The Onyx Boox Go 6 is part of the Go sequence launched in 2024. The primary product was the Boox Go 10.3 which was the primary Onyx-branded gadget with a big display and 300 PPI for decision. This ensures that the general high quality of content material will likely be great. The whole lot will likely be readable whether or not you learn an book, journal, newspaper or educational PDF. Total efficiency is great because of the {hardware}. Google Android 12 and full entry to the Google Play Retailer proper out of the field. The next product was the Boox Go 7 Coloration, which had a Kaleido 3 e-paper show. The large promoting factors are the bodily page-turn buttons, Android 12, Google Play and a skinny design, making it moveable.
The brand new Boox Go 6 is a small, moveable e-book reader aimed primarily at affordability. It makes use of the brand-new E INK Carta 1300 e-paper show that will increase general efficiency and page-turn pace. The 300 PPI show ensures that your books look good and don’t have any fuzzy anti-aliasing. Google Android 11 is the working system with full Google Play Retailer entry. It’s accessible for $149.99 and comes with a free case.
{Hardware}
The Onyx Boox Go 6 encompasses a 6-inch HD Carta 1300. This can be a devoted e-reader with no note-taking performance and solely a black-and-white show. The decision is 1448×1072 with 300 PPI. The display is flush with the bezel and guarded by a layer of glass. It has each heat and wonderful lighting. The color scheme of the e-reader is piano black on the back and front.
Beneath the hood is a 2.0 GHz Octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of inner storage. If this isn’t sufficient, there may be additionally an SD card slot. Due to Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz), you may surf the net and set up apps, and it has Bluetooth 5.0 for listening to audiobooks, music, and podcasts. Speak to your mates on Discord or WhatsApp with the built-in microphone. A USB-C port transfers and costs information, and a 1,500mAh Li-ion Polymer battery powers the GO 6. The scale are 148*108*6.8mm (5.8″ x 4.3″ x 0.27″) and weighs 146g (5.15oz).
The Go 6 runs Android 11 and has entry to the Play Retailer. This gives customers with all of the main studying apps or anything they need to set up. The Amazon Kindle app is optimized for Boox, so you’ll not encounter page-turn animations. If you want to sideload your content material into the inventory studying app, it helps PDF, CAJ, DJVU, CBR, CBZ, EPUB, EPUB3, AZW3, MOBI, TXT, DOC, DOCX, FB2, CHM, RTF, HTML, ZIP, PRC, PPT, PPTX.
I want the Go 6 had bodily page-turn buttons, just like the Go 7; as an alternative, the Go 6 has a pure touchscreen show. The worth is affordable and on par with the Clara BW or the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite eleventh era. The benefit of Boox is that there isn’t a walled backyard, and because it has Google Play, this can be a vital benefit over Kindle and Kobo, which promote books instantly. Many individuals go along with Boox due to its flexibility and freedom.
Software program
The Go 6 makes use of Google Android 11, which I discover bizarre as a result of the Go 7 Coloration and Go 10.3 each use Android 12.
Nevertheless, as an alternative of utilizing a vanilla model of Android Android, Onyx as an alternative makes use of Boox OS. This can be a closely skinned model that the corporate has developed, which has a sequence of brilliant and bubbly icons and a consumer interface which makes it simple to click on on when utilizing the touchscreen show. One of many methods Onyx differentiates itself from the Amazon Kindle, Rakuten Kobo or the Barnes and Noble Nook is the inclusion of Google Play. Onyx is among the few manufacturers worldwide to have Play on most of their book readers and e-notebooks. Many individuals will solely purchase an e-reader with Play because it opens up a world of customization.
The Important UI is on the backside of the display. It consists of shortcuts to your Library, Bookstore, Apps Storage and Settings. Your library solely contains books you might have sideloaded on the inventory Neoreader guide reader. When you primarily use apps, corresponding to Kindle or Kobo, the books in these apps won’t seem in your principal library. The bookstore is Onyx branded and solely contains royalty-free content material, which is the kind of stuff you’d discover on Undertaking Gutenberg. Apps are the place the pre-installed apps are, corresponding to Boox Cloud, Google Drive and plenty of others. Any apps you obtain from Google Play may even be right here. Storage will present a file listing of all of your information; inserting an SD card will show its contents. Settings are the place you will note all of your WIFI/Bluetooth and plenty of different choices, such because the variety of web page turns earlier than a full web page refresh is completed. Additionally, you will conduct firmware updates right here. Onyx tends to push out updates a couple of occasions a 12 months.
Top-of-the-line choices is the Management Centre, which you’ll entry from an icon or by tapping on the show’s high center. That is the place you may pair Bluetooth headphones or earbuds to take heed to audiobooks, music, podcasts or different audio content material. You’ll be able to entry your WIFI community with a login and password. There are additionally issues like AI assistant, Boox cloud storage, Youngsters Mode, Cut up Display, E INK Centre, Display Shot and a full web page refresh. AI Assistant is sort of a ChatGPT-style chatbot, the place you may ask questions and get solutions.
Youngsters Mode is attention-grabbing; Onyx is the one model that does this, except for Amazon. To make use of Youngsters mode, you should register or log in to your Onyx Account, after which you may tweak some settings. You’ll be able to solely have them entry stuff you need, such because the studying app or on an app-by-app foundation. Youngsters’ profiles could be named after your little one. After they log in, they received’t see any books an grownup is perhaps studying, or you may load in kid-friendly titles. In case you are an Amazon consumer, you may grant them entry to your Kindle app. There’s additionally a time choice that oldsters can set up, corresponding to how lengthy you need them to make use of the Go 10 each day, and a countdown timer will seem on the high.
