Onyx Boox Note Air5 C Review – A Successful Evolution of the E-Ink Tablet

After testing the Boox Note Air3 C (our review) E-Ink tablet from Onyx two years ago, we’re now reviewing the latest model, the Note Air5 C. While the Note Air3 was still available in two versions—one with a color display (Air3 C) and one without (Air3)—the current model is available exclusively with a color display. The Note Air5 C’s casing is nearly identical to that of the Note Air3 C. The tablet still features a 10.3-inch E-Ink display capable of displaying 4,096 colors and 16 shades of gray, but it also offers some newer hardware, a newer Android operating system, and an updated user interface. To find out how the current model compares to the Note Air3 C, check out our review of the Onyx Boox Note Air5 C.

Technical Specifications of the Boox Note Air5 C

Display	10.3-inch Kaleido 3 (4,096 colors, 16 shades of gray, backlit)
Resolution	2,480 x 1,860 pixels, 300 ppi (Color display: 1,240 x 930 pixels, 150 ppi)
Touch	4,096 pressure sensitivity levels, capacitive touch
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G 5G (8C/8T, up to 2.40 GHz)
RAM	6 GB LPDDR4X
Storage	64 GB (UFS 2.2), expandable with a microSD card
Connectivity	Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 5.1
Ports	USB-C (supports USB audio and USB OTG)
Special Features	Fingerprint scanner in the power button
Battery capacity	3,700 mAh (Li-ion polymer)
Operating system	Android 15
Supported text formats	PDF, CAJ, DJVU, CBR, CBZ, EPUB, EPUB3, AZW3, MOBI, TXT, DOC, DOCX, FB2, CHM, RTF, HTML, ZIP, PRC, PPT, PPTX
Supported audio formats	WAV, MP3
Supported image formats	PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF
Dimensions	225 x 192 x 5.8 mm
Weight	440 g
Package Contents	Tablet, Boox Pen 3, replacement tips, USB-C cable, card tray tool, quick start guide
Warranty	2 years
Price	€ 523.64 *

Package Contents

• Includes the tablet, a stylus, and other accessories
• Available in a bundle with a cover or a cover and a keyboard cover

The Onyx Boox Note Air5 C comes in a black box with reddish accents. The colors match those of the tablet, which is also black with reddish accents. The front of the box features the black “Note Series” lettering, but no model number. The back of the box contains model information and technical specifications.

Once the box is opened, the Note Air5 C is immediately visible. Thanks to the colored screensaver, it’s clear even when the tablet is turned off that it features a color display. Beneath the tablet are two smaller boxes. The box on the left contains a quick start guide. The box on the right contains a Boox Pen 3, a USB-C cable, and a card tray tool for opening the microSD slot.

The tablet is available in the official Boox store in the following four bundles:

• Bundle with Boox Pen 3, replacement tips, and a rust-red cover
• Bundle with Boox Pen 3, replacement tips, and a black cover
• Bundle with Boox Pen 3, replacement tips, a rust-red cover, and a rust-red keyboard cover
• Bundle with Boox Pen 3, replacement tips, a black cover, and a rust-red keyboard cover

For this review, we have the bundle with the Boox Pen 3, replacement tips, a rust-red cover, and a rust-red keyboard cover (link to the store). The rust-red keyboard cover is also available separately.

Design and Build Quality

• The casing is made of a magnesium-aluminum alloy
• The casing is predominantly black with reddish accents
• Very good material and build quality

The Onyx Boox Note Air5 C is black and not available in other colors. The tablet’s case has a base area of 225 x 192 mm and a height of 5.8 mm. The tablet weighs 440 g.

The Note Air5 C’s casing is made of a very sturdy aluminum-magnesium alloy; only the front panel is made of glass. The casing is predominantly black, with the strip on the left side of the tablet being slightly lighter in color. Reddish accents on the sides and back stand out against the black.

The front of the Note Air5 C consists primarily of the 10.3-inch color display with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The strip on the left side of the tablet allows you to hold it without covering the display. On the left side are two speakers, a microphone, a microSD slot, and, in the center, a USB-C port with a reddish border. On the top edge, there is a power button on the left, and on the right side, there are two volume buttons at the top. The back features a reddish stripe running from top to bottom on the right side, along with information on the model name, voltage, and current.

The build quality and materials of the Onyx Boox Note Air5 C are very good. The tablet’s casing makes a very good impression. The transition between the casing and the glass is very clean.

