The Boox Note Air 2 Series (Note Air 2 and Note Air 2 Plus) and the Boox Note 5 are very similar E-ink tablets. But there are a few subtle differences that I wanted to discuss so that anyone torn between buying one or the other of these devices can make an informed choice.
First, the Note 5 has an in-built fingerprint reader that is not present on the Note Air 2. In contrast, the Note Air 2 has a G-sensor, which the Note 5 does not – this means that when you rotate the Note Air 2, the screen auto-rotates.
The Note 5 has a plastic Mobius backplane, whereas the Note Air 2 Plus is glass. This means that the Note 5 is more flexible and less likely to shatter if dropped.
The Note 5 is 19mm taller than the Note Air 2, but the width is 19mm less.
The Note 5 weighs 385g, whilst the Note Air 2 weighs 420g, so the Note 5 is a bit lighter. The Note Air 2 Plus is even heavier at 445g.
The Note 5 and Note Air 2 both have 3000mAh batteries, however, the Note Air 2 Plus has a 3700mAh battery explaining its extra weight (the differences between the Note Air 2 and the Note Air 2 Plus are explained here).
Perhaps the most notable difference between these devices is the price. At the time of writing, the Note Air 2 and Note Air 2 Plus both retail at $499.99, but the Note 5 costs $549.99 – a full $50 more!
I’ve summarised the differences in the table below:
| Specs | Note 5 | Note Air 2 (Plus) |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 249mm | 230mm |
| Width | 176mm | 195mm |
| Weight | 385g | 420g (445g) |
| Screen | Plastic | Glass |
| Battery | 3000mAh | 3000mAh (3700mAh) |
| G-Sensor | No | Yes |
| Fingerprint reader | Yes | No |
| Price | $549.99 | $499.99 |
Boox Note Air 2 Plus Vs Boox Note 5
| PRODUCT | BOOX NOTE AIR 2 + | BOOX NOTE 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Specs & ratings info |  👍 Recommended |  Okay |
| My Rating | ||
| Price (approx) | $450 | $550 Limited availability |
| Manufacturer | Onyx Boox | Onyx Boox |
| Release year | 2021 | 2021 |
| SCREEN | BOOX NOTE AIR 2 + | BOOX NOTE 5 |
| Screen type | Carta HD | Mobius Carta 1000 |
| Screen size | 10.3" | 10.3" |
| Screen resolution (B/W) | 1404 x 1872 | 1404 x 1872 |
| Screen density (B/W) | 227dpi | 227dpi |
| Colour | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Screen resolution (Colour) | n/a | n/a |
| Screen density (Colour) | n/a | n/a |
| Frontlight | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wacom compatible | ✓ | ✓ |
| Buy | ||
| HARDWARE | BOOX NOTE AIR 2 + | BOOX NOTE 5 |
| CPU | 1.8 GHz octa-core | 1.8 GHz octa-core |
| RAM | 4Gb | 4Gb |
| Storage | 64Gb | 64Gb |
| Battery | 3700mAh | 3000mAh |
| Super Refresh | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Keyboard folio | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Speakers | ✓ | ✓ |
| Microphone | ✓ | ✓ |
| G-Sensor | ✓ | ⨯ |
| Ceramic Tip | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Bluetooth | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fingerprint scanner | ⨯ | ✓ |
| SD card slot | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Rear camera | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Front camera | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Waterproof | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| USB-C | ✓ | ✓ |
| Width | 195.4mm | 176mm |
| Height | 229.4mm | 249mm |
| Thickness | 5.8mm | 5.8mm |
| Weight | 445g | 385g |
| Buy | ||
| SOFTWARE | BOOX NOTE AIR 2 + | BOOX NOTE 5 |
| Operating system | Android 11 | 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 | ||
| BUY | BOOX NOTE AIR 2 + | BOOX NOTE 5 |
| Where to buy | Boox Euro Shop Boox Shop Amazon BE Amazon DE Amazon FR Amazon PL Amazon UK 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 NOTE AIR 2 + | BOOX NOTE 5 |
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.
Thank you for this helpful comparison.
I think that the prices in the table should be the other way or the paragraph about cost should be corrected.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Ofer.
Yes, you’re right, I’d put the prices in the wrong columns on the table. I’ve switched them over now.
Thanks again 🙂
Dan