Reading your favorite book on an E Ink tablet is much easier on your eyes than a traditional tablet thanks to paper-like E Ink displays. The best E Ink tablets offer a mix of useful features beyond the purpose of just reading. You can use them for all sorts of things such as drawing, writing, listening to audiobooks, and exploring the internet.
The best E Ink tablet that offers all these features in one unified body is the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C Pro, the successor to the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C. It has a large and beautiful screen that can display color and has writing functionality that delivers a satisfying pen-and-paper feel. As a bonus, it also has keyboard support! If you love the look and feel of traditional reading and writing mediums, this tablet will surely capture your heart. There are plenty more e-paper tabs out there, but the Tab Ultra C Pro gives you the most value for money and performs consistently well.
If you’re interested in this curious blend of traditional and modern mediums, I’ve rounded off the best options available to you right now. As a certified book nerd slash geek (and proud of it), I have always been a huge fan of E Ink technology. The ability to carry hundreds and thousands of books around in a sleek tablet is the stuff seven-year-old me would have drooled over. Twenty years later, I’m still drooling over the latest mind-boggling e-paper devices. My love for this branch of tech and my experience testing dozens of models from various brands are two very good reasons for you to trust my expertise.
Namerah enjoys geeking out over accessories, gadgets, and all sorts of smart tech. She has tested hundreds of phones and accessories over the last six years, and counting. She spends her time guzzling coffee, writing, casual gaming, and cuddling with her furry best friends.
At a glance
1. Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C Pro
Best overall
The Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C Pro undercuts Amazon’s pricing while offering a lot more than its most powerful e-reader. It has a color e-ink display, the Google Play Store, stylus compatibility, and USB-C charging, and it has weeks of battery life. This sleek and lightweight tab is easily the best overall choice.
Read more below.
2. Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
Best Kindle
The 11th-generation Amazon Kindle Paperwhite goes on and on for weeks, has brilliant contrast, can withstand a dunk in the pool, and it costs less than $150. If reading’s the only thing on your mind, pick the Kindle Paperwhite.
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3. Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C
Best mid-range
Onyx Boox offers a wide assortment of mid-range and high-end e-ink tablets. The Note Air 3 C is one of the brand’s more affordable options. It offers the features of a typical Android tablet and a color display. Note-taking and scribbling are good fun on this, especially as you can use any app of your choice.
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Best small
Can you imagine replacing your smartphone with a bite-sized e-paper tablet instead? The teensy little Onyx Boox Palma makes it possible, bringing you a splash-proof e-reader with Android apps, SIM connectivity, and weeks of battery life.
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Best entry-level
No matter your budget, the entry-level Amazon Kindle will fit it easily. This is the only e-ink tablet that you can purchase for just about $100. The resolution is crisp, the battery is insane, and you get USB-C charging.
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Best extra large
Looking for a larger viewing experience? Try the glorious Onyx Boox Tab X for size. This gigantic 13.3-inch e-paper tablet is impossibly thin and lightweight, comes with stylus support, and has all the best features that make an Onyx Boox tablet so famous.
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Best overall
While most E Ink displays tend to focus on doing one thing, the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C Pro does it all. Successor to the Tab Ultra C, the Tab Ultra C Pro displays 4,096 colors on its 10.3-inch Kaleido 3 display, which is unusual for most E Ink tablets. Thanks to the accompanying stylus, you can view in full color and even draw, highlight, or jot down notes in different shades. The Tab Ultra C Pro’s touch function for the stylus is powered by Wacom, the company that makes the best drawing tablets. It imitates the traditional blue feel of writing on paper with a pen.
Onyx Boox really took things to the next level by adding more gear under the Tab Ultra C Pro’s hood. This stunningly slim tablet runs Android 12 out of the box so that you can install and use apps from the Google Play Store. It has 6GB of RAM, 128GB of onboard storage, a microSD slot, a 16MP camera, stereo speakers, a mic, a USB Type-C port that supports fast charging, and a set of speakers. Amazingly, the 4,600mAh battery can last for a week or two with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in full use. The Boox Tab Ultra C Pro is the complete package; it is almost a full-blown Android tablet.
