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 substitute for smartphone doomscrolling, for its easy-to-read show and handiness. I believed that this small tablet-like studying gadget would have the identical impact. Sadly, the Boox Go 6 e-ink reader didn’t convert me to a full-time person.

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 conventional, tangible guide. It made me wait, and I hate ready. It doesn’t matter what I needed to learn, I needed to await 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 practically 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 will be so irritating; it virtually 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 the way 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 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 cellular apps: the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Instances.

The Go 6’s Android software program affords built-in entry to the Google Play Retailer with out requiring a third-party resolution. Establishing a Google account on the gadget is simple, after which you’ll be able to 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 will not be the person interface you’re used to on a smartphone. As an example, there are two further 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 should you drag down from the higher left aspect of the display. The fast settings can be found on the higher proper aspect. It’s fluid should you’ve used Android on a pill, although it’s typically felt sluggish on the Go 6.

Whereas I bought the San Francisco Chronicle loaded to learn on the Onyx Boox Go 6, I haven’t been in a position to sync up the New York Instances—arguably the subscription the place I’m making an attempt to get my bang for the buck. There appears to be an authentication situation I haven’t been in a position to troubleshoot but. (The browser occasions 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 occasions the Go 6 would crash on me mid-scroll. It helps that cellular information apps of this sort are fairly rudimentary. It’s simply black textual content on a white background. Relatedly, the Go 6 has extra issue scrolling should you go into darkish mode. I attempted perusing Reddit by way of the Chrome browser on the Go 6 that approach, however the display couldn’t sustain with every web page soar.

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 could 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, but it surely’s tempered. I seen it pushes solely the latest alert for the reason that 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 an alternative, the Go 6 makes use of BooxDrop, which creates just a little WiFi direct/FTP scenario the place you’ll be able to 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 would possibly have already got saved up.

What’s Inside

The Go 6 is a lighter gadget than the Kindle Paperwhite by practically two ounces. Its 6-inch E Ink HD Carta 1300 show has a 1,448 by 1,072 decision. There are bezels on the gadget, 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 bundle is, and I liked the appear and feel of the gadget 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 gadget you’d use, although issues run extra easily should you’re not leaping round between screens and apps. I discovered it greatest to navigate to the app or title I needed to make use of after which preserve it there. Anytime I attempted to multitask, I’d get just a little flustered, remembering the entire level of this gadget 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 can see 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 an honest various to a locked-in Kindle Paperwhite for a similar value. However simply because it runs Android doesn’t imply it runs Android apps. The apps present further entry exterior an ecosystem of e-books over an in any other case plain e-reader. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t recommend this gadget 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 foul alternative. Simply mood your expectations. Do not forget that the e-ink display will not be the identical as a smartphone. However the payoff is an unimaginable battery life for an e-reader—as much as 5 days consecutive days of studying off the charger in my testing—and the flexibility to load up a digital library of books, comics, and magazines onto one devoted gadget. On the very least, the Boox Go 6 reminds you to maneuver slower than the tempo of every part else nowadays, even in case you are ready some time for the web page to load.