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The ONYX BOOX Tab Ultra was announced on October 26, 2022: a 10.3-inch monochrome E Ink tablet with Android 11 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 662. Its appeal was a mix of large-screen reading, handwritten notes, PDF work and Android app access—not the speed or multimedia experience of a conventional tablet. At launch, U.S. pricing was $599.99 for the tablet or $659.99 with a keyboard cover.
What the BOOX Tab Ultra is
The original BOOX Tab Ultra is an Android-based e-paper reader and work device. Its monochrome E Ink Carta screen is intended for books, documents, handwriting and selected Android apps. It is not a conventional Android tablet with an E Ink screen bolted on: refresh behavior, grayscale presentation and the lack of color shape which tasks feel natural.
BOOX announced the device on October 26, 2022. It ran Android 11 and included a stylus; a magnetic keyboard cover was optional. The launch announcement and Android positioning were reported by AnandTech.
BOOX Tab Ultra specifications
BOOX lists the following hardware for the original model:
#1 Best Overall
- Screen: 10.3" Kaleido 3 (4,096 colors) glass screen with flat cover-lens. Resolution: B/W: 2480 x 1860 (300 ppi). Color: 1240 x 930 (150 ppi). Touch: BOOX stylus touch (4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity) + capacitive touch. CPU: Octa-core + BSR RAM: 6GB ROM: 64GB Connectivity: Wi-Fi + BT 5.1 Front Light with CTM (Warm and Cold) G-sensor for Auto Rotation
- OS: Android 15 Document Formats: PDF, CAJ, DJVU, CBR, CBZ, EPUB, EPUB3, AZW3, MOBI, TXT, DOC, DOCX, FB2, CHM, RTF, HTML, ZIP, PRC, PPT, PPTX Image Formats: PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF Audio Formats: WAV, MP3 Supports 3rd-party apps
- Button: Power Button with Fingerprint Recognition USB-C Port (Supports OTG or use as an audio jack) microSD Card Slot Built-in Dual Speakers Built-in Microphone Battery: 3,700mAh Li-ion Polymer Dimensions: 225 x 192 x 5.8 mm (8.9" x 7.6" x 0.23") Weight: Approx. 430 g (15.2 oz)
- Dark, gray, or wrongfully believed low resolution screen : All Eink products used Kaleido 3 color e-ink technology, which currently has inherent limitations and share the same darker or grayer screen than LCD/LED ones. This is a characteristic of all e-ink products, not a defect. If it doesn't meet your expectations, you may return the product under our return policy. However, please note this is not considered a product fault.
- Over 99% of mobile apps are optimized for LCD/OLED screens with: High refresh rate expectations; Color-rich interfaces; Animation-heavy designs; These design choices conflict with E Ink's natural strengths in static content display.Energy Efficiency Trade-off: E Ink relies on electrophoretic particles that physically move to form images, resulting in slower refresh rates, makes it inherently unsuitable for conventional app interfaces designed for always-powered displays. If the buyers are not satisfied, they can apply for return or exchange, but it cannot be regarded as a malfunction.
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| Display | 10.3-inch monochrome E Ink Carta; 1,872 × 1,404 resolution; 227 ppi; 256 grayscale levels |
| Touch and lighting | Capacitive and inductive touch; BOOX MOON Light 2 front light |
| Processor and graphics | Qualcomm Snapdragon 662; Adreno 610 GPU |
| Memory and storage | 4GB LPDDR4X RAM; 128GB UFS 2.1 storage; microSD/microSDHC expansion |
| Operating system | Android 11 |
| Camera | 16MP |
| Audio | Two speakers and two microphones |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac; Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Port | USB-C with OTG |
| Battery | 6,300mAh |
| Size and weight | 225 × 184.5 × 6.7mm; 480g |
| Included writing accessory | BOOX Pen2 Pro, according to BOOX’s product listing |
| Keyboard | Optional magnetic keyboard cover |
These specifications are listed on the BOOX Tab Ultra product page and its official store listing. BOOX notes that system software occupies part of the advertised internal storage, so 128GB is not all available for personal files.
What the Snapdragon 662 means in an E Ink tablet
The Snapdragon 662 was a mid-range mobile platform, not a flagship processor. AnandTech describes an eight-core CPU: four Kryo Gold cores based on Cortex-A73-class designs running at up to 2GHz, and four Kryo Silver cores based on Cortex-A53-class designs running at up to 1.8GHz, alongside the Adreno 610 GPU.
