The new Boox Go 10.3 is an eReader I genuinely don't want to put down

A good cup of coffee, a cozy blanket, not a single deadline in sight, and a book that's been sitting on your to-be-read pile for far too long. Man, I just described every reader's idea of a perfect afternoon. The first "tech" thing I ever begged my parents for wasn't a phone, laptop, or an iPad. Instead, I asked for a Kindle eReader. I don't think they fully understood what they were signing up for, but they got it for me anyway, and that was the beginning of the end.

Fast forward to now, and I'm in a very privileged position where I have more eReaders on my desk than I know what to do with. Not only does this mean I have a solid excuse to read more and label it as work, but it also means I've used these devices enough to know exactly what separates a good eReader from a great one. I've been daily driving Boox's latest launch, the Go 10.3 Gen II, for a few weeks now, and it might just be my favorite eReader yet (though not without a couple of caveats).

About this review: Onyx provided MUO with the Boox Go 10.3 (Gen II) for review. The company had no input in this article. All views are my own.

Boox Go 10.3 (Gen II) Pricing and Availability

The Go 10.3 Gen II comes in two models: a standard version without a front light, and a Lumi version that adds an adjustable dual-tone front light for reading in dim environments.

You can purchase both of these models from Onyx Boox's official website, as well as through retailers like Amazon. The standard model retails for $419.99 and the Lumi for $449.99. Both include the InkSense Plus stylus, a magnetic case, replaceable pen tips, and a USB-C cable in the box. Competitors typically don't bundle accessories like the case and stylus at this price point, so it's always nice to see.

On the Boox website, you'll also find the option to choose between ordering from the US or Hong Kong warehouse. If you pick Hong Kong, the prices drop slightly — the standard model goes down to $399.99, and the Lumi to around $429.99. However, depending on where you live, ordering from the Hong Kong warehouse might incur customs duties and end up increasing the total cost, so it's worth factoring that in before placing your order.

I love how minimalist yet refined this thing is

Thin enough to forget it's there, pretty enough that you won't

I was daily driving the Boox Note Air 5C before this, and the Note Air 4C before that. While I didn't get to try out the Gen 1 Go, I knew I was going to be obsessed with the Go 10.3 Gen II the moment I pulled it out of the box. It's noticeably thinner, lighter, and has this sleek, clean profile that Boox's other devices simply don't have. At just 4.6mm thick (and 4.8mm for the Lumi version), it genuinely feels like you're holding a single pad of paper rather than a tablet. The smooth, rounded aluminum edges, the silver-metallic machining, and the fact that Boox left its logo off the front entirely, all add up to something that feels more refined than most eReaders I've used.

The textured back is a small detail, but it deserves its own shoutout too. Beyond making the tablet look gorgeous, it actually gives it real grip on a desk. This sounds minor until you've dealt with an eReader sliding around every time you try to write on it, eventually making its way to your floor (don't ask me how I know this). The Go 10.3 is one of those rare devices I just want to leave sitting on my desk without a case, purely because it looks that good.

While I'm speaking of the case, I wish I could say the same about it. The included magnetic folio does the job, but it doesn't match the polish of the tablet itself. The detachable magnetic flap is a bit clumsy and easy to lose, and it doesn't keep the stylus as secure as I'd like during transit. Just as with the Note Air 5C's case, I'm also just not a fan of the flap being a separate piece to begin with. It feels like something that should've been built into the case rather than left to dangle and eventually go missing.

One pretty major thing is the Go 10.3 Gen II doesn't have physical volume buttons (which typically double as page-turn buttons on a lot of other eReaders). That means you'll need to pull up the on-screen menu to adjust volume, and losing dedicated page-turn buttons while reading is a bit annoying. That said, if you read my Note Air 5C review, you'll know the volume buttons on that device caused more headaches than they solved. They sat right where the stylus magnetically attaches, meaning that snapping the pen to the side would press the volume buttons, flip pages on its own, and once even created over 200 pages in a single notebook. So yeah, I'll take the trade-off given that experience.

I have no complaints about the reading experience

Sharp, crisp, and easy on the eyes

Of course, the whole point of an eReader is the reading experience, and the Go 10.3 Gen II nails it. The 10.3-inch monochrome display is sharp, crisp, and easy on the eyes for long reading sessions. Since you have access to the full Play Store, you're not stuck with one reading app's layout or typography choices.

Despite how much I rant about Amazon's walled garden, the Kindle app has always been my preferred reading app, so that's what I rely on most. Boox did send me the Lumi version to review, which comes with an adjustable dual-tone front light. It's a welcome addition, especially since the original Go 10.3 was criticized for not having one, and being able to read comfortably in dim lighting without an external light source makes a huge difference.

If there's one thing I do miss here though, it's color. Being able to see book covers, color-coded highlights, and illustrations the way they're meant to look is something I got spoiled by on the Note Air 5C, and going back to grayscale does take a little getting used to (and the images above will tell you exactly what I mean).

I don't hate the stylus as much as everyone else does

The controversial pen that won me over anyway

Given it's been a minute since the Boox Go 10.3 Gen II dropped, if you've been anywhere near the eReader community lately, you'll know the Go 10.3 Gen II's switch from Wacom EMR to Boox's InkSense Plus active stylus has been... controversial, to put it mildly. If you aren't familiar with what I'm talking about, the Gen 1 shipped with a Wacom EMR pen. This is a battery-free stylus that never needed charging and was widely interchangeable with other EMR pens on the market. I've written a few articles about why E Ink tablets are better than iPads and Kindles, and I often mention how a stylus that doesn't need to be charged every few hours like the Apple Pencil is a huge win.

