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Supernote A5x vs Boox Tab Ultra C
Supernote and Onyx Boox are one of the biggest names in the E Ink Tablet Market. Both brands have great E ink tablets but they are made for a different set of Users.
Onyx Boox has a huge inventory of devices which come in all sizes and specs. From simple e ink readers to large highly complex e ink tablets. They are more like the Samsung of E Ink devices. Whereas, on the other hand Supernote focuses on a single device. They have only two devices in the line up which are almost similar apart from the size. The Supernote A5x and the Supernote A6x.
Onyx Boox Note Air and Supernote A5x are are both A5 or 10.3″ screen sized device however both the devices are intended for different kind of users and target a different set of audience.
Supernote A5x Primarily focuses on note taking with its Pen over Paper like feel with no distraction and minimalistic approach.
Whereas, If you are tech nerd who wants something more customizable and versatile. Tab Ultra C is more of a e ink tablet with all essential features that you can get in a tablet PC.
Comparison Table Boox Tab Ultra C vs Supernote A5x
| FEATURES | BOOX TAB ULTRA C | RATTA SUPERNOTE A5 X |
| In Depth Review | Review | Review |
| Type | ||
| Year | 2023 | 2020 |
| Screen type | Kaleido 3/Carta 1200 | Mobius Carta |
| Screen size | 10.3" | 10.3" |
| Screen resolution | 2480 x 1860 | 1404 × 1872 |
| Screen density | 300ppi/150ppi | 226ppi |
| Hardware | ||
| CPU | Octa-core | 1.3 GHz Quad-core |
| RAM | 4GB | 2GB |
| Storage | 128 GB | 32GB |
| Battery | 6,300mAh | 3800mAh |
| Thickness | 6.7 mm | 7.2mm |
| Weight | 480g | 375g |
| Software | ||
| OS | Android 11 | Android (Chauvet) |
| Handwriting recognition | ✓ | ✓ |
| Google Play Store | ✓ | ⨯ |
| Other Features | ||
| Backlit Screen | ✓ | ⨯ |
| Bluetooth | ✓ | ✓ |
| Speakers | ✓ | ⨯ |
| Microphone | ✓ | ⨯ |
| Auto Rotate | ✓ | ⨯ |
| SD card slot | ✓ | ⨯ |
| Wacom compatible | ✓ | ✓ |
| Keyboard folio | ✓ | ⨯ |
| Fingerprint scanner | ✓ | ⨯ |
| Kindle support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Waterproof | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| File formats | PDF, EPUB, DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, TXT, HTML, RTF, FB2, CBZ, CBR, AZW3, MOBI, PRC, DJVU, CHM, ZIP | PDF, EPUB, DOC, DOCX, TXT, CBZ, FB2, XPS |
| Buy Now | ||
Aspect of Consideration
- Design
- Display
- Stylus
- Notetaking
- Reading
- Hardware & Software
- Pricing
- Connectivity
Design
Supernote A5x and Boox Tab Ultra C both have a tablet-like form factor and are equipped with an E Ink Displays. Both devices are made of premium material. However Supernote is considerably lighter when compared to the Tab Ultra C even though it is quite thicker.
The body of Supernote A5x is made of plastic but it feels quite premium.
Supernote A5x
- The Supernote has a wider bezel at the bottom with a touch slider on the right bezel.
- It has a plastic casing and screen, which makes it very light (375g ).
- Supernote A5x is a bit thicker (7.2mm)
- The USB-C connector on the Supernote is located centrally on the bottom edge and the power button is on the top right edge
Boox Tab Ultra C
- The device is quite thin at 6.7 mm thickness
- In weight the Supernote is lighter than the Boox Tab Ultra C (480 g)
- The body is made of aluminum and feels premium
- The device protruding camera will cause discomfort while writing if used without cover.
Display
When it comes to the display we can see a huge difference between the Boox Tab Ultra C and Supernote A5x , apart from the screen size everything is different.
Even the Screens are made of different materials. The Supernote screen is a bit softer that is why it gets its signature feel of Writing with a gel pen over a business card. Whereas the glass screen of Onyx Boox gives it more like a pen over paper feel.
Supernote A5x
- The Supernote A5x uses a plastic Mobius Carta screen. Its more flexible and lighter. Supernote A5x claims that its screen never breaks making it a better option for careless forks.
- The device has no backlight or warm lights which is big problem when using the device in low light.
Boox Tab Ultra C
- The screen uses the Kaleido 3 (Color) and Carta 1200 (B/W) technology.
- Has 150 PPI colored screen and 300 PPI for Black and White Screen. Which is the highest in both categories.
- The refresh rate is exceptional even for a color E Ink Screen.
- You can change and control the contrast of the screen.
- The device has backlit screen with controllable warm lights.
Stylus
The Supernote A5x comes with a lot of Stylus options you can choose different styluses and different colors. On the other hand, the Boox Tab Ultra C comes with the Boox Pen Plus Stylus in the box.
With regards to the writing experience, the Supernote and Onyx Boox both have very different tactile feel. Yet aspects like Latency and Pressure sensitivity are almost similar, the Supernote does lack tilt feature while writing. Personally, I love the writing experience on both devices, however, the Supernote feels a bit better to me with its Gen pen feel.
