Your reviews have become must-haves for me as a way to educate myself on what is out there. Thank you for taking the time to put together such detailed videos!
Instead of changing the main refresh rate all the time, you can set the refresh rate individually for each app through its optimize settings. To set an app's optimize settings, either long-press on the app icon on the home screen or select the optimization settings menu option from the navigation ball while the app is open and has focus.
Addressing the point you made about why some of us want a full blown android experience. Well, at least for me it has all to do with my eyes. I already tried an iPad and an android tablet as well but, my eyes get strained a lot every time I have to use an LCD based device. So I want a device that I can use for productivity that does not cause me eye strain. And thanks for the review Voya!
Thanks for watching :) Well, we all can want things, and I understand why someone wants that. What I was addressing is that Android is not an e-ink environment, and that people should keep that in mind, that some compromises should be expected, otherwise it's simply unreasonable and unfounded in reality. Less dissapointments when people understand what to expect :)
FYI, it’s Voja with a J, because the letter J in the English language is a lie! 😂 (It’s just an overgrown lowercase I. You’d have to ask a linguist when/how the English J got the “g” sound. Ancient J-words are actually pronounced with a Y in the original languages, like Jerusalem - actually Yerushalem. It was probably spelled “Ierusalem” at some point.) Sorry, just me being an armchair linguist. ;)
It would really have been good if Android would have featured a standard API for stylus input. You can get low-latency stylus input using Onyx SDK, but since they are such a niche actor on the Android platform few (if any) apps target it. And then Samsung have their own pen api... Personally I am planning to start developing apps for the Onyx though, let me know if you have any ideas for apps that you think people would find useful!
Hello Voya, Thank you for your review! I full agree! Main issue, as you said, the app publisher is responsible for using the right approach, and therefore a nice sdk would be required by the side from Onyx. It's also all about the use case! My first and principal use case is the same approach which I think a lot of people is looking with interest such e-ink android tablet. Research. It requires reading a lot of academical papers, using them to take notes. If is either with keyboard or with the pen depends by my case if I'm commuting from / to work or I am at office desk, home office, etc. To keep tracked all the papers and notes, I use a reference management tool, like Mendeley or Zotero (Zo for zotero is the android app of that). Advantage is that all is under an android platform, and installing the app directly "should" be sufficient. Then, all changes and readed papers would be synched automatically. Nevertheless, and after googling it a lot, and I have seen that not an optimal workflow could be done. As I had read, when opening the files directly from Mendeley or Zotero with the Neoreader, a copy of the pdf would be created in the download folder (not editing the source PDF file - the one synched in the reference management tool). This leads to a copy, which shall be tracked individually, and moved back manually to the "watch" folder of the reference management tool, creating in fact a copy of the paper; one with the annotations and the original PDF file. This would be also ok, when the manual action wouldn't be done. Kind of annoying when managing a lot of papers and references. I'm looking forward for the additional review with the integration into Dropbox. Perhaps this would be the "workaround", to have it in a kind of automatically synched way! Helpig then a lot of interested people for that. Thanks in advance!
As far as I recall there is an option in Neo reader to disable the default behavior of creating a copy and allowing the original to be edited. I'll check into it at some point and see if I remember to address it :)
@@MyDeepGuide Hi, I've just received yesterday the Max Lumi. I'm even more surprised how good it works 😀😀😀 I'm just realizing the workflow with Mendeley as a reference management tool, seems to work but I'm getting a little bit confused. When I open from neoreader externally, it does create a copy in downloads, even though I saw this option somewhere and I unmarked it. Now I cannot find this option in neoreader any longer 😶. Could you find it again? Import back in mendeley after making annotation and scribbling works nicely. And Mendeley does not recognize it as Mendeley annotation, but nevermind, I could understand that, that they need to improve it as well. However, this import back has to been done manually, but not big hurt. Thinking to make also some video as how to.
Onyx boox is not officially supported by google play store, so you can't blame them or developers for the lack of functionality. It's desirable but not mandatory. The only thing we can do is contact them directly asking to support e-ink. You can tweak many apps through the optimizer to filter little animations or to correct font size issues; this way you can use kindle app from Google play store for example: just long press the app, and play with the optimizer. Of course that works for output; input lag will be still there..
I'm not blaming anyone. I'm clarifying a point that seems to be a stumbling stone for many users, and I think that it's an important one to understand, so that there are no misguided expectations that will lead to dissapointments :)
I thought all the boox varied by specs but not OS, but I do not see some of these native apps on my boox nova 2, specifically recorder and probably others. confused. running 2.3.1 and updated
Many native apps are duplicates of those in the Google Play Store. If you install the Kindle reader for example, when you go to the native version it simply says 'open' rather than install.
34:12 I wish that there was an e-ink-dedicated OS. Using an android-based e-ink device is just too jarring to me. One thing I like about the non-Android devices like the reMarkable and the Quirklogic Papyr is that they don’t have an app-centric paradigm. I’ve always thought a functional paradigm like a note/document/calendar-based paradigm is much better. Apple experimented with this in the 90s with OpenDoc, but it was abandoned.
Actually, way deep down Papyr is running an Android, but just as a system, not as a UX, and to me that's the smartest way of doing it. You get the benefits of Android, but you make the platform your own :) I agree with the non app centric system. That why I love the Supernote UX, so refreshing, and the Papyr, testing it now and quite cool I must say :)
@@MyDeepGuide Have you thought of doing a comparison matrix of all the e-ink not taking tablets? It would be a lot of work, but crazy helpful. Maybe you could get JB and some other reviewers to pitch in
Thanks for the nice guide! Can you (or any musician) please tell me if the Henle-App (classical sheet music) is working? It's not like I have to write down an entire peace, but I just want to view my sheet music, modify fingerings, basic functionality....
Excellent!!! These videos are invaluable since these type of devices are not usually available as demos for hands-on fiddling in retail stores. I realize that e-ink is supposed to be a replacement for paper. However, sooner or later you will want a hard copy of a document or drawing. Is there a native app for wireless printing? Or perhaps GooglePlay will have print management apps from Brother, Canon, HP etc. Being able to print directly from Lumi or Air will save a step or two.
