. Furthermore, I don't care if the device is now 0.1 mm thinner than the last one. Who cares? It should be usable and not 'castrated' with the battery.
@@noobahoi - Yea, feedback definitely gets read. They improved all things I had provided feedback for (+ all the feedback I collected from my comments) in my first review and reached out to thank me for providing as it's helpful for their team to make improvements. I do hope they answer my batch of questions since they reached out to open a line of communication. And I couldn't agree more.. it feels like marketing nonsense and filler to me to try to push "upgrades" that aren't really upgrades. I can't imagine a world where their engineering team was focused on making this device a mere 30g lighter and a hair thinner.. while simultaneously increasing the weight of their accessories by over double that. At the very least, it doesn't make logical sense.. especially if they purposefully reduced the battery for that. I'm hoping the battery reduction was the result of a loss of space inside the chassis to fit it because of new heatsinks - but, still, they should have spent time and engineered around it.
@@opredeleno - Yes, you can charge the device while using it! I do this when I use the TUC as an external virtual monitor for my PC. I put the TUC on a stand, plug it into a power brick, and then use it like I would a computer monitor at my desks. It works with any power source, portable or not.
I noticed that the brightness is slightly lower on one side compared to the other. Is it just mine, or is it normal? I observed this at a brightness level of 40-50%.
Is it just along the edge, for example a small band on the left-hand side of the device, or is it across a large gradient of the screen? I have dark edges across the left and top side of the device - which is normal due to the way the lights are built into the device. They aren't perfectly evenly luminate. This exists on both my TUC and my TUC Pro and most other Boox devices as far as I can tell. However, if you have a noticeable gradient across a large portion of the screen, then I would suggest taking a picture and reaching out to support for a potential exchange.
@@aline.tech.reviews Furthermore, when adjusting the brightness to one side, it's slightly lower, noticeable with low backlighting. There are no distinct bands.
@@aline.tech.reviews The brightness is higher on one side and gradually decreases towards the other. I don't see the dark banding as it was in the previous model, so that's not the issue.
I have! This model only works wirelessly as a secondary screen; you can't plug it in. Therefore, I would argue no drawing programs or graphics programs will work well. The latency is a tad too high for that type of work IMO. Unless you're literally manipulating text for like a magazine or newspaper, the lag is probably going to be too much to make it viable. You'd want to look at one of the e-ink monitors instead (which you can get for a little bit more money).
@@aline.tech.reviews that's awesome! I did get the MIRA it works sorta with video mode and I increased to max refresh rate so it's a bit pixelated but it does the job for basic layouts and I'm wondering if the tab ultra C pro could do that too ? Thinking to return the Mira for a portable stand alone on its own that could also be an external monitor for heavier things
Seemingly no - and if it does it's very poor. Check out my "6 Worst Things of the TUC" video for an example. The new software does gave a lot of new individual toggles to turn off certain touch input gestures (check out my 3.5 beta video), which helps, but palm rejection as a whole still doesn't exist (for instance, laying your palm on the tablet with a pop-up open, like for changing your pen color, will cause it to close). It has been one of the more frustrating issues with the device for me but I did find the new individual touch toggles lessened that frustration a good amount. I don't really notice it down outside the pop-up menus example.
It's currently December and my Android security updates are still on August and there aren't any updates available - so already 4 patches missed. The thing that has changed is the Android 12 integration + Android security patch - everything else is the same or worse (they fell back a kernel version) as it was on the old model. So technically yes a bit more secure at the OS software level, but the rest is still an issue/unknown. I still wouldn't recommend it for work (and if you work at a large company or high-tech job, it won't pass security inspection). I'm hoping to have my full review video finished this week.
Reasonable review given it's length, perhaps a little rushed though. If you're not trying to use sign-language, please cut-down on your rather manic hand gestures. They're distracting and make you look a little silly.
Appreciate the feedback! It's not much of a review, rather intended to be a quick, first-look comparison of the differences. I have my full TUC Pro review (30+ minutes) recorded. I hope to get it finished before May. And agreed on the hands.. it drives me nuts and is embarassing. A classic newbie "i dont know what to do with my hands" resulting from 0 public speaking experience and a hermit lifestyle with no social interactions. I feel like I improved a lot in the TUC Pro review - if you happen to see that one when it releases in the future let me know.
@@aline.tech.reviews At least you have the guts to make a face-on video, so don't beat yourself up my friend! Seemed a pretty good video to me, and it's so easy to be driven to do everything at what seems double-speed when a little new and nervous, in most things, so I think you've made a decent job of it. I actually bought a TUC Pro a few weeks back, but found it such a pain to use with the pathetic OS that's a jumbled mess of labyrinthine-tabs and settings and the need to configure almost everything on an app-by-app level it drove me bonkers. The screen - dark, gloomy and washed-out if the light is increased enough to be able to use it without eye-strain. Gave it several goes with breaks between assuming I just needed to adjust from decades of laptop/desktop Windows use but simply ended-up hating the awful thing. Shame too as I really could use a good note-taking device with 'proper' import/export capability, but found this device to be an annoying and tiresome waste of time. Everything about it is so pernickety that I gave-up the bother of it and sent it back.... Thanks for your efforts with the video - keep-up the good work and take miserable-complainers such as myself with a measure of salt.
Running Excel is possible! It's the Android app version, but the whole suite of Microsoft apps work. I don't know that keyboard shortcuts work if you are a power user. Both my tablets are dead right now from battery testing, let me charge one quick and test keyboard shortcuts for you
Yea, apologies for that! I over EQ'd the bass in a few of my videos. The dominant bass sound normalized in my brain since I was listening to myself for hours while editing so I forgot to go back and fix it. I have my EQ figured out now for future vids!
What about writting samples. The main main reason for E- ink is writting. All surrounds it. All others I get from Ipad. Ioad is must . The question is can I use Boox for writting instead of rewirtable 2. Boox can never be Ipad. It took apple many many years to becone what they are so this competition is doomed. Not even starting . Again is it precuse in writting and and do all the functions that supports writting ( shapes , straight lines , photos upload to a sheath , synch , mailing , sharing to a printer !!! ,micro SD card ..) work smoothly and with many options. This shoukd be a writting and a reading tool and sharing tool. It can't be a computer . For that we have Ipad ans Sumsung TAB and Lenovo Yoga. Writting is a lot and if it is very very very good writting experience with having the ability to type than might buy one of this company devices. Might be Air 3 c.. since the camera on the c ultra as viewed totally sucks. If tge writying ecperience is smooth and natural and a bit rounded as a natural hand writting then this might be very usable for studing and work instead of paper assuming the quality is transfered by printing onto paper. 😂😂😢😮😮😅😅😊😊😢😂😮😮😮 For all writting apps in apple Ipad once you print a note to a paper the quality is so bad so what's the point of having nice writtings on a tan or an Ipad or a notebook yet on a print paper very bad results . So printing experience is also very important ; The ability to directly share a print from a note book and get excelent results on a print paper like you actuslly wrote itbon the print paper with no quality lose.
the only real people who would use this are the ones wanting the full functionality while also being able to keep your eyes safe. I think if you don't actually want all those features you'd be much better suited buying a used $20 kindle from ebay and using calibre to load it full of books. sure it's not as complete an experience, but it has the bare basics for reading books and lasts forever. personally I think they need to both add fast charging and a larger battery. we're getting into the territory where the ipad gets more battery life, and that's not okay for a device of this genre imo.