Its relevance was practical: it gave the Tab Ultra a general-purpose Android platform for BOOX software, document tools and third-party apps. That flexibility distinguished it from more closed reading-and-writing devices at the time. It does not make E Ink behave like a high-refresh LCD or OLED. Even when the processor can run an app, screen refresh, ghosting and interface design can make that app feel slow or awkward.
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- Select Refresh Mode to reduce ghosting: HD Mode (System Default): For reading books and other static content. Balanced Mode (Default for third-party apps in color E Ink models): For turning pages and browsing books and pictures. Fast Mode (Default for third-party apps in monochrome E Ink models): For browsing websites and other content that require scrolling. Ultrafast Mode: For video and other dynamic contents. *Regal Mode: As a refresh solution with less ghosting and better display quality especially optimized for color E Ink models.
- Screen: 10.3" HD ePaper glass screen with flat cover-lens Resolution: 2480x1860 (300 ppi) Touch: BOOX InkSense Plus stylus touch (4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity) + capacitive touch
- CPU: Octa-core RAM: 4GB ROM: 64GB Connectivity: Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz) + BT 5.1 G-sensor for Auto Rotation Front Light with CTM (Warm and Cold)
- OS: Android 15 Document Formats: PDF, CAJ, DJVU, CBR, CBZ, EPUB, EPUB3, AZW3, MOBI, TXT, DOC, DOCX, FB2, CHM, RTF, HTML, ZIP, PRC, PPT, PPTX Image Formats: PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF Audio Formats: WAV, MP3 Supports 3rd-party apps
- Button: Power Button USB-C Port (Supports OTG or use as an audio jack) Built-in Dual Speakers Built-in Microphone Battery: 3,700mAh Li-ion Polymer Dimensions: 235*183*4.8mm (9.3" x 7.2" x 0.19") Weight: Approx. 364g (12.8oz)
Reading, writing and working with documents
Reading and PDFs
The 10.3-inch monochrome screen provides more room for full-page documents than a small e-reader, making it a sensible format for PDFs, technical material and annotation. Front lighting supports reading in dim settings, while E Ink can be easier to read outdoors than many emissive screens. Static reading also places less demand on the display than constant animation, though battery duration varies with lighting, wireless use, apps and refresh settings.
Color information is not displayed: charts, diagrams and highlighted passages appear in grayscale. Users who rely on color-coded documents should consider a color-screen model or a conventional tablet.
Handwriting and the keyboard
The included Pen2 Pro supports handwriting and annotation. Writing feel is affected by the screen surface, stylus nib and software settings; the available specifications do not establish that it feels identical to paper.
Rank #3
- Does not support EMR stylus.
- Screen: 13.3" Kaleido 3 (4,096 colors) glass screen with flat cover-lens
- Resolution: B/W: 3200 x 2400 (300 ppi) Color: 1600 x 1200 (150 ppi)
- Touch: BOOX InkSpire stylus touch + capacitive touch
- OS: Android 13. CPU: 2.8Ghz Octa-core + BSR. RAM: 6GB ROM: 128GB
The optional keyboard cover is a compact 64-key accessory with dedicated function keys, according to the BOOX keyboard-cover listing. It can help with drafts, email and other text entry, but it does not supply a laptop operating environment. E Ink refresh and scrolling can make cursor movement and rapid editing less fluid than on a laptop, and the cover adds cost and bulk.
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The 16MP camera is verified hardware, and BOOX presents it as useful for scanning and text recognition. The available product information does not establish image quality, OCR accuracy, preview responsiveness or whether processing is local. Treat it as a document-capture feature to investigate rather than a reason to buy the device as a camera tablet; a phone may be more convenient for quick scans.
Android apps: flexibility with E Ink limits
AnandTech reported Android 11 with Google Play support, allowing third-party apps to be installed. That opens the door to reading services, cloud storage, note-taking, email, browsers and office or PDF tools, subject to the device’s regional firmware, certification and setup.
Rank #4
- Dark, gray, or wrongfully believed low resolution screen : All Eink products used Kaleido 3 color e-ink technology, which currently has inherent limitations and share the same darker or grayer screen than LCD/LED ones. This is a characteristic of all e-ink products, not a defect. If it doesn't meet your expectations, you may return the product under our return policy. However, please note this is not considered a product fault.
- Over 99% of mobile apps are optimized for LCD/OLED screens with: High refresh rate expectations; Color-rich interfaces; Animation-heavy designs; These design choices conflict with E Ink's natural strengths in static content display.Energy Efficiency Trade-off: E Ink relies on electrophoretic particles that physically move to form images, resulting in slower refresh rates, makes it inherently unsuitable for conventional app interfaces designed for always-powered displays. If the buyers are not satisfied, they can apply for return or exchange, but it cannot be regarded as a malfunction.