Unfortunately, if you want the complete package, you’ll have to pay for it since this tablet isn’t exactly cheap in comparison to “normal” tablets. It also lacks water and dust resistance, which is a bummer, and E Ink displays are famously dim in the sun. We believe you can live with these shortcomings as the combination of features in the Tab Ultra C Pro is just too good. Unlike competitors such as the Kindle Scribe, it provides more value and has so much more to offer.
Best for reading
For many years, Amazon has dominated the e-reader market with its Kindle line of reading tablets, and for a good reason: Kindle e-readers are excellent devices, and their displays have LED backlighting. The Kindle Paperwhite is the absolute best Amazon Kindle e-reader, which makes it the best E Ink tablet for reading.
The 2021 iteration of the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite has IPX8 waterproof certification, so you don’t have to worry about getting it wet. It also has five adjustable LED backlights, so it’s fairly bright in sunlight. Its 6-inch 300ppi E Ink screen is a delight to look at and replicates paper very nicely. Audible integration makes it the perfect companion for lazy beach days when you want to sunbathe with your eyes closed. You can connect a pair of Bluetooth wireless earbuds and listen to audiobooks in peace.
Amazon introduced many different colors for the Kindle Paperwhite, so you have a lot of variety. There’s 8GB or 16GB of internal storage, which is enough to store thousands of e-books. The battery life is excellent, and you get a USB-C charging port. Amazon sweetened the deal by setting a low price, but you’ll need to spend a little extra cash for the ad-free version. If you’re an avid reader, you won’t be disappointed by the Kindle Paperwhite. Some file formats aren’t supported, though Amazon did introduce EPUB compatibility to compensate.
Best mid-range
At $500, the Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C improves on the fantastic Onyx Boox Note Air 3 by retaining its value-packed features but bumping the display to a colorful one. Onyx Boox tablets beat Amazon, Kobo, and every competitor easily because they all have the Google Play Store and run Android 12.
The Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C has a 10.3-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 display that can produce 4096 colors and has excellent contrast and a lovely crispness to it. It comes with a battery-free stylus that registers 4,096 degrees of pressure, and you get native optical character recognition (OCR). This is such a vital feature for any tablet, whether it’s an e-ink device or a full-blown traditional Android or iOS tablet. You also get native OCR or handwriting recognition and conversion with the Note Air 3 C, something even the Kindle Scribe doesn’t offer properly.
Apart from the stylus and excellent e-paper screen, the Note Air 3 C has all the advantages of e-ink tablets and e-readers, as well as a few extras. Its 3,700mAh cell provides weeks of battery life, and it has a USB-C port with OTG support, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, support for tons of file formats, speakers, and even a microphone! You can even buy a keyboard case separately to enable typing input.
When looking for a writing tablet with an e-paper display, the Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C is easily the winning contender. This is saying something, considering the Note Air 3 C’s foes include the Amazon Kindle Scribe and the ReMarkable 2. If you don’t mind the lack of water resistance and the need to buy the keyboard case separately, this is the e-ink tablet to get for $500.
Best small
The Onyx Boox Palma is more of an E Ink smartphone than an E Ink tablet. It has a compact form factor enabling you to carry it around with you in your pocket. The sub-$300 price tag might feel a bit high for the size, and you could easily get a basic entry-level Kindle for less than half the price. However, no Kindle comes with the Google Play Store, which is only one of the many enticing draws of the Boox Palma.
The Boox Palma has a microphone, speakers, and all the fancy schmancy connectivity options that full-fledged Android tablets have, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The only connectivity feature missing is cellular support really.
You get Android 11 and the Google Play Store pre-installed, granting you access to millions of apps. And because the device uses a B&W E Ink display, the battery literally lasts for months! The 128GB of native storage is insane, but if that somehow isn’t enough for you, you also get a microSD card slot and USB-C OTG support for USB-C thumb drives.
It’s hard to find another handheld e-ink device that’s this capable because honestly, there isn’t one! The Palma is one of a kind.
Best entry-level
E Ink tablet lovers out there on a budget can still get one for a nifty price. The entry-level Amazon Kindle (2022) is a budget e-reader sporting a 6-inch 300ppi e-paper display. It doesn’t have many fancy features like a waterproof rating or Sudoku, but it can support a healthy number of file formats and looks brilliant.
