As much as I prefer the feeling of cozying up with a good book, a cup of coffee, and a warm blanket, it’s unfortunate I need to admit this, but paper books lost the war in my house a long time ago. Between a room that had run out of bookshelves, a mother who was tired of seeing more books than clothes (could be worse, though), and an ever-growing list, sticking to paper just wasn’t practical anymore. I needed to go digital, and like most people, that meant getting a Kindle.
For years, my Kindle did the job. But somewhere along the way, I ended up losing my reading habit, selling my Kindle for good, and switching to my iPad for reading. It didn’t take long to realize that an iPad simply couldn’t do what an eReader could. So, instead of picking up a Kindle again when I was ready to enter my new reading era, I decided to try something different: a Boox eReader. Safe to say, it gave me everything Amazon refused to offer (and then some).
Boox tablets are simply Android tablets with e-ink displays
You get the classic Android tablet experience
While Amazon’s Kindles and Boox’s e-ink tablets are both built with reading as a primary use case, the way they both achieve that is fundamentally different. A Kindle is a closed device running Amazon’s own software, and it’s designed to keep you walled within Amazon’s world. Boox’s offerings, though, are Android tablets (or phones, depending on the device you get) that have an e-ink display. Boox’s current lineup runs Android 16 and comes with the Google Play Store pre-installed.
While I’ll talk more about what that unlocks below, this also means your Boox can do just about everything a regular Android tablet can. This includes split-screen multitasking, Bluetooth keyboard and stylus support, file management, note-taking, etc. The e-ink display is really the only thing separating it from the Android tablet you might already have. And for reading and writing, that’s the entire selling point!
I’m no longer chained to the Amazon ecosystem
Dobby is free
Given that all Boox devices come with the Google Play Store, it means that you can download anything on your Boox tablet that you would typically install on a regular Android phone or tablet. This includes your classic reading apps like Kindle, Libby, Pocket, Google Play Books, etc. You can also, in theory, download entertainment and social media apps like Netflix and Instagram. But given the device has an e-ink display which comes with a refresh rate that’s nowhere near what you’d get on a traditional screen, those apps aren’t exactly a great experience.
The Boox Note Air 5C is the perfect replacement for Kindle, iPad, and reMarkable
The best of all worlds in one device.
On the other hand, you’re restricted to what Amazon gives you on a Kindle. You can’t sideload your favorite note-taking or reading app (though I ironically prefer the Kindle app for all my reading), switch to a different bookstore, or download any of your other productivity apps. With a Boox, the choice is yours by default. In addition to the reading apps I have installed on my Boox eReaders, I also have some of my other essentials, like my digital planning app, my Google Calendar, my focus timer. These are things that turn it from just a reader into something I actually reach for throughout the day.
A Kindle is primarily a reading device
And Amazon won’t let it be anything more
I know, I know. Amazon has a note-taking variant of the Kindle too, and it’s called the Kindle Scribe. While I haven’t had the chance to go hands-on with the newer variant they launched, the reason I won’t be picking it up is because the experience is still fairly limited. All the points I mentioned above apply here too. You’re working within Amazon’s ecosystem, using Amazon’s tools, on Amazon’s terms. And if those tools don’t fit the way you work… well, that’s your problem.
You don’t have the freedom to download your preferred note-taking app, PDF annotation tool, or even a different PDF reader. You’re stuck with what Amazon gives you, and at the end of the day, that means making compromises and adjusting to the Kindle’s way of doing things rather than the other way around. With Boox devices, it’s been the opposite. I’ve been using mine as my dedicated note-taking device for months, and I’ve had absolutely no complaints. It works with both the official stylus and third-party options, I have the freedom to download any app I want, tweak it however I like, and build a workflow that actually fits the way I work instead of adjusting to one that was decided for me.
I finally get to read the way I want to
And I can’t go back
Again, it might feel like I’m repeating myself here yet again, but the flexibility and customization Boox’s devices give you all shape into the reading experience too. On a Kindle, you read the way Amazon wants you to. You get their reader, their fonts, their layout options, and that’s about it.
On a Boox, since you can pick the reading app that works best for you, the ball is entirely in your court. Don’t like how one app handles margins? Switch to another. Want more font options? There’s an app for that. Prefer gesture-based navigation over tapping? You’ve got choices. In fact, Boox’s default reading app alone is extremely customizable — to the extent where it gets overwhelming at first.
There are settings for just about everything: line spacing, font weight, text alignment, color temperature, contrast, page turn animations, and more. It’s a lot to take in, but once you dial it in to your liking, the experience is hard to go back from. The point is, you’re never stuck with a single way of doing things.
I simply can’t go back to a Kindle now
After using a Boox and enjoying the experience so much, I can’t imagine going back. In fact, I wouldn’t switch back to a Kindle if Amazon paid me to do so (unless they work on the walled garden issue, which realistically, is never happening). Amazon’s entire e-reader business is built around keeping you in their ecosystem, and that’s not something they’re going to undo anytime soon. So for now, my Boox stays, and my Kindle days are officially behind me.
