A colorful world of books. The Note Air 3 C from Onyx Boox is an e-ink tablet that is suitable as a reader and also works with Android apps, allowing you to expand its functionality. We take a closer look at the qualities and possible disadvantages in the test.
Florian Schmitt, 👁 Florian Schmitt, ✓ Anton Avdyushkin (translated by Ninh Duy), Published 11/18/2023 🇩🇪
Display
10.30 inch 4:3, 1240 x 930 pixel 150 PPI, capacitive touchscreen, native pen support, E-Ink Kaleido 3, 16 greyscales + 4096 colors, 9 Hz
Storage
64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash, 64 GB
, 50 GB free
Connections
1 USB 2.0, USB-C Power Delivery (PD), Card Reader: microSD up to 2 TB, 1 Fingerprint Reader, Sensors: position sensor
Networking
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (a/b/g/n=Wi-Fi 4/ac=Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 5.0
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 5.8 x 226 x 193 (=0.23 x 8.9 x 7.6 in)
Battery
3700 mAh Lithium-Ion
Operating System
Android 12
Additional features
Speakers: dual speakers, USB cable, digitizer pen, 288 Months Warranty, fanless
Weight
430 g (= 15.17 oz / 0.95 pounds) (= 0 oz / 0 pounds)
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.
Rating
Date
Model
Weight
Drive
Size
Resolution
Best Price
77.5 %
11/2023
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
SD 680, Adreno 610430 g64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash10.30″1240×93075.2 %
08/2023
Lenovo Smart Paper
RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2408 g64 GB eMMC Flash10.30″1872×140479.4 %
08/2022
Huawei MatePad Paper
Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6360 g64 GB UFS 2.2 Flash10.30″1872×1404
Onyx Boox packs its e-ink tablet into a slim chassis made of a magnesium-aluminum alloy. In terms of weight, however, at 430 grams it is significantly heavier than the comparable devices. The screen is protected by special Onyx Glass, which is extra-thin and lightly etched to protect the screen, while at the same time enabling a flat front of the housing and reducing reflections.
The wide edge on one side allows the tablet to be held comfortably, and the display edges as a whole are well-dimensioned so that the tablet is easy to use but still looks modern. We like the build quality, only the transition from the display glass to the chassis is a little rough.
With 64 GB UFS 2.1 flash and 4 GB RAM, the Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C is not a memory giant but is adequately equipped compared to other e-ink tablets. A microSD slot can be used to significantly expand the space for e-books and files. The speed of the reader is sufficient in our benchmarks.
The USB-C port only transfers data according to the USB 2.0 standard. NFC for near-field communication is not available. It is also not possible to determine the location via satellites, only an approximate positioning via known WLAN networks.
Huawei MatePad Paper Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C Lenovo Smart Paper DIN A5 ❌
225.2 mm / 8.87 inch
182.7 mm / 7.19 inch
6.65 mm / 0.2618 inch
360 g0.794 lbs226 mm / 8.9 inch
193 mm / 7.6 inch
5.8 mm / 0.2283 inch
430 g0.948 lbs226 mm / 8.9 inch
195 mm / 7.68 inch
5.5 mm / 0.2165 inch
408 g0.899 lbs210 mm / 8.27 inch
148 mm / 5.83 inch
1 mm / 0.03937 inch
2.9 g0.00639 lbs
0510152025303540455055606570758085Tooltip
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C Adreno 610, SD 680, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash; SDCard Sequential Write 0.5 GB; Angelbird V60: Ø43.5 (28.7-54.3)
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C Adreno 610, SD 680, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash; SDCard Sequential Read 0.5 GB; Angelbird V60: Ø77.9 (35.8-86.7)
The tablet cannot connect to the mobile network, but WiFi 5 can be used as the fastest Wi-Fi standard for the Internet connection. The test device thus achieves stable data rates of around 270 – 350 MBit/s and the MatePad Paper with WiFi 6 shows that significantly higher speeds are possible in this price range.
The software is based on Android 12 but has been significantly redesigned and, with its own library and store, is initially designed for reading e-books. Notes can also be created directly here. Things get interesting in the apps section: The Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C comes with a pre-installed Google Play Store, which allows thousands of apps to be installed on the tablet. A music player, picture gallery, and voice recorder are also pre-installed, and the manufacturer also includes a browser.
Onyx provides updates from time to time, but there is no concrete promise about the duration.
