Last month Onyx announced the release of two new second generation Boox Go 10.3 eNotes, one with a frontlight (the Lumi version) and one without a frontlight.
They’ve been selling the frontlit version for the past month, and now the Boox Go 10.3 without a frontlight is available to purchase from Onyx’s Amazon store for $419.99.
As the name implies, the Boox Go 10.3 has a 10.3″ E Ink screen, and it’s one of the few black and white eNotes with a 300 ppi screen. I reviewed the 1st gen Boox Go 10.3 and thought it had one of the best screens I’ve seen. This newer version is 90% the same so I wouldn’t expect that to change. The one thing I do miss on the Go models is the lack of BSR, so screen refreshing isn’t as fast and smooth as some of Onyx’s other models, but battery life is better without it.
The Go 10.3 has an octa-core CPU with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It supports dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth 5.1. It has built-in speakers, a microphone, a USB-C port, a rotation sensor, and a 3,700mAh battery. The weight is listed at 350 grams (12.3 ounces) and the dimensions are 235 x 183 x 4.8mm.
The software is based on Android 15, up from Android 12 on the first gen model. It supports Google Play and installing 3rd party apps, like all Onyx devices. The built-in Neo Reader app supports all the common ebook formats and comic formats, but it does not support ebooks with DRM.
One of the main changes with the second gen version is it now uses Onyx’s InkSense Plus stylus instead of Wacom styli, so it’s using a different touchscreen technology. Some people say it’s worse than Wacom, while others say it works fine. I haven’t tested it myself so I don’t have an opinion on the matter.
Either way, the Boox Go 10.3 is a good alternative to the new Kindle Scribe without a frontlight if Amazon ever actually releases it (it’s been 7 months since they announced it and it still doesn’t have a release date). The Scribe has a larger 11″ screen and it supports Wacom styli, but the Go 10.3 beats it in a number of other areas, especially in the software department as far as overall features go, and the non-frontlit Scribe is only offered with 16GB of storage capacity.
As a side note, Onyx’s promotional videos keep getting weirder and weirder:
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