What is the difference between the Boox Tab Mini C & the Boox Tab Ultra C?

Boox’s recent release of the Tab Mini C may have some potential buyers wondering how it compares to last month’s launch of the Tab Ultra C.

In this post, I want to quickly review the similarities and differences between the two e-ink tablets and recommend typical use cases for each.

Similarities between the Tab Ultra C and Tab Mini C

First of all, the similarities…

Both the Tab Ultra C and the Tab Mini C have a colour display that uses Kaleido 3 technology. They have the same pixel density (150 dpi for colour and 300 dpi for monochrome) and run on an octa-core processor with 4Gb of RAM and on-board GPU. They both run the same Boox firmware, utilise Boox Super Refresh and Android 11.0 and both are shipped with a stylus for note-taking functionality.

Differences between the Tab Ultra C and Tab Mini C

Now, let’s take a look at the differences…

The main difference is that the Tab Mini C is smaller. It has a 7.8″ screen, compared to the Tab Ultra C’s 10.3″. This also means a difference in screen resolution – for monochrome, the Tab Ultra C is 1860 x 2480, with the Tab Mini C being 1404 x 1872 and for colour, the Tab Ultra C has a resolution of 930 x 1240 and the Tab Mini C has 702 x 936.

Consequently, the physical dimensions are also different. The Tab Ultra C is 184.5mm x 225mm x 6.7mm and weighs 480g. The Tab Mini C is 136.5mm x 194mm x 8.3mm with a weight of 264g. Notice that although the height, width and weight of the Tab Mini C are smaller than Tab Ultra C, it is about 2mm thicker – this is because they both have very similar hardware and so the casing had to be made thicker to accommodate the space lost from the reduction of the other dimensions.

The Tab Ultra C has double the storage capacity (128Gb) of the Tab Mini C (64Gb).

In addition, the Tab Ultra C has a larger battery (6300mAh) than the Tab Mini C (5000mAh). However, this does not necessarily mean that battery life will be better on the Tab Ultra C because it is a larger device and may draw more power.

The Tab Ultra C also has a 16Mp camera and a MicroSD card slot that are not present on the Tab Mini C. There is also a dedicated keyboard folio available for the Tab Ultra C to allow typed input (however, it is possible to connect a Bluetooth keyboard to the Tab Mini C).

At the time of writing, the Tab Ultra C is priced at $600 USD and the Tab Mini C is priced at $450 USD, so there is a difference of $150 USD between the two e-ink tablets. Currently, the Tab Mini C is only available from the Boox Store but it is likely to be available on Amazon within the next few weeks. The Tab Ultra C is already available from several Amazon Stores as well as the official Boox Store.

Tab Mini C vs Tab Ultra C

Here is a comparison table of the two e-ink tablets:

Verdict

The Tab Ultra C and the Tab Mini C are perhaps the two best colour e-ink tablets currently on the market in their respective form factors (7.8″ and 10.3″). However, they are geared toward different types of users.

The Tab Ultra C is a fully functional productivity device that can replace many of the tasks that would be carried out with a regular LED/OLED tablet. The keyboard folio and camera mean that it is possible to do more with it and it also has additional storage capacity (including an SD Card slot).

However, it is quite a bit bigger and heavier than the Tab Mini C – attached to the keyboard folio it is very heavy and not really a device that you want to carry around for long periods.

The Tab Mini C is a lot more portable and would suit someone that wants a colour e-ink tablet that they can carry around and hold for longer periods. The Tab Mini C is also going to be more practical for tasks such as reading colour books and documents, communicating (e.g. by Messenger, WhatsApp, Emails etc.) and quick web browsing.

Click here to buy the Boox Tab Ultra C

Click here to buy the Boox Tab Mini

Alternatives

Personally, I still prefer monochrome e-ink tablets, however for those that need colour there are a few alternatives available.

• Boox Nova Air C (7.8″ Kaleido Plus)
• Bigme Galy (8″ Gallery 3)
• Bigme Inknote Color and Bigme Inknote Color Lite (10.3″ Kaleido 3)

I predict that the Boox Nova Air C is likely to come down a little in price over the next few months due to the Tab Mini C being its natural successor.

If you are looking for a colour e-ink device primarily for reading, and are not all that bothered about writing capabilities, check out my comparison of colour e-readers.