The capacitive touchscreen can be used for operation and works precisely. However, the slow response times of the e-ink display require patience from the user from time to time. To protect your own data, you can set a password for the tablet or register a fingerprint via the sensor in the standby button. Once a finger has been registered, it recognizes it very reliably and unlocks the device with only a short delay.
The tablet can also be operated using the stylus supplied, which is particularly useful for handwritten notes. However, smaller buttons can also be operated more reliably than with a finger. Drawing apps from the store can of course also be used.
iperf3 transmit AXE11000
350 (min: 322) MBit/s ∼37%
iperf3 receive AXE11000
294 (min: 274) MBit/s ∼32%
iperf3 transmit AXE11000
286 (min: 236) MBit/s ∼30%
iperf3 receive AXE11000
211 (min: 186) MBit/s ∼23%
iperf3 transmit AXE11000
945 (min: 826) MBit/s ∼100%
iperf3 receive AXE11000
928 (min: 812) MBit/s ∼100%
020406080100120140160180200220240260280300320340360Tooltip
The tablet has its own library area for stored e-books and supports a variety of formats: In addition to TXT or HTML, it also supports the Kindle formats AZW3, CBR, CBZ, RTF, FB2, DOC, DOCX, PRC, MOBI, CHM and EPUB. Even more exotic formats are also possible via apps from the store.
The pre-installed e-book store contains (at least in Europe) mainly older classics in English, which can be downloaded free of charge; a complete e-book store looks different. Although you can also download apps such as Tolino or Kindle via the Google Play Store or other Android app repositories, you can’t buy books directly from the apps either, as Google would fork out a considerable fee for this. Ebooks can therefore usually only be purchased via the providers’ websites.
Pull-out buttons on the right-hand side can be used to make direct settings for editing using the stylus: This allows you to highlight text passages, insert annotations, or black out parts. The text size can be changed directly by drawing your fingers together or apart and, if desired, applied to all other documents. Screen brightness and color temperature can be adjusted in the drop-down menu.
The time, battery status, title, and page number are always displayed at the bottom of the screen. Thanks to the good system power, pages are opened quickly, and the color display makes it even easier to enjoy pictures and illustrations in books.
Subpixel structure
The Kaleido 3 e-ink display with 1,240 x 930 pixels, which is installed in the Onyx Boox tablet, is based on a completely different technology to conventional IPS or OLED displays: it supports up to 4,096 colors and 16 shades of grey. Compared to conventional displays, these are very few color nuances, which is due to the fact that the images are built up using colored, white, or black pigments, which are brought into position by different electrical charges.
The advantage: once an image has been built up, it can be maintained without further energy consumption. Because the pigments are physically present, the contrast is very high and you don’t necessarily need a backlight to read.
However, the Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C still has an illuminated screen, so you can also browse in the dark. The screen can be as bright as 49 cd/m², other e-ink tablets sometimes offer even more brightness on request. In our test, however, it is still sufficient for all situations, also thanks to the screen’s non-reflective surface.
There is no PWM, but the response times are very slow, so it is also apparent that the screen only reacts to inputs with a slight delay. Although Onyx uses a special boost mode for faster display, so that video content is recognizable, it is not really fun due to the few colors and the still low frame rate. Games that require fast reactions are also not a strong point of the e-ink tablet.
47
cd/m²49
cd/m²49
cd/m²46.5
cd/m²46.5
cd/m²47
cd/m²46
cd/m²44.7
cd/m²45.4
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 49 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 46.8 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 91 %
Center on Battery: 46.5 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 20.45 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5.1
ΔE Greyscale 11.1 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
1% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 1.211
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
E-Ink Kaleido 3, 1240×930, 10.30Lenovo Smart Paper
E-Ink, 1872×1404, 10.30Huawei MatePad Paper
E-Ink, 1872×1404, 10.30 Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
121 ?(66.8, 54.2)
134.4 ?(56.2, 68.2)
-11%
121 ?(61, 60)
-0%
Response Time Black / White *
89.3 ?(43.5, 45.8)
27.5 ?(14.4, 13.1)
69%
94 ?(47, 47)
-5%
PWM FrequencyBrightness middle
46.5
113
143%
61.9
33%
Brightness
47
106
126%
60
28%
Brightness Distribution
91
83
-9%
80
-12%
Black Level *Colorchecker dE 2000 *
20.45
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
39.33
Greyscale dE 2000 *
11.1
9.9
11%
9.1
18%
Gamma
1.211 182%
1.371 160%
2.02 109%
CCT
6463 101%
7116 91%
6848 95%
* … smaller is better
Display Response Times
ℹ
Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
ℹ
To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession – a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM not detected
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18716 (minimum: 5 – maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.
