7 reasons to buy Onyx Boox Note Air 2

I have a kindle already so I know the benefits of using e-ink display. However, the functionality is rather limited as it can only be used for one thing: reading. Comparing kindle to the boox note air 2, the functionalities are much enhanced in Boox Note Air 2 with the addition of Android 11 and a pen. I decided to buy this majorly because of e-ink display to take care of my eyes. I have been using it for almost three month now and I decided to share some of my use cases.

Here are seven things I am using my boox note air 2 for:

• reading academic papers: I can open the journal articles in the e-inkbro app and switch to the reading mode which enables the reflow or the readable line length. This reading experience is similar to reading an epub.
• reading news in the app e-inkbro and I have bookmarked various news sources. I just open these bookmarks to read the news. The experience of reading news on this device feels like reading on an actual news paper.
• Writing blogs: I can connect a Bluetooth keyboard or even a wired keyboard to the device and open a markdown writer app like Markor to convert this device into an ancient typewriter. The black and white screen with no multitasking makes the writing experience rather unique and with no eye strain, I can write for hours on one sitting.
• Scrolling through social media: I can scroll through social media and the big and also a black and white display makes the experience quite unique. Moreover, the slight slow response keeps my on-screen time on check which is an added bonus.
• Browsing my work notes: I use Obsidian desktop app to take all my work notes. I have synced all the notes using Syncthing to my boox and I browse through my notes whenever I need to refer back to it without turning on my laptop.
• using as external monitor: I connect boox to my PC using spacedesk and I usually read the web version of the journal articles on this display. Also, sometimes I also open the Obsidian desktop window on this screen and can take notes if I am writing longer notes.
• taking handwritten notes in the native notes app. I don’t use the pen regularly, but I use it sometimes when I have to scribble some ideas. I can sync my notes in no time using boox cloud service and all my notes appear on the desktop.

Overall, the price for this device is slightly higher than the value, but the main reason is that e-ink technology is not mainstream yet. It is a really good investment for people who are big fan of e-ink screens. However, others who are only used to colorful display with high screen refresh rates will not find this as a very good investment.

If you would like to see unboxing and first hand impressions of this device you can watch my unboxing here.