Most definitely - the Tab Ultra line of devices are specifically catered for career professionals that want to offload some of their PC work to an e-ink tablet. They are overkill for general reading or writing and the price point reinforces that. They definitely need to re-increase the battery or add fast charging! Both is obvious better. I agree that it's not okay, especially when you can't plug it in for 10-15 minutes to get juiced back up to 50%. I'm not sure why they made the decision to reduce the battery but I am going to ask; it would be wild if they did it just to reduce those 30g of weight that no one can notice.. so hopefully they ran out of room inside or something due to new heatsinks.
I think we would welcome it! However, the amount of times they mentioned "30g lighter" in their marketing promo materials, live stream, etc. - it feels like they were trying to use that as a point to say they listened to their customers feedback for engineering the device to be lighter (even though that 30g is not a noticeable one). They were taking a weird angle with it and I'm not sure why.
@@aline.tech.reviews I literally do not care how heavy it is as long as it's not over like the weight on the surface tablet, that's about my limit on weight. they have plenty of weight to work with.
I was on the fence about getting an e-ink tablet. My eyes get tired rather quickly using LCD tablets like iPads. I have been researching for months and I finally pulled the trigger on the TUCP, albeit being one of the most expensive options out there. Aline's review actually took care of my buyer's remorse (I haven't gotten the tablet yet, should get here in a day or two), but the detailed comparison between the TUC and the TUCP did put me at ease in that I made the right choice, albeit the extra cost. The reason I'm replying to your post is to inquire about your decision to move to supernote. I did a lot of research on the supernote and it seems to be a fine e-tablet, but it seems to be very apple-like in how they approach their apps etc. By now (your post was 4 months ago) you must have gotten it. Got any feedback of the supernote vis a vis TUC?
😂. I've gotten that a lot and was thinking about adding a watch to my wrist with every new review. Truly appreciate that, thanks for taking the time to watch! =)
I seriously considered doing a giveaway of the TUC - but I ultimately decided against it because it felt weird / was a lot of hoops to jump through. I didn't want to encourage people watching my videos for a chance to win.
Check pricing and availability (affiliate links):
► TUC PRO: shop.boox.com/products/tabultracpro?ref=S89bxEsIU6XNEo
► From Amazon: geni.us/dEqvrD
As usual these are the best tech reviews on the platform.
Extensive and yet not bloated.
I finally decided to buy an e-ink device since I spend way too much time staring at screens and miss reading a good book... but I simply don't have the room to actually collect physical books.
Note air 3 c it is.
Not planning to use anything heavier than a browser with some extensions on it so I didn't need the tab ultra.
Books, Manga/Comics, light sketching, light browsing (as in reading instead of watching content), handwriting and language learning will be its purpose.
If I ever have something heavy to do... well, I have a PC lol.
I appreciate that - thank you for taking the time to watch and leave a comment!!
Note Air 3C is a great choice IMO for reading.. especially for manga/comics - if you were just reading novels, I'd suggest going for the B&W version for the extra crispiness of the text and clearer screen. Also, great devices for chilling in bed, writing down ideas, and browsing the web without destroying your eyes. It's still the device I gravitate toward when I crawl into bed and first thing when I get out of bed.
Also, I recommend ordering from Amazon (if you are able in your region) so you can return it gracefully. I've read a bunch of horror stories on Reddit about folks unable to return their devices to Boox direct.
This is the best and most concise video by far. I have the TUC and was wondering if I should upgrade to the Pro. You have me tempted, but I am still ok with my TUC, I think I will upgrade when there will be new screen technology. I would like a bit more speed when multitasking, but I am good in general with my TUC.
Truly appreciate that! And definitely good to hear; I think the TUC is still an excellent device and the Pro is not a *necessary* upgrade (especially considering its only been out for 6 months). The constraint shows you have a good quality/personality set to avoid shiny object syndrome.
Unfortunately, I get a bit too frustrated with limitations that I feel waste my time or impede my productivity.. so I end up in situations like this where I'm buying the upgraded tablet not 6 months after I shelled out $700+ for the last one. Don't let me push you over the edge.
Yeah....I can't see upgrading until 3 things happen...
1. Better Screen
2. Faster Processor/Better Battery
3. More Ram
Honorable mention:
4. Commitment from Onyx that promises at least 1 OS gen upgrade for no charge.
Great video! Love the detailed performance analysis.
Truly appreciate that, Kit!
The performance updates are quite nice; loving the responsiveness.. It feels like what the TUC should have been.. and rather a v2.0 vs. a "Pro" considering the previous is discontinued.
Something's going on with the screen with this software update, ghosting has been outrageous for me. I'm curious if you're experiencing the same; writing my scripts (white background, black text) is almost unbearable, even on Balanced mode.
Thanks for another great video! I’m definitely not upgrading from the TUC. My use cases (read, note taking and work) do not require the Pro’s specs. Might only upgrade if there is a TabX C or a new color screen tech, which doesn’t seem to happen anytime soon.
Thanks again for tuning in! And wise choice. It does feel like Kaleido is at its limits and a Gallery 4 or new tech is in like 2026 land. Curious to learn if the e-ink industry has a trick up its sleeve.
Thanks for the review. I am currently a student looking for a good note-taking replacement for notebooks to where I can download and read eBooks, take extensive notes, and annotate/markup various files. I have stumbled upon the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C Pro and the Onyx Boox Note Air 3C. Even though both of them are very similar, I do like the fact that the Ultra C Pro has the keyboard, so this puts me in thr tough spot of being on the fence.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and apologies for the delayed reply!
The keyboard, in my opinion, is a staple. I honestly use it more than the pen as typing is much faster. You can use a third-party bluetooth keyboard with the NA 3C - but the TUC Pro's package of the keyboard built into the case is optimized for the least possible hassle. This new keyboard also has a track pad which I've found to be extremely useful.
If you write more than typing, NA 3C is probably the way to go. If you type a lot, I'd go with the TUC Pro and get the keyboard case - so you don't have to carry around an extra keyboard and have to remember to pack it/keep it charged.
Thanks for the update, I highly value your take on things.
I'm quite frustrated I only bought my Ultra C at the start of my 3rd year studies doing Computer Science.
Would appreciate if you shared some of the scenarios you faced that made you think it was worth the upgrade.
Truly appreciate your continued viewership! And it means a lot that you value my opinion; that said, I feel obligated to remind you it's very important to internally assess your own use cases and needs to avoid getting sucked into shiny object syndrome and marketing hype. =)
The Tab Ultra C is still a fully capable device. It's definitely annoying that they've released an upgrade so quickly after the previous, but I would not let that contaminate your mind if the TUC is still satisfying your requirements. Technology upgrades typically come once a year and it's not advisable to get trapped in the feeling of needing to upgrade every year. Marketing is designed to make you feel that way so you hand over your $$.
