I gave up on carrying bulky textbooks, binders, and an endless supply of pens and pencils almost two years ago. Like many of my friends and countless people online, I made the switch to digital note-taking. I started out typing everything in Apple Notes, but it didn’t take long to realize typed notes just don’t work for me.
After some back-and-forth, I finally invested in an iPad and a ridiculously overpriced Apple Pencil, which became (and sometimes still is) my go-to study combo. This summer, though, I set out to revive my reading habit and ended up switching to e-Ink devices. And somewhere along the way, I ditched my iPad not just for reading, but for most of my studying too.
But of course, an e-Ink tablet on its own can only take me so far. Reading on it was great, but studying? Not so much—at least until I paired it with a stylus.
The Boox Note Air 4C is available in a premium stylus bundle
Third-party styluses work too
I currently use the Boox Note Air 4C, which is a color ePaper notebook and easily one of the best e-Ink devices I’ve tried so far. It has a 10.3″ Kaleido 3 display and runs Android 13, meaning I can download different PDF readers, Google Drive, and essentially all the apps I use for studying.
The Note Air 4C is, fortunately, available in a Premium Stylus Bundle. The Standard Bundle currently retails for $529.99 if you order from Boox’s website (US Warehouse). The Premium Stylus Bundle includes a magnetic case, the Pen2 Pro, and extra tips, and is priced slightly higher at $577.99. The website does note that it’s on discount right now, with the original price listed as $609.98.
While I personally use the Pen2 Pro, you can also find much cheaper third-party styluses compatible with most e-Ink tablets. For example, I came across one for $13.99 that claims to be compatible with the Boox Note Air 4C.
With a stylus, an e-ink tablet feels like a better iPad
Handwriting, drawing, and annotating feels effortless
As I mentioned above, using an e-Ink tablet for studying without a stylus only gets you so far. Sure, you can read PDFs pretty well and annotate documents using your fingers, but that’s pretty much it. I need to do a lot of math and draw various diagrams for my program, which simply isn’t practical without a precise stylus.
After using both an iPad with an Apple Pencil and an e-Ink tablet with a stylus, I can say without hesitation that the latter is a combination I’d pick any day. E-ink tablets have, well, an e-ink display, meaning they’re much easier on the eyes during long study sessions, and there’s none of the glare or distractions you get on a traditional tablet.
Since e-ink tablets also have a matte display, they also feel a lot more paperlike and writing with them using a stylus feels supernatural. Of course, you get all the benefits that come with digital note-taking too — better organization, easy search through notes, and the ability to quickly erase or move things around without wasting paper.
The stylus lets me use my e-ink tablet for journaling and planning too
From to-do lists to lecture notes, all in one place
I was never a journaling person. Even when I got my iPad, I wasn’t a fan of journaling at the end of the day or planning my day by actually writing it out. I always preferred time-blocking everything on my calendar. That was until I got my e-ink tablet and used it with the stylus. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but there’s something relaxing about writing with a stylus on the e-ink screen that actually makes me want to write on it.
I’ve been using my Note Air 4C every single day to jot quick reminders, plan my next day out, and even track my finances. Since I pick up my e-reader every night to read instead of my typical TikTok scroll or Netflix binge session, I’ve also gotten into the habit of reflecting on my day and jotting down thoughts, which has become a huge part of my evening routine.
Most e‑reader styluses don’t require charging
One less thing to worry about
Given how many devices I need to charge every night, if I can cut down one device from that list, it’s an instant win. Fortunately, most styluses that work with these e-ink tablets don’t need to be charged, since many companies, including Boox, use EMR pens that are always on and draw power from the tablet’s electromagnetic field.
With my Apple Pencil, there have been a couple of times when I’ve gotten to college and realized my stylus’s battery had drained overnight. I then need to scramble to charge it, which interrupts my workflow. With my Boox Note Air 4C’s stylus, though, this problem simply doesn’t exist. I can grab it anytime and start writing or working without a second thought.
Another huge plus point of using an e-ink tablet is that its battery life is incredible. Even with daily reading, note-taking, and annotating, I can go days or even weeks without needing to charge the device.
This, combined with a stylus that never needs charging, means I spend less time worrying about power and more time actually working, reading, and planning.
Getting an eReader with a stylus is the best decision I’ve made
If you’re planning on getting an eReader and want to use it for note-taking, school, or even planning, I can’t recommend getting a stylus enough. If you don’t want to get the official stylus, there are plenty of compatible third-party options that work well with most e-ink tablets.