@@Qster83 I checked the Play Store on my Chromebook. On that platform all the popular printer manufacturers have print management apps. Hopefully these apps are available and actually usable on Lumi and Air.
Thank you so much for this video! I'm almost convinced I need a BOOX device, but there is one thing I'd like to find out. Can Google's Handwriting recognition be used instead of the native keyboard and does it work well? I'm asking, because I'd love to use the device for writing by hand with instant text recognition and I'm not sure whether the native app can do this well for languages other than English.
HI! So I was just curious if the reMarkable app works on the Onyx (wouldn't that be nice?), but I could not get it work. It just constantly closes up when I try to log in. So even an e-ink company does not really optimize their app for e-ink environment.
Scribbling is only really intended to be used in native aps, Notes and Neo Reader. Other apps are not optimized for E-Ink screens, and as such refresh very slowly, making the in practical sense, unusable.
Great work! I don't seem to be able to connect an Apple magic keyboard to my Boox, I'm using an adaptor that is connected to the keyboard and I plug the Boox cable to it but nothing happens.
I want the full google play catalog even though I only want about a dozen apps. My reason is because each person has a few essential apps but those apps are different from person to person. For example, we use sharefile file sharing at work, so I really want that app to work from home but most other people don't use it. My personal core apps I'd like on an e-readeer are a web browser, onenote, a calendar, kindle, word, audible, zinio, scribd, excel, dropbox, wikipedia, grammarly, medium, wikipedia and Merriam-webster or oxford english dictionary.
28:38 Sepia theme. Man, that takes me back to high school and developing black and white film - actual paper prints and actual photographic chemicals. The sepia treatment was sulphur-based and smelled like rotten eggs. Not pleasant at all. For every classic sepia photograph you’ve seen (pre-digital era), there was someone pinching h/er nose, doing a sepia wash. Ick. 😂
Thanks - yet another great review. Just one comment - unless I misunderstood, I don't think wi-fi transfer depends on boox account: it's directly pushing your files from your laptop to your device. As a topic suggestion for one of your next presentations, I hope you could review a few mind-mapping apps which work well. To me, it's no-brainer to include such features to the existing note-taking app, create a new one or optimize an existing 3rd party one. I think such feature/app could be very helpful for many people and it also could help with marketing too. Thanks again.
Thanks for watching :) I personally don't use mind map apps or mind maps the way people usually use them. I write my train of thought and I come to conclusions that way. Since I have no use or interest in mind maps, I don't think that I can do a good job at reviewing them, so I won't be doing that, sorry. Apropos WiFi transfer, you are absolutely correct, it doesn't require the Boox sign in, it's a direct link to the device, but the Push does, coz that goes through their servers.
I have a lumi and just did a zoom presentation. It works exactly as you want it to, it just share your current screen. So you can go to notes and write, open a PDF and write on it, and the others will see exactly what you do. The PDF will have its original color, however you can only skribbl in black and white. However you cannot share only a particular window (like on windows), you have to share your entire screen, and the others will see everything you are currently doing on your device.
@@alexisprevost374 i wish somebody make video about it, how about refresh screen on e-ink display on other zoom participants? is that obvious or it wont if using x-mode?
@@sipposippo2526 Zoom register the real speed of the device, not the speed of the screen, so it’s relatively fast no matter what mode you are in, since the device is quite powerful inside (or at least as fast as zoom screen sharing can be). When you scroll a PDF though, it still appears a bit laggy, even on zoom, not sure why. 2 small problems you can also encouter: 1) if you want high refresh rate, I’m guessing you would like to show some video for instance. Be aware that the device does not have a high resolution, and zoom keeps the same resolution as the device. 2) When you skribbl on it, nothing is shown until you actually lift the pen (I guess because the device somehow doesn’t register it really until then). So usually you will write a whole word without lifting the pen, and the others won’t see anything. Then at the end of the word when you lift the pen, the others will suddenly see your writing appear at once. Which might seem a bit laggy for the others at first glance I guess, but it’s not really.
I bought the Onyx Air and now I'm practicing with it. The Kindle app doesn't work like on Lumi and doesn't give the same experience of a Kindle itself neither the same of a normal tablet. It's a very bad implementation. You can't see the upper bar for closing books or settings. I'm very upset for this. I hope you'll publish a video on Onyx Air apps too.
Have you disabled the "text whitening" in the app optimization option for the Kindle? The app itself is identical on any Boox or any Android device , for that matter, so i am pretty sure that you are reacting to that optimization being turned on. Turn it off, and all will be fine :)
@@MyDeepGuide thank you for your reply. Finally I found up the way to fix the problem by long- tapping the icon of the Kindle app so the optimization option was visible. Now things go better. :)
just bumped into your channel man. very solid review, in deed..congrats. Thank you for the video. i’ll watch a few others, but i’m probably gonna subscribe ;) cheers from Portugal PS: judging by the info you relayed about the MS apps... i am assuming if i use the One Note app for typing text only (with a bluetooth keyboard) i will have the same screen refreshing issues.
Hello, welcome and thank you :) Yes, your assumption is correct. None of the Google Play apps will be utilizing the E-Ink refresh screen protocols, meaning, if you write on them, they'll lag a lot.
@@MyDeepGuide thanks very much for the reply ;) just dropped a comment on your External monitor part of the video..but i’ll repeat it here.. this Max alumni is super expensive..but i believe it might justify the investment..if i am able to use it as my go-to device for typing. i use the iPad and the app Final Draft for large batches of time...and it is less than ideal. i know u don’t like this one for coding because you like to move fast, and jump up and down..while working...but....size wise, i am still undecided as to wether the 13” will justify the price bump, over the Air model. what do you reckon ? thanks again
I wonder if the kindle app installed from the Boox store would behave differently regarding those invisible icons than the one installed from google play store.
