Boox Max Lumi2 Review

NOTE: Since this review was originally written, the Boox Max Lumi2 has been superseded by the Boox Tab X.

Design and Build

The Boox Max Lumi2 is larger than most e-ink tablets because it has a 13.3″ (around A4-sized) screen.

The chassis is metallic, and the screen is made from plastic, which gives it a little flexibility. Of course, you can’t bend it a lot without breaking it, but it does not have the hard and rigid slate-like feel of other e-ink tablets, such as the reMarkable 2. If you apply pressure to the screen with your finger, you can see and feel it flex ever-so-slightly.

This gives the impression of a durable build in a kind of “bend-before-it-will-break” capacity. And I can attest to its durability having used it for three years (and even dropping it a few times).

The materials used in its construction also give the impression of a lightweight feel, which is a little beguiling considering its physical size. Objectively, the Max Lumi2 is one of the heaviest tablets I’ve reviewed but (subjectively) it doesn’t “feel” heavy. There are smaller, lighter tablets I’ve reviewed that I really wouldn’t want to be walking around with because I feel they are too heavy, but I’ve never felt this way about the Max Lumi2. It’s quite difficult to explain because the facts do not match the impression! I think this is because it has been well-balanced with the weight distributed evenly across the tablet. In addition, other tablets (particularly newer Boox devices) have heavier magnetic folios, which add a great deal to the physical weight (the Max Lumi2 has a more lightweight folio – see below),

It is well-built with no visible imperfections, and has nicely rounded corners, with a slight curve on the edges.

There is a USB-C port on the bottom edge (just left of centre), which can be used for both charging and data transfer. And on the top edge (level with the top-right corner of the screen) is the power button. The right and left edges are smooth with no ports or buttons. The power button is nearly flush with the top edge, but does stick out slightly, which makes it easy to locate with your fingertips.

On the lower bezel is a physical button, which by default is configured as a Back button (to take you back to the previous screen/home-screen). It also doubles as a fingerprint scanner. I find the location of this button to be somewhat irritating, because when I am writing near to the bottom of the screen, I sometimes inadvertently activate it with my palm, which exits the note-taking app and disrupts my flow.

Overall, the design and build of the Max Lumi2 is good. It is well machined, and feels robust and durable. And although it is heavier than most e-ink tablets (primarily because it is one of the largest on the market), the weight has been well-balanced, and it is comfortable to hold for extended periods. Aesthetically speaking, it is not the most beautiful tablet, but it is highly practical.

Hardware Specs

Under the bonnet is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 octa-core processor with a clock speed of 2GHz.

There’s also 6Gb RAM and 128Gb of storage capacity.

Using the Geekbench 6 CPU Benchmark app, the MaxLumi2 scored 300 in the single-core test, and 1033 in the multi-core test. Whilst this was decent at the time it was launched, newer Boox tablets have better performance, and some even utilise an on-board graphics processor to provide faster refresh rates (at the expense of battery life).

On the whole, the Max Lumi2 has some decent specs for an e-ink tablet. For general everyday tasks (such as reading and note-taking) the CPU and memory on the Max Lumi2 are perfectly adequate, however, comparatively-speaking, it is a little out-dated and more recent models can offer improved performance for resource-hungry apps and multi-tasking.

Screen

The screen is 13.3″ (around A5-sized) and uses a plastic backplane (Mobius Carta). As mentioned above, this gives it a little more elasticity than the vast majority of e-ink tablets, which use a glass backplane (Carta) and feel more rigid. The Mobius Carta backplane does add quite a bit more to the price of the tablet, however, it is also makes it a little less fragile, and is much lighter.

It has a monochrome resolution of 1650 x 2200 (207PPI). This is a little low compared to modern devices, and does result in slightly hard-edged/pixelated fonts, but this will only be picked up by those with the keenest of eyes. For most users, I think it is adequate for reading most texts.

