And this year’s professional moniker doesnt get it over the hump from the previous model.
Elevate your productivity to the whole new level with its ultra-smooth performance and adaptability.
Price and Availability
The Boox Tab Ultra C Pro is available now and retails for $649.99.
Jerome Thomas / How-To Geek
The companion keyboard comes in at $149.99.
This new equipment keeps the spirit of the non-Pro but gives it a few enhancements.
The Pro gets 6GB of RAM, instead of 4GB.
The Tab Ultra C Pro features a 10.3'' HD E Ink Carta 1200 screen, empowering you to accomplish more. Elevate your productivity to the whole new level with its ultra-smooth performance and adaptability.
The processor gets bumped from a 2.0GHz Qualcomm Octa-core processor to a 2.8GHz Octa-core one.
It also gains Android 12, upgrading from the previous Android 11.
Those are the only significant differences, however.
Jerome Thomas / How-To Geek
The overall size remains the same.
The screen size and resolution stay put.
There’s still 128GB of storage.
Jerome Thomas / How-To Geek
Note: TheBoox Note Air3 Cis very similar in specs, but priced about $150 less.
The major consideration, however, is that the Air 3 C doesnt have a compatible keyboard case.
An eReader or Laptop?
Jerome Thomas / How-To Geek
But were not quite there yet.
I dont think the 2.8Ghz Octa-core Qualcomm processor inside casues any lackluster performance.
The display, as cutting-edge as it is, still prioritizes a physical paper experience over unhindered movement.
The BSR technology that Boox advertises for a quicker refresh seems to be helping in this regard.
The problem is having such direct comparisons with our constantly used phones.
A prominent example of micro-delays where I felt frustration was the web surfing app.
Jerome Thomas / How-To Geek
There are plenty of other similar instances navigating around too.
I eventually felt hamstrung when the split seconds piled up over the course of using the tablet.
Its not at the level of an iPad, Chromebook, or other similar pop in of equipment.
Reading, of all kinds, remains king of e-paper devices.
I’ve blown past the notion that this is a color E Ink screen.
Some color is better than no color.
Im bullish on it for passive tasks but still bearish on it for more demanding work.
Its an eReader on steroids, capable of running familiar apps.
But when it came to relying on its capabilities for critical tasks it often left me feeling stranded.
Can an E-Paper Tablet Be a Productivity Machine?
Boox products have been edging into laptop and phone form factors for some time, but never over-committing.
TheBoox Palmadoes everything a phone does except have a SIM card slot.
That continues to be the case with the Tab Ultra C Pro as well.
Because of that, I still view this unit as a tablet, first and foremost.
The keyboard feels good to jot down onspringy and responsive keysbut the on-screen cursor is extremely laggy.
This aspect hurts its illusion of being a no-compromises laptop.
As a tablet running Android 12, I had no problems running all the apps I wanted to.
Gmail, Slack, and Notion all worked as expected.
Writing notes with the stylus works well but isnt laptop-specific.
More confirmation that this is a tablet through and through.
The photos were not good by any stretch of the imagination.
Heres an example showing the keyboard case.
Theres no front-facing camera either so video calls won’t be happening.
Thats probably for the best, but the idea did pique my interest about what it would be like.
The battery life I experienced could be measured in days, rather than hours.
That was with average usage of reading books, typing, and general browsing.
Thats pretty common for e-paper products.
The place the battery tended to shine for me, however, was in standby time.
I found that night and day better compared to an iPad.
Should You Buy the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C Pro?
I love the flexibility that having the Android operating system on an E Ink tablet affords.
It makes getting books, documents, and all kinds of content on it fast and accessible.
The primary hurdle here is value.
The Tab Ultra C Pro is a lot of money even compared to other premium eReaders.
Just keep a tempered expectation for overall productivity.