Supernote A5x
- It uses hard ceramic tips that do not wear down and never need to be replaced. The feel is more like a gel pen over a high gloss printed paper but it feels good in its own way.
- Supernote A5x stylus is magnetic, the tablet itself is not. Therefore, a case/folio with a pen loop is needed to keep the tablet and stylus together.
- The pen comes with a cap so the nip is more secure
Boox Tab Ultra C
- The nib is made of soft plastic and has a nice feel while writing
- The standard pen lacks a eraser but you can use alternate styluses as well.
- Tilt detection & accurate pressure sensitivity makes the writing highly enjoyable.
- Overall it has minimal lag and a useful range of stroke settings
Note Taking
The Supernote A5x and Tab Ultra C Pro both are great at note taking. The Supernote has a minimalistic UI with decent templates and pen options. Whereas, Boox Tab Ultra C has more flexibility in terms of a lot of features and gives a decent note taking experience.
I think writing experience can be a bit subjective but in my opinion Supernote A5x is the winner when it comes to focused note taking.
Supernote A5x
- The note taking UI has multiple brushes, shades and templates.
- It has folder/sub-folder hierarchy and files can be sorted by name, modified date and size.
- The tagging system is much advanced with keywords set at the notebook page level. You can search by folder/filename, file type and keywords.
- The annotations function includes actual text extraction. Also you can read & edit word documents as well
- The text recognition while note taking is in real time
- Navigation on the Supernote A5x is made even easier with the side touch slider.
- You can view and compose emails and a calendar app that syncs with Google/Outlook calendars.
- The Supernote can export notebooks as PDF, PNG, DOCX or TXT file formats. These are stored in an EXPORT folder, which can then be synced or shared.
Boox Tab Ultra C
- It has more than 30 templates and you can add more.
- You can choose from 16 shades of color due to the color screen.
- When creating multiple pages inside a notebook, we can add a different template for each page.
- You can add electronic text, voice recordings, photos, attachments, links to another note page, and a website link to your notes.
- The text recognition and conversion is great as well.
- The device offers an array of brushes, including ink pen, brush pen, ballpoint pen, pencil, graphite pencil, and marker
- Notebooks can be exported in different formats, such as PNG, bitmap PDF, vector-based PDF, and the native DOT Note format.
Reading
When it comes to reading experience, though the Supernote A5x supports the Kindle App making it great for reading but the Tab Ultra C with its wide array of features and apps provides a far better reading experience especially when reading magazines or manga.
Supernote A5x
- Supernote A5x supports ePub, PDF, and Word documents, as well as PNG and JPG image formats.
- However, you can install the Kindle app on the Supernote to get access to almost all of these reading features
- There is no backlit screen, light and G sensors in the device.
- You can also scribble notes on them and annotate them
- The weight is lesser so its more comfortable for prolonged reading sessions
Boox Tab Ultra C
- Supports all the major reading formats which can be increased with third party apps
- Google play store lets you download any 3rd party reading app that you like
- The refresh rate is one of the best even when reading colored magazine or web browser.
- The device has backlit screen with adjustable warm lights an essential for reading in the dark.
Hardware & Software
The Supernote A5x was launched in 2020 and the hardware is a bit outdated when compared to Boox Tab Ultra C but its sufficient for its intended purpose. The Supernote A5x runs own tailored Android which does not have full android capabilities and google play store unlike the Onyx Boox.
The Boox Tab Ultra C has one of the best hardware in the E Ink Tablet market. The device runs on Android 11. Overall it resembles quite alot to a traditional tablet.
Supernote A5x
- Runs on Quad-core processor with 2 GB of memory and 32Gb of storage.
- Supernote lacks key features like backlit screen and g sensors.
- Supernote A5x has a larger battery (3800mAh) and the absence of Backlights and sensors makes its last longer then the Onyx Boox
Boox Tab Ultra C
- The Tab Ultra C boasts a Qualcomm octa-core CPU clocked at 2.02 gigahertz.
- Accompanied by 4GB RAM and 128 gigabytes of storage.
- It has speakers and microphone along with Bluetooth for audiobooks
- Has a huge 6300 mAh huge battery
- The USB Type C supports OTG and acts as a headphone jack
- The power button acts like a finger print scanner as well.
- The device also has G sensor and light sensor for auto brightness.
Price
In terms of pricing, the Supernote is more affordable and has a great return policy. Whereas the Onyx Boox Note Air 2 costs more but with the specs it has the price is justified.
Connectivity
The Supernote A5x does provide a decent connectivity but Onyx Boox beats Supernote in this aspect, with 3rd party cloud services you can utilize multiple platforms. You can also share files Via Bluetooth or use OTG for sharing notes.
Costumer Service
Onyx Boox is a great device but when it comes to Costumer Service nothing beats the Supernote.
Supernote’s small but solid community is always active and has a strong relationship with their users . They also provide regular updates and are eager for costumer feedback, and updating or designing there devices based on this feedback is part of their ethos.
Before You Go…..
Check Out All E Ink Tablet Comparison
In Depth Review of Boox Tab Ultra C or Supernote A5x Review
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