- Wrongfully believed dead pixels: for B/W spots on the screen, if their diameter does not exceed 0.5mm, they are all regarded as normal. All E - INK products comply with this industry standard. If the buyers are not satisfied, they can apply for return or exchange, but it cannot be regarded as a malfunction.
- Performance (Freezes up): E-ink technology utilizes electrophoretic ink, which inherently has a lower refresh rate compared to LCD/OLED tablets. Customers who accustomed to high-speed smartphones may perceive this natural latency as "freezing." This is a characteristic of the eye-friendly technology, not a system failure.
Installation does not guarantee a good experience. Apps designed around animation, video, rapid scrolling or small touch targets may be frustrating on E Ink. Refresh settings can also affect the balance between speed, ghosting and image quality. A faster mode may help scrolling but produce more artifacts; a quality-focused mode may look cleaner but feel slower. Exact menu names and available settings can depend on firmware, so check the installed version rather than assuming a universal path.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Launch price and what it does—and does not—tell buyers
In the United States, the Tab Ultra launched at $599.99 for the tablet and $659.99 with the keyboard cover, according to Notebookcheck’s October 2022 coverage. These are historical launch prices, not confirmed current prices. They do not establish today’s stock, discounts, used-device value, regional taxes or availability.
BOOX’s current product pages can help identify specifications and later models, but regional bundles, keyboard layouts, warranty terms and fulfillment may differ. Check the listing for your country before buying. The 6,300mAh battery capacity likewise does not establish a particular runtime: lighting level, Wi-Fi, apps and refresh behavior affect consumption.
Best Value
- 【NOTE】Please update the tablet (1WCI) and stylus after setup to ensure optimal performance and the latest features.
- Experience Paper, Not Just a Screen: Powered by NXTPAPER PURE, this paper tablet delivers a true paper-like feel with reduced glare and enhanced clarity. TÜV-certified eye protection and 3A Crystal Shield Glass help minimize eye strain and fingerprints, making long reading, writing, and study sessions more comfortable and natural
- Write Naturally, Like Pen on Paper: Designed as a premium writing tablet, the TCL Note A1 NXTPAPER includes the T-Pen Pro with 8192 pressure sensitivity and <5ms latency. Realistic friction and a dual-tip design allow smooth writing, sketching, and erasing—ideal for students, creators, and daily note-taking
- Smarter Notes with Built-In AI: More than a tablet, this device uses AI to turn handwritten notes and recordings into clean, editable text. With instant summaries, rewrites, and translations, plus Inspiration Space for quick idea capture, it’s perfect for studying, brainstorming, and busy workdays
- Built for Meetings, Classes, and Collaboration: As a digital notebook with pen, it features an 8-microphone array for clear 360° audio capture with noise reduction and directional pickup. Perfect for meetings, lectures, and interviews, with cloud sync and easy sharing to keep your workflow connected
Who the Tab Ultra suits—and who should skip it
A reasonable fit
- Readers who regularly work through large PDFs and want room for annotation.
- People who value handwriting and a less visually busy reading-and-writing environment.
- Users who want Android app options on an E Ink screen and accept that some apps will not feel at home there.
- People who can make use of expandable storage or occasional keyboard text entry.
A poor fit
- Anyone who needs smooth video, fast games, responsive web browsing or color-rich documents.
- Buyers looking for a full laptop replacement or a guaranteed modern app experience.
- People who prioritize a lightweight device: BOOX lists the tablet at 480g, before accounting for the keyboard cover.
- Anyone buying primarily for the camera, OCR, a paper-like writing feel or long battery life; the available specifications do not establish those outcomes.
Keep the original model distinct from later Tab Ultras
The original Tab Ultra described here is monochrome and uses Android 11. The Tab Ultra C is a later model with a 10.3-inch color E Ink Kaleido 3 display; the Tab Ultra C Pro is another later model with different hardware and Android generation. They are not alternate names for the Snapdragon 662 original. BOOX’s pages for the Tab Ultra C, Tab Ultra C Pro and model comparison can help distinguish the line. Color E Ink can show color documents, but it does not remove the refresh limitations of E Ink.
For buyers considering a used original, condition, battery health, screen damage and the device’s current firmware matter. BOOX says it is committed to free firmware updates for more than three years from a product’s launch on its Tab Ultra C product page; this statement should not be read as a promise of a specific Android upgrade, security-patch schedule or app compatibility for the original Tab Ultra.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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