However, the Gen II ditches that entirely in favor of Boox's InkSense Plus, an active capacitive stylus that needs USB-C charging and only works with a handful of Boox devices. So yes, I do see the irony in me now defending a stylus that goes against something I've actively championed in my own writing. But having already used the InkSense Plus with the Boox Palma 2 Pro for a while before this, I think I've just gotten used to it, and honestly, I've come around on it.

The InkSense Plus feels more premium and sturdy than Boox's older EMR pens, which always felt a bit like toys to me. Yes, I absolutely hate that I now have another accessory I need to worry about charging. But the battery life has been excellent. I've only charged it once since I got the Go 10.3 Gen II, and my point about not needing to charge a stylus every few hours like the Apple Pencil still stands. The InkSense Plus is nowhere near that level of needy. Given that the stylus attaches to the tablet magnetically, it would've been nice if it could charge that way too.

The writing experience on the Go 10.3 is great too. It's one of the more paper-like writing experiences I've had on an eReader, and paired with the InkSense Plus's firmer, pointier tip, it genuinely feels closer to putting pen to paper than most E Ink tablets I've used. Boox's native Notes app is great too (I say this as someone used to GoodNotes), and gives you multiple brush types with pressure sensitivity, layer support, shape correction that can snap your wobbly rectangles into perfect ones, and even an infinite canvas mode for mind maps and brainstorming. That said, palm rejection isn't perfect. Every now and then, the screen would register my hand before the pen tip and trigger an accidental page turn or zoom.

There's one reason why I prefer the Note Air 5C for note-taking though, and it's the same as above: the color display. I know a lot of people aren't fans of color E Ink displays, but I am a huge fan of them. I love how pastel colors look, the feeling of color-coding my highlights when reading, and of course, being able to use different colored pens and markers when taking notes. The Go 10.3 Gen II has a monochrome display, and while that's a win when it comes to sharpness, readability, and battery life, it does mean all those colorful notes and highlights are reduced to shades of gray, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss that.

The best part about this eReader isn't any different from other Boox devices

It's an Android tablet that doesn't want you to know it's an Android tablet

Whenever I talk about Boox eReaders, the first point I always make is that these aren't just eReaders. They're full Android tablets with E Ink screens. I intentionally didn't have this as the first section of this review, because yet again, my favorite part about the Boox Go 10.3 Gen II applies to every other Boox device too.

But it's still worth saying: the Go 10.3 Gen II runs Android, which means you're not locked into a single bookstore or ecosystem the way you are with a Kindle. You can install the Kindle app, Libby, Google Play Books, Kobo, whatever you want. If you feel like installing Instagram and TikTok, you can certainly do that too. Should you? I wouldn't recommend it since E Ink and doomscrrolling are definitely not a match made in heaven. But the option is there, and that's what makes Boox devices so powerful. What's interesting is that despite being a full Android tablet under the hood, it doesn't really feel like one. Boox doesn't even prompt you to sign into a Google account during setup!

Speaking of Android specifically, the Gen 1 ran Android 12, while the Gen II bumps that up to Android 15, which means better app compatibility, longer software support, and Boox is committing to three years of firmware updates. If you're choosing between the two generations, that alone is a pretty compelling reason to go with the Gen II.

The battery life is pretty great too

No color display, no BSR, no problem

E-ink devices have great battery lives, and Boox devices are no exception. However, when I reviewed the Note Air 5C, I mentioned that I had some complaints about its battery life. It was far better than an iPad, but couldn't touch a Kindle. The Go 10.3 Gen II packs the exact same 3,700mAh battery, but here's the thing: it doesn't have a color E Ink display, and it doesn't have Boox's Super Refresh Technology (BSR). Both of those are significant battery drains, and without them, the Go 10.3 Gen II stretches that same battery a lot further.

During finals, and I'll caveat this by saying I'm a CS major, so my note-taking wasn't exactly heavy, I got about a week of note-taking, read three fairly long books, and even used the clock app as a pomodoro timer throughout, all on a single charge. That's noticeably better than what I was getting on the Note Air 5C with the same battery capacity.

The display also helps in a less obvious way. Because it's a monochrome panel rather than color E Ink, it's significantly more readable at lower brightness settings. I've been keeping the front light at or near the minimum most of the time and it's still perfectly comfortable to read — which, of course, helps the battery even more. I've included a photo below with the lights off and the brightness set to its lowest, and you can tell the Go's display is still very readable even in those conditions.

Should you buy the Boox Go 10.3 (Gen II)?

You should buy the Boox Go 10.3 (Gen II) if:

• You want a premium, lightweight eReader that doubles as a note-taking tablet without the bulk of Boox's higher-end device
• You want full Android flexibility with access to any reading app on the Play Store
• You want to browse the web without the eye strain of a traditional screen

You should NOT buy the Boox Go 10.3 (Gen II) if:

• Color note-taking is important to your workflow
• You want an Android tablet to watch videos on
• You rely heavily on Wacom EMR pens and have a collection of third-party styluses you love