When I first saw the crazy thing iPhone Air and Galaxy Edge, I wasn't interested. I had never cared when companies boasted about how many millimeters they had shaved off a device. Now I feel differently, and it wasn't Apple or Samsung who changed my mind— it was Boox.
For the past several months, I've been reading many ebooks on a Boox Go 10.3 E-Ink tablet. This is far from my first Boox device. A few years ago, I used a Boox Tab Ultra, and later a Boox Tab Ultra C, as my PC replacement. I liked the software on both of those tablets, but I eventually ran into issues with the outdated version of Android and the insufficient RAM. After buying and selling those devices, I expected that to be the end of my journey with Boox hardware for quite some time—but when the company offered a review sample of the BOOX Go 10.3, and I saw just how far the company's hardware had come in such a short time, I was genuinely impressed.
Like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 6, the BOOX Go 10.3 is a device that instantly reveals to you that the previous model was too thick and too heavy. At a mere 5mm thin, I couldn't believe how sleek and light this tablet was. It felt like Boox had delivered on the promise of the original iPad when Steve Jobs pulled that 10-inch slate out of an envelope, as though it were a piece of paper.
We acclimate ourselves to the devices in our lives. A heavy tablet is one most likely to be used propped up against a surface or a lap, but it can be held in ways that a thin and light laptop cannot. This once felt like a huge win, but not anymore.
I've grown accustomed to tablets that are comfortable to hold, not for minutes, but hours at a time. Experiencing the BOOX Go 10.3 is part of the reason I was eager to trade in my Galaxy Z Fold 6 for the newer Motorola Razr Fold. Unfolded, this newer book-style foldable has the same thinness as my tablet, and its round corners mean it's comfortable to hold in a way newer Samsung phones are not. When held this way, both devices are thinner than either the iPhone Air or the Samsung Galaxy Edge.
This has opened up new ways of working. I am currently speaking these words into my phone while sitting on a swing on my front porch. I wouldn't feel comfortable using a laptop here, and I would quickly tire of holding a conventional tablet, but it's an absolute joy with a device that's this thin and light. It frees me from the confines of my office and allows me to work while feeling the breeze, watching hummingbirds go by, and listening to cicadas.
I do all of my computing virtually from my phone, and I rarely even fire up a desktop like Samsung DeX anymore (even though Motorola has its own impressive desktop mode). I get by just fine using the internal screen with a stylus. I learned how to work this way because I so cherish the freedom with which I am now able to move through the world. As long as my Razr Fold and my Moto Pen Ultra are in my pocket, I have everything I need to do my job, which is less of an issue now that book-style foldables have become as thin as conventional phones. Pocket bulge is much less of an issue since switching away from my previous Galaxy Z Fold 6.
When I want to read on an E Ink screen or wish to take extensive notes by hand, I bring the BOOX Go 10.3 along with me. This device fits in a small messenger bag I have that is just barely large enough for a 13-inch laptop. Because it's so thin, I can easily carry along other nice-to-haves, like a water bottle and a portable battery bank. Because the device is so light, I don't mind wearing the bag for hours at a time as I explore whatever environment I'm in. I don't feel this way with most tablets.
When I picked up the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold at my local Best Buy, it was an immediate hard pass. The device is just too thick and heavy compared to my current Razr Fold and the new Galaxy Z Fold 8. Though I have other handwriting tablets, I'm not interested in writing on any of them other than the Boox. If I were to find myself suddenly in the market for a laptop, I would look at how thin it is before I consider any of its specs. Tech doesn't weigh me down anymore, and after years of rolling my eyes as companies bragged about each new device being ever-so-slightly thinner, for the first time, I'm excited to see just how much thinner they can become.
And the best part? We no longer have to sacrifice battery life. I have charged my Boox eReader tablet only once or twice this year. The 6,000mAh battery in my Razr Fold outlasts many slab phones, let alone foldables. We truly can have our cake and eat it, too.