The Snapdragon 680 is already 3 years old but still provides the Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C with enough power to display apps reasonably smoothly, as far as this is possible with the low frame rate of the screen. Turning pages in texts and e-books works comparatively quickly and the vast majority of apps from the store can be started and run without any problems.
Thanks to UFS 2.1 flash, the mass storage of the e-ink tablet is not a bottleneck for performance either: it transfers data quickly and enables reasonably short loading times.
It is pleasing that the tablet hardly heats up under a high load. Even throttling of the SoC is not a problem according to the 3DMark stress tests.
There are two speakers on the left side of the Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C, which can also produce slight stereo effects in landscape mode. They can also play reasonably loud, but sound a little treble-heavy. With the pre-installed audio player, Onyx Boox is clearly aimed at users who like to listen to audiobooks or music. Audio output is also possible via USB-C or Bluetooth. This works with high quality and is easy to set up. Unfortunately, it is not possible to determine which codecs are available for wireless audio transmission, as the tablet does not allow us to look into the developer settings.
At 3,700 mAh, the Note Air 3 C’s battery is quite powerful and lasts up to 5 hours under high load. Unfortunately, we are unable to carry out our WLAN test, as this would require a screen brightness of 150 cd/m² for comparability. The tablet lasts for 17:10 hours under very low load, backlight, and WLAN, which is roughly equivalent to reading an e-book, so a rainy day with a good book is not interrupted by a charging process.
The tablet can be fully charged in just under 2:30 hours if it was completely empty beforehand.
Average of class Tablet
(140 – 1892, n=51, last 2 years)
794 Points +146%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
566 Points +75%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(323 – 384, n=12)
374 Points +16%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
323 Points
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
143 Points -56%
Average of class Tablet
(312 – 8524, n=51, last 2 years)
2744 Points +113%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
1853 Points +44%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(1287 – 1738, n=12)
1589 Points +23%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
1287 Points
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
312 Points -76%
Average of class Tablet
(203 – 2107, n=21, last 2 years)
1035 Points +137%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
436 Points
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(415 – 436, n=2)
426 Points -2%
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
203 Points -53%
Average of class Tablet
(493 – 5652, n=21, last 2 years)
2782 Points +222%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(865 – 1450, n=2)
1158 Points +34%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
865 Points
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
493 Points -43%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
2571 Points +109%
Average of class Tablet
(567 – 14235, n=33, last 2 years)
2129 Points +73%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(1231 – 1365, n=11)
1333 Points +8%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
1231 Points
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
567 Points -54%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
2675 Points +148%
Average of class Tablet
(517 – 24605, n=33, last 2 years)
2318 Points +115%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(1077 – 1188, n=11)
1159 Points +8%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
1077 Points
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
517 Points -52%
Average of class Tablet
(858 – 5751, n=33, last 2 years)
2880 Points +17%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(2462 – 2930, n=11)
2747 Points +12%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
2462 Points
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
2262 Points -8%
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
858 Points -65%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
4281 Points +297%
Average of class Tablet
(596 – 14235, n=43, last 2 years)
3942 Points +265%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(1079 – 1372, n=12)
1333 Points +24%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
1079 Points
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
596 Points -45%
Average of class Tablet
(530 – 24605, n=43, last 2 years)
5070 Points +326%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
4472 Points +275%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
1191 Points
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(1156 – 1242, n=12)
1189 Points 0%
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
530 Points -55%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
3725 Points +359%