There is a way to fix it, and a user pointed it out after the video came out. In app optimization settings (long press on the app icon) there will be an option that says Whiten background, something something, and it's always on by default. If you turn it off, the dark mode invisible icons is gone. This should be a default behavior by the device, so hopefully they'll solve it, but there's definitely a way to make it work properly :)
I am looking for a device to take notes, read eBooks or even read aloud function, important apps like google, LinkedIn should also work. Can anyone help me with some advice? iPad Pro I do not like becouse of the reflective surface and it does not feel like an eBook-Reader. Thanks a lot, Joseph
Thank you :) There won't be a comparison between Max Lumi and rM2 as they are devices in very different categories, especially price wise. All relevant data has been covered on both devices, so the viewers can compare for themselves specifics that they are interested in :)
That one, yeah, but I first have to receive the device :) local post office has decided to twiddle their thumbs until Monday, as the package is in the sorting checkpoint that is 12km from my house, but I can't pick it up and it's scheduled for delivery on Monday. Go figure :D
Hi Voija. May I ask a question ? If I take a screen-shot of a colour- image (Obviously shown in greyscale) then, say, email the screenshot, will the screenshot be greyscale or colour?
I recently obtained an Boox Lumi Max 2 but can’t find the Boox app to obtain additional Native apps. I only see the Play Store App for 3rd part apps. Any idea where to find the Boox store app?
I enjoy your videos on the Boox series. They have been useful for me. I assume the Kobo app you feature in the video is the version from the Boox app store. It was not clearly said in the video. You made it clear that the Kindle app was from the Boox app store and not the Google Play app store, but you did not say the same for the Kobo app. I have the original Poke Pro and the Kobo app does not perform nearly as well as you show in the video. I am using the Google Playstore version.
I used the native GDrive app. I’d like to open a pdf, make notes on it, and have it saved in the GDrive. I can only make notes if I open it in the neo reader. Once it is there, it doesn’t sync with the file in GDrive. Is there a way to do what I’m trying to do?
Could try the export to .pdf function and see if it lets you copy over the old file. I'm planning on getting a lumi2 and would also like to know the best way to handle this myself or if it's even possible. I believe boox has a native file transfer that does the notes, I'm assuming through the boox account you can pull up on your computer. I guess the workaround is using this native boox function until you are through with your project and then save the final copy as a separate pdf.
Voya , great content, Thanks! I annotated an e pub book in neoreader in my nova 2 and copied and paste the book to my new note air using usb, but unfortunately I do not see my annotations, highlights,... do you have suggestions on how to correct this? Thanks!
@@MyDeepGuide can I sync annotated books, PDFs, notes, ... from one device to another using the BOOX tool? If yes, please point me to one of your videos if you have shown how to do it. Thanks!
There should be a difference in annotating epub vs. pdf. In epubs the annotations are stored separately somewhere. Edit: Maybe like a transparent png only with your marks and a name to fit to rhe corosponding epub page. Will investigate as soon as my arrives.
Yes, it's a matter of disabling a particular option that whitens the backgrounds of apps. That is done in the optimize menu for each app and then it works as expected.
@@MyDeepGuide Is it possible for me to use OneDrive as a online storage and use the pdf file from the cloud and save changes to the cloud on onedrive? If not OneDrive, can it be cloud synced with dropbox? Or does the pdf save to the device and all syncs are overriding the old file?
I love the native app for handwriting but I’m looking for something to type in to. When Google Docs refreshes, my whole screen flashes in an annoying way. Any suggestions?
Hello, I don't understand about the QR code in transfer file section... Can you explane to me please? Regarding the writer feeling, how Is It? Is It comparable to a Remarkable device? Forgive many grammatical errors, but I'm italian.
For writing feel, please watch my unboxing and part 2 of the review for Max Lumi, they are part of the same playlist. QR code is simply a shortcut that means you don't have to manually type in the IP address.
Camera on your phone will read the QR code and a link will appear that you can click on and it will take you to the same webpage that I manually typed it. QR code is just a shortcut for a website link. Nothing else.
Hello! I am really thinking of buying this. Can this be used during zoom meetings? I have been using my Mac, I wrote notes in iPad and air server. I am really hoping to use this instead of iPad. Thank you very much.
Well, for start it doesn't have a camera, so if you need that, than no. But you can always use screen sharing feature to share the screen of the Boox device to your computer and then share that in your Room meeting, if that is the workflow that you are looking for. Be aware that Android Screen Cast works only with Windows, not Mac, so for Mac, you will need to look for a 3rd party app that can allow you to do that on a Mac.
No, as I don't use it normally, so it's not a platform I am familiar with. Same rules apply as they do for the rest of the apps, so you should have more than enough information here to conclude if it will do what you want it to do, or not. If you need more info than that, then try the Boox Fans Facebook group, and maybe an Evernote user there can help you further :)
as always, great video !! I am a freelance web programmer and I take long periods of mountain hikes (months). I am looking for a very light equipment, with a long battery life (and small: charge with a portable solar panel) that allows me small interventions: edit code by ftp, connect to mysql servers, web browsing to detect errors in my pages and, if possible , to be able to run anydesk (or similar) and draw.io in android or web version. Note Air or Note 3 can meet my expectations? Thank you! (PS: Now I use a galaxy tab s3, but the 6000ma battery is great for a small solar panel and offers me few hours of work)
Thank you for your video! I actually am looking for such a device that supports googleplay app,s cause I am highsensitive and an LCD / Samsung screen is too bright for me to handle. That's a reason for me to use an inkpad as a tablet device with all play apps available and working :)
Yes, without any problems, plus you have all of the formatting options that I show in the review part where the Reader Capabilities are shown in detail.
MDO is a document, not an app, so it has the same limitations as any other document has. So, no, it doesn't sync to Google Calendar. I am not sure about the Calendar Memo on Boox, but I'm fairly certain that it doesn't sync either.
Hello Vojo, Yet another helpful video. I do have a couple of questions: * Any way to run speech to text on the mp3 recordings from the native recorder? * What is the storage limit on the boox servers? (Can it be expanded) As for your comments regarding the SDK - I am unsure if even creating a well-documented SDK would be sufficient. I see an eink device/user community as a relatively small community. Similar to why windows phone always lacked many of the useful apps - why would a developer invest time if the return in the number of users is small compared to if he/she invested the same time in developing a new useful feature.