I do my best limit my cycle of tech upgrades like my phone/computer/etc. to a minimum of 3-5 years before upgrading. This particular tablet, however, was purchased to offload some of my heavy workloads to give my eyes a break. I've had enough annoyances with it (I pointed out many in my full review and the "7 worst things about the TUC videos) that I was pushing BOOX to deliver something with more performance for those of us that multi-task heavily. While the TUC helped, it was a very frustrating device for my personality type.
I am no longer a developer, though I do still code when I need to jump in to help my team. I now hold a Director position where I manage client projects, architect development solutions for the dev team, and manage teams of devs + designers + marketers to reach our outcomes. For perspective, I'm accountable for intaking, deciphering, and communicating multiple channels of information to ensure all our company's dev projects are moving forward and meeting the requirements we promised we'd meet. It requires a lot of app and context switching and reviewing of documentation.
Here are some scenarios that pushed me to upgrade:
- Too many times the TUC has "frozen up" on me when interacting with elements. The CPU seems to get tied up running background processes and doesn't respond to new user input as quickly as I'd like. Not only that, it becomes very unresponsive when handling tasks like selecting text, copy/pasting, or converting data.
- The upgraded CPU allows for better scheduling - the prime core can handle the bursty tasks much more quickly and the sub cores can keep churning through background processes (more effectively than the TUC). This gets rid of that stalling I mentioned in bullet #1.
- The time to load an app, or switch between two apps, has decreased significantly. This sounds like a minor thing, but when you're switching between apps every few minutes, those little delays add up to a lot of wasted "idling" time. Android inherently increases load on CPU by making things a bit more complicated than say a Windows device, so the extra performance is nice to have.
- The sub cores of the TUC Pro are near the same performance of the prime cores of the TUC - there's a big boost in multi-core performance specifically - which is used by apps in the background (as each CPU core can only run 1 thread at a time). Android's ecosystem is constantly running API calls in the background for apps.
- I ran into a limitation with the TUC where I would have enough apps open that my apps in the background would "unload" - this means when I would go to switch back to them, my state would be reset and it would have to re-load the app as if I was opening it for the first time. It's very easy to hit a 4GB limit when multitasking as some Android apps consume up to 500MB-1GB of RAM. The increase to 6GB stops this from happening as often - and I haven't yet had anything unload (I will see how it holds up once I can do my full workload with the keyboard).
- I don't believe the TUC will get the upgrade to Android 12 - so the security updates of those devices is basically stopped. I perform work for Fortune 5 + 500 companies, large organizations, and my own 2 small businesses. It's just not a risk I want to take and my use of the TUC has been limited due to their lapse in security (which is now updated at the Android OS level, but may still be lacking at the kernel level).
- The TUC keyboard design was just awful. I write all my TH-cam video scripts on it from my couch or in bed, and I can't move without the keyboard disconnecting. It's a flawed design that BOOX should never have let out their door.
(FYI, I see you posted this comment from two accounts; I hid the other one in case you didn't mean to make that alias public / were on the wrong account).
@@aline.tech.reviews thankyou very very much for your detailed use case.
I think I will continue to use the TUC for now, as I explore using it primarily to build an Obsidian vault (which btw, I'd be interested in you sharing anything about if you use it. Especially the zettelkasten method)
I just wish there would be a merged balance between the company visions of Ratta and BOOX. A supernote that has all the new colour tech and android interface, whilst putting a high priority on customer interaction, long term use, eco friendly etc
And yes, I seemed to have been using an auto generated account I couldn't log back into to delete that comment - sorry and thanks!
Of course! Happy to help.
I doubly agree if you are using it mostly to take notes and build your mind map then the TUC is very capable and doesn't warrant the upgrade. I haven't gotten super deep with Obsidian - I don't take a lot of notes for learning purposes or to look back on (I record most of my thoughts temporarily and either release them to the world or archive them and never look again). I have been dipping my toe in Obsidian by using it to stash my philosophical/life thoughts to see how it works out for me; I haven't committed to it and have 0 organizational methods in place there.
I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts here! What's in your vault and how are you utilizing it? I've never heard of the Zettelkasten Method until your message here so curious how you're integrating that into your life and what the outcomes are. Are you using it for studies, personal use, or both?
My management stack is: Monday for my work project management; Notion for my personal project manage (e.g., this TH-cam channel + content creation); Evernote + Google for my personal data and personal life checklist; and Sunsama for my daily time blocking management.
Hi!
My biggest concern with Tab Ultra C was the writing experience. I watched your 50 min long in-depth review of Tab Ultra C (it was fantastic btw) and my biggest concern, was the first pen stroke not registering and the poor palm rejection mostly. Those drawbacks can ruin the writing experience.
I just would like to know how the writing experience is in the pro version? Would love if you could comment!
Hey there! The TUC Pro and TUC are the same in this regard as they share an identical screen and software; however, Boox pushed a software update that makes the delay much more manageable on both devices. If you check out my TUC Beta 3.5 video, you should be able to see it in action! That update is live now on all color devices; it's not a complete fix, but it's way better than it used to be.
For palm rejection: I don't know that they can fix it, but in that same 3.5 software update, Boox added a lot of new touch controls. We can now turn off individual gestures (so you can turn off the ability to touch/tap the screen, but turn on the ability to pinch and zoom). Similar to above, it's not a complete fix, but it's much more manageable than it used to be.
If those two things won't frustrate you, then the writing experience is excellent.
I hope that helps! Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions!
I wish the tab ultra c would get the flexoble split screen
I *think* this is a feature/upgrade of Android 12 - so they would have to push Android 12 backwards. I haven't yet gotten a response from BOOX on whether or not they are able or planning to do that.
Good review. Audio volume was low when I jumped from other video
Appreciate that, thanks! Confirming I have figured out all my audio issues and normalization, so it shouldn't be an issue in the future.
Thank you for the first impressions. I am looking forward for the full review, aspecially about the other security concerns (forced connction to the Boox servers or the possibility to access your device from the same network for example). I am also interested if the TUC Pro can power a workstation with secondary screens and a proper keyboard ect... If it solves the issues of the last generation and can power workstations, it is a true gamechanger. I would be very grateful if you could include these points in your review. I am looking forward to it.
Thank you for watching! Duly noted on all the review points - I will include all those points in my review.
I haven't yet tested the USB-C DP Alt mode, but my assumption is that it's not here. I've tried many different combinations of connectors with the base model, including DisplayLink adapters, to no avail. I feel it would have been in their marketing material if they had added it. It still supports Bluetooth & wired keyboards. I will update you will full confidence on display out in the review.
I think to get what you're after you would need a dedicated laptop docking station with a DisplayLink chip. I have that on my list as a possibility of things to buy and test as a setup, but it's a low priority currently.
@@aline.tech.reviews Thank you for the answer, looking forward for your review. But I guess you are right, it probably would have been in their marketing material. I will look for a laptop docking station, if its not included. Thank you.
Thanks, this is a great video - as others have mentioned, the only comparison out there at the moment.
Would you be able to elaborate more about differences between the TUC and TUC Pro keyboard, aside from the trackpad? Is the new TUC Pro keyboard more "smushed" since everything is jammed up to the top so that there is space for the trackpad? Anything else you have noticed, such as "phantom swipes" while typing?
