The Onyx MAX line is the only established brand that provides a giant 13.3 inch screen for A4 documents and run Android. The only other 13.3 inch device on the market is the Sony Digital Paper DPT-RP1 and it only edits PDF files. They both have fairly good note experience, but Onyx has an AI engine that not only converts handwritten notes to text, but with the microphone can do audio to text notes too.
This generation of the MAX3 is the best product they have ever produced and is now the gold standard. The MAX 3 features a 13.3 inch flexible E Ink Carta display panel with a resolution of 2260 x 1650 at 207 PPI. It has a WACOM digitizer layer for stylus support, for up to 4,096 degrees of pressure sensitivity and palm rejection technology.
Underneath the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 2 GHZ octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz) and Bluetooth 4.1. There is an HDMI port so you can connect the MAX3 up to your laptop or PC and have it act as a secondary monitor. There are 4 different types of refresh mode when attached to your PC, so you can browse the web, look at pictures or watch Youtube. It also has USB-C port and has support for OTG out of the box, so you can attach a keyboard, mouse, a foot pedal or other devices, with no drivers needed. It is powered by a gigantic 4,300 mAh battery, which is good for a few weeks, it also has support for Quick Charge 3, so you can charge it up to full in under two hours. Dimensions are 309.8*227.8*6.8mm and weighs around 490g.
On paper, the MAX3 has deadly specs and is the most advanced e-reader and digital note taking device on the market, but it costs $859. Still, if you want to have a PDF and a note taking app on either side of the screen, you can do that. Ditto with editing EPUB and MOBI ebook formats and it also has Android 9.0, with Google Play.
There will be no Max3 Pro anytime soon, honestly, how could they even improve on the hardware, without it costing over $1,000. The Onyx Boox MAX3 is now shipping from the Good e-Reader Store and the first 50 customers will receive a free case.
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.