It's part of the V3 update that should be coming to Max 3, Nova 2 and Note 2 soon, as Boox is now doing beta testing of it on those devices. So when you get the v3 update, you'll have it too.
That depends on the individual. When I want to keep something private i use offline devices, devices that don't have physical means of being connected to the internet. Anything that is online I treat as something that someone can hack. I view privacy as a personal responsibility, not something I would entrust any business with.
@@MyDeepGuide Fair enough, and I agree somewhat. The issue is that the average consumer/citizen doesn't really have the background to understand the depth of information about them that can be gathered. While my use case is reading and taking notes in PDFs, and I don't really care if the Chinese government (and likely my own) know what I am reading, can I trust that boox won't be able to get my amazon password from logging in with their optimized App Store version and go searching through my purchase history in Amazon? It's bad enough that Amazon knows my purchase history and can probably create a sophisticated model that can predict my purchases and actions under a certain set of conditions! Anyway, thanks for the reply.
I always use 2 step verification systems on important logins. That way even if a breach happens, your accounts have one more line of defense :) Basically, my starting point is, I don't trust businesses and I count on a breach happening. You know the one, prepare for the worst, hope for the best :) Also your Google login goes through Google servers. Boox account is the one that goes through their servers. So yeah, if you use Amazon from Google Play, your login should be going through Google servers. I'm not 100% on this, someone should correct me if this is wrong, but it should work that way, afaik. There's always the possibility of pre-installed "spy" software, but I ran bit defender and other scans and they never found anything, so, from my end I consider Boox devices as risky as Google, Apple or Samsung devices, but that's just my look at it.
Thanks for the reply. The reason I asked is because if one doesn't exist there is room for some open source alternatives, of course the native app might be sufficient for most people, but a little variety can be helpful. As always your reviews are very well done and live up to the name of the channel. Thanks!
Really great helpful video as always -thanks! One question (sorry, 2) - does OneNote have the same latency problems with keyboard entry or just stylus? Also have you tried voice to text on this device and does it work?
Keyboard latency is the same as shown on Google Docs. Text to speech works fine for me, normal Google TTS, but you can download and use other ones as well.
Another great video Voya, thank you very much... I have to say though you really need to check out the Vivaldi (www.vivaldi.com) browser, it could really help you wrangle all of those open tabs ;)
Your reviews have become must-haves for me as a way to educate myself on what is out there. Thank you for taking the time to put together such detailed videos!
I realize it is kinda off topic but does anybody know a good place to watch new movies online?
@Marshall Bradley i would suggest flixzone. Just search on google for it =)
@Ralph Jagger yup, I have been using Flixzone for since april myself :)
@Ralph Jagger Thanks, I signed up and it seems like they got a lot of movies there =) I appreciate it !
@Marshall Bradley Happy to help :D
Instead of changing the main refresh rate all the time, you can set the refresh rate individually for each app through its optimize settings. To set an app's optimize settings, either long-press on the app icon on the home screen or select the optimization settings menu option from the navigation ball while the app is open and has focus.
I totally agree, is so cool that you can change the settings for every app in particular.
@Hunter Henryk thanks for all your comments! It let me prepare while waiting on mine.
You have to turn off Whiten Apps Background in the optimization settings for apps where user interface elements cannot be seen.
Device needs to do that automatically to be fully user friendly.
That was some thorough discussion. Thank you. One step away from actually owning the device
Addressing the point you made about why some of us want a full blown android experience. Well, at least for me it has all to do with my eyes. I already tried an iPad and an android tablet as well but, my eyes get strained a lot every time I have to use an LCD based device. So I want a device that I can use for productivity that does not cause me eye strain. And thanks for the review Voya!
Thanks for watching :)
Well, we all can want things, and I understand why someone wants that. What I was addressing is that Android is not an e-ink environment, and that people should keep that in mind, that some compromises should be expected, otherwise it's simply unreasonable and unfounded in reality. Less dissapointments when people understand what to expect :)
Thank you Voya, I indeed didn't miss the point of the usuability of playstore app', like kindle app, lingQ app, OneNote,...
Soooo good Voya just what I needed - and your explanation of why One Note doesn't work GOLD!!!! Thanks so much!
Thank you! :)
FYI, it’s Voja with a J, because the letter J in the English language is a lie! 😂
(It’s just an overgrown lowercase I. You’d have to ask a linguist when/how the English J got the “g” sound. Ancient J-words are actually pronounced with a Y in the original languages, like Jerusalem - actually Yerushalem. It was probably spelled “Ierusalem” at some point.)
Sorry, just me being an armchair linguist. ;)
It would really have been good if Android would have featured a standard API for stylus input. You can get low-latency stylus input using Onyx SDK, but since they are such a niche actor on the Android platform few (if any) apps target it. And then Samsung have their own pen api...
Personally I am planning to start developing apps for the Onyx though, let me know if you have any ideas for apps that you think people would find useful!
Hello Voya,
Thank you for your review!
I full agree! Main issue, as you said, the app publisher is responsible for using the right approach, and therefore a nice sdk would be required by the side from Onyx.
It's also all about the use case!
My first and principal use case is the same approach which I think a lot of people is looking with interest such e-ink android tablet. Research. It requires reading a lot of academical papers, using them to take notes. If is either with keyboard or with the pen depends by my case if I'm commuting from / to work or I am at office desk, home office, etc.
To keep tracked all the papers and notes, I use a reference management tool, like Mendeley or Zotero (Zo for zotero is the android app of that). Advantage is that all is under an android platform, and installing the app directly "should" be sufficient. Then, all changes and readed papers would be synched automatically.
Nevertheless, and after googling it a lot, and I have seen that not an optimal workflow could be done. As I had read, when opening the files directly from Mendeley or Zotero with the Neoreader, a copy of the pdf would be created in the download folder (not editing the source PDF file - the one synched in the reference management tool). This leads to a copy, which shall be tracked individually, and moved back manually to the "watch" folder of the reference management tool, creating in fact a copy of the paper; one with the annotations and the original PDF file. This would be also ok, when the manual action wouldn't be done. Kind of annoying when managing a lot of papers and references.