Also, any thoughts on whether a Tab X C will be out this year?
Truly appreciate that, thank you for watching!
Yes! My keyboard was only delivered yesterday (it was out of stock since launch so I couldn't include it in this video). It's not smushed or compacted at all; the key cap area is the same size as the old version. Instead, it's now longer in front to accommodate the track pad space (where the previous keyboard's spacebar ends, there's an extra 3.5 inches extending out). The engineering difference is in the triangular base that supports/holds the tablet up - it was previously in the middle of the keyboard cover and folded outward, they've now migrated this to the top edge so that it folds down, freeing up that previous middle space to extend the keyboard length (hard to put in words, but I'll demonstrate it visually in my full review). The downside is that is requires more desk space, but I haven't yet found that to be a limitation as even in my bed it provides more stability.
I haven't yet noticed any phantom swipes - but I haven't used it enough in real world scenarios. I plan to write my next video scripts this weekend, so I will have a better indication of phantom swipes then and will follow up with you here!
The mouse is surprisingly responsive on Ultra Fast refresh mode. My Bluetooth mice have all been extremely lagging and unresponsive - this feels much smoother, quicker, and usable. I'm going to do some tests comparing the two input methods.
I have no idea if a Tab X C will come out but I presume it will eventually. As far as I've read, 13" Kaleido 3 displays now exist.. so if it's going to be released my guess will be in 2024 so they can be one of the first.
Hello thanks for taking the time to this review. Can you tell us the boot time from Off to On? Thanks!
Yes! I ran 5 tests of each for you.
TUC Pro: averages ~20-22 seconds from off to on
TUC: averages ~25-26 seconds from off to on
On low battery, it takes longer (TUC Pro took 32 seconds one time, but it was on 3% battery).
I hope that helps!! Let me know if you need anything further.
@@aline.tech.reviews Yes it does! Thanks so much for responding and taking the time to produce these videos!
Great work on your channel! Looking forward to the full review
Appreciate it! And I promise it's almost here. I started filming in December and had to go out of town for 5 months.. I just finished filming it last week so now it's down to editing.
Hi, thanks for the quick review!
I am wondering how long does the battery last for heavy usage?
Heavy use - multitasking with lots of apps for my job - 6-9 hours max.
Feels a bit less than the original TUC, which was 8-11ish on average.
thanks for another great video. Can you make a video explaining how and what apps you use on such eink tablet except reading and note taking. Thanks
Most definitely! I am working on a list for one now. =) I will release it after I finish the full review video of the Pro here.
Looking forward to the full review! Especially if they closed all those other security flaws.
Appreciate you taking the time to watch!! I haven't finished re-testing the previous security flaws, but will include them in the full review. =)
How's the full review goin? Can't wait!😃
@@jUDASFERRET - It's moving! I have to get my Quest 3 review video out this weekend, and then the TUC Pro video is next! ETA is somewhere Dec 2-6.
I've tested the TUC Pro inside and out - found a few issues that I am still testing to lock in confirmations (one involves the battery charge which takes a long time to test as I have to wait for it to charge, and then full decharge). The video will be out sooner if this ends up not being the issue I think it is.
Only real comparison out there, thx.. i put my tab ultra c away, and tried the supernote a5x, but felt like i still needed more and the supernote just cant deliver... so went back to my tab ultra c and then the pro hits, 😢 i have deaided to give the pro a try, amazon sells it if i dont feel it is better then the none pro c i will return it
Thanks for taking the time to watch!
Supernote is the only e-ink brand I haven't yet tried (and as I've tested more devices and researched the others, it's clear that BOOX is leading the market with the best experience). I am holding out for the A5 X2 so that I don't have to go backwards a generation.
It sucks to have an upgrade less than 6 months after the Tab Ultra C launched.. 😢 I wish they had taken their time and released the Pro version as the base. They didn't need the community to point out the hardware limitations for a "productivity tablet PC" (they could have realized this with internal testing).
That's a smart choice! Please come back to let me know which you decided to keep.
Hi! i recently get a Tab Ultra BW with a very convenient price, but, i used to use a Nova Air C, and i fell that i'm going to miss the color. Regretebly, Tab Ultra C is not abailable in my country yet, and the only option in color is the Note Air 3 C. My Question here is, its better to keep this TUBW, or get an Note Air 3C? i'm an spanish Lenguage proffesor, so, i dont going to use the tablet to take the hardware to the limit, the thing is if color worth it to down grade, or i better keep the TUBW?
You're videos are great!
Hey there! Honestly, it sounds like you got a good deal the TUBW and it's still a great device. While color is fun to have, I don't think it's a necessity by any means - especially if you're mostly dealing with text/language. Color also comes with downsides: a darker screen that I very much dislike, and visible pixels in the color layer.
I would stick with the TUBW unless you feel you REALLY need the colors to get your job done.!
Thank for your comment and advice. The only thing that I dont like that much about the TUBW is its size, cause when I want to read a book on bed, it came heavy in the hands. But, in every other case, its a great device. Now im trying to use a little ring controller to read and avoid the weigth, and to be honest, since I started to try the TUBW, I realized that the lack of color isnt important to me.
Great video as usual! Some people say it is good to have a small e-reader because it can be held in one hand. Is it comfortable to read or it is better to have a small device?
Appreciate that! Are you planning to use it for reading & marking up PDFs, reading comics, or something of that nature.. or are you mostly reading novels & ebooks?
If the former, you will probably find that a 7.8" screen is too small to read PDFs comfortably (without a ton of zooming and panning). If the latter, I think a smaller reader will be your best bet.
The Tab Ultra C & Pro (10.3" screens) are quite heavy for one-handed use.. so you won't get a comfortable 3-hour, one-handed reading session on the couch unless you are a body builder. You would prefer something like the Tab Mini C (7.8" screen) or a smaller Amazon Kindle for that use case.
@@aline.tech.reviews Great thanks!🥰🙂🙂🙂
Sure thing! Happy to share my experiences if you run across any other questions =)
What a great video, instant sub! Your channel certainly deserves more visibility. All the best
Truly appreciate that! Thanks for taking the time to watch.
Concise, informative, pleasant, clear. Thank you very much for your work!
Appreciate that, thanks for taking the time to watch! I have a full TUC Pro video written and filmed - I am behind schedule but hope to have out by March 1 at latest.
From my point of view, it's not worth changing just to be a little faster when you have less battery capacity. By the way, the trackpad looks horrible and useless for a tablet. And congratulations on another great video!
Appreciate you tuning back in! I definitely understand your perspective.
The battery capacity is, no doubt, a hindrance, and I'm not sure why they made that decision. That said, I'm a home hermit and I'm always next to a power source so it's more pestering than it is a limitation; I can't remember the last time I actually took the TUC down to 0%.. because I'm always plugging it in when I swap away from it. The exchange in performance and being able to keep all my apps open in the background was worth it for me in that sense.