A part of the management centre is an choice known as E INK Centre, which is helpful. That is the place you may management world settings to get probably the most out of your Go 6. Relying in your choice, you may make all icons and textual content darker or lighter. Need to enhance the efficiency of your gadget? That is the place you may set the totally different pace modes.
- HD Mode is designed for deep studying. Like studying printed books, you may get pleasure from extremely sharp textual content with the least ghosting.
- Below Balanced Mode, BOOX coordinated calls for for clear show and intermittent interplay. Fast display response is assured if you end up skimming books or photos.
- Quick Mode goals at a clean expertise of shopping web sites or actions that contain a lot of scrolling. Refined ghosting could happen, however responsiveness is enhanced.
- Ultrafast mode gives probably the most fast response to dynamic content material. Although some particulars could also be misplaced, it permits you to watch movies and seamlessly use totally different apps.
The first software program expertise is powerful. The whole lot you click on on is completed so lightning fast. There’s little to no lag when opening apps, studying books or utilizing apps. The pace modes permit shopping the net, studying complicated PDF recordsdata, or coding to carry out nicely.
Studying
The Go 6 is a fairly good e-book reader, however not one you’ll learn magazines or newspapers on. You primarily need to use this gadget to learn ebooks, manga, and webtoons. Flipping Pages is ultra-fast because of the Carta 1300 display and even sooner if you happen to interact in any pace modes from the E INK Management Centre. The picture high quality could be very pronounced because of the 300 PPI display.
The e-reading expertise begins with the inventory app Neoreader, the place you may side-load all of your content material with many choices for font sizes, font kind, alignment, line spacing and margins. It helps PRC, RTF, Doc, Textual content, DJVU, PDF, Mobi, FB2, EPUB, CBR and CBZ. CBZ and CBR assist is great for sideloading Manga recordsdata since that is the most well-liked on-line format. Nevertheless, Amazon delivers manga in AZW3 and Kobo/Google by way of EPUB. You don’t want to fret about varieties if you happen to set up apps corresponding to VIZ or manga apps. It’s also vital to notice that Google Play Books can also be put in by default, so you aren’t caught utilizing Neoreader by default.
The Go 6 shines if you entry Google Play and obtain your favorite apps. This offers you great flexibility and freedom to make use of no matter studying or information apps you often use in your smartphone or pill. I do know many individuals at all times set up Libby to learn eBooks or take heed to audiobooks borrowed from the general public library. The Kindle studying app is the most well-liked because it was initially developed for smartphones and tablets. The web page flip animation at all times appears good and fairly, but it surely struggles on E INK gadgets because of the refresh challenge. Because of this Onyx made enhancements to the app on a system stage to eradicate animated web page turns, so it’s seamless and strong if you flip a web page. Over time, they’ve optimized many different apps however are inclined to concentrate on the writing expertise on their intensive line of e-notes. The corporate has additionally made enhancements to a number of productiveness apps.
Onyx Boox has a bookstore on this gadget. Nevertheless, it primarily sells royalty-free books, the identical content material you’d discover simply shopping the web or accessing websites like Undertaking Gutenberg. This bookstore is designed to get folks studying instantly, however no bestsellers or books are paid for. You need to obtain devoted apps to pay for books or use Google Play Books.
When it comes proper all the way down to it, the Go 6 ought to be checked out as a devoted e-reader. This isn’t the gadget you’ll use to observe motion pictures, take heed to music, or play video games. This can be a good book reader for studying digital content material. Like an Amazon Kindle or Kobo, you get extra flexibility and freedom by way of Google Play to obtain some good studying apps.
Wrap Up
Honestly talking, this is among the occasions Onyx has hit a large foul ball into the stands behind them. They missed the mark on this unit 10 occasions over; I’ll clarify. Their new GO line is a facet variant line of gadgets they’ve marketed with numerous display sizes in 2024. They need to go 10.3, the Go 7 Coloration, and the Go 6……
None have any constant theme or cohesion to any diploma of the phrase. The Go 10.3 eliminates most options, from no glowing mild to just about being a one-trick pony. The Go 7 Coloration encompasses a spec powerhouse large with a color display and each Bell and whistle underneath the books for the next price ticket than its predecessor. And now, the Go 6 options… Effectively, a Poke 3 (and for reference, they’re on the Poke 5 now.)
What is that this gadget all about? It has a Carta 1,300 display, which now not beats anyone to the punch as 4 producers use it. There’s no color, but it surely has 300 PPI. It has Bluetooth however no audio system. It additionally has an SD card slot, which is important as a result of, out of the field, 32% of your storage is devoted to the working system. The bezels are big, wanting like one thing out of 2016, and the display is so distant out of your face that there’s a 1 mm drop shadow across the complete perimeter
This unit doesn’t even have specs on its facet both, because it’s solely rocking 2 GB of RAM, which a number of different producers have outclassed.
Hyread gaze mini = 3GB
Hisense Hireader = 4GB
The unit is liable to pretty heavy staining and solely accomplishes half the battle relating to multimedia, as there’s no audio on board. Trustworthy to god, this is among the uncommon alternatives the place Onyx involves the celebration with an pointless rehash of one thing previous, outdated, and overdone, and this exists as some of the uncharacteristic Onyx merchandise we’ve ever seen
Onyx Boox Go 6
$179.99
Professionals
- 300 PPI Show
- E INK Carta 1300
- Android 11 + Google Play
- Reasonably priced
- SD card
Cons
- Paltry RAM
- No Web page-turns
- No Audio system
- Feels Outdated
- Fabricated from low cost plastic
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the previous fifteen years. Newspapers and web sites such because the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Publish and the New York Occasions have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