Compared to the Note Air3 C, there are only a few differences here. The dimensions, weight, design, and build quality of the Note Air5 C are nearly identical to those of the Note Air3 C. One new feature is the two buttons for adjusting the volume.

Cover

The cover (link to the store) is available in rust red and black. The exterior is made of synthetic leather in the selected color, and the interior is lined with gray fabric. It attaches magnetically to the tablet and is then secured with a flap that provides space for the stylus. Unlike the cover for the Note Air 3C, the flap is not permanently attached to the cover but can be removed. The cover can be propped up in various positions in both portrait and landscape orientation. A new feature of the cover is the cutout for the USB-C port.

The cover features high-quality materials and craftsmanship. However, the rust-red cover is more prone to showing dirt than the black cover.

Keyboard Cover

The Keyboard Cover (link to the store) is rust-red and not available in other colors. The exterior and the flap are nearly identical to those of the cover. On the inside, there is a keyboard with a compact QWERTY layout and 64 keys, as well as a plastic plate to which the tablet attaches magnetically. A version with a QWERTZ layout is not available. The keyboard connects to the tablet via pogo pins. Additionally, the keyboard cover features a USB-C port on the right side.

The keyboard is made entirely of plastic. The material and build quality are the same as those of the cover.

Hardware

• Performance remains rather low,…
• but sufficient for typical use cases
• Very good color display

The Onyx Boox Note Air5 C is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G 5G (8-core), which was introduced in 2020, 6 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of internal storage. The internal storage can be expanded with a microSD card. The tablet supports wireless connections via 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth 5.1. Compared to the Note Air3 C, the Note Air5 C thus offers a faster CPU (Cortex-A77/A55 cores versus Cortex-A73/A53 cores), a faster GPU (Adreno 619 versus Adreno 610), and more RAM.

To compare the Note Air5 C’s performance with other devices, we use the 3DMark, Geekbench 6, and PCMark benchmarks.

Benchmark	Note Air5 C Result	Result Note Air3 C
3DMark Wild Life	777 points (+81%)	429 points
Geekbench 6 Single Core	597 points (+90%)	315 points
Geekbench 6 Multi-Core	1,390 points (+24%)	1,124 points
Geekbench 6 GPU	828 points (+186%)	290 points
PCMark	6,805 points (+22%)	5,578 points

The Note Air5 C is consistently significantly faster than the Note Air3 C in the benchmarks. In pure CPU tests, the performance gain ranges from 24% to 90%; in pure GPU tests, it ranges from 81% to 186%. However, its performance is still lower than that of tablets without an E-Ink display. For typical use cases such as reading and writing documents, as well as drawing, the tablet’s hardware is sufficiently fast. For demanding applications such as games, which require faster hardware, the E-Ink tablet is not suitable, partly due to the display.

The result of the PCMark battery benchmark is 4 hours and 42 minutes; in practice, however, the battery life was more than twice as long. The reason for the significantly longer battery life is the way E-Ink displays work. They consume power only when the display content changes.

The Note Air5 C’s color display is identical to that of the Note Air3 C. We continue to be very impressed with the display in real-world use. It offers a sharp image and high contrast. The color display offers significant advantages over the black-and-white display when reading and writing documents. However, with 4,096 colors, the display’s color reproduction is nowhere near comparable to that of tablets without an E-Ink display. The display’s brightness is sufficient; text is comfortable to read both indoors and outdoors.

Software

• Android 15 with Google Play Store
• Heavily customized software in various languages
• However, the German translation remains incomplete

The Onyx Boox Note Air5 C runs Android 15 with the January 2026 security update. Based on past experience, the devices receive regular firmware updates but no updates to newer versions of Android. In addition to the Android version, the user interface (currently version 4.2) has also been updated compared to the Note Air3 C and now looks significantly more modern. It now offers three home screen pages: one for the library, memos, and notes, as well as two additional customizable pages. The app bar is now located below the home screens and is also customizable.

The Note Air5 C comes equipped with the same apps we’re already familiar with from the Note Air3 C : BOOXDrop for data transfer, NeoBrowser, NeoReader, a gallery, a calendar, a notes app, a music player, a calculator, and a recorder. A new pre-installed feature is an AI assistant (currently in beta) that can access Google Gemini and OpenAI.The Google Play Store is still pre-installed and allows you to install a wide variety of apps.

