Today, Onyx International released the Boox Tab Ultra C Pro e-ink tablet, the successor to the now discontinued Tab Ultra C.
I’ve already written about the differences between these two products here, however, in a nutshell, the Pro version of the TUC has a faster CPU and more memory, runs Android 12 and has the latest Boox firmware installed.
Although the TUCP is available to buy right now, it seems as though the keyboard case (with touchpad) is not yet available either on Amazon or Boox’s official store. The regular magnetic case (without the integrated keyboard) is available, however.
Boox themselves do not know when this will be in stock either, but hopefully it will be very soon.
For me, the keyboard cover is one of the main benefits of the TUCP over other tablets, such as the Note Air3 C, so I personally won’t be buying it until the folio becomes available.
It’s also worth mentioning that the keyboard cover for the TUC will not work with TUCP because the POGO pins have moved (however, a third-party Bluetooth keyboard should work fine).
About the author
Dan Dutton is passionate about E-ink writing tablets, which bring together the pleasure of writing on paper with the power of digital technology. When he bought his first tablet, he realised that there wasn't a lot of unbiased information available for people that were considering buying an E-ink tablet, and so he built eWritable.
I was on the Boox & Amazon stores first thing.
I too am hesitant to order without the keyboard case.
Also missing, any YouTube reviews. Quite the contrast to the NA3C 🤔
Sounds a little like it may have been rushed to market before it was ready. I still can’t seem to get excited about it – really enjoying the Note Air3 C, though.
Amazon was on pre-order first thing, stating estimated shipping on 30th Nov. Boox stated 1st Nov (UK warehouse ). So I thought to wait for reviews.
Amazon’s changed to immediate availability/shipping. Order placed, with me tomorrow morning.
(🤷♂️ thanks to 14 day statutory/ 30 day return policy)
Dan, not long ago gave Jeff the following good news:
First impressions? Excellent!
First task, download an update to 3.5 (dated 28th Oct, 1.5GB… WiFi very fast). Came with Android Security Patch 2023-08-05, no pending update for this yet… one to watch of course.
Sound quality is excellent (grills hide both, microphone and speakers. Top also hides very discreet charging LED). Dual microphones work well (two people, near and 3 meter distance).
Pleasant surprise (but hoped for): fully programmable ‘volume buttons’, on a per-app basis e.g. Neoreader… Page turns, scrolling. App shortcuts. Short & longpress too 👍
Performance: Stella. Videos, web browsing, snappiness, handwriting conversion speeds, voice to text speed, all brilliant.
Benchmarking: significantly faster than all other Boox devices to date. Snapdragon 855 (SM8150) on 7nm process (flagship SoC in it’s day).
Compared to Voja’s test video yesterday (against the fastest device he recorded, mostly NA3C, but not always):
Geekbench 6
* Single 1008 (NS3C 438)
* Multiple 2729 (NA3 1297)
Passmark
CPU: 5420 (NA3C 3874)
Memory: 25868 (NA3C 17390)
2D Graphics Test: 21830 (TU 13774)
3D Graphics Test: 35246 (NA3C 19210)
I’ve left the best for last, sounds and feels like paper! (just enough, it’s likely less than RM/NA3C, but spot on balance for me). Matt anti-glare excellent. They nailed it (for me).
Shame no spare nibs and keyboard case not available yet 🙄
Camera LED light/flash… works in ‘Snapdragon camera’ but not enabled yet in ‘DocScan’. Test, in poor indoor lighting, was rubbish for OCR… really needs firmware update to enable the new LED
Cheers for sharing your experience, Jim 🙂 I’m just about to look and see if the keyboard folio is in stock yet…
Not yet, alas. I’m checking Amazon (UK), Boox shop (Euro, both warehouses & US) each day, still showing as ‘sold out’ 😐
BTW, what 3rd party stylus nibs do you recommend? (£25 for the official Boox on Amazon UK is outrageous. €20 on the Boox Euro store only slightly better)
I’ll be honest, Jim, I’ve never actually bought any nibs. They don’t need changing very often and because I buy tablets regularly, the spare tips that are shipped with the device are sufficient. It would probably be a good subject for a future article, though – I particularly want to try out titanium nibs to test if there is any danger of them physically damaging the screen.