Pros
- Great hardware specs
- Very versatile
- Sophisticated native reading & note-taking apps
- Pleasant writing feel
- Handwriting search/conversion
- Google Play Store
- Frontlight
- Audio (speakers and microphone)
- Portable
Cons
- Small screen size
- Steeper learning curve
- Variable performance of Android apps
The Boox Nova Air has a solid hardware spec, with some awesome native apps and the option to extend functionality by installing apps from the Google Play Store, however, it is an older generation of the Boox product range and so has limited availability and has since been superseded by the Nova Air2.
The Nova Air is Boox’s previous generation 7.8″ (A6-sized)monochrome e-ink tablet, however, it was superseded by the Nova Air2 in 2022.
The Nova Air is no longer available on Boox’s website, however, it may be possible to get a second-hand unit, or some retailers may have old stock (take a look at where to buy Boox tablets here).
For most people, the newer Nova Air2 will be a better option. It is more readily available and has some small hardware and software enhancements over the original Nova Air, particularly the operating system, which is Android 11 rather than Android 10. The Nova Air2 is also likely to be supported with software updates for longer.
The differences between the two tablets are highlighted in the table below:
| PRODUCT | BOOX NOVA AIR | BOOX NOVA AIR 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Specs & ratings info |  Okay |  Okay |
| My Rating | ||
| Price (approx) | $320 Limited availability | $340 Limited availability |
| Manufacturer | Onyx Boox | Onyx Boox |
| Release year | 2021 | 2022 |
| SCREEN | BOOX NOVA AIR | BOOX NOVA AIR 2 |
| Screen type | Carta 1000 | Carta HD |
| Screen size | 7.8" | 7.8" |
| Screen resolution (B/W) | 1404 x 1872 | 1404 x 1872 |
| Screen density (B/W) | 300dpi | 300dpi |
| Colour | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Screen resolution (Colour) | n/a | n/a |
| Screen density (Colour) | n/a | n/a |
| Frontlight | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wacom compatible | ✓ | ✓ |
| Buy | ||
| HARDWARE | BOOX NOVA AIR | BOOX NOVA AIR 2 |
| CPU | 1.8 GHz octa-core | 1.8 GHz octa-core |
| RAM | 3Gb | 3Gb |
| Storage | 32Gb | 32Gb |
| Battery | 2000mAh | 2000mAh |
| Super Refresh | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Keyboard folio | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Speakers | ✓ | ✓ |
| Microphone | ✓ | ✓ |
| G-Sensor | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Ceramic Tip | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Bluetooth | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fingerprint scanner | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| SD card slot | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Rear camera | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Front camera | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Waterproof | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| USB-C | ✓ | ✓ |
| Width | 136mm | 136.5mm |
| Height | 194mm | 194mm |
| Thickness | 6.3mm | 6.3mm |
| Weight | 235g | 235g |
| Buy | ||
| SOFTWARE | BOOX NOVA AIR | BOOX NOVA AIR 2 |
| Operating system | Android 10.0 | Android 11 |
| Google Play Store | ✓ | ✓ |
| Kindle support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Handwriting search | ✓ | ✓ |
| Handwriting conversion | ✓ | ✓ |
| Insert shapes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Insert images | ✓ | ✓ |
| Split screen | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom templates | ✓ | ✓ |
| No. templates | 45+ | 45+ |
| Brush types | Fountain Pen, Paintbrush, Ballpoint Pen, Pencil, Marker | Fountain Pen, Paintbrush, Ballpoint Pen, Pencil, Marker |
| Screen share | ✓ | ✓ |
| ADE support | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| File formats | PDF, EPUB, DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, TXT, HTML, RTF, FB2, CBZ, CBR, AZW3, MOBI, PRC, DJVU, CHM, ZIP | PDF, EPUB, DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, TXT, HTML, RTF, FB2, CBZ, CBR, AZW3, MOBI, PRC, DJVU, CHM, ZIP |
| File formats (image) | PNG, JPG, TIFF, BMP | PNG, JPG, TIFF, BMP |
| File formats (Audio) | WAV, MP3 | WAV, MP3 |
| Buy | ||
| Where to buy | eBay AU eBay CA eBay DE eBay ES eBay FR eBay IE eBay IT eBay UK eBay US | Boox Shop Amazon IT eBay AU eBay CA eBay DE eBay ES eBay FR eBay IE eBay IT eBay UK eBay US |
| PRODUCT | BOOX NOVA AIR | BOOX NOVA AIR 2 |
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.