I'm looking forward for the additional review with the integration into Dropbox. Perhaps this would be the "workaround", to have it in a kind of automatically synched way! Helpig then a lot of interested people for that.
Thanks in advance!
As far as I recall there is an option in Neo reader to disable the default behavior of creating a copy and allowing the original to be edited. I'll check into it at some point and see if I remember to address it :)
@@MyDeepGuide Hi, I've just received yesterday the Max Lumi.
I'm even more surprised how good it works 😀😀😀
I'm just realizing the workflow with Mendeley as a reference management tool, seems to work but I'm getting a little bit confused.
When I open from neoreader externally, it does create a copy in downloads, even though I saw this option somewhere and I unmarked it. Now I cannot find this option in neoreader any longer 😶. Could you find it again?
Import back in mendeley after making annotation and scribbling works nicely. And Mendeley does not recognize it as Mendeley annotation, but nevermind, I could understand that, that they need to improve it as well.
However, this import back has to been done manually, but not big hurt.
Thinking to make also some video as how to.
Amazing video Voja thank you, screen saver with note on calendar is awesome, hopping for nova 3 review when it release~ keep good work ~
Onyx boox is not officially supported by google play store, so you can't blame them or developers for the lack of functionality. It's desirable but not mandatory. The only thing we can do is contact them directly asking to support e-ink.
You can tweak many apps through the optimizer to filter little animations or to correct font size issues; this way you can use kindle app from Google play store for example: just long press the app, and play with the optimizer.
Of course that works for output; input lag will be still there..
I'm not blaming anyone. I'm clarifying a point that seems to be a stumbling stone for many users, and I think that it's an important one to understand, so that there are no misguided expectations that will lead to dissapointments :)
Amazing video Voja thank you. Super useful as my Lumi has just arrived! Also - I love your jumper in this video! :)
Thank you! It's a lovely gift I got for 10k subs and I love it too :)
Most routers have a setting to reserve IP addresses for certain devices, so they will always be assigned the same address.
Very insightful as always. I specifically appreciated your two cents on the support of android apps.
I thought all the boox varied by specs but not OS, but I do not see some of these native apps on my boox nova 2, specifically recorder and probably others. confused. running 2.3.1 and updated
Max Lumi is running v3.0. that should come to Note 2 soon.
Thanks for the detailed overview. Have you tested the news apps? Which apps are best to read news on this device? Thanks.
Many native apps are duplicates of those in the Google Play Store. If you install the Kindle reader for example, when you go to the native version it simply says 'open' rather than install.
Hi Voja, can you tell us when your done with the onyx note air unboxing/review video? Thx and keep up the good work!
It still hasn't arrived, so I don't have it yet.
34:12 I wish that there was an e-ink-dedicated OS. Using an android-based e-ink device is just too jarring to me.
One thing I like about the non-Android devices like the reMarkable and the Quirklogic Papyr is that they don’t have an app-centric paradigm. I’ve always thought a functional paradigm like a note/document/calendar-based paradigm is much better. Apple experimented with this in the 90s with OpenDoc, but it was abandoned.
Actually, way deep down Papyr is running an Android, but just as a system, not as a UX, and to me that's the smartest way of doing it. You get the benefits of Android, but you make the platform your own :) I agree with the non app centric system. That why I love the Supernote UX, so refreshing, and the Papyr, testing it now and quite cool I must say :)
@@MyDeepGuide
Have you thought of doing a comparison matrix of all the e-ink not taking tablets? It would be a lot of work, but crazy helpful. Maybe you could get JB and some other reviewers to pitch in
I'll probably do that for the end of the year, like 2020 summary of devices or something like that :)
@@MyDeepGuide
Awesome!
Thanks for the nice guide! Can you (or any musician) please tell me if the Henle-App (classical sheet music) is working? It's not like I have to write down an entire peace, but I just want to view my sheet music, modify fingerings, basic functionality....
Excellent!!! These videos are invaluable since these type of devices are not usually available as demos for hands-on fiddling in retail stores.
I realize that e-ink is supposed to be a replacement for paper. However, sooner or later you will want a hard copy of a document or drawing. Is there a native app for wireless printing? Or perhaps GooglePlay will have print management apps from Brother, Canon, HP etc. Being able to print directly from Lumi or Air will save a step or two.
Nothing built in that I've found but you can install the print mgmt apps from the play store
@@Qster83 I checked the Play Store on my Chromebook. On that platform all the popular printer manufacturers have print management apps. Hopefully these apps are available and actually usable on Lumi and Air.
Thank you so much for this video! I'm almost convinced I need a BOOX device, but there is one thing I'd like to find out. Can Google's Handwriting recognition be used instead of the native keyboard and does it work well? I'm asking, because I'd love to use the device for writing by hand with instant text recognition and I'm not sure whether the native app can do this well for languages other than English.
HI! So I was just curious if the reMarkable app works on the Onyx (wouldn't that be nice?), but I could not get it work. It just constantly closes up when I try to log in. So even an e-ink company does not really optimize their app for e-ink environment.
Hi. Thanks for the deep covering of the aspects of this device. I have a question. How does it behave if you scribble in the Keep app?
Scribbling is only really intended to be used in native aps, Notes and Neo Reader. Other apps are not optimized for E-Ink screens, and as such refresh very slowly, making the in practical sense, unusable.
@@MyDeepGuide thanks
Is there an update to this video (ie. any progressions since 3yrs ago)?
This looks amazing! Do you have any idea if the Bookwalker app would work with this device?
Great work!
I don't seem to be able to connect an Apple magic keyboard to my Boox, I'm using an adaptor that is connected to the keyboard and I plug the Boox cable to it but nothing happens.
I want the full google play catalog even though I only want about a dozen apps. My reason is because each person has a few essential apps but those apps are different from person to person. For example, we use sharefile file sharing at work, so I really want that app to work from home but most other people don't use it. My personal core apps I'd like on an e-readeer are a web browser, onenote, a calendar, kindle, word, audible, zinio, scribd, excel, dropbox, wikipedia, grammarly, medium, wikipedia and Merriam-webster or oxford english dictionary.
28:38 Sepia theme. Man, that takes me back to high school and developing black and white film - actual paper prints and actual photographic chemicals.
