Onyx Boox Nova3 Color

Onyx Boox Nova3 Color: At a Glance

Alongside the PocketBook Color, the Onyx Boox Poke2 Color was one of the first eBook readers in 2020 to feature an E Ink Kaleido display. While this then-new display technology left a much more refined impression compared to the E Ink Triton technology a few years earlier, there were still some teething problems. On closer inspection, these actually suggested it might be better to wait for another one or two display generations before making a purchase—unless you absolutely needed a color E Ink screen.

With the Onyx Boox Nova3 Color, the second generation of Onyx color eReaders launched in 2021. This device now uses E Ink Kaleido Plus as its display technology.

As with the Boox Poke2 Color, it hit the market almost simultaneously with the PocketBook InkPad Color, so both Onyx and PocketBook can rightfully be named as pioneers of the Kaleido technology.

E Ink Kaleido Plus with Improved Viewing Angles

After a brief period of confusion—when the second generation of Kaleido technology was initially marketed as “new Kaleido”—the official name was later changed to Kaleido Plus.

This is the technology powering the Onyx Boox Nova3 Color, bringing a significant improvement: color rendering is now much more stable at different viewing angles. When looking at the display from the side, the colors no longer shift. In the first Kaleido generation, this color shift was still clearly noticeable on one axis (although less pronounced than it was with E Ink Triton).

This leap forward was achieved by further reducing the distance between the RGB subpixels and the E Ink display beneath them. This reduction also contributes to better color saturation.

Larger Display, Same Pixel Density

The screen size has increased to 7.8 inches, but the pixel density remains at 300 ppi. This means the display resolution is 1872×1404 pixels—at least for the E Ink part of the screen.

The RGB color layer still only provides 100 ppi. In everyday use, this lower resolution is most noticeable when viewing colored text. Colored areas tend to look a bit pixelated, especially around the edges.

The screen lighting is exclusively white, which means you can’t adjust the color temperature on the Onyx Boox Nova3 Color. That option only arrives with the Onyx Boox Nova Air C.

Unfortunately, Kaleido Plus wasn’t able to eliminate the biggest drawback of the first generation: the RGB subpixels are still always visible as tiny dark dots. Even when displaying plain black-and-white text, you can still see the subpixel matrix. Right now, that makes a Kaleido display more of a second choice for pure reading (without comics or manga).

Well Equipped

Otherwise, though, there’s little to complain about: the Onyx Boox Nova3 Color runs on Android 10, a relatively modern version of the operating system. This means most current apps work smoothly. The color display also makes using Android apps far more appealing than on a monochrome E Ink screen.

One limiting factor is the inherently slow response time of the E Ink display. There’s a handy software workaround for this, though: you can easily switch the E Ink display mode to speed up refresh rates significantly. That extra speed, however, comes at the expense of display quality.

You can operate the device via the capacitive touchscreen or by using a WACOM stylus.

Features include a built-in speaker, a microphone, Bluetooth, and WiFi. The eBook reader is powered by an octa-core CPU with 3 GB of RAM, so even complex apps should run without issue. The 3,150 mAh battery delivers long runtimes, and the generous 32 GB of internal storage is more than sufficient.

Conclusion

All in all, the Onyx Boox Nova3 Color is an intriguing eBook reader that primarily targets early adopters eager to try out the latest technology. While E Ink Kaleido Plus definitely enhances the Android eReader experience, for purely reading purposes it still has drawbacks that make it hard to recommend to the average user—especially considering the price tag of 320 euros is far from a bargain.