The larger-than-average 13.3″ screen (most e-ink tablet screens are around 10″) has some very practical advantages. Firstly, many PDFs are designed to be printed onto A4 paper, which is comparable in size to a 13.3″ screen. This results in a much more comfortable PDF- viewing experience, particularly if a small font or columns have been used in the text. Tablets with a 10.3″ screen are approximately A5-sized, which means fonts in PDFs can be too small to read comfortably. Software can be used to rotate the PDF to landscape and view half a page at a time, but this requires time and effort playing around with the settings – with a 13.3″ screen there is no such trouble. Another advantage is a much larger canvas area when taking your notes. You can fit more on each page, and do not have to worry so much about running out of space.

The Max Lumi2 has a very good frontlight that illuminates the screen for those times when you are working in dark or dimly-lit conditions.

There are touchscreen capabilities, and a Wacom EMR layer (so any Wacom-compatible stylus will work fine with it).

The screen’s surface is smooth to the touch, and feels smooth and somewhat slippery when writing – it does not have a rough paper-like film on the surface, like some other e-ink tablets.

On the whole, the main benefit of the Max Lumi2’s screen is its sheer size. And the benefit of 13.3″ screens should not be under-estimated – they make a massive difference to both reading/annotating PDFs and note-taking tasks. The downside, of course, is that they have a bigger footprint (and – objectively – more weight). I’m a big fan of Mobius (plastic) screens, because they are less fragile, and have a sort of springiness to them (a bit like writing on a stack of paper). Compared to newer devices, the Max Lumi2 does not have the same richness of pixels and clarity, and smoothness of the screen does impact the tactile writing experience (see below).

Writing feel

As I just mentioned, the Mobius screen adds a level of bounciness to the writing experience akin to writing on a stack of paper (most tablets with the more rigid design feel a bit like writing on a single sheet upon a hard desk).

However, the lack of surface friction does make the writing experience somewhat glossy and slippery. I find it a bit like writing on a whiteboard with a marker – there is very little friction.

The nib of the stylus tapers to a small rounded point, which provides a decent level of precision when writing. However, because the frontlight layer occupies the space between the surface layer and the e-ink layer, there is a minuscule gap between where the stylus touches the screen and where the strokes appear, almost as though you are writing slightly below the screen, which can be a little frustrating for some users.

There is a small amount of lag when writing, but you have to look very closely to see it – as you move the stylus over the screen, the strokes appear almost immediately.

And, both pressure and tilt sensitivity have been implemented in the native note-taking app (dependent on which brush/pen tool is selected) and work really well – see my review of the Boox firmware below for more info).

Overall, the tactile writing experience of the Max Lumi2 is okay. It does not feel quite as precise as non-frontlit tablets I have used, and the smoothness of the screen is definitely not to my preference (although it works perfectly well).

Hardware features

As well as the underlying hardware specs, the Max Lumi2 has some additional hardware features that make the tablet more versatile.

As standard for most e-ink tablets, there’s support for both Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity. As well as connecting headphones, Bluetooth can also be used to connect other peripherals, such as third-party keyboards (there is no official keyboard folio for the Max Lumi2).

For further connectivity, the single USB-C port supports On-The-Go (OTG) connections, which means you can hook up a USB hub for the connection of peripherals and mass storage devices (hard drives, USB sticks etc.) There’s no on-board MicroSD card slot, but it is possible to connect a MicroSD card reader via the USB port.

There’s no G-Sensor for automatically reorienting the screen between landscape/portrait when you rotate it physically, but software does allow you to switch between landscape/portrait manually.

And there’s also dual speakers and microphone. The microphone can be used for recording voice notes in the native note-taking app (and third-party apps) or for recording a meeting. As well as system sounds (such as notification alerts), the speakers can be used for Text-to-Speech (TTS) in the native reading app, or even listening to music/videos. However, don’t expect too much from the onboard speakers and mic – they’re very basic additions that are great for simple everyday use, but are not going to produce anything of production quality.

As mentioned previously, there’s also a fingerprint scanner built into the button on the lower bezel. If you’ve set up a password/PIN to lock the screen on the Max Lumi2, you can also configure the tablet to accept your fingerprint instead. This can make accessing the device quicker and easier – you simply put your finger on the power button rather than having to type in the password, using the touchscreen.

