Onyx has officially announced the upcoming release of a new 7.8-inch ebook reader and E Ink notepad called the Onyx Boox Nova Air.
Interestingly, the Nova Air is mostly the same as the previous Nova3 from a software and hardware standpoint (there aren’t any notable improvements to speak of in that regard), but it does have a revised design with an all-white exterior, along with a metal back, and they added magnets to the sides to hold the stylus and a new type of cover in place.
In fact the most intriguing thing about the Nova Air is the upgraded cover adds two page buttons to one side of the screen. This is an interesting idea that other companies should consider as well.
The Nova Air is 30 grams lighter and 1.4mm thinner than the Nova3, but it has the same 300 ppi E Ink Carta screen, and most of the specs are identical (32GB of storage, 3GB of RAM, Bluetooth, WiFi, USB-C, dual-colored frontlight), although Onyx claims it has an upgraded processor.
One detail worth noting, it appears the weight loss comes at the cost of a smaller battery. Onyx lists the Nova3 as having a 3150mAh battery, but the Nova Air only has a 2000mAh battery.
The Nova Air also runs Onyx’s custom software that’s based on Android 10, which is what the other current models run so there’s no Android upgrade this time around.
The new Nova Air is available to pre-order from Onyx’s website for $349, which includes a slipcover and replacement stylus tips. The upgraded magnetic cover costs an extra $59, but there’s currently a coupon for 40% off (BOOXMC40).
Hey Nathan,
As ever a pseudo upgrade in a differently looking package.
Have you seen the Lomonosov on the other website. Isn’t that a new one too?
I posted about the Lomonosov a couple months ago. In supported local markets it might be a good option but like all the other Russian models I would avoid it because they lack support and rarely get software updates. The Russian variants aren’t meant to be sold in places like the US in the first place and Onyx does not provide support for them, but for some reason they don’t restrict their resellers from selling them here.
On their website, one can read : “Nova Air with an exclusively developed film improves the handwriting experience. Whether you’re writing, scribbling or sketching, the pre-installed film can better protect the screen from scratches. Paired with the BOOX Pen, it makes sure you get a refined pen-to-paper feel.The film cannot be peeled off, or it may destroy the screen”. —> I hope they will include that important new feature on the other models. I am also happy to see a nice standard sleeve and a magnetic portfolio. In fact, all of this is very reminescent of the Remarkable e-reader.
Indeed, it looks like a mini Remarkable 2, and it costs about as much too. I wouldn’t put much stock in the new film; it sounds like marketing hype to me (Onyx is good at that). It’s probably just a glorified screen protector but at least it comes pre-applied.
How does the battery life compare to Kindles? In my jailbroken KPW3 battery active drain is just 0.9%/h while using KOReader (airplane mode, frontlight disabled).
Nobody is really going to know yet because it still hasn’t been released and it has a smaller battery than previous Novas so you can’t go off of those. I would bet the PW3 is going to have noticeably better battery life though. For one, it’s not nearly as advanced as the Nova Air. Using Android apps and using the stylus is going to have an affect on battery life. People tend to use these more like tablets than basic ebook readers so in that case battery life is always going to be less.
hmm…not much upgrade from nova 3, a little disappointing.
Hope they will release note 4 this year
For Onyx it’s really surprising they only announced one new model, but I wouldn’t be shocked if more are in the works for next month.