The sepia treatment was sulphur-based and smelled like rotten eggs. Not pleasant at all.
For every classic sepia photograph you’ve seen (pre-digital era), there was someone pinching h/er nose, doing a sepia wash. Ick. 😂
Rotten egg trauma syndrome :D
Thanks - yet another great review. Just one comment - unless I misunderstood, I don't think wi-fi transfer depends on boox account: it's directly pushing your files from your laptop to your device. As a topic suggestion for one of your next presentations, I hope you could review a few mind-mapping apps which work well. To me, it's no-brainer to include such features to the existing note-taking app, create a new one or optimize an existing 3rd party one. I think such feature/app could be very helpful for many people and it also could help with marketing too. Thanks again.
Thanks for watching :) I personally don't use mind map apps or mind maps the way people usually use them. I write my train of thought and I come to conclusions that way. Since I have no use or interest in mind maps, I don't think that I can do a good job at reviewing them, so I won't be doing that, sorry.
Apropos WiFi transfer, you are absolutely correct, it doesn't require the Boox sign in, it's a direct link to the device, but the Push does, coz that goes through their servers.
can you make video about experience using shared screen zoom meeting on onyx boox? Thanks~
I have a lumi and just did a zoom presentation. It works exactly as you want it to, it just share your current screen. So you can go to notes and write, open a PDF and write on it, and the others will see exactly what you do. The PDF will have its original color, however you can only skribbl in black and white. However you cannot share only a particular window (like on windows), you have to share your entire screen, and the others will see everything you are currently doing on your device.
@@alexisprevost374 i wish somebody make video about it, how about refresh screen on e-ink display on other zoom participants? is that obvious or it wont if using x-mode?
@@sipposippo2526 Zoom register the real speed of the device, not the speed of the screen, so it’s relatively fast no matter what mode you are in, since the device is quite powerful inside (or at least as fast as zoom screen sharing can be). When you scroll a PDF though, it still appears a bit laggy, even on zoom, not sure why. 2 small problems you can also encouter:
1) if you want high refresh rate, I’m guessing you would like to show some video for instance. Be aware that the device does not have a high resolution, and zoom keeps the same resolution as the device.
2) When you skribbl on it, nothing is shown until you actually lift the pen (I guess because the device somehow doesn’t register it really until then). So usually you will write a whole word without lifting the pen, and the others won’t see anything. Then at the end of the word when you lift the pen, the others will suddenly see your writing appear at once. Which might seem a bit laggy for the others at first glance I guess, but it’s not really.
I bought the Onyx Air and now I'm practicing with it. The Kindle app doesn't work like on Lumi and doesn't give the same experience of a Kindle itself neither the same of a normal tablet. It's a very bad implementation. You can't see the upper bar for closing books or settings. I'm very upset for this. I hope you'll publish a video on Onyx Air apps too.
Have you disabled the "text whitening" in the app optimization option for the Kindle?
The app itself is identical on any Boox or any Android device , for that matter, so i am pretty sure that you are reacting to that optimization being turned on. Turn it off, and all will be fine :)
@@MyDeepGuide thank you for your reply. Finally I found up the way to fix the problem by long- tapping the icon of the Kindle app so the optimization option was visible. Now things go better. :)
Great helpful video, as always. Thank you. One question...how do you turn off the screen keyboard once you connect a Bluetooth keyboard?
Once you connect to bluetooth keyboard, there will be keyboard section in top taskbar, press that and you can disable virtual keyboard from there.
just bumped into your channel man.
very solid review, in deed..congrats.
Thank you for the video.
i’ll watch a few others, but i’m probably gonna subscribe ;)
cheers from Portugal
PS: judging by the info you relayed about the MS apps... i am assuming if i use the One Note app for typing text only (with a bluetooth keyboard) i will have the same screen refreshing issues.
Hello, welcome and thank you :)
Yes, your assumption is correct. None of the Google Play apps will be utilizing the E-Ink refresh screen protocols, meaning, if you write on them, they'll lag a lot.
@@MyDeepGuide thanks very much for the reply ;)
just dropped a comment on your External monitor part of the video..but i’ll repeat it here..
this Max alumni is super expensive..but i believe it might justify the investment..if i am able to use it as my go-to device for typing.
i use the iPad and the app Final Draft for large batches of time...and it is less than ideal.
i know u don’t like this one for coding because you like to move fast, and jump up and down..while working...but....size wise, i am still undecided as to wether the 13” will justify the price bump, over the Air model.
what do you reckon ?
thanks again
I wonder if the kindle app installed from the Boox store would behave differently regarding those invisible icons than the one installed from google play store.
There is a way to fix it, and a user pointed it out after the video came out.
In app optimization settings (long press on the app icon) there will be an option that says Whiten background, something something, and it's always on by default. If you turn it off, the dark mode invisible icons is gone. This should be a default behavior by the device, so hopefully they'll solve it, but there's definitely a way to make it work properly :)
I am looking for a device to take notes, read eBooks or even read aloud function, important apps like google, LinkedIn should also work. Can anyone help me with some advice? iPad Pro I do not like becouse of the reflective surface and it does not feel like an eBook-Reader. Thanks a lot, Joseph
Great video, very useful conclusion as well. Thank you :) And really looking forward to your comparison with RM2!
Thank you :) There won't be a comparison between Max Lumi and rM2 as they are devices in very different categories, especially price wise. All relevant data has been covered on both devices, so the viewers can compare for themselves specifics that they are interested in :)
@@MyDeepGuide sorry I meant the comparison you referred to with the Note Air :)
That one, yeah, but I first have to receive the device :) local post office has decided to twiddle their thumbs until Monday, as the package is in the sorting checkpoint that is 12km from my house, but I can't pick it up and it's scheduled for delivery on Monday. Go figure :D
Hi Voija. May I ask a question ? If I take a screen-shot of a colour- image (Obviously shown in greyscale) then, say, email the screenshot, will the screenshot be greyscale or colour?
How did you connect the wireless keyboard?
Via Bluetooth.
@@MyDeepGuide can we connect Bluetooth mouse as well?
