Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2 reviews

Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2 reviews

One minute review

You want to go paperless. Completely. But can you really get rid of that printer when editing and annotating on a tablet is so difficult given its size? Cue the Max Lumi 2, a large-format e-ink board that's the perfect size for doodling on A4 and large documents, and simply luxurious for small documents and e-books.

With 128GB of storage, you can store a large number of documents on the Max Lumi 2, and you can easily transfer them wirelessly from phones, laptops, and desktops via the Boox Drop app.

The Max Lumi 2 supports just about every file type you can think of, but that's not the smart part. Neither is the infinitely customizable formatting, whether it's adjusting the boldness of the text or setting the refresh rate of the fabulous E Ink Carta 1250 display.

The secret ingredient inside this 13,3-inch E Ink device is its Android 11 operating system, which gives you access to a host of apps on the Google Play Store. This opens up a world of productivity, from Kindle and Kobo to Evernote and OneNote, though on the Max Lumi 2 you're better off sticking with the fast and responsive built-in app for taking digital notes.

Not only can you convert doodles to text, but you can also use its built-in microphone to convert speech to text. Everything can be saved as PNG and PDF files and you can even draw on five different layers. There's even a perfectly usable web browser.

There are some downsides compared to other products from the Onyx stable; The Max Lumi 2's screen looks a bit plasticky and not quite as impressive as the company's recent Note Air 2 (though noticeably smaller). However, the size, speed, and versatility of the Max Lumi 2 are worth considering as a permanent fixture for your new paperless and/or home office.

Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2

(Image credit: future)

Price and availability of the Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2

Announced in October 2021 as the sequel to the original Max Lumi, the Max Lumi 2 is available for $879.99 / £775 / AU$1,220. In the box there is a protective sleeve and a Wacom pen with a small box of tips.

There are dedicated stores in the US and EU and a special warehouse arrangement in the UK to avoid paying import duties and VAT, which increases the price slightly.

Integrated

Weighing 570g and measuring 310 x 228 x 7,9mm, the Max Lumi 2's aluminum-magnesium alloy chassis is ultra-slim but slightly less solid than the more durable Note Air 2. While it's almost identical to its first-gen version, this one doesn't have an HDMI output, so it can't be connected to work as a secondary monitor (although there's an app to do it wirelessly if you want).

Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2

(Image credit: future)

Unlike the Note Air 2, the Max Lumi 2 doesn't have a spine on one side, instead featuring an 11mm wide bezel around three sides, with 24mm at the bottom where you'll also find a dial button below. physical reception. the screen and a small Boox logo.

Unlike the previous version, the Max Lumi 2 doesn't have a headphone slot, though you can use its Bluetooth 5.0 options to connect a pair of headphones or a Bluetooth speaker. Wired USB-C headphones can be connected. The Max Lumi 2 also has two tiny speakers, one on each side of the lower back.

An excellent Wacom stylus is included in the box, although unfortunately there is no magnetic area on the Max Lumi 2 to attach it to. The provided case does include a small loop to secure it though, although we did notice that the case covers the on/off switch and is difficult to press reliably. Overall, it's a very simple, non-controversial, and professional design.

To show

Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2

(Image credit: future)

Although all e-ink screens are designed to reproduce paper, the Max Lumi 2 doesn't go as far as other canon Onyx Boox products. It has an anti-reflective coating and Asahi protective acrylic, but no extra stylus coating to create a bit of friction.

So it's significantly less paper and more plastic to write on compared to the smaller Note Air 2, but that might not be much of a loss for anyone investing in the Max Lumi 2 primarily for its massive display. Either way, it looks a lot more like paper than the glass of traditional LCD tablets...

Around the edge of that screen, which isn't as sharp in dots-per-inch as the Note Air 2, but not noticeably so, are the LEDs that make up this device's Moon Light 2 backlight for reading and working in low light. and night. Out of the box it's a calming yellow light, although you can easily change its color and intensity.

As with all Onyx Boox products, you can choose between different refresh rates to keep your e-ink screen as clean or fast as possible. "Speed" and "A2" are refresh rates that make a reasonable compromise between refreshing pages and crisp-looking text and images. You can even set the refresh rate when you're just scrolling through the menus.

Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2

(Image credit: future)

Reading, writing and audio.

The Max Lumi 2 is really easy on the eyes. We tested it with a variety of A4 PDF files, mostly complicated technical documents and scientific papers, and found them to be easy to read and quick to skim through and annotate.

Onyx would also like to point out that Max Lumi 2 is perfect for displaying sheet music. However, if you're looking for a truly luxurious reading device, the Max Lumi 2 also works great as an e-book device.

The key to this, and the annotation, is its split screen mode. In addition to putting two pages on the screen simultaneously, split screen can also be used to read a document on one side and annotate on the other. It doesn't work as well with A4 documents, of course, but you can adjust the zoom.

Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2

(Image credit: future)

There are endless customization options for displaying books and documents, from adjusting contrast and zoom to whitening out watermarks. You can also customize the pen's line width, pressure, and sensitivity, and even write in different colors even if they don't appear on this monochrome device.

Using the Max Lumi 2 as an audio and music device might seem a bit crazy, but it's compatible with the Audible app (as well as other audiobook apps, like LibriVox) and can play MP3 and WAV music. Its speakers work well enough for audiobooks, while music is excellent through wireless headphones. It also has a small microphone so you can talk to the Max Lumi 2 and convert your words into text. Pencil doodles can also be converted to text.

for mobile devices to report the

Like all Onyx Boox products, Max Lumi 2 runs on a custom version of Android 11, the same operating system found on half the world's smartphones. And while it's not strictly compatible with the Google Play Store (no E Ink device is due to its inability to play videos), a simple solution gives you instant access to your Google account.

Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2

(Image credit: future)

Cue e-book apps like Kindle and Kobo, note-taking apps like Evernote, OneNote, and Notion, and news apps like BBC News, Guardian, and The New York Times.

However, some of Onyx's own apps are also worth a look. NeoReader is the one you'll use the most, it's the native way to read documents in Max Lumi 2, while Notes is the place to doodle with the stylus if you want to maximize speed and accuracy (everything is a bit slow in Evernote and OneNote) .

Other key Onyx apps include NeoBrowser and BooxDrop, which allow you to drag and drop files through a web browser (but only when the Max Lumi 2 is active and you open the Boox Drop app).

These apps support many types of files, the main list being; TXT, HTML, RTF, FB2, FB2.zip, DOC, DOCX, PRC, MOBI, CHM, EPUB, JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, PDF, DjVu, MP3, WAV, CBR and CBZ.

Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2

(Image credit: future)

Inside this device is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 octa-core/2 GHz processor and 6 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of internal memory to store documents and music.

Battery duration

Longer battery life is always a big advantage of e-ink devices over power-hungry LCD tablets, but the Max Lumi goes a long way.

With WiFi constantly on and its Moon Light 2 headlamp in use, we found its 4300mAh battery lasted about four or five days of frequent use. You don't need to charge the stylus that comes with the Max Lumi 2 because it's passive, so it's always ready to go.

Should I buy the Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2?

(*two*)

(Image credit: future)

Buy it if...

Don't buy if...

You might also be interested ...