Average of class Tablet
(812 – 5751, n=43, last 2 years)
3459 Points +326%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(812 – 2853, n=12)
2571 Points +217%
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
1061 Points +31%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
812 Points
Average of class Tablet
(286 – 10018, n=43, last 2 years)
2437 Points +458%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
1925 Points +341%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(437 – 457, n=12)
448 Points +3%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
437 Points
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
286 Points -35%
Average of class Tablet
(289 – 25317, n=49, last 2 years)
4274 Points +922%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
1886 Points +351%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(417 – 463, n=12)
439 Points +5%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
418 Points
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
289 Points -31%
Average of class Tablet
(75 – 6919, n=50, last 2 years)
1189 Points +815%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
625 Points +381%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
130 Points
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(22 – 130, n=13)
114.9 Points -12%
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
75 Points -42%
Average of class Tablet
(72 – 6909, n=49, last 2 years)
1187 Points +850%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
609 Points +387%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
125 Points
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(112 – 125, n=11)
121.8 Points -3%
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
72 Points -42%
Average of class Tablet
(3 – 111, n=53, last 2 years)
25.3 fps +450%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
19 fps +313%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(4.6 – 17, n=12)
9.66 fps +110%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
4.6 fps
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
3 fps -35%
Average of class Tablet
(2.5 – 279, n=53, last 2 years)
47.4 fps +524%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
29 fps +282%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(5.1 – 9.8, n=12)
9.07 fps +19%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
7.6 fps
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
3.9 fps -49%
Average of class Tablet
(1.9 – 97.3, n=53, last 2 years)
17.8 fps +559%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
13 fps +381%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(2.7 – 11, n=12)
5.74 fps +113%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
2.7 fps
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
1.9 fps -30%
Average of class Tablet
(0.9 – 90, n=53, last 2 years)
17.9 fps +517%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
10 fps +245%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(1.4 – 3.3, n=12)
3.05 fps +5%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
2.9 fps
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
1.4 fps -52%
Average of class Tablet
(0.4 – 48, n=44, last 2 years)
8.07 fps +521%
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e, Mali-G57 MP6, 4096
4.8 fps +269%
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
(1.3 – 1.4, n=7)
1.386 fps +7%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G, Adreno 610, 4096
1.3 fps
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566, Mali-G52 MP2, 4096
0.6 fps -54%
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 CLenovo Smart PaperHuawei MatePad PaperAverage 64 GB UFS 2.1 FlashAverage of class Tablet Sequential Read 256KB
690.8
163
-76%
880.1
27%
697 ?(392 – 895, n=51)
1%
934 ?(163 – 3414, n=50, last 2 years)
35%
Sequential Write 256KB
384.1
139
-64%
256.2
-33%
221 ?(132.7 – 512, n=51)
-42%
605 ?(78.2 – 2528, n=50, last 2 years)
58%
Random Read 4KB
157.7
25.3
-84%
145.6
-8%
137 ?(78.2 – 192, n=51)
-13%
172.6 ?(10.1 – 451, n=50, last 2 years)
9%
Random Write 4KB
160.5
8.8
-95%
183.1
14%
83.2 ?(8.77 – 208, n=51)
-48%
156.7 ?(5.3 – 447, n=50, last 2 years)
-2%
24.2 °C
76 F24.5 °C
76 F24.5 °C
76 F 24.4 °C
76 F25.5 °C
78 F25.3 °C
78 F 27.2 °C
81 F27.5 °C
82 F26.9 °C
80 F
Maximum: 27.5 °C=82 F
Average: 25.6 °C=78 F
25.4 °C
78 F25.2 °C
77 F24.7 °C
76 F25.8 °C
78 F25.2 °C
77 F25.2 °C
77 F25.8 °C
78 F26.2 °C
79 F25.6 °C
78 F
Maximum: 26.2 °C=79 F
Average: 25.5 °C=78 F
Power Supply (max.) 40.2 °C=104 F | Room Temperature 21 °C=70 F | Fluke t3000FC (calibrated), Voltcraft IR-260
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 25.6 °C / 78 F, compared to the average of 30.2 °C / 86 F for the devices in the class Tablet.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 27.5 °C / 82 F, compared to the average of 34 °C / 93 F, ranging from 21.2 to 53.2 °C for the class Tablet.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 26.2 °C / 79 F, compared to the average of 33.5 °C / 92 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 23.5 °C / 74 F, compared to the device average of 30.2 °C / 86 F.