I don't have a BT mouse, but a wired USB mouse works normally via the USB OTG hub, so I'm pretty sure that you can.
I recently obtained an Boox Lumi Max 2 but can’t find the Boox app to obtain additional Native apps. I only see the Play Store App for 3rd part apps. Any idea where to find the Boox store app?
I enjoy your videos on the Boox series. They have been useful for me. I assume the Kobo app you feature in the video is the version from the Boox app store. It was not clearly said in the video. You made it clear that the Kindle app was from the Boox app store and not the Google Play app store, but you did not say the same for the Kobo app. I have the original Poke Pro and the Kobo app does not perform nearly as well as you show in the video. I am using the Google Playstore version.
amazing share! would that be possible to record and write at the same time?
I used the native GDrive app. I’d like to open a pdf, make notes on it, and have it saved in the GDrive. I can only make notes if I open it in the neo reader. Once it is there, it doesn’t sync with the file in GDrive. Is there a way to do what I’m trying to do?
Could try the export to .pdf function and see if it lets you copy over the old file. I'm planning on getting a lumi2 and would also like to know the best way to handle this myself or if it's even possible. I believe boox has a native file transfer that does the notes, I'm assuming through the boox account you can pull up on your computer. I guess the workaround is using this native boox function until you are through with your project and then save the final copy as a separate pdf.
Voya , great content, Thanks!
I annotated an e pub book in neoreader in my nova 2 and copied and paste the book to my new note air using usb, but unfortunately I do not see my annotations, highlights,... do you have suggestions on how to correct this? Thanks!
Why don't you just sync your account and use the same account on both devices?
@@MyDeepGuide can I sync annotated books, PDFs, notes, ... from one device to another using the BOOX tool? If yes, please point me to one of your videos if you have shown how to do it. Thanks!
There should be a difference in annotating epub vs. pdf. In epubs the annotations are stored separately somewhere.
Edit: Maybe like a transparent png only with your marks and a name to fit to rhe corosponding epub page.
Will investigate as soon as my arrives.
Hello Voja. Do you have any recommendations for best options that would work in place of OneNote on the lumi?
Thanks for your time.
If you want handwritten notes, the device comes with a built-in notes app. If you want typed notes, Notion or Standard Notes would be good options.
Another super useful review. Thanks.
Does anyone have experience of using a PDF reader like Xodo on this? I want to be able to read, write on and highlight PDFs stored on my Google Drive.
can you recommend a good schedule application?
When you import an article can you change the font size ? Also in the kindle app can you change the font size ?
Yes, and yes :)
@@MyDeepGuide Great, thank you. I am leaning toward the boox platform but waiting for your Note Air unboxing and review first :)
Does the built in neo reader not have a dark mode equivalent?
Not at the moment, but i wish it did :)
have they resolved the issue with the kindle app?
Yes, it's a matter of disabling a particular option that whitens the backgrounds of apps. That is done in the optimize menu for each app and then it works as expected.
@@MyDeepGuide Is it possible for me to use OneDrive as a online storage and use the pdf file from the cloud and save changes to the cloud on onedrive? If not OneDrive, can it be cloud synced with dropbox? Or does the pdf save to the device and all syncs are overriding the old file?
I love the native app for handwriting but I’m looking for something to type in to. When Google Docs refreshes, my whole screen flashes in an annoying way. Any suggestions?
Have you tried switching the display to A2 or Speed mode? It should provide for a smoother experience when typing.
@@MyDeepGuide I will try it! Thank you!
Hello, I don't understand about the QR code in transfer file section... Can you explane to me please?
Regarding the writer feeling, how Is It? Is It comparable to a Remarkable device? Forgive many grammatical errors, but I'm italian.
For writing feel, please watch my unboxing and part 2 of the review for Max Lumi, they are part of the same playlist.
QR code is simply a shortcut that means you don't have to manually type in the IP address.
@@MyDeepGuide thank you so much.
Last question: about QR code, I can send file from smartphone to tablet only using the photocamera of my smartphone?
Camera on your phone will read the QR code and a link will appear that you can click on and it will take you to the same webpage that I manually typed it. QR code is just a shortcut for a website link. Nothing else.
@@MyDeepGuide thank you very much for your kind reply.
Have a nice day!
Hi Voja, great video as usual. Could you tell us if the native calendar app can sync with Google Calendar or MS Exchange?
I don't think so, but I'm not 100% sure. I tried to sync it with Google, buy couldn't find a way how.
Hello! I am really thinking of buying this. Can this be used during zoom meetings? I have been using my Mac, I wrote notes in iPad and air server.
I am really hoping to use this instead of iPad. Thank you very much.
Well, for start it doesn't have a camera, so if you need that, than no. But you can always use screen sharing feature to share the screen of the Boox device to your computer and then share that in your Room meeting, if that is the workflow that you are looking for. Be aware that Android Screen Cast works only with Windows, not Mac, so for Mac, you will need to look for a 3rd party app that can allow you to do that on a Mac.
Can you please try Evernote? I am considering buying these devices just to use with books and Evernote.
No, as I don't use it normally, so it's not a platform I am familiar with. Same rules apply as they do for the rest of the apps, so you should have more than enough information here to conclude if it will do what you want it to do, or not. If you need more info than that, then try the Boox Fans Facebook group, and maybe an Evernote user there can help you further :)
@@MyDeepGuide Thanks for the response Voya, you're doing a great job with all these reviews. Looking forward to the Boox Air.
I do love the Win10-App Nebo to convert handwritten text on my surface device. Does the version for Android work with the Boox-plattform?
as always, great video !!
I am a freelance web programmer and I take long periods of mountain hikes (months). I am looking for a very light equipment, with a long battery life (and small: charge with a portable solar panel) that allows me small interventions: edit code by ftp, connect to mysql servers, web browsing to detect errors in my pages and, if possible , to be able to run anydesk (or similar) and draw.io in android or web version. Note Air or Note 3 can meet my expectations? Thank you!
(PS: Now I use a galaxy tab s3, but the 6000ma battery is great for a small solar panel and offers me few hours of work)
Onyx Boox MAX LUMI has automatic rotation?
