It’s been a few months since Onyx released their latest lineup of new Boox ereaders, so based on the history of how Onyx operates they are undoubtedly working on a new set of models to release in 2021.
I thought it would be fun to try and predict what new models Onyx will come out with this year, especially since nobody releases more new models than Onyx.
Last year alone they released eight new ereaders. Some, like the Nova2, were replaced after being on the market for only 6 months, so new models might be coming sooner than you think.
Onyx’s “upgrades” from one model to the next are often so minor that the differences can be unnoticeable in 99% of usage scenarios, but at least they’re always keeping things moving forward, unlike Kindles that go several years without any improvements.
One thing that Onyx likes to do is upgrade the Android version each year because people think that matters but it doesn’t really make much difference on a stripped-down E Ink device. Now they’re finally catching up and only have one Android version left to go so it’ll be interesting to see where they go from here. I would expect the new models to run Android 11, even though it won’t make a lick of difference from their current lineup of devices that run Android 10.
Onyx usually demos new models this time of year at conferences, but obviously those aren’t happening this year so let’s speculate on what new models they plan to release in 2021.
New Onyx Boox Predictions
Note Air 2 (or Note Air Pro) – Based on the number of reviews, the Note Air has been the most popular new model that Onyx released last year, so it’s all but guaranteed they’ll release a second generation model or at least a “Pro” version with some upgrades in the coming months.
Note Basic – Boyue recently released a new budget 10-inch model called the Likebook P10 in China with a lower resolution screen, and it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Onyx release a similar model since they’re always “borrowing” other companies ideas.
Note Color – The Bigme B1 Pro is the first device to surface with a 10-inch color E Ink screen. Again, if some other company is doing it, then Onyx most likely is too.
Nova Color – Considering the fact that PocketBook has already announced the upcoming release of a new 7.8-inch PocketBook Color ereader, the chances of Onyx releasing a new version of the Nova with a color screen is very high. I would bet it gets released this spring.
Poke3 Color – It will be interesting to see if Onyx decides to upgrade their first 6-inch color ebook reader, the Poke2 Color, but with such a small screen they might just decide to offer color on larger models like the Nova.
Note4/Nova4 – It seems crazy considering the Note3 and Nova3 were just released a few months ago, but Onyx’s history says they will release “upgraded” models sometime in 2021 with Android 11 and minor hardware changes.
Max Lumi 2 – The Max is Onyx’s largest model with a 13.3-inch E Ink screen, and the Lumi was the first version to come with a frontlight. Expect the next version to be largely the same but with Android 11 instead of Android 10.
Onyx Phone? – Last year around this time Onyx said they were going to release an E Ink phone, but then Hisense came out with a color E Ink phone and that seemed to send Onyx’s phone into hiding because it’s never been seen or heard from again. But there’s still a chance that Onyx could release an E Ink phone in 2021.
I would like a 7 or 8 inch Boox model with the same “spine” design than the note air and possibly without the note-taking layer. (*) A kind of kindle oasis or kobo forma killer…
I also hope that one day there will be whiter background screen, and higher resolution for the 10.3 and 13.3 models.
(*) a note-taking layer does not make sense for me on a such small surface…
I bought a box back a few months ago & still can’t get it to work past a few steps.. size is great. But can’t say it’s user friendly.
Hi Susan,
Hope you see this:
You can find help with learning your Onyx-Boox devise by going to Mr Voja’s YouTube channel “My Deep Guide” and look up his playlist “The Big Boox Guide”. He has produced 4 videos thus far and they begin with the basics and are progressing to using the more advanced functions of Boox devices.
I have owned a Poke 3 for 2 weeks and have figured out most of the features and configurations that make it an excellent book reader. I’m glad that I bought it and hope that the user community will grow to support Onyx for offering an alternative to other ereaders that lock one into specific book distribution platforms. Glad to help with specific questions on this community thread. I have installed the PocketBook reader on my Poke because the native NeoReader does not support left-aligned text for epub documents.
If Onyx puts page turn buttons on a Note Air 2 -I think they might have a winner. The buttons could serve other functions in apps that don’t involve reading.
I like buttons too but with such a big area I think it would be hard to put them in one spot that would work for everyone. They’d have to get creative with some kind of sensor buttons like the Voyage used to have.
A Chinese blogger says Nova color will be release in March, he already got the Nova color to test from Onyx Boox. You can see a photo of nova color from this link https://bit.ly/2LZj43A
One prediction for this year would be Onyx-Boox will not produce an in depth user’s manual for their devices with things like an index, real table of contents, and complete sets of symbols diagrams for the menus, on and on.
Perhaps Mr Nathan will make a post titled “Just How Did You Learn How To Find And Use All The Functions On Your Onyx-Boox-Device?”
I would like to bhy the note air, but now that the nova 3 color is available I don’t want to buy a bw eink monitor and after few months see the color version.
Do you know if something like that ( I mean a color e-ink tablet of 10 inch) is in progress.?
Yeah, I’m sure Onyx is working one. I would guess it’ll be released later this year, but you never know. Unless you’re primarily going to be reading content with color images, you’d be better off getting the black and white version anyway because the screen looks better. Color E Ink is cool and all but it has some issues. See my Nova3 Color review.
Thanks a lot!!! I will take a look at your review. By the way you do a great job.
Thanks again!
Waiting for the boox phone. Any estimate when it could be released?
They haven’t said anything about it in like a year so it’s probably dead.
I would love a Poke3 Color. I missed the Poke2 Color and it makes me so sad because there is no other alternative that is just as good!
Any idea if they’re releasing a lumi this year? Hoping they release something in white like the nova..
No word on anything new yet, just the Nova Air and their new E Ink monitors.