Design and workmanship
At first glance, the BOOX Note Air 5C appears almost unassuming. Flat, minimalist, without any visible frills. At just 5,8 millimeters thick and weighing around 440 grams, the tablet is light in the hand and easily fits into any bag. The matte surface absorbs reflections and reinforces the impression of working on paper rather than a traditional glass display.
The aluminum casing is cleanly finished and feels sturdy. Gaps are even, and there are no creaks or flexes. The top-mounted power button integrates a fingerprint sensor, unlocking the device quickly and without the need for a PIN or swipe gesture.
Two additional buttons are located on the right side of the casing, which can be used to scroll through documents or control the volume. This is considerably more convenient, especially when reading, instead of constantly having to swipe across the display.
The keyboard cover transforms the slim E Ink tablet into a compact writing device. The setup is clearly designed for use at a desk. While it will work on your lap, it's less comfortable there. The magnetic connection is secure, and the typing feel is solid. However, due to its compact form factor, it can't compete with a real notebook keyboard.
Kaleido 3 Display
The Note Air 5C uses a 10,3-inch Kaleido 3 display. In black and white, the resolution is 2480 × 1860 pixels with 300 ppi, and in color, it's 1240 × 930 pixels with 150 ppi and up to 4.096 displayable colors. Text appears sharp and high-contrast, and the display remains comfortable for the eyes, especially during extended reading sessions.
Due to technical limitations, the colors are significantly more subdued than on LCD or OLED displays. They appear more pastel than vibrant, but are perfectly adequate for markings, diagrams, PDFs, and color-coded notes. This panel is not intended for creative work or color-accurate presentations.
A typical feature of Kaleido 3 displays is their overall darker base color compared to monochrome E Ink panels. This results in more frequent use of the integrated display light. It operates consistently, offers fine-tuned brightness and color temperature adjustments, and ensures good readability even in low ambient light.
Thanks to the smooth refresh mode, page transitions, scrolling, and app navigation appear significantly smoother than on older color E Ink devices. Ghosting is still present, but less noticeable in everyday use.
Writing and note-taking
The BOOX Pen supports 4.096 levels of pressure sensitivity and is based on Wacom EMR technology, meaning it doesn't require a battery or charging. The writing experience is precise, the latency is low, and the matte surface provides enough resistance to avoid the feel of writing on glass.
The integrated note-taking app is one of its strongest features. It offers various pen and marker tools, layers for structured notes, a lasso tool for moving content, and handwriting recognition for conversion to text. Pages can be used as an "infinite canvas" and expand downwards as needed.
The Note Air 5C also shines when annotating PDFs. Markups, comments, and sketches are written directly into the documents and are retained upon export. This is one of the device's greatest strengths, especially for students, teachers, and anyone who regularly works with academic texts or documents.
Keyboard cover and productivity
The optional keyboard cover, which adds a physical keyboard to the Note Air 5C, was used in the test. This allows the tablet to be used not only for handwritten notes but also for writing longer texts, emails, or simple documents.
The key travel is shallow but well-defined, and typing feels precise. The keyboard is perfectly adequate for occasional writing, although there are some limitations in terms of functionality. There's no trackpad, no function keys, and the layout is correspondingly compact due to the 10,3-inch size.
The keyboard cover is therefore particularly suitable as a mobile writing tool for research, emails, and quick text work. It doesn't replace a notebook, but it usefully expands the Note Air 5C with a second, significantly more productive input method in addition to the stylus.
Performance and connectivity
Inside, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G octa-core processor works alongside 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD card. For an E Ink tablet, the specifications are above average and ensure a generally smooth performance in everyday use. Apps launch quickly, and multitasking with multiple applications is seamless.
Performance is enhanced by BOOX Super Refresh (BSR), a proprietary GPU-based technology that allows for higher refresh rates than traditional E-Ink. This makes scrolling, typing, and page switching significantly more responsive than on older models, although it doesn't quite reach the level of classic LCD tablets due to technical limitations.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, and USB-C with OTG support. External devices such as USB flash drives, keyboards, or hubs can also be connected via USB-C. Additionally, dual speakers and a microphone are integrated, for example, for text-to-speech, audiobooks, or voice recordings. The audio quality is functional, but clearly utilitarian and not intended for music or media consumption.
Software and app ecosystem
The Note Air 5C runs on Android 15 and is supposed to support 5 years of software updates and 7 years of security updates. It also offers full access to the Google Play Store, allowing users to install popular applications like Kindle, Notion, OneNote, Google Drive, or Dropbox in addition to the pre-installed BOOX apps. Essentially, the device behaves like a fully functional Android tablet, but with an E Ink display.
BOOX adds several E-Ink optimizations to Android. Contrast, refresh mode, ghosting filter, and display parameters can be set separately for each app. These profiles are important in everyday use, as many apps were not originally designed for E-Ink and can otherwise appear sluggish or difficult to read. Fine-tuning is particularly necessary for web browsing and third-party note-taking apps to ensure a smooth user experience.
The downside of this flexibility is a certain complexity. The interface appears functional, but not always intuitive, and the system requires some familiarization. Menus occasionally respond with a delay, animations remain noticeably sluggish, and not every app feels immediately "right." Users coming from iPads or traditional tablets will need to adjust to the slower, technically dictated workflow.
Video streaming, games, or highly animated apps are possible, but they don't suit the device's character. Movements appear jerky, colors are washed out, and the added value remains minimal. The Note Air 5C clearly shines when it comes to reading, writing, organizing, and document work, not multimedia.
Battery and running time
The Note Air 5C's battery has a capacity of 3.700 mAh and generally benefits from the energy-efficient E Ink display. In practice, however, the battery life is shorter than what one would expect from a traditional e-reader. This is due to the color Kaleido 3 panel, the frequently used front light, and the high refresh rate thanks to BOOX Super Refresh.
With intensive use, including writing, web browsing, and active display light, three to five days of battery life is realistic. Reading without backlighting lasts significantly longer, but still doesn't reach the weeks-long runtimes of basic e-readers. In continuous use, roughly six hours of active writing or 25 to 30 hours of reading are achievable.