The trackpad feels like a great addition to me! I've had a lot of trouble with touch registrations in my keyboard writing and project management apps - where I tap to put my cursor somewhere and it pops up an autocorrect menu or doesn't put the cursor in the correct place, or I'm dragging to select text and it just stops selecting so I have to re-try 3x to select the text I want. I've tried using a bluetooth mouse, but it's cumbersome to carry around the house and is very laggy.
^ I don't yet have it yet, it should be here by this weekend so I can give my actual thoughts.
I would agree to an extent...It's not worth upgrading if you already have the Ultra C, it's not obsolette by any mean whatsoever.
But it can be worth choosing the Ultra Pro C if you hesitate between both devices. It just depends on your priorities...
I understand that some may favor battery life, and if it comes to that then yes the Ultra C lasts longer.
But the better Multitasking, more overall reactivity/speed(an no it's not marginal, it just depends on the apps you use, for some apps it also helps in other aspect of the experience like scrolling smoothness,etc), it's speed in online related tasks, etc. Those factors made it for me. It makes the versatility of the overall product shine and versatility is exactly why i chose a Boox Tab over the more "focused" competitors..
On top of it, it's battery power may be questionable compared to it's closest competition but it good enough. I've yet not seen a moment when i discovered that i urgently need to charge my device(even through multiple days usage). Especially since it last enough for me to cross a power outlet either at home or outside anyway.
Pretty sure Ony made that much device a year as a "Anybody gets a device fitting it's usage" strategy. It actually shows here. We are all happy with ours.
Nice review, Quite frankly it says it lot that you're so positive knowing your detailed reviews of shortcoming of other devices. Good stuff. I love my Tab Ultra but wish I would have waited 6 months, having said that, it is eminently useful in my day to day stuff and when it wears out I will likely get whatever the next generation is at that time.
Truly appreciate that! While I enjoy the upgrades (and felt they were necessary - I'm glad BOOX took our feedback), I am upset that BOOX didn't just produce this device first instead of releasing an "entry-level" base version and replacing it less than 6 months later. They should have taken the time to do the market research, get user feedback, and produce it right the first time - all they've done now is put a sour taste in everyone's mouth and "wasted" a lot of our money. Everyone will forever have a hesitance to buy a new BOOX device because they have no confidence that their device won't be forever stuck on an unsupported version of Android or that an upgraded version isn't 5 months away.
I think waiting for your current one to wear out is a wise choice. By then, they may have an upgraded 2019-2020 chipset with 8GB of RAM for the same price.
Thank you for the comparison. Is there any chance you would compare the Tab Ultra C with the Note Air 3 C, looks like the 3C has a higher CPU score? Not sure if this means scrolling will be smoother on the 3C
I would love to! I am in contact with BOOX and am going to see if they will ship me a review unit so that I don't have to keep spending $600 to test all their devices. Otherwise, when I sell my TUC, I will use those funds to buy a NA 3C.
On paper, the 3C should result in a lower computational score. However, scores vary based on a number of factors - including chip binning - so would need to run a handful of tests with both to get a more accurate average.
Thank you! 🙏 maintaining good quality and quality information 👍👍👍👍
I don’t think it’s worth it for me to upgrade but the FOMO in me is struggling 😂
If I give in, it will not be because the TUC is anything less but because vanity is getting the better of me. I am sure I’ll find an excuse 😂😂😂😂
Appreciate that, and thank you for always showing out! 🙏 There's a little bubble on your name now, on my side, that says you have the most hearted comments!
And lololol. Yea, no doubt. I let the frustration of my apps de-loading constantly, touch inputs lagging, and future security updates justify my upgrade. There's a noticeable improvement in touch input lag and apps load more quickly and smoothly scroll that cause less friction and frustration for me when trying to be productive - stuff like that "pulls me out" of the flow state I'm in.
A complete guess, but I also don't imagine BOOX making a third version with 8gb of RAM and a newer processor (they actually went back in time on the back-end in these upgrades, even though it was a performance boost). Seems likely they will do a round of black-and-white device upgrades before pushing another hardware upgrade for color.
@@aline.tech.reviews appreciate the time and effort you are putting into this - thank you 🙏
Hi aline, this is a great review, and I'd like to ask an advice: I have the NA3C and I love it. However as I need to have 2 to 3 very large college ebooks opened plus the note writing app, I found the device gets quite slow and sluggish. I used the cpu-z app to understand how much ram it was using with those apps and e-books loaded in memory and out of the 4gb I had only 0.8gb left of available ram; so me not being an expert in hardware/system performance, I inferred low ram could be the main issue for the slowness. Hence, I am willing to return my na3c and get the tab ultra c pro assuming the performance would improve for my use case by having the extra 2gb ram and slight faster processor. Here is my question: how bad is it to take notes on the TUC pro on a flat surface without a case? I know it sounds crazy but I must use the device without a case/cover (for medical/physical reasons). But having read about the wobbling created by the camera bump when placed flat on a desk, I wonder how bad this wobbling effect really is? Can you simply get used to taking notes with the wobbling or is it just too annoying, distracting and cumbersome to the point where the only alternative is to have a cover? Can the wobbling be overcome by simply getting used to it or another workaround, or is the design makes writing on a flat surface simply impractical? My iPad has a camera and it’s about +-2.5mm high and it’s not that bad to write on it, but TUC pro camera bump looks more like 5-6mm (guestimate)?? I was hoping you could provide your take on this since the comments and other video reviews about the TUC pro don’t provide enough detail of whether the camera bump makes it impossible to write on a flat surface without a case. I would appreciate your honest perspective and insight on this as it would help me make an educated decision. Thanks for the great work and amazing content produced.
Hey there; appreciate that and thanks for watching!
The TUC Pro's camera bump definitely makes it wobble on a flat surface without a case. There's no denying that it's annoying and poor design. It will wobble and be unusable (in my opinion) unless you work around, but it is easily solvable (even without a case).
Solution #1: without the case it's probably going to slide around on you anyways, so simply placing your hand on the side of the device to stabilize it will stop the wobble (which is how I naturally write anyways - with one hand stabilizing the notebook). In this instance, the device will be at a bit of an unnatural angle but is writable.
Solution #2: you could buy #M rubber pads with sticky tape one side - find a pad that is roughly the same thickness as the camera bump and place that on the other 3 corners to 'even it out' OR place a single strip horizontally, in line with the camera bump, all the way across the top to create an angle. This pad solution would solve 2 issues (the wobble + the sliding around). Mind you, if you plan to take the device home and use it in a case.. now you can't without removing the pads lol.
Solution #3: a manual habitual solution, but you could use the edge of a desk to brace it or place something else under it (like you might with an uneven table at a restaurant).
If all of those sound like unnecessary workarounds for you, then I would suggest avoiding the device since you can't use a case in your environment. It does not feel good having to attach rubber pads to your $700 device to solve a basic problem engineers overlooked.
The bump is small enough that it's hard for me to accurately measure without specialized tool (which I should get as a reviewer), but eyeballing with a tape it looks to be exactly 1/8 in or 3.175mm (just under half the device's thickness for comparison).
I hope that helps. I'm happy to send a video of it wobbling on a flat surface, if that is beneficial to you; you can use the e-mail in my TH-cam "About" profile and just reference your username here.