The settings menu features the same options found on other tablets, though the layout is somewhat confusing. As with the Note Air3 C, you can still customize the controls, the screen’s refresh and color modes, color temperature, brightness, and more. For the refresh rate mode, there are HD, Speed, and Smooth modes, with the latter corresponding to the previous Fast and Ultra Fast modes. HD offers the best image quality for static content but responds slowly to motion. Smooth responds faster to motion but offers the poorest image quality. The Balanced mode familiar from the Note Air3 C is no longer available, as the HD mode has been further developed.

The software language can be customized. The German translation has been improved compared to earlier firmware versions, but it remains incomplete. In particular, many English words appear in the settings even when the language is set to German. The incomplete translation is one of the software’s biggest weaknesses and should not be present in a device in the Note Air5 C’s price range.

Hands-On Review of the Boox Note Air5 C

• Excellent for reading and writing documents, especially handwritten notes
• Significantly improved software with many pre-installed apps
• The stylus input works well in the pre-installed apps…
• …in third-party apps, we sometimes noticed significant lag

The Onyx Boox Note Air5 C performed well in our test. Thanks to its case, which is nearly identical to that of the Note Air3 C, the tablet continues to feel very comfortable in the hand when reading and writing.

The Note Air5 C’s hardware is fast enough for typical use cases, and the battery life is sufficiently long. In our daily work, we use the tablet for reading and writing documents, especially handwritten notes. Static content is displayed in very good quality, and the display and tablet always respond quickly enough. Moving content can generally be displayed, but due to the poorer image quality in these cases, such use cases will likely remain the exception for most users. With about 60 minutes of active daily use, the tablet only needed to be recharged on weekends.

The software has been significantly improved compared to the Note Air3 C. The Android version and the user interface look more modern, and the tablet is easier and more intuitive to use in everyday life. The apps we’re already familiar with from the Note Air3 C, such as NeoReader and the Notes app, continue to impress. NeoReader offers a wide range of features and allows users, for example, to customize the font and font size as well as apply various markings. Texts can also be annotated and translated. The Notes app also offers a wide range of features and allows for handwritten and typed notes, drawings, cutting, copying, and pasting content, various highlighting options, and much more. With the help of AI, handwritten notes can be converted, and lines and shapes can be automatically enhanced.

The included pen fits very comfortably in the hand. Pen input works impressively well in the preinstalled apps. Handwritten input is consistently recognized accurately, and the subsequent conversion using AI works well as long as the handwriting is reasonably legible. Furthermore, stylus input works well in Microsoft OneNote. However, in other third-party apps such as Infinite Design, Infinite Painter, and Sketchbook, we noticed a significant delay regardless of the settings—just as we did with the Note Air3 C.

The keyboard on the Keyboard Cover allows for fast typing of longer texts. The typing feel is good, though the case flexes noticeably when typing. This is due to the design and intended use. Due to its slim profile and light weight, the Keyboard Cover isn’t comparable to a solid, desktop-style keyboard for mobile use.

Overall, the Onyx Boox Note Air5 C performed well in our test as a tablet for reading, writing, and drawing. Furthermore, as was already the case with the Note Air3 C: The Google Play Store allows you to install a wide variety of apps, but the E-Ink tablet is not fully suitable for all use cases, particularly due to its display.

Boox Note Air5 C Review: Conclusion

In our opinion, the Onyx Boox Note Air5 C is a successful evolution of the Note Air3 C. The tablet impresses with its design, the quality of its materials and build, and the color display—which is identical to that of the Note Air3 C. The display offers sharp visuals, high contrast, and sufficient brightness. Text is comfortable to read both indoors and outdoors. The tablet is therefore particularly well-suited for reading and writing documents, as well as for drawing.

Compared to the Note Air3 C, the hardware has been slightly improved in terms of CPU, GPU, and RAM; however, performance remains lower than that of tablets without an E-Ink display. The software and user interface, on the other hand, have been significantly improved, and the preinstalled apps have been further developed. The strengths of the Note Air3 C have been carried over, but so have some weaknesses, such as the incomplete translation of the software and the occasional lag in pen input found in some third-party apps.

The Onyx Boox Note Air5 C is currently available in a bundle with the Boox Pen 3, replacement tips, and the rust-red cover for ~530 € (as of July 12, 2026). In our opinion, it offers good value for the price, and we recommend this E-Ink tablet.