Overall, the additional hardware features provided on the Max Lumi2 offers several additional use cases for the tablet beyond simply reading and note-taking. For example, you can record meetings and voice reminders, or listen to podcasts using Bluetooth headphones or the integrated speakers. You can even connect a Bluetooth keyboard for typed input.

Battery

The Max Lumi2 has a 4300mAh battery.

The table below shows how much battery is depleted by performing certain operations for an hour.

Test (1hr)	Max Lumi2 (% battery used)
Note-taking	4%
Reading	1%
Wifi On	+2%
Frontlight (medium)	+1%
Frontlight (full	+5%

So, you could expect to drain about 4% of the battery per hour when note-taking, and 1% per hour when reading. If the frontlight is on a medium setting, expect to add another 1% per hour, and if it is on full, add an extra 5% per hour. Having Wifi on will drain around an additional 1% per hour.

I calculate typical battery life from these figures by assuming 3 hours of note-taking and 2 hours of reading each day, with the Wif turned on for 3 hours, the frontlight on medium for 2 hours, and on full for 2 hours.

For the Max Lumi2, this works out at about 32% of battery use per day, which would give you 3.1 days of use before it needed to be recharged. You can compare this result with other e-ink tablets here.

Accessories

The Max Lumi2 shipped with stylus, and I bought the official folio separately.

Stylus

The Max Lumi2 ships with the Boox Pen Plus stylus.

This is actually an older model to the one that is currently sold (and shipped with new tablets), however, the basic design hasn’t changed a great deal. The most striking difference is the bold orange-on-black colouring (the newer version is not quite as loud!).

It is almost cylindrical, with one side flattened to prevent it rolling on uneven surfaces. There are vertical grooves down the side, which help to provide a decent grip (and also aid roll-prevention). I find that the stylus is nicely-weighted (not too heavy, not too light), which makes for a comfortable hold and a pleasant writing experience.

There’s no bells and whistles on the Pen Plus, such as an eraser on the top or a button on the shaft – and, for me, this is a pro rather than a con. My fat fingers always seem to inadvertently activate side buttons without meaning to, and Boox’s scribble-erase feature is quicker than turning the stylus upside-down to use the physical eraser. However, this is my own personal taste – some people do like to have a physical eraser, and for these users Boox sell the Pen2Pro.

Because Boox tablets use Wacom-EMR technology, it is possible to use third-party Wacom-compatible styluses with the NA4C. Although the eraser on such styluses should work fine, I can find no configuration settings in the Boox software to configure the action of additional buttons.

The Pen Plus uses soft, replaceable nibs, which wear down with use. And if you do a lot of writing like me, you will probably need to replace the nib every couple of months, which is an ongoing cost. However, this is true for the majority of e-ink tablets, barring Supernote styluses, which use ceramic tips that never wear down – unfortunately, these harder tips are not recommended for use with non-Supernote tablets because of the risk of scratching the screen.

The stylus is magnetic, but the Max Lumi2 isn’t, so the stylus slides into a loop on the folio when not being used.

On the whole, I wouldn’t go as far to say that the Boox Pen Plus is the best stylus I have ever used, but it is right up there near the top.

Folio

The front and rear of the folio are made from different materials.

The rear is a rubbery plastic with an integrated tray that the tablet wedges into. This provides a very firm hold with no risk of the tablet accidentally slipping out. There is a cutout on the bottom edge of the tray for access to the USB port, however there is no cutout on the top edge for the power button. Instead, there is an actuator/button on the tray itself that can be used to activate the power button.

The front is made from a thinner plastic and has an almost canvas-like texture. This same material is used to join the front to the rear.

On the interior of the front cover are two rubbery pads, which have a slightly tacky substance on them that helps to keep the folio stay shut. When I say tacky, I don’t mean like glue – more like the stickiness of the post-it note. However, after using the tablet for several months, a residue of the substance did build up on the screen where the pads touched them, and had to be wiped clean. This makes it less than ideal. In addition, after several years of use, the stickiness of the pads on my Max Lumi2 has ran out, so this system no longer keeps the cover closed.

