Boox Tab Mini C offers more power and better features than a Kindle e-reader, but at a much higher price.
The Boox Tab Mini C is aimed at people who don’t want to read on an iPad mini but are interested in installing a wide range of mobile apps on a color E-Ink e-reader. It’s a product with a narrow market, but it’s a worthy consideration for anyone who finds themselves wanting more than a Kindle offers.
Boox Tab Mini C
Boox Tab Mini C is an Android tablet with an E-Ink display.
- Brand
- Onyx
- Storage
- 64GB
- CPU
- Qualcomm Advanced Octa-core
- Memory
- 4GB (LPDDR4X)
- Operating System
- Android 11
- Battery
- 5,000mAh
- Ports
- USB-C
- Display (Size, Resolution)
- Black and white: 1404 x 1872 (300 ppi); Color: 702 x 936 (150 ppi)
- Connectivity
- Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0
- Measurements
- 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.33in (194 x 136.5 x 8.3mm)
- Weight
- 9.3oz (264g)
Pros
- Plenty of power for an E-Ink device
- Battery lasts much longer than iPad mini
- Color screen is vibrant enough to be useful
Cons
- Hefty price if only used for reading
- Cover flap can get in the way
Tab Mini C Is a Powerful E-Reader
The company Oynx has been on a tear for the last few years with its Boox e-paper tablets. I’d argue there might be too many choices, but the latest entry is a small option. In design, it competes against Kobo and Kindle e-readers. In price, it competes against an iPad mini.
By all accounts, the specs indicate a full-featured Android tablet. In my use, the Tab Mini C felt speedy, at least as nimble as its E-Ink refresh rates would allow. The momentary delay when scrolling or tapping is simply the current trade-off for staring at a screen that appears more analog than digital.
Reading emails, books, and long-form articles were all very manageable on the device. Browsing websites and using other apps that require a lot of swiping or finger-poking felt more limiting, especially in direct comparison to using a phone screen.
I found the Tab Mini C excelled when using it as an e-reader rather than a general-purpose tablet. Its flexibility to run Android apps, however, meant I could use whatever book-reading app I wanted, or I could navigate to a website and read a 10,000-word story without fatiguing my eyes.
There is no keyboard cover available for the Tab Mini C like there is for the Tab Ultra C. The device still has the power to function as a word processor, but I didn’t care for connecting a Bluetooth keyboard and using it that way.
Comparatively, I found typing on the reMarkable 2 with its Type Folio to be a better experience for e-paper devices if you do really want to go down that path. There are a host of compromises with the Tab Mini C, but overall, I had very few complaints about using it to read books.
The Tab Mini C Case and Stylus
I loved the included magnetic case that comes with the Tab Mini C, and I hated it too. The actual folio part that wraps around the front and the back felt squishy and smooth with a hint of tacky grip. I loved holding it and didn’t want to take it off. But at the same time, folding the cover back presented a dangling flap that was distracting while reading and didn’t seem as magnetic as it could have been.
The magnetic flap closure is there, mostly, to keep the stylus attached to the side of the device. But the stylus was also annoying to keep attached while reading.
I found the stylus to be a double-edged sword. It was great for handwriting notes, which made me want to keep it attached, but I didn’t feel like I naturally took enough notes to justify carrying it all the time.
The Boox Notes app had enough features with things like AI recognition of handwritten text to make it useful for anyone who wants to spend time using it. I find the same thing true of the Apple Pencil. It has always worked well on supported iPads, but I personally don’t use it enough to keep it permanently attached to the side.
Comparing Boox Nova C to Tab Mini C
The color display was a stand-out feature of the Tab Mini C. It made all kinds of tablet tasks more palatable on an e-paper display. Even reading and being able to highlight in color was a surprise realization. The problem is that the color screen is not unique to this device. Boox has a number of products with similar displays, including the comparably sized Nova Air C reader.
Here are the primary differences between the Tab Mini C and the Nova Air C.
- 5000mAh Battery on Tab Mini C vs. 2000mAh Battery on Nova Air C
- Octa-core CPU and exclusive GPU on Tab Mini C vs. Octa-core CPU on Nova Air C
- 300ppi black and white and 150ppi color on Tab Mini C vs. 300ppi black and white and 100ppi color on Nova Air C
- 7.8-inch Kaleido 3 color e-paper screen on Tab Mini C vs. 7.8-inch Kaleido Plus color e-paper Screen on Nova Air C
The Tab Mini C does have more RAM and storage, but ultimately it felt like both were more similar than they were different. I did notice the slightly more vibrant colors from denser pixels per inch on the Tab Mini C and the longer battery life. It was debatable whether those two specific items were worth the $50 over Nova Air C’s current $399 retail price.
Frankly, the battery life of all Boox e-paper devices has been excellent. In this case, I was able to go more than a week with plenty of daily reading before thinking about charging the Tab Mini C. The best part is the device’s standby time which can last months if you forget about it or don’t need it.
Should You Buy the Boox Tab Mini C?
For all its features and specs, the Boox Tab Mini C is, really, only a powerful e-reader. People shopping for a device to read books will be satisfied with the Tab Mini C’s ability to access Kindle books, digital library books, and Google Books, along with PDFs and other reading material. Its dash of color was helpful across the board and made browsing digital bookstores more enjoyable, too.
The reasons to avoid the Tab Mini C have less to do with function and more to do with price. Its cost proximity to the Boox Nova C and the Tab Ultra C only makes cases for buying those other devices, rather than this one.
The Tab Mini C is a fine product for being a multitasking reader, but it’s just not a good value. It’s much better than a low-cost Kindle, but most people might not even appreciate all of its benefits. The Tab Mini C also gets stuck in the middle of Boox’s product line, not to mention competition from the iPad mini, which starts at the same $450 price. It’s a solid product hindered by its technology’s expense.
Boox Tab Mini C
Boox Tab Mini C is an Android tablet with an E-Ink display.