Hello, did you find a way to use the boox as macbook external monitor by anychance ?
I don't have a Mac handy, but yes I believe it is possible wired if you use a third-party app. You can also stream a virtual desktop wirelessly.
Check TH-cam for "MyDeepGuide" external Mac - I believe he has a tutorial to demonstrate the process!
It's not possible natively - you have to use apps or converters
Amazing review!
Appreciate that! Thanks for always showing out.
@@aline.tech.reviews Thank you.. How well does the stylus work with SketchUp or any software that detects the stylus on Windows using the Spacedesk app? (It doesn't work well in Paint, but there are some software programs that do recognize the stylus). And how about the Obsidian app with the Excalidraw plugin (which is used for note-taking with the stylus and embedding it in Obsidian notes)? These two things run slowly on my Note Air 1; do they perform more smoothly on the Note Air 3C, or is there still room for improvement? Thanks for your videos and for listening to the community.
When you turn off the brightness and turn off all of your lights in house and move to complitely dark room, is there any light appearing from the device? I would like to know if it is like a real paper when it comes to lighting.
No light appears from the device when brightness is turned off. In a dark room, you can not read the screen at all.
If you check my "7 bad things" about the TUC video, I show a piece of paper next to the screen for comparison. You can see that the screen is much darker and much more grey than a piece of recycled paper.
@@aline.tech.reviews Thanks for answer :)
This product is all it promises but they forgot to mention that the display is extremely fragile. It's so delicate that you can not take it anywhere because it might break in your bag. The worst thing is that if that happens Onyx is not taking any responsibility (display failure is categorically denied warranty) so you end up with a brick.
Yea, most definitely - Boox, at the very least, needs to include a warning and care guide to educate users before and after purchase. It's not something a user should discover after they've broken it.
In my full Tab Ultra C review, I had a section demonstrating just how fragile the screen felt.. even placing pressure on it with the eraser caused it to bend inward to an uncomfortable level that felt like it would crack the glass if I pressed slightly harder.
I think a lot of people are unknowingly chucking this thing in their backpacks and going about their normal day - and the force of that or pressure against something else in their bag will crack it. It requires a mindful diligence to pack it in a back with a dedicated laptop/tablet cushion and light packing.
I have also seen instances, though, where there is no clear damage line and the Boox shills will circle a point of the image where the "device was dropped" and you can clearly see there is nothing there - a good example of this was when they blamed the user and circled a piece of "damage" that was just the user's other Kindle case below it. It doesn't seem to matter if the screen breaks naturally or from an accident, they always put the blame on the user and are too broke to offer a replacement.
any thoughts on using this device with a non-native BT keyboard and mouse (or a BT keyboard with a trackpad)? The BOOX keyboard flap is both out of stock and ridiculously expensive, so I guess it's a loss-loss...
I have used both a Bluetooth keyboard & mouse, and a combined one with a trackpad. They have all worked just fine!
There isn't a major noticeable delay in a bluetooth keyboard vs. the connected case (I also don't notice any real delay in say using the tablet as a virtual screen from my PC and using my PC keyboard through apps like SpaceDesk). There's a little more latency, but because e-ink is already generally slow it's not something you notice.
Using a BT mouse is a very slow and laggy experience. I don't know if the new keyboard case will have that same problem yet - mine doesn't get here until the weekend (it was out of stock at launch). I wouldn't suggest using a dedicated mouse unless you have to - a keyboard with a track pad will reduce the number of accessories you have to carry and provide the same performance. It's mostly useful for placing your cursor exactly where you are in text while avoiding the "auto correct" popup that happens when you tap on words, or your finger tap putting the cursor in the wrong place.
I agree the BOOX keyboard is ridiculously expensive.. too much so. The problem is the chokehold they have on that particular accessory because it's designed specifically as a case for the device, which makes portability seamless. It's the only reason I could have justified the extra $150 purchase. Lugging an external keyboard and mouse around my house is just silly (say when I want to move from desk to couch, or couch to counter, or counter to bed).
Out of the box it has barely enough juice to get the heavy user through the day and that is only going to degrade with time. Many laptops ability to hold a full charge nose dives at around one thousand cycle counts, but my experience says much earlier... yet no one appears to be concerned, maybe because they are brand new units.
I'd like to know the cycle count on the battery as I can see those who are recharging most days _[heavy users]_ discovering that they are back in the old days when our laptops were often tethered to a power-brick much of the day. Do you think my concerns are unfounded? Maybe I'm missing something, but if Onyx continues down this route I think this issue may take the shine off the company name.
I don't think your concerns are unfounded. I feel 1,000 cycles are a bit inflated and typically find that tablets, or even high-end laptops like Razer Blade, start to have battery issues in as little as 2-3 years (which would presumably be much under the 1,000 cycle mark). We have no idea what quality battery Onyx is using here outside the capacity and charge rate.. based on their other tech, I can't help but wonder if these batteries were also made in 2018 and just been sitting around in a warehouse until being put in the tablets.
A smaller battery was just a bad decision all around here, regardless. It's hard to believe they ran out of space inside so I think they were simply catering to a market that doesn't exist so they could say it was "lighter".
I also ran into a scare this week where I charged the battery Friday night, removed it from the charger, and didn't touch it until Saturday evening - at which point the battery was 0%.
It was odd, so I tried it again and it didn't happen that time. However, I charged it again last night and removed it from the charger.. and now it's at 65% without me having touched it.
I can't tell if it's a battery issue or if they have a software bug that is causing the device to fail to sleep or is running code in the background.. but something is definitely awry.
I first thought it was the keyboard case - but I was able to test 2 full charges without it draining so I don't believe it's that.
I will keep you updated once I can pin down the issue.
@@aline.tech.reviews Appreciated, it would be interesting to hear what becomes of it.
I have a Supernote A5X and to keep in line with an EU directive Supernote are about to bring out the A5X2 and A6X2 with... *replaceable batteries.* I have my heart set on the Supernote A4 Slim but haven't heard anything about it having a replaceable battery yet, but I'm guessing must have.
I burned through 40% of a full charge this morning, writing notes... I've been tempted by the _'Boox Note Air 3 C'_ but guess I'd burn through a full charge most days, and that would give it a couple of years before I'd be tethered to a powerpoint. If the Supernote A4 Slim hasn't got a replaceable battery, I might just go for the A5X2 instead, as it'll last for years and years as all I really do is write.
Enhenced security, does that mean that they fixed the issue they had with security/file encryption? That's what I've been waiting for tbh
No, only the Android OS has been updated (Android 12 + August 2023 security patches). The rest of the issues still remain. There is still no on-device encryption option that I can find, so any encryption has to be done manually around. Play Store is not Google Play Protect Certified.
Thanks for watching! NOTE: I am not a security professional nor do I have any security assessment credentials; everything I comment on is what I spot as a tech consumer.
They updated to Android 12 + August 2023 security patches with TUC Pro + v3.5 - which is definitely a positive step forward. The Android 12 update ensures another year of available OS security patches (where Android 11 will fall off and all exploits found will not get patched). The thing to keep an eye out for is whether they keep these Android OS patches coming somewhat regularly (they're already 4 behind as of this comment).