It isn’t that bright in sunlight, but the adjustable front light is handy for reading at night. The basic Amazon Kindle has some more no-nonsense specs like 16GB of storage, fantastic battery life, Wi-Fi, and audiobook support. If you don’t want to use the Kindle app, you can transfer files to the Amazon Kindle (2022) e-reader from your PC.
In comparison to almost every other e-paper device out there, the Amazon Kindle is the winner, hands down, when it comes to price. The base model Kindle performs a tad bit slower, and it doesn’t have waterproofing, but it is still the best E Ink tablet for reading on a tight budget.
Best extra large
Onyx Boox has ventured into all corners of the e-paper tablet world, giving us the tiniest of devices like the Boox Palma and the biggest of slabs with the Onyx Boox Tab X. This gigantic 13.3-inch E Ink tablet doesn’t display color, but the viewing experience is sublime nonetheless. This is the most premium Android tablet with an E Ink display made by the brand.
I tested the Tab X and was very impressed by its thinness and lightweight build. The tablet is quite literally as slim as a tea biscuit! And this narrow waist does not impede the tablet’s performance in any way. Apart from that, the Tab X comes with all the signature features of Onyx Boox devices such as Android, the Play Store, a speaker, a mic, and a stylus.
If the 128GB of onboard storage isn’t enough for all your documents, e-books, graphic novels, and apps, then the USB-C OTG feature should help you expand the storage even further. There’s no microSD slot, but that shouldn’t be a big issue all things considered. The one major drawback here is the morbidly expensive price tag. If you can afford it, you won’t have much to complain about.
Honorable mentions
There are so many more wonderful e-paper tablets that didn’t make the cut as the top six. However, there are some honorable mentions that deserve to be named at the very least. If you need something extremely niche and are interested in expanding your options even more, here are a few noteworthy extras to consider.
Best premium writing tablet
A niche tablet with limited functionality may seem too rich for your blood, but wait until you write on the ReMarkable 2. This is the best premium tablet built for writing, setting the industry standard for stylus sensitivity and feel. It’s really expensive, which is why I didn’t deem it worthy enough to rank among the top six E Ink tablets. However, it’s a good product in itself.
Best under $300
An E Ink tablet with a color display for less than $300? No, you’re not dreaming. The cheap and cheerful Bigme B751C Color makes this possible, getting you a 7-inch E INK Carta 1200 display with a stylus, Android 11, and a microSD slot at an agreeable price. The UI isn’t as smooth or intuitive as Onyx Boox, but the low price demands some compromise.
Best Kindle with a stylus
Amazon specializes in the budget segment of Android tablets, so the upper-tier Kindle Scribe is a surprise. Despite the lack of the Play Store, the Kindle Scribe is a fantastic e-reader and note-taking E Ink tablet. The price isn’t the best, but the battery life and build quality are excellent.
How to choose
The best all-around E Ink tablet is multifunctional
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After staring at bright screens day in and day out, your eyes really need a break. The best E Ink tablet not only provides relief but also allows you to carry out various tasks. Pick one based on your specific needs. If you intend to read basic ebooks, an entry-level e-reader should be fine. But, if you intend to do more like drawing and taking notes, take your use cases into consideration before making a final choice.
The Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C Pro is the best E Ink tablet owing to its fabulous soft colors, extremely sleek and lightweight build, and multitasking capabilities. It isn’t limited to just being an e-reader, but if you want, you can use it for that purpose. But if need be, you can also use it to take down notes, sketch some lovely drawings, or underline passages of text.
Let’s also not forget that you get native optical character recognition with the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C Pro, enabling you to convert your handwriting into digital text in real-time, whether it’s to use the search bar in the Google Play Store or to use the search function in your handwritten notes. This alone is a remarkable feat for any decent tablet with a stylus.
The Tab Ultra C Pro accommodates office use as well as home use. You don’t have to sacrifice battery life or connectivity. It even has stereo speakers and a mic, which no other electronic ink tablet on this list offers. What’s even more brilliant is its ability to run almost any Android app. You can actually use it as a full-fledged tablet for most tasks related to reading and writing. The Tab Ultra C Pro pushes the boundaries of an E Ink tablet in the best sense, which is why it is the best one you can buy.