The Note Air 2 and Note Air 2 Plus are virtually identical, save for the fact the Plus ships in green, not blue, and sports a higher-capacity battery – 3700mAh versus 3000mAh. Even hefty PDF documents clocking in at 150MB opened without slowdown in the native Boox Reader app. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 646 keeping the Note Air 2 Plus ticking is hardly a powerhouse processor, but if all you need is an eBook reading, document opening, casual notetaking tablet, performance is just fine. In fact, with access to apps like Google Docs and Microsoft Word, I’d go so far as to say Onyx’s tablet series is the best option for anyone on the hunt for typing on an e-ink display. What is cool about the Note Air 2 Plus is that it works with a range of Bluetooth devices, so you can pair headphones, speakers, or even a keyboard, taking the fight to ReMarkable and its new, pricey folio keyboard case. Still, in isolation, it does the job, and writing on the Note Air 2 Plus’s display delivers a great amount of friction, mirroring scratchy paper very nicely.Īs for cases, the Magnetic Case shown here doesn’t come in the box but the bundle available on the official store at the time of writing does throw it in. The build is more hollow and plastic-feeling than Amazon and ReMarkable’s pens, and it’s a little shorter too. The pen body is textured with striated grooves that run from end to end, giving it a decent amount of grip. Meanwhile, the Kindle Scribe has a customizable button, much like that of Samsung’s S Pen, giving it a slight edge. In the box, you get a standard stylus – no button and no eraser on the back. This brings the e-ink slate’s accessories more in line with the competition, though the pen isn’t the most multi-functional on the block. Thankfully, for its second-generation Note Air tablet, Onyx has improved both the pen magnet and case adhesion by adding magnets to the back – a huge improvement on both counts. Its optional cases also missed out on magnets, instead featuring adhesive pads to stick the tab to it – more arts and crafts than premium slate. The first generation Note Air suffered from a very weak magnet to secure the pen in place on its right side. You can force-bold titles, for example, which helps create a clearer visual hierarchy, which is sometimes missing when there’s no colour on-screen. There are even excellent app-specific customizations that the Note Air 2 supports.

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