Boox has not responded to my inquiries about whether they are also keeping their Linux kernels up-to-date with security patches or if they can let us know their security practices/frequency of checks. Releasing that direct information might be a security risk in itself, but I don't see any security promise nor have I seen any security updates in patch notes - outside the terms basically saying they are not at fault for any lost data. They seem to have gone backwards a kernel build version, which isn't unheard of but is weird they aren't pushing forward unless that's tied to a hardware limitation (believe this SOC, while more performant, was released earlier than the TUC's). I believe support for this kernel v's security ends in 2024.
The lock screen issue still exists (if you lock the screen, the content previously on the screen is still visible as ghosting - which seems to be amplified now due to more ghosting).
BooxDrop seems to work the same; while you can manually avoid this by severing the connection, I don't think many users are aware - meaning anyone on the same network that knows they're using a Boox device can access files (if that connection is open). It's not really an issue if you're on your own home network.. mostly a public/work concern. I believe it's just running a basic web server, they should put a PIN on it (I looked at this web page before to see the external calls but don't remember what I found, I will re-test for this TUC Pro review).
I don't see any built-in storage encryption options still - looks like you would have to do this manually.
Assuming all AI/translations/conversions/etc. are being processed on external servers and if you login with a Boox account all your notes are being sync'd to external cloud storage - if that's something you are averse to then I would avoid those functions.
You are not getting Microsoft / Apple / Samsung / etc.-level security on a device like this. You just have to decide if that's for you. If you are averse, you can set up firewalls/lock down the device - and login to a Google account dedicated to this device + use a Guest Network + VPN (I do these latter items).
If you go forward, you should:
- Go with the assumption that everything on your device may potentially become public.
- Limit your data shared with the device; for example, I would suggest creating a separate Google account rather than using your personal one, and that way all your Google Drive/etc. data is tied to this device only.. and you will be forced to manually put the files you are intending to into this device's ecosystem.
- Disable Boox sync.
- Ensure you have MFA/2FA connected to each and every account that touches the device (and do NOT sync that MFA to the device itself).
- If it bothers you, check out MyDeepGuide's TH-cam video on setting up NetGuard and blocking outgoing traffic.
- You can go crazy and root the device or download apps to implement better lockdown. That's a chore, though, IMO.
Hi, I just discovered your channel. I'm a CAD tech and I am looking for a tablet that can open pdf drawings to review and mark up changes. What would you recommend? I was initially thinking purchasing a samsung tablet until I found your chanel. I am trying to get away from printing printing of drawings to save paper.
I responded to your other comment on my full review! Can you email me one of your cad files so I can see?
I think a CAD export might be large in which the Tab X (13" screen) would be your current best bet. I can test how they fit in the 10" for you though.
Excellent review. Thank you.
You should write them with the feedback option on the device about your wishes (brightness with keys). Or if you have a direct channel to them.
The battery problem should be addressed. I'm not concerned with a little bit more weight with a device if it has enough battery power.
We recently opened a direct channel, so I am pushing all my feedback through there in batches! I'm also submitting it all via the Feedback screen in the OS (I also don't know that it's even possible for them to do). I haven't yet had any of my questions answered in this direct channel.
Agreed on the battery - I'm a bit perplexed at why they were so adamant to advertise 30g lighter instead of leaning into heavily into the tablet PC performance and chucking a heavier battery. I doubt many of their target audience are trying to hold this thing with 1 hand for casual reading sessions.
@@aline.tech.reviews I did have the mouse pointer size fixed with the feedback option. So it seems to work for some topics.
I think they want to ride the lighter and thinner wave of mobile devices. I never understood the push for thinner devices like the iPhone. Furthermore, I don't care if the device is now 0.1 mm thinner than the last one. Who cares? It should be usable and not 'castrated' with the battery.
@@noobahoi - Yea, feedback definitely gets read. They improved all things I had provided feedback for (+ all the feedback I collected from my comments) in my first review and reached out to thank me for providing as it's helpful for their team to make improvements. I do hope they answer my batch of questions since they reached out to open a line of communication.
And I couldn't agree more.. it feels like marketing nonsense and filler to me to try to push "upgrades" that aren't really upgrades. I can't imagine a world where their engineering team was focused on making this device a mere 30g lighter and a hair thinner.. while simultaneously increasing the weight of their accessories by over double that. At the very least, it doesn't make logical sense.. especially if they purposefully reduced the battery for that. I'm hoping the battery reduction was the result of a loss of space inside the chassis to fit it because of new heatsinks - but, still, they should have spent time and engineered around it.
yeah the battery decision also baffles me a bit. Related stupid q: can you charge the device with a portable charger while still using it?
@@opredeleno - Yes, you can charge the device while using it!
I do this when I use the TUC as an external virtual monitor for my PC. I put the TUC on a stand, plug it into a power brick, and then use it like I would a computer monitor at my desks. It works with any power source, portable or not.
I noticed that the brightness is slightly lower on one side compared to the other. Is it just mine, or is it normal? I observed this at a brightness level of 40-50%.
Is it just along the edge, for example a small band on the left-hand side of the device, or is it across a large gradient of the screen?
I have dark edges across the left and top side of the device - which is normal due to the way the lights are built into the device. They aren't perfectly evenly luminate. This exists on both my TUC and my TUC Pro and most other Boox devices as far as I can tell.
However, if you have a noticeable gradient across a large portion of the screen, then I would suggest taking a picture and reaching out to support for a potential exchange.
@@aline.tech.reviews Furthermore, when adjusting the brightness to one side, it's slightly lower, noticeable with low backlighting. There are no distinct bands.
@@aline.tech.reviews The brightness is higher on one side and gradually decreases towards the other. I don't see the dark banding as it was in the previous model, so that's not the issue.
Have you used it as a second monitor? Does InDesign work well?
I have! This model only works wirelessly as a secondary screen; you can't plug it in. Therefore, I would argue no drawing programs or graphics programs will work well. The latency is a tad too high for that type of work IMO. Unless you're literally manipulating text for like a magazine or newspaper, the lag is probably going to be too much to make it viable. You'd want to look at one of the e-ink monitors instead (which you can get for a little bit more money).
@@aline.tech.reviews that's awesome! I did get the MIRA it works sorta with video mode and I increased to max refresh rate so it's a bit pixelated but it does the job for basic layouts and I'm wondering if the tab ultra C pro could do that too ? Thinking to return the Mira for a portable stand alone on its own that could also be an external monitor for heavier things
Does it have palm rejection?
Seemingly no - and if it does it's very poor. Check out my "6 Worst Things of the TUC" video for an example.
The new software does gave a lot of new individual toggles to turn off certain touch input gestures (check out my 3.5 beta video), which helps, but palm rejection as a whole still doesn't exist (for instance, laying your palm on the tablet with a pop-up open, like for changing your pen color, will cause it to close).
It has been one of the more frustrating issues with the device for me but I did find the new individual touch toggles lessened that frustration a good amount. I don't really notice it down outside the pop-up menus example.
Hi, Do you get more security updates for android? Do you think the new device is more secure?
