The Onyx Boox Go 6 Did Not Free Me From the Kindle Retailer’s Grip

I actually, actually, needed to love the Boox Go 6 e-reader. Most reviewers had been enthusiastic in regards to the Boox Palma, the e-ink alternative for smartphone doomscrolling, for its easy-to-read show and handiness. I assumed that this small tablet-like studying system would have the identical impact. Sadly, the Boox Go 6 e-ink reader didn’t convert me to a full-time consumer.

The Boox Go 6’s e-ink display isn’t an issue for me—I just like the 6-inch show, which options an adjustable backlight and brightness. Textual content and particulars on the display seem sharp and crisp even with the backlight turned off. However the show’s gradual refresh charge powered by a middling processor made my studying expertise slower than a standard, tangible e book. It made me wait, and I hate ready. It doesn’t matter what I needed to learn, I needed to anticipate the display to catch as much as my fingerpress earlier than the e-reader would load the specified content material. It did this for ebooks I saved domestically, books I’d borrowed from Libby, and some different apps I attempted out over the thrill of getting almost unfettered entry to the Google Play Retailer. One of many promoting factors of the Go 6 is that it runs Android, making it simpler to load third-party apps and shops. However interacting with the Boox Go 6 may be so irritating; it nearly doesn’t make the open nature of its software program alluring, in any case.

Open Studying

The 2021-era Kindle Paperwhite, the opposite e-reader in my stead, additionally has a cushty show and slim profile. I hoped to swap it out for the Onyx Boox Go 6, which doesn’t restrict me to the Kindle library and its companions. I had way back discovered tips on how to add DRM-free comics and graphic novels to a Kindle by way of Calibre, a Home windows app, however I’m nonetheless lacking a few third-party libraries I’d prefer to have readily available, like Google Play Books, which I’ve been utilizing for a very long time on Android, and this one app I began utilizing to seize Romanian ebooks. The Play Retailer additionally lets me learn my newspapers by way of their cell apps: the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Occasions.

The Go 6’s Android software program presents built-in entry to the Google Play Retailer with out requiring a third-party resolution. Organising a Google account on the system is straightforward, after which you may entry the Google Play Retailer and obtain apps. However it’s not a copy-and-paste Android expertise. The model of Android 11 that runs on the Go 6 shouldn’t be the consumer interface you’re used to on a smartphone. As an example, there are two extra buttons within the navigation bar for refreshing the web page and accessing the settings—you’ll be utilizing that refresh button fairly a bit, relying on the content material you’re perusing. The notifications panel drops in the event you drag down from the higher left facet of the display. The fast settings can be found on the higher proper facet. It’s fluid in the event you’ve used Android on a pill, although it’s usually felt sluggish on the Go 6.

Whereas I received the San Francisco Chronicle loaded to learn on the Onyx Boox Go 6, I haven’t been capable of sync up the New York Occasions—arguably the subscription the place I’m making an attempt to get my bang for the buck. There appears to be an authentication concern I haven’t been capable of troubleshoot but. (The browser instances out when I attempt to log in.) On the very least, what I’ve managed to expertise studying the Chronicle app has been comparatively pain-free, save for the instances the Go 6 would crash on me mid-scroll. It helps that cell information apps of this sort are fairly rudimentary. It’s simply black textual content on a white background. Relatedly, the Go 6 has extra problem scrolling in the event you go into darkish mode. I attempted perusing Reddit by way of the Chrome browser on the Go 6 that manner, however the display couldn’t sustain with every web page bounce.

The one saving grace of the Go 6’s frequent sluggishness is that the e-reader doesn’t “catch up” on notifications for the Android apps you will have put in. When the e-reader is off and turned on once more, you’re not instantly bombarded by ineffective notifications for stuff from days or even weeks in the past. You do get push notifications from information apps that assist it, however it’s tempered. I seen it pushes solely the latest alert because the display has been on. 

Loading books on the Boox Go 6 in any other case is quick, although not as simple as dragging and dropping recordsdata from level A to level B utilizing a pc. As a substitute, the Go 6 makes use of BooxDrop, which creates a bit WiFi direct/FTP scenario the place you may drag and drop recordsdata by way of the browser. I loaded PDFs of classic magazines from the late ’90s and DRM-free comics I bought from SilverSprocket.  I additionally loaded up conventional CBR and EPUB recordsdata I’ve collected over time. The Go 6 comes with a default 32GB of onboard storage. There’s a microSD slot if you wish to add extra, which I discovered is the simplest methodology for onboarding a large library of ebooks you may have already got saved up.

What’s Inside

The Go 6 is a lighter system than the Kindle Paperwhite by almost two ounces. Its 6-inch E Ink HD Carta 1300 show has a 1,448 by 1,072 decision. There are bezels on the system, which is ok as a result of I prefer to have a little bit of chassis to carry onto when mendacity on my again. Boox additionally despatched over the magnetic cowl case to guard it. I like how svelte the entire package deal is, and I cherished the feel and appear of the system alongside my different on a regular basis carry.

The Go 6 has a 2GHz octa-core processor powering it up, plus 2GB of RAM, which is why it’s not quick. It’s a slower expertise than any early-generation Android system you’d use, although issues run extra easily in the event you’re not leaping round between screens and apps. I discovered it finest to navigate to the app or title I needed to make use of after which hold it there. Anytime I attempted to multitask, I’d get a bit flustered, remembering the entire level of this system is to decelerate. I needed to persistently remind myself that there was a 14GB distinction in reminiscence between this cute little e-reader and my Pixel 9 Professional smartphone and that I wanted to behave the half. 

Ought to You Purchase the Boox Go 6?

You’ll find the Onyx Boox Go 6 at Goal and Wal-Mart for $150, about as a lot as the newest Kindle Paperwhite on Amazon. The Go 6 is a good different to a locked-in Kindle Paperwhite for a similar worth. However simply because it runs Android doesn’t imply it runs Android apps. The apps present extra entry exterior an ecosystem of e-books over an in any other case plain e-reader. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t counsel this system for somebody new to e-books or digital studying. 

If you’re in search of a platform-agnostic, non-OLED resolution to studying at evening, the Go 6 isn’t a nasty selection. Simply mood your expectations. Keep in mind that the e-ink display shouldn’t be the identical as a smartphone. However the payoff is an unbelievable battery life for an e-reader—as much as 5 days consecutive days of studying off the charger in my testing—and the power to load up a digital library of books, comics, and magazines onto one devoted system. On the very least, the Boox Go 6 reminds you to maneuver slower than the tempo of the whole lot else lately, even in case you are ready some time for the web page to load.