The Onyx Boox Tab X C (starting at $819.99) is a massive ereader and tablet hybrid with a huge color E Ink display. Although the screen looks superb and the writing and notetaking experience with the included stylus is enjoyable, the Tab X C lacks the power to run third-party apps smoothly and suffers from shorter battery life compared with other ereaders. Moreover, the nature of an E Ink screen means it isn't a good choice for watching videos or gaming, and the tablet feels oversized for reading. If you’re specifically looking for a color E Ink tablet with a stylus, the Editors’ Choice Boox Note Air 4 C (starting at $529.99) is the more practical option due to its lower price, smaller size, and better usability. 

Design: Large and In Charge

I’m small, but I’m not averse to using a large tablet. I own a 13-inch iPad Pro and use it every day. The Onyx Boox Tab X C is much bigger and bulkier than my tablet, both in my hands and in my lap. The Tab X C has a 13.3-inch display, measures 11.30 by 9.60 by 0.21 inches (HWD), and weighs 1.38 pounds. Meanwhile, the iPad Pro (11.09 by 8.48 by 0.20 inches, 1.28 pounds) is more compact and lighter. For writing by hand, I prefer a tablet in the 10-inch range, since that's closer in size to an actual notebook. The Boox Note Air 4 is a more-manageable 8.90 by 7.60 by 0.23 inches and weighs under a pound at 14.8 ounces. 

The Boox Tab is too big for me, but it may be exactly the size and type of device you're looking for.

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

It has a premium design, with gray aluminum sides and a smooth and slippery rear panel. Thin, black bezels surround the edges, while the left bezel thickens to provide a space for gripping the tablet. I’m able to hold it with just my left hand, but not for very long. I need to use both hands to feel secure. 

Most of the ports and connections are located along the left side. The USB-C port is at the bottom, and a five-pronged connector for the optional keyboard accessory is in the middle, with a speaker on either side. The power button is on the upper right. The stylus adheres magnetically to the right side of the tablet.

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

Boox includes a magnetic case if you buy it directly through its website. It also sells a bundle that includes the tablet, the magnetic case, and the keyboard case for $969.98. The keyboard case is $149.99 when purchased separately.

Most tablets of this size aren't waterproof. This is true not only for the Tab X C, but also for the iPad Pro and the Boox Note Air 4 C.

Display: Excellent, But Also Somewhat Awkward

The 13.3-inch color E Ink display is impressive. It’s by far the largest of its kind that I’ve evaluated. It has a resolution of 3,200 by 2,400 pixels for black-and-white content and 1,600 by 1,200 pixels for color content. This translates to 300 pixels per inch (ppi) for grayscale and 150ppi for color, which is typical for this type of screen. Aside from its smaller size, the 10-inch Boox Note Air 4 C uses the same Kaleidoscope 3 panel and provides a similar viewing experience.

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

In testing, I found the extra real estate didn't always lead to better productivity. For example, you can use the added space for dual-screen mode (running two apps side by side), but not every app supports that feature. The browser, note-taking, and reading apps take advantage of dual-screen mode, but few others do.

The extra size also results in unintended consequences. I like to write in a wide-ruled notebook, because my handwriting is large and messy. However, when I created one on Tab X C, the template was much too wide for my needs.

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

Thankfully, writing with the included InkSpire stylus is seamless. I can scribble and take notes without any lag. It has the standard 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, along with a haptic pressure sensor that provides tactile feedback. This feels great when you’re writing, as the pen changes its feel depending on the writing tool you're using. For example, a pencil provides some scratchy feedback, whereas a brush does not. The only shortcoming of the InkSpire stylus is that it doesn’t have an eraser button. The software supports scribble-to-erase, but you can’t flip the pen around and erase like you can with others. This seems like an oversight, considering the price. 

And of course, this is a very different display technology from the LCD and OLED screens of the iPad Air and Pro. The iPad displays allow you to play games, watch movies, browse the internet, and use any app you wish. Most of these functions are simply not possible (or at least, not enjoyable) on the E Ink display here.

Performance: Frustratingly Laggy

If you have a massive screen, you should be able to do a lot with it. Unfortunately, the Tab X C doesn’t have enough power to run much more than its own preinstalled apps. It comes with an unnamed octa-core processor that maxes out at 2.8GHz, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There’s no microSD card slot here, so you can’t expand the storage. The Note Air 4 C also has an octa-core processor and 6GB of RAM, but only 64GB of storage. Luckily, it supports microSD memory cards. I expected the Tab X C to have more power than the Air 4 C, given its higher price. 

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

Boox products run on a modified version of Android, and you can download apps from the Google Play Store. Normally, I stick to reading apps like Amazon Kindle or Libby. These aren’t resource-intensive and can generally run smoothly without issue. I wanted to see if the Tab X C could handle a more demanding third-party app, so I downloaded GoodNotes, a popular and feature-rich note-taking app. It didn’t work as planned. 

The app opened, and I could create a notebook, but couldn’t do much else. It was virtually impossible to write with the stylus because of a frustrating lag. It took multiple seconds for my input to register. I also experienced lag when swiping up and down to scroll through the notebook pages. This app is clearly not optimized for the Boox, and the Tab X C doesn’t have the hardware to run it effectively. 

Battery Life: Not Stellar 

The Tab X C needs a big battery to power its display. It features a 5,500mAh cell, which is larger than the 3,700mAh battery found on the Note Air 4 C. In testing, I noticed more drain than I normally do on E Ink displays. The tablet's battery drained by 50% after a few days of intense use. The Air 4 C's battery dropped by only 25% over a similar amount of time and usage.

Audio: Use Your Headphones

The Tab X C can technically play audio, but the quality is subpar. The speakers don’t get especially loud, and there’s zero definition in the bass. This isn’t a tablet for watching movies or TV shows, so I didn't expect an audiophile experience. The speakers are suitable for listening to recorded notes and audiobooks, depending on your preferred volume level. The device lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack, so plan to connect to your speakers or headphones via the Bluetooth 5.0 connection. Thankfully, this works well. I had no problems pairing my headphones and listening to my book.

Software: Updates Limited to Patches Only

The Tab X C relies on Android 13 and is unlikely to receive any software updates; Boox typically updates its OS when it launches new products. You will receive security updates and general bug fixes, but the company doesn’t specify for how long. This is a disadvantage compared with traditional tablets in this price range, which often get many years of both OS and security updates. 

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

Boox’s software doesn’t make use of the X C's added screen space, and that's a shame. It has a home row of four apps (Library, Store, Storage, and Settings) along with rows of apps that fill the middle of the home page. Two large widgets are at the top of the page: one for your library and one for your notes. The Library widget displays your most recent two reads, while the Notes widget shows your last three notebooks. If you don’t like the initial setup, you can customize the page to some degree.

The extra screen space is perfect for reading PDFs. Unlike on the Note Air 4C, you can read them easily and in full size. It’s like having them printed and in your hand, only better, as you can pinch-to-zoom to increase the font size. 

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

While the screen size works well for PDFs, I found it awkward for reading books. I was able to get the text to fit on the page the way I wanted using Boox’s NeoReader app, but it felt like I was reading a large-format magazine rather than a book. This is ideal if you need to take detailed notes inside books, since you can create plenty of room between lines and in the margins. But the device is bulky on your lap, and I prefer a cozier experience when settling down for a long reading session.