01234567891011Tooltip
Lenovo Smart Paper Mali-G52 MP2, RK3566, 64 GB eMMC Flash; Wild Life Extreme Stress Test; 1.1.0.2: Ø0.447 (0.4391-0.4529)
Huawei MatePad Paper Mali-G57 MP6, Kirin 820e, 64 GB UFS 2.2 Flash; Wild Life Extreme Stress Test; 1.0.9.1: Ø3.74 (3.73-3.75)
Lenovo Smart Paper Mali-G52 MP2, RK3566, 64 GB eMMC Flash; Wild Life Stress Test Stability; 0.0.0.0: Ø1.728 (1.71-1.735)
Huawei MatePad Paper Mali-G57 MP6, Kirin 820e, 64 GB UFS 2.2 Flash; Wild Life Stress Test Stability; 0.0.0.0: Ø11.3 (10.9-11.3)
dB(A)
0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2033.640.8253036.63126.328.94028.829.25034.331.26324.723.58019.316.710022.31712522.119.316019.72020013.92325011.536.231510.344.94008.551.15009.256.663010.561.380013.865100011.768.612509.672.516009.772.2200010.874.1250011.273.331501470.840001367.3500013.668.4630013.872.3800014.567.21000015.458.21250016.351.81600017.235.3SPL24.982.5N0.649.3median 13.6median 61.3Delta3.215.843.939.334.536.227.729.728.535.633.235.226.334.823.432.422.538.215.443.714.649.612.352.313.357.711.659.77.562.811.467.815.266.814.769.811.872.7127310.376.29.372.310.869.814.767.614.358.914.964.11566.615.46316.856.416.151.91754.225.982.10.750.6median 14.6median 632.17.8hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseOnyx Boox Note Air 3 CHuawei MatePad Paper
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (82.5 dB)
Bass 100 – 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass – on average 34.6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 – 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids – on average 7.6% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 – 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs – on average 7.8% higher than median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 – 16.000 Hz
(-) | overall sound is not linear (32.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 90% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 9% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 23%, worst was 129%
Compared to all devices tested
» 90% of all tested devices were better, 2% similar, 8% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 26%, worst was 134%
Huawei MatePad Paper audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (82.1 dB)
Bass 100 – 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass – on average 12.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 – 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids – on average 7.2% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 – 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs – only 3.8% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (9.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 – 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (17.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 37% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 56% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 23%, worst was 129%
Compared to all devices tested
» 28% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 64% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 26%, worst was 134%
Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
17h 10min
Load (maximum brightness)
4h 58min
Pros
+ barely reflective, color E-Ink display
+ extensive reader software pre-installed
+ Pen support
+ Support for Android apps
+ good performance values
+ Stereo speakers
+ microSD reader
+ Fingerprint sensor
+ chic, slim design
+ no PWM flickering
Cons
– slow response times of the screen
– no NFC
– only approximate location
– relatively heavy
– only limited use for games and videos
– no cameras
The Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C offers some special features, first and foremost of course the color display, which makes it easier to experience images and illustrations in e-books, but also offers added value when surfing the Internet and using apps. As the software is based on Android and the Google Play Store is pre-installed, you can easily install your preferred reader software and browse through your library, but the pre-installed reader software also does its job well.
For notes or drawings, there is the supplied stylus, which is reliable to work with. The fingerprint sensor is also a special feature, offering protection for private data. The fact that the memory of the e-ink tablet can be expanded via microSD is also a great feature. Thanks to decent speakers and sound output for headphones via USB-C and Bluetooth, audiobook and music fans will also get their money’s worth.
However, the usual limitations of e-ink displays apply despite the accelerated frame rate: For example, videos can hardly be displayed in a respectable way due to the still quite a few colors and the slow response time of the screen. The tablet is also not really suitable for fast games.
The Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C enables fatigue-free reading, handwritten notes and expands its functionality with Android apps.
The Huawei MatePad Paper and the Lenovo Smart Paper are in a similar price range. Huawei has slight limitations due to the lack of Google services, while Lenovo has to make do without speakers.
The Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C is available at the time of testing for just under 550 euros from our rental dealer KEX in the online shop to buy.
It is also available at this price on amazon.de.
Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
–
11/13/2023 v7
Florian Schmitt
Pointing Device
77 / 40-88 → 76%
Application Performance
68 / 91 → 75%
Tablet – Weighted Average
Transparency
The present review sample was made available to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or a shop for the purposes of review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review.
Editor of the original article: Florian Schmitt – Managing Editor Mobile – 1091 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2009
I initially wrote about gaming laptops when I joined Notebookcheck in 2009. I was then involved with the setup of the comparison portal Notebookinfo and worked with social media concepts for large companies like BMW and Adidas, while also returning to work for Notebookcheck in 2012. Nowadays, I focus on smartphones, tablets, and future technologies. Since 2018 I have been Managing Editor for mobile device reviews, working alongside my colleague Daniel Schmidt.
Translator: Ninh Ngoc Duy – Editorial Assistant – 345325 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2008
My main responsibility as an editorial assistant is maintaining the Library section, which aggregates reviews from other publications and channels. In addition, my daily breakfast is Notebookcheck’s long list of new content, which I comb through to select the most interesting topics for translation from English to French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch.”
Florian Schmitt, 2023-11-18 (Update: 2023-11-18)
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