The front panel has three grooves that allow the folio to be folded into a stand. If I’m honest, the stand configuration isn’t that great, because the support is concentrated at the bottom so any taps to the top half of the screen cause the tablet to shake. It also isn’t all that secure, and can slip out of position.

Because the edges of the tablet are encased by the tray (and because the Max Lumi2 itself does not have magnetised edges) the stylus does not snap magnetically to the side of the tablet like in many other Boox products. Instead, there is a pen loop on the front cover that the Pen Plus can slot into. Of course this will only work for the Pen Plus, or a stylus with a similar diameter. If you want to use a third-party stylus, there’s a chance it will not fit.

In terms of providing protection for the tablet, the Max Lumi2 folio is excellent. Both the front and rear panels are well-protected, and the tray protects the corners and most of the edges )except the cutout on the lower edge to access the USB port). Aesthetically, it is looks okay, and (as someone who prefers a pen loop over magnetism) holds the stylus securely. However, the sticky pads are not a great solution for keeping the cover closed (and stop performing their only function when the stickiness runs out), and the stand configuration really isn’t all that practical because there is too much movement.

Overall, the Max Lumi2 folio does the main job is was designed for well, but has some questionable design decisions.

Software

My review of this tablet should be read in conjunction with my review of the current firmware (see table below), which includes aspects such as the Operating System, User Interface, and Native Apps.

The hardware and software reviews have been separated because the firmware used at the time that this review was written may not be the same firmware being used currently. This could result in the review quickly becoming outdated. Also, as several tablets may use the same firmware, this would mean going back and updating every single tablet review from a particular manufacturer to account for the new firmware. By splitting them up, if there is a firmware update, I am able to make the updates on a single page.

Current versions of this brand’s firmware are shown in the table below, along with the tablets running them.

My rating	Firmware version	Tablets using this firmware
	4.1 (current version) Aug 2025	Boox Go 10.3 Boox Note Air5 C Boox Palma 2 Pro Boox Note Air3 Boox Note Air4 C Boox Note Air3 C Boox Go 7 Boox Go Color 7
	4.0 (current version) Oct 2024	Boox Note Max Boox Tab Ultra C Pro Boox Tab X Boox Tab X C Boox Tab Mini C Boox Tab Ultra Boox Max Lumi 2 Boox Tab Ultra C Boox Note Air2 Plus Boox Note 5
Older Boox firmware versions may be found here

Brand

For some people, it is also worth considering the brand as whole, including aspects like customer service, ecosystem, values, and criticisms.

My full overview of the Boox brand can be found here, but I have provided a summary below.

Final Verdict

Perhaps the best testament for the Max Lumi2 is that I still use it occasionally today, after several years of ownership, particularly for reading PDFs.

Although my daily driver is usually a more a portable 10″ tablet, the additional screen real estate of 13″ tablet should not be underestimated both for reading and writing use cases – we’ve spent most of our lives reading and writing on A4/Legal-sized paper, so are accustomed to this form factor. And, whilst it is objectively heavier than smaller-screened devices, it does not feel as heavy you might think it would!

The Max Lumi2 has a decent frontlight, and the Mobius screen adds a level of flexibility that I find pleasant. Writing is okay, but without a paper-like screen protector, it does feel a bit too smooth and slippery (like marker on whiteboard). The stylus is minimalist, but I find it really pleasant to use, and the folio (whilst having some questionable features) fulfills its primary role of protection well.

It runs Android, so there is the option of installing third-party apps from the Google Play Store, and the hardware specs, although not quite as powerful by today’s standards, are good enough to run most basic apps. However, performance is still limited by the e-ink screen – whilst e-ink is great for apps that have fairly static screens (such as reading and writing), it will not work well for apps that require higher refresh rates (such as video and games).

Since writing this article, Boox have release a more powerful 13.3″ tablet (the Tab X), with improved hardware that overcomes several of the drawbacks of the Max Lumi2.

Tablet Overview