No, it doesn't. I am not sure yet about Lumi 2.
Why is the color temperature for the entire video so red/orange? I mean the UA-cam thumbnail shows the colors correctly.
Because I am not a professional color grader :D
Thank you for your video! I actually am looking for such a device that supports googleplay app,s cause I am highsensitive and an LCD / Samsung screen is too bright for me to handle. That's a reason for me to use an inkpad as a tablet device with all play apps available and working :)
Can one open PDFs? I have several that are like 200 megabytes, 2000+ pages... I wonder if they'd load on this device
Yes, without any problems, plus you have all of the formatting options that I show in the review part where the Reader Capabilities are shown in detail.
Does the O'Reilly Learning app for reading books work well with Lumia?
I don't know, I've never used it.
Would anyone know if its possible to install an apk directly on the device without using Google store?
Can the Calendar Memo sync with Google Calendar?
MDO is a document, not an app, so it has the same limitations as any other document has. So, no, it doesn't sync to Google Calendar.
I am not sure about the Calendar Memo on Boox, but I'm fairly certain that it doesn't sync either.
u got close "Finger touch" when writing in onenote or keep palm not touch screen
Your title is incomplete regarding which device it is about. Just saying..
Thank you very much! I forgot to update it :)
Hello Vojo,
Yet another helpful video. I do have a couple of questions:
* Any way to run speech to text on the mp3 recordings from the native recorder?
* What is the storage limit on the boox servers? (Can it be expanded)
As for your comments regarding the SDK - I am unsure if even creating a well-documented SDK would be sufficient. I see an eink device/user community as a relatively small community. Similar to why windows phone always lacked many of the useful apps - why would a developer invest time if the return in the number of users is small compared to if he/she invested the same time in developing a new useful feature.
To be the first in a market that is starving for apps :)
Hi Voja, great review as usual. Have you used Play Books in any Boox device? Is it decent?
I never used Play Books, so no, but the same rules and limitations I talked about apply equally across the platform, which means all apps.
I do! And it works well.
Can I sync with my Synology NAS? (Does Synology Drive work good enough on e-ink devises?)
I don't know.
Voja, you should play the guitar in one of your videos. You have plenty behind you!
I have the Max 3. i couldn't find the Neo Browser in the Apps Store. Is it only available for the Max Lumi?
It's part of the V3 update that should be coming to Max 3, Nova 2 and Note 2 soon, as Boox is now doing beta testing of it on those devices. So when you get the v3 update, you'll have it too.
Can we trust or privacy with the boox apps? Or the device itself?
That depends on the individual. When I want to keep something private i use offline devices, devices that don't have physical means of being connected to the internet. Anything that is online I treat as something that someone can hack. I view privacy as a personal responsibility, not something I would entrust any business with.
@@MyDeepGuide Fair enough, and I agree somewhat. The issue is that the average consumer/citizen doesn't really have the background to understand the depth of information about them that can be gathered. While my use case is reading and taking notes in PDFs, and I don't really care if the Chinese government (and likely my own) know what I am reading, can I trust that boox won't be able to get my amazon password from logging in with their optimized App Store version and go searching through my purchase history in Amazon? It's bad enough that Amazon knows my purchase history and can probably create a sophisticated model that can predict my purchases and actions under a certain set of conditions! Anyway, thanks for the reply.
I always use 2 step verification systems on important logins. That way even if a breach happens, your accounts have one more line of defense :)
Basically, my starting point is, I don't trust businesses and I count on a breach happening. You know the one, prepare for the worst, hope for the best :)
Also your Google login goes through Google servers. Boox account is the one that goes through their servers. So yeah, if you use Amazon from Google Play, your login should be going through Google servers. I'm not 100% on this, someone should correct me if this is wrong, but it should work that way, afaik.
There's always the possibility of pre-installed "spy" software, but I ran bit defender and other scans and they never found anything, so, from my end I consider Boox devices as risky as Google, Apple or Samsung devices, but that's just my look at it.
@@MyDeepGuide good approach to online security - do not depend on the business to secure your personal data.
@@MyDeepGuide thanks for letting me know about your bit defender run through! I enjoy your videos and look forward to your thoughts on the note air.
Brilliant review and tips thanks!
What about GMAIL? Is it good on this device?
It is the same Gmail app as on any other Android device.
Please can you make a review of how books look like and can read on Inkling application?thanks
No, sorry.
Are you aware of any Android note taking app that is optimized for e-ink displays or boox specifically?
No, and honestly I don't look for one because the native Notebook app works great for my needs.
Thanks for the reply. The reason I asked is because if one doesn't exist there is room for some open source alternatives, of course the native app might be sufficient for most people, but a little variety can be helpful. As always your reviews are very well done and live up to the name of the channel. Thanks!
Absolutely! Competition is always a good thing because it pushes innovation and excellence :)
This video is awesome! Can you open up A PDF that’s in Google drive and then write on it with the pen?
Yes
maybe you can tap the suspensoid during the full screen mode
Thank you!! 🤗❤️
Really great helpful video as always -thanks! One question (sorry, 2) - does OneNote have the same latency problems with keyboard entry or just stylus? Also have you tried voice to text on this device and does it work?
Keyboard latency is the same as shown on Google Docs. Text to speech works fine for me, normal Google TTS, but you can download and use other ones as well.
Can you use the Dvorok keyboard layout when using a physical keyboard with the boox max lumi?
How about Nebo, Notion and Trello?
Waiting for the Note Air review.
And I'm waiting for the post office to deliver the Note Air to me.
So in conclusion apps from playstore are useless, and just those who are built for this devices are useable ? So why implement android and playstore?
That's a completely erroneous conclusion.
So why ?
Because the majority works as expected, especially when optimization settings are setup properly.
Super! Thanks
Thank you
Another great video Voya, thank you very much... I have to say though you really need to check out the Vivaldi (www.vivaldi.com) browser, it could really help you wrangle all of those open tabs ;)
Thanks :) But the new Edge is handling everything pretty much perfectly, even better than Brave.
@@MyDeepGuide I really like Edge's collections, I use it all the time for work stuff :)
Same here :)
this PRICE is INSANE!!!