It's currently December and my Android security updates are still on August and there aren't any updates available - so already 4 patches missed.
The thing that has changed is the Android 12 integration + Android security patch - everything else is the same or worse (they fell back a kernel version) as it was on the old model.
So technically yes a bit more secure at the OS software level, but the rest is still an issue/unknown. I still wouldn't recommend it for work (and if you work at a large company or high-tech job, it won't pass security inspection). I'm hoping to have my full review video finished this week.
Which note-taking e-ink reader would you recommend for work?
Reasonable review given it's length, perhaps a little rushed though. If you're not trying to use sign-language, please cut-down on your rather manic hand gestures. They're distracting and make you look a little silly.
Appreciate the feedback! It's not much of a review, rather intended to be a quick, first-look comparison of the differences. I have my full TUC Pro review (30+ minutes) recorded. I hope to get it finished before May.
And agreed on the hands.. it drives me nuts and is embarassing. A classic newbie "i dont know what to do with my hands" resulting from 0 public speaking experience and a hermit lifestyle with no social interactions. I feel like I improved a lot in the TUC Pro review - if you happen to see that one when it releases in the future let me know.
@@aline.tech.reviews At least you have the guts to make a face-on video, so don't beat yourself up my friend! Seemed a pretty good video to me, and it's so easy to be driven to do everything at what seems double-speed when a little new and nervous, in most things, so I think you've made a decent job of it.
I actually bought a TUC Pro a few weeks back, but found it such a pain to use with the pathetic OS that's a jumbled mess of labyrinthine-tabs and settings and the need to configure almost everything on an app-by-app level it drove me bonkers. The screen - dark, gloomy and washed-out if the light is increased enough to be able to use it without eye-strain.
Gave it several goes with breaks between assuming I just needed to adjust from decades of laptop/desktop Windows use but simply ended-up hating the awful thing. Shame too as I really could use a good note-taking device with 'proper' import/export capability, but found this device to be an annoying and tiresome waste of time. Everything about it is so pernickety that I gave-up the bother of it and sent it back....
Thanks for your efforts with the video - keep-up the good work and take miserable-complainers such as myself with a measure of salt.
I can't find anything anywhere about running excel on the ultra pro. Any ideas?
Running Excel is possible! It's the Android app version, but the whole suite of Microsoft apps work.
I don't know that keyboard shortcuts work if you are a power user. Both my tablets are dead right now from battery testing, let me charge one quick and test keyboard shortcuts for you
That's fantastic. Thank you!
@styleplague Of course! I forgot to come back, but confirming I did test and most keyboard shortcuts work
Incredible comment responses! Thank you! Keep it up. ~subscirbed
please reduce the bass on your mic
Yea, apologies for that! I over EQ'd the bass in a few of my videos. The dominant bass sound normalized in my brain since I was listening to myself for hours while editing so I forgot to go back and fix it.
I have my EQ figured out now for future vids!
What about writting samples. The main main reason for E- ink is writting. All surrounds it. All others I get from Ipad. Ioad is must .
The question is can I use Boox for writting instead of rewirtable 2.
Boox can never be Ipad. It took apple many many years to becone what they are so this competition is doomed. Not even starting .
Again is it precuse in writting and and do all the functions that supports writting ( shapes , straight lines , photos upload to a sheath , synch , mailing , sharing to a printer !!! ,micro SD card ..) work smoothly and with many options.
This shoukd be a writting and a reading tool and sharing tool.
It can't be a computer . For that we have Ipad ans Sumsung TAB and Lenovo Yoga.
Writting is a lot and if it is very very very good writting experience with having the ability to type than might buy one of this company devices. Might be Air 3 c.. since the camera on the c ultra as viewed totally sucks.
If tge writying ecperience is smooth and natural and a bit rounded as a natural hand writting then this might be very usable for studing and work instead of paper assuming the quality is transfered by printing onto paper.
😂😂😢😮😮😅😅😊😊😢😂😮😮😮
For all writting apps in apple Ipad once you print a note to a paper the quality is so bad so what's the point of having nice writtings on a tan or an Ipad or a notebook yet on a print paper very bad results . So printing experience is also very important ; The ability to directly share a print from a note book and get excelent results on a print paper like you actuslly wrote itbon the print paper with no quality lose.
the only real people who would use this are the ones wanting the full functionality while also being able to keep your eyes safe. I think if you don't actually want all those features you'd be much better suited buying a used $20 kindle from ebay and using calibre to load it full of books. sure it's not as complete an experience, but it has the bare basics for reading books and lasts forever.
personally I think they need to both add fast charging and a larger battery. we're getting into the territory where the ipad gets more battery life, and that's not okay for a device of this genre imo.
Most definitely - the Tab Ultra line of devices are specifically catered for career professionals that want to offload some of their PC work to an e-ink tablet. They are overkill for general reading or writing and the price point reinforces that.
They definitely need to re-increase the battery or add fast charging! Both is obvious better. I agree that it's not okay, especially when you can't plug it in for 10-15 minutes to get juiced back up to 50%. I'm not sure why they made the decision to reduce the battery but I am going to ask; it would be wild if they did it just to reduce those 30g of weight that no one can notice.. so hopefully they ran out of room inside or something due to new heatsinks.
@@aline.tech.reviews I mean I'm sure their customers could understand if they added an extra few grams so they could get an extra hour or 2 at least
I think we would welcome it! However, the amount of times they mentioned "30g lighter" in their marketing promo materials, live stream, etc. - it feels like they were trying to use that as a point to say they listened to their customers feedback for engineering the device to be lighter (even though that 30g is not a noticeable one).
They were taking a weird angle with it and I'm not sure why.
@@aline.tech.reviews I literally do not care how heavy it is as long as it's not over like the weight on the surface tablet, that's about my limit on weight. they have plenty of weight to work with.
Same!!
Does anyone want to buy my Tab Ultra C? I moved to supernote.
Would toss it up on Ebay + put a post in the BOOX fan Facebook group. They are holding their resell value quite well.
I was on the fence about getting an e-ink tablet. My eyes get tired rather quickly using LCD tablets like iPads. I have been researching for months and I finally pulled the trigger on the TUCP, albeit being one of the most expensive options out there. Aline's review actually took care of my buyer's remorse (I haven't gotten the tablet yet, should get here in a day or two), but the detailed comparison between the TUC and the TUCP did put me at ease in that I made the right choice, albeit the extra cost. The reason I'm replying to your post is to inquire about your decision to move to supernote. I did a lot of research on the supernote and it seems to be a fine e-tablet, but it seems to be very apple-like in how they approach their apps etc. By now (your post was 4 months ago) you must have gotten it. Got any feedback of the supernote vis a vis TUC?
"Bypass the shiny object syndrome" - says a guy who wears two watches
Just kidding. Love your detailed reviews, thank you ❤
😂. I've gotten that a lot and was thinking about adding a watch to my wrist with every new review.
Truly appreciate that, thanks for taking the time to watch! =)
Give me one 😅
I seriously considered doing a giveaway of the TUC - but I ultimately decided against it because it felt weird / was a lot of hoops to jump through. I didn't want to encourage people watching my videos for a chance to win.