Boox Note Air5 C Tablet
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Boox Note Air5 C is available for $530.
- It has an improved pen and writing experience, and is faster with less ghosting.
- The AI features aren’t that useful, and the magnetic pen placement is a design flaw.
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There’s nothing like laying out a new planner with to-do lists and goals at the start of a new year. In the past, I would buy a new planner every year, but would eventually abandon filling it out by April.
In order for me to stick with a planner for the whole year, it has to offer completely customizable note-taking features, while allowing me to break down my priorities. Well, I think I’ve finally cracked the code to the perfect planner.
Also: I wasn’t looking to replace my Kindle, but this Android e-reader made it easy
The new Boox Note Air5 C is an e-ink tablet that allows you to create pages upon pages of notes and templates in one single device, all optimized with features like AI-powered Smart Scribe tools powered by Android 15.
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Digital paper tablets are getting more and more attention with brands like Kindle and ReMarkable, and there’s even research to back up why. According to a 2025 study, participants who worked on digital paper tablets had 35% lower stress levels while completing their tasks, as well as a 30% reduction in cognitive load, compared to those who worked on computers.
What makes this particular Boox digital paper tablet stand out from older models is how it writes. I am a pen-to-paper person, and the combination of the Pen3 stylus and this tablet’s screen makes it a true paperlike writing experience. That’s because the pen has an improved texture surface with 4,096 levels of pressure and ultra-low latency to make it feel like you are writing on actual paper with a real ballpoint pen.
Also: The best digital notebooks you can buy
However, for those who prefer typing over writing, or who may have messier handwriting, you can get an attachable keyboard cover for even easier note-taking (sold separately for $110).
Aside from the note-taking aspect of the Boox Note Air5 C, it is a productivity machine. The side-by-side feature isn’t anything new, but the Android 15 makes it faster and easier to navigate back and forth between different apps than other Boox products I’ve tested.
Going back to the note-taking aspect, the tablet has customizable features like color-coding, inserting links and attachments to notes, as well as layers, multiple notebooks, infinity canvas, tags/flags, etc., making it ideal for conceptual work and for journaling or research.
For the new year, I like to make a lot of lists, and I was able to make daily and weekly to-do lists, goals, calendars, a list of home projects, and a weekly grocery shopping list all in this one device, customizable to exactly how I like my lists, instead of a planner that has limited pages and set out page types that might not flow with how you create and organize.
Also: I tested the ReMarkable Paper Pro, and can’t go back to ‘real’ paper – especially at this price
In terms of improvements from previous generations, there is a lot less e-ink ghosting in the Note Air5 C compared to other Boox Notes I’ve tested. It’s also incredibly faster, especially while web browsing or using apps like Pinterest.
I have, on occasion, used the Boox Note Air5 C as an e-reader by downloading the Kindle app, but it can be a little too big and cumbersome to hold. However, I’ve found reading magazines on the Note Air 5 C is better suited, thanks to the 10.3-inch Kaleido 3 color display and the large screen size.
Also: The best tablets for note-taking
AI is, unsurprisingly, one of the device’s most advertised features, but it leaves much to be desired. While you can use it for text recognition, to auto-perfect shapes, and to ask questions, I think it would be far more useful to ask the AI specifics, for example to “create a to-do list based on my January calendar.” For now, the AI tasks are still very basic, and I didn’t use them much during my testing.
In addition, the most secure magnetic attachment point for the pencil causes it to overlap with the volume down button, and pressing on it, which, if your settings aren’t set just right, can end up adding 80+ pages to your notebook accidentally (this happened to me many times before I figured out why).
ZDNET’s buying advice
Boox has become a standout brand for note-taking tablets, and the Note Air5 C is my new favorite model. Its color screen is bright and snappy, and the included pen feels like a premium experience. Although it comes with a high price for a note-taking tablet at $530, it’s still $150 cheaper than competitor color e-ink devices like the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft and the ReMarkable Paper Pro.
If note-taking is a priority for you in the new year, I recommend the Boox Note Air5 C to be your go-to device. If you don’t care about the color display or the attachable keyboard, however, the Boox Note Go 10.3 is another great option for $410.
