Onyx Boox Go Color 7 Gen II

Design

The Boox Go Color 7 Gen II is compact and portable, a perfect size for everyday reading. Its lightweight design makes it comfortable to use for longer periods.

Reviewers appreciated the redesigned smaller, rounded, and separated page-turn buttons that “make the Gen II a touch more ergonomic,” according to TechRadar.

Lacking waterproofing, it requires careful handling around water, but its textured rear panel enhances grip.

Screen

Many find the screen performance disappointing, especially compared to its predecessors or other color eReaders. Its 7-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 display shows text that reviewers call “fuzzy” and unsatisfactory.

As noted by TechRadar, the yellow hue of the screen impacts color readings negatively, and the frontlight further worsens this effect, leaving comics with a “jaundiced look.”

While it offers some color saturation, the trade-off is losing finer details in darker areas, leading users to describe the overall reading experience as subpar.

Storage

With 64GB of internal storage, you can easily carry thousands of ebooks or hundreds of comics. Audiobooks take up more space, but the generous capacity of this device ensures you have options on hand.

If you find you need more space, the microSD card slot lets you add additional storage, perfect for those with large or varied libraries.

Reviewers appreciate this flexibility, with one noting its ability to “handle a sprawling eBook collection or carry around PDFs and audiobooks.”

Battery Life

The battery life on this ereader can be a bit demanding compared to others.

Intensive use, like heavy apps and frontlighting, could have you reaching for the charger every few days.

But its USB-C charging port ensures quick power-ups, bringing it to full charge in under two hours, says TechRadar.

Software & File Format Support

The eReader runs on an open Android system, supporting a wide range of file formats such as PDFs, EPUBs, DOCX, HTML, CBR, CBZ, and more. Various image and audio formats are also supported, including PNG, TIFF, and MP3.

This flexibility lets you source and read eBooks from any retailer or platform supporting these formats, making it easy to access and manage your library through multiple apps available on Google Play.

“The software issues I’ve had with the previous generation have been fixed,” experts shared, highlighting improvements in file transfer efficiency via USB-OTG.

Extras

The Boox Go Color 7 Gen II offers stylus support, but there’s a catch. The Boox InkSense Stylus, which enhances your productivity by allowing you to jot down quick notes or annotate PDFs, is sold separately and currently ‘sold out everywhere,’ placing a limitation on users who want to utilize its note-taking features, as highlighted by an expert.

While users wait for an official replacement stylus to be available, they might find it challenging to experience the full capabilities of this e-reader. However, third-party retailers or existing stock might still offer some temporary solutions for the proactive shopper.

The Bottom Line

The device offers writing capabilities with an Android system, but the “lackluster reading experience” due to a yellow hue and ghosting is a downside, as noted by TechRadar. The added stylus feature enhances functionality, yet its only pen option has been discontinued, leaving note-taking prospects uncertain. The open Android system allows access to various apps, but frequent battery drains can impact usability, especially for heavier users. If vibrant colors and longer reads are your top criteria, there might be better choices.