The Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2 is a tour de force. It is simply the best digital note taking device on the planet and is brimming with superb functionality and tremendous hardware. It is the first digital note taking device with 128GB of internal storage, 6GB of RAM and is running Android 11 with Google Play. Should you buy this device? It retails for $879 and comes with a free case and stylus.
The Max Lumi 2 features a 13.3 inch E INK Carta 1250 and Mobius display with a resolution of 2200×1650 with 207 PPI. The screen is completely flush with the bezel and there is a protective layer of glass, this is a similar design that the Max Lumi provided. You will be able to read at night with the front-lit display via the white LED lights, and it also has a series of amber LED lights to provide a warm candlelight effect. The E INK Carta 1250 which increases the clarity of text by 30% and also reduces the latency of stylus interactions. There is a special writing film that has been installed at the factory level. It provides more friction when writing on the glass screen with the stylus.
Underneath the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 octo-core CPU with a whopping 6GB of RAM. There is 128GB of internal storage, which should be enough for your PDF and ebook collection. There is no SD card to expand the storage further, but it does have access to the Onyx Boox Cloud. There are two stereo speakers which can be used to play audiobooks, podcasts or music. They are on the back of the device, positioned near the very bottom. Right beside the USB-C port, is a microphone, which can be used for voice communication apps or the voice to text system on the Boox drawing system.
It has Bluetooth 5.0, which can be used for wireless headphones or an external speaker, it can also be used for things like wireless keyboards and other accessories. You can charge the Lumi 2 with the USB-C port, by plugging it into your PC/MAC or a wall charger. It is powered by a respectable 4300 mAh battery, which should provide a couple of weeks of constant usage. There is a fingerprint scanner to unlock your device, which should help with unauthorized access.
The Lumi 2 does not have an HDMI port, like the MAX Lumi 1 did. This is because Onyx has released the Mira and Mira Pro dedicated E INK monitors, which provide more functionality. Onyx told us that you can use software for Android, PC or MAC to wirelessly be a secondary monitor, but nothing beats a dedicated HDMI port for better communication protocols.
When you get the product for the first time, the retail packaging is the first thing you will see. It is black on the front and sides, and has a big picture of the Lumi. On the back, it has tech specs, written in like 8 different languages, it provides the full breakdown on all of the key selling features. This is something that most e-reader brands don’t do. Amazon for example, never writes about what processor they are using or how much RAM a Kindle has, they say things like “battery lasts for 10 weeks.” I have often found that the bigger the company, the more marketing speak you get, whereas Onyx really hypes up exact hardware specs.
Inside the box is a quick start guide, which points out all of the ports, how to power it on etc. There is also a warranty card, which provides 1 year of service. A black USB-C cable is also provided, in addition to a new stylus that is blue, and has magnetic clip on the side, but the Lumi 2 doesn’t have magnets, this pen only attaches to the Note 5 and Note Air 2. They also have new nibs, which were designed to take advantage of the new writing film.
Design wise, the Lumi 2 is a black writing slate, there is no gradient color scheme, instead it is mostly piano black. This emphasis the grey screen and the bezels melt away when staring at the screen for a few minutes. This is why most e-readers are using black bezels or completely black designs. There is nothing very flashy about the Lumi 2, but that’s ok, everything is basically about the drawing experience, writing, editing PDF files etc.
Why does the Lumi 2 matter? It can read A4 documents, which is the standard size of a piece of paper, which is normally 8.5/11. This gives you the ability to read documentation without having to pinch and zoom. Almost all PDF files are basically converted for this screen size, which makes 13.3 inch devices ideal for the format. You can make edits, draw and sign documents with ease, as long as they are DRM-Free. I often use the Lumi 2 to quickly sign contracts, non-disclosure agreements, since it is more elegant to handwrite your signature then using a generic based one in Adobe Acrobat. The big screen is also great for digital comics, manga and newspapers, magazines. You can sideload in your content or download their apps from Google Play. Onyx uses various speed modes to drastically increase the performance. If you want to use Kindle, Evernote or Onenote, Onyx has optimized these apps for their hardware, so you will get a smooth experience.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
