The Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2 is likely the best 13.3 inch digital note taking device on the market. It has the latest generation E INK Carta 1250 display and an ultra fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 662, which has 8 CPU cores. It has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is the most ever found on an e-paper device. Android 11 is a huge draw, it will be relevant for years to come and will support millions of paid and free apps via the Play Store. Will you buy the Lumi 2?
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 is the same type of screen technology that the Kobo Elipsa, Kobo Sage and second generation Fujitsu Quaderno employ. It basically increases the clarity of text by 30% and also reduces the latency of stylus interactions.
Onyx has developed a screen protector and attached it at the factory level. The company calls it writing film, which is the same type of protector that the Supernote A6X and A5X use. It is designed to increase the resistance when writing on the glass display. We have found at least with the Supernote product, that this makes a huge difference. The Lumi 2 also comes with the Boox Pen Plus, which give get for free with the purchase from Good e-Reader. It is blue and has a hexagonal design. It has a new nib that make writing a pure joy. The pen is also magnetic and attach itself to the side of the device. The pen has 4,096 degrees of pressure sensitivity, so the harder you press down on the screen, the thicker the lines become. There is also palm rejection technology, to prevent your hands from registering as touchscreen interactions
Underneath the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 octo-core CPU with a whopping 6GB of RAM, which is the most RAM ever found on an e-note. 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. 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.
It really seems like the Lumi 2 has it all. The best specs in the world, when it comes to e-notes, which will dramatically increase performance when drawing, taking notes and making annotations. Android apps will be lighting quick, not only because of the processor and RAM, but also the various speed modes that are baked into the operating system. These are similar to A2 mode, but there are four different options that degrade image quality and increase performance. Onyx, on a software level has also optimized apps, such as eliminating page turns. This is applicable to Amazon Kindle, Evernote, Onenote and WPS.
The Lumi is available for pre-order from the Good e-Reader Store. It comes with a free case and stylus, it is retailing for $879.99.
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.
