| Brand | Ratta Supernote | Boox | Boox | Viwoods | Amazon Kindle | Penstar | reMarkable | iFlyTek | iFlyTek | Bigme | Kobo | Meebook | Penstar | MobiScribe | Pocketbook | Huawei | Lenovo | Fujitsu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand logo |  |  | |  |  |  |  |  | |  |  |  | |  |  |  |  |  |
| Software version ⓘ The version number of the software | 3.26 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 5.19 | 2.0 | 3.25 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 4.6 | 4.44 | 1.5 | 1.0 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Release date ⓘ The date that this firmware was released | Dec 2025 | Oct 2024 | Aug 2025 | Sep 2025 | Feb 2026 | Aug 2025 | Jan 2026 | Oct 2025 | Mar 2025 | Aug 2025 | Dec 2025 | unknown | Aug 2024 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| My rating ⓘ My subjective rating of this firmware | 👍 Recommended | 👍 Recommended | 👍 Recommended | 👍 Recommended | 👍 Recommended | Rated | Rated | Rated | Rated | Rated | Rated | Rated | Not yet rated | Not yet rated | Not yet rated | Not yet rated | Not yet rated | Not yet rated |
| Operating system | Android | Android | Android | Android | KindleOS | Penstar | reMarkableOS | Android 14 | Android 11 | Android | KoboOS | Android | Penstar | Android | Android | HarmonyOS | Android | Android |
| Pros ⓘ The good things about this firmware | + Clean, smooth, and intuitive + Excellent note-taking app + Digest feature for organising book excerpts is very powerful + Nice selection of additional apps + Quick and intuitive navigation + Ability to work entirely offline (inc. option to use a self-hosted private server) | + Android (supports 3rd-party apps) + Great reading software + Fantastic note-taking software + Very powerful and versatile | + Android (supports 3rd-party apps) + Great reading software + Fantastic note-taking software + Very powerful and versatile | + Support for third-party Android apps + AI analysis of notebooks + Capable note-taking software + Notebooks integrate with calendar | + Fantastic reading software + Active Canvas allows handwritten annotations within the text of ebooks + Very simple and intuitive to use + Clean user interface | + Android (supports sideloading apps) + Decent note-taking app + Decent reading app + Accurate local OCR for handwriting-to-text + Clean, uncluttered interfaces across native apps | + Simple, clean, & intuitive user interface + Great desktop/mobile companion apps + Wide variety of highly-optimised brush tools + Great for text input (using keyboard folio) + Document scanner (mobile app) + Disk encryption + Enterprise-level management tools | + Support for third-party Android apps + Voice recording, transcription, and translation + Notebooks integrate really well with calendar/task list + Excellent global search (inc. handwriting) | + Support for third-party Android apps + Meeting voice recording, transcription, and translation + Notebooks integrate well with calendar/task list + Excellent global search (inc. handwriting) | + Android (supports 3rd-party apps) + Powerful and versatile + Lots of preinstalled apps and utilities (AI, Global handwriting, Translation etc.) | + Simple and intuitive + Supports reading DRM-Protected content via ADE + Support for OverDive, Libby, and InstaPaper + Good local dictionaries | + Decent reading app + Android (supports 3rd-party apps) | Not yet reviewed... | Not yet reviewed... | Not yet reviewed... | Not yet reviewed... | Not yet reviewed... | Not yet reviewed... |
| Cons ⓘ The bad things about this firmware | - Limited support for third-party apps - Not as 'snappy' as some other brands - No dictionaries | - Steeper learning curve - Not as intuitive as it could be | - Steeper learning curve - Not as intuitive as it could be | - AI features require Internet connection - AI commands (inc. handwriting conversion) can only be performed on 5 pages at a time | - Overall lack of versatility - Limited features in note-taking software | - No Google Play certification (sideload only) - Companion App lacks polish. - No syncing with external calendars. - Bit of a learning curve to navigate with stylus/buttons instead of touchscreen | - Ongoing subscription costs (for some features) - Lack of versatility - Unsophisticated reading app - Limited note-taking features - Noticeable flashes between screen transitions and page-turns (on newer devices) | - Handwriting-to-text conversion is at best inconsistent - AI text generation is slow, and inconsistent - Several features require online services and an active wifi connection - Limited third-party cloud drive integration - Limited lasso-select options (cannot copy, resize etc.) - Limited access to filesystem - Early signs of possible ongoing subscription/membership costs for certain features - UI has a few poor translations into English | - Limited third-party cloud drive integration - Inadvertent page turns in note-taking app (palm rejection not working well) - Limited lasso-select options (cannot copy, resize etc.) - AI text generation is slow - Dictionary/word lookups requires wifi - UI has some poor translations into English - Can only import ebooks/PDFs via USB or local wifi | - Clunky, unpolished, and non-intuitive - Steeper learning curve - Buggy in places - Native note-taking app is janky | - Overall lack of versatility - Some fundamental features omitted - Notetaking performance and experience isn't great | - Limited note-taking software - Steeper learning curve - Clunky user interface | Not yet reviewed... | Not yet reviewed... | Not yet reviewed... | Not yet reviewed... | Not yet reviewed... | Not yet reviewed... |
| Products | Supernote A5 X2 Manta Supernote A6 X2 Nomad Supernote A5 X Supernote A6 X | 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 | 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 | Viwoods AI Paper Viwoods AI Paper Mini | Kindle Scribe 2024 Kindle Scribe | Penstar eNote 2 | reMarkable 2 reMarkable Paper Pro Move reMarkable Paper Pro | iFlyTek AINote 2 | iFlyTek AINote Air2 | Bigme B1051C Bigme B7 Bigme B751C | Kobo Libra Color Kobo Elipsa 2E Kobo Elipsa Kobo Sage | Meebook P78 Pro Meebook P10 Pro | Penstar eNote | MobiScribe Wave MobiScribe Wave Color MobiScribe Origin | Pocketbook Inkpad X Pro Pocketbook Inkpad Eo | Huawei Matepad Paper | Lenovo Smart Paper | Fujitsu Quaderno A5 Fujitsu Quaderno A4 |
| System ⓘ System-wide features | Ratta Supernote | Boox | Boox | Viwoods | Amazon Kindle | Penstar | reMarkable | iFlyTek | iFlyTek | Bigme | Kobo | Meebook | Penstar | MobiScribe | Pocketbook | Huawei | Lenovo | Fujitsu |
| Native apps ⓘ A list of apps that come pre-installed | E-Reading, Note-taking, Calendar, E-mail, Todo List, Digest (Reading Notes), Kindle, Atelier (drawing), Inkflow (use tablet as drawing pad with PC) | E-reading, Note-taking, Web Browser, AI Assistant, BooxDrop, Calendar Memo, RSS Reader, Audio Player, Audio Recorder, Calculator | E-reading, Note-taking, Web Browser, AI Assistant, BooxDrop, Calendar Memo, RSS Reader, Audio Player, Audio Recorder, Calculator | E-Reading, Note-taking, Write-on Calendar (with links to meeting notes), Memo (quick notes with alarms), Web browser, Email Client, Pickings (global screenshots with annotations) | E-reading, Note-taking | E-reading, Note-taking, Email, Web Browser | PDF-Reading, Note-taking | E-reading, Note-taking, Meeting Recording, Calendar, Todo list, Email, WPS Office | E-reading, Note-taking, Meeting Recording, Calendar, Todo list, Email, Document scanning, WPS Office | E-Reading, Note-taking, Browser, BigmeGPT, Calculator, Calendar, Sound Recorder, WPS Office Lite, XMail (e-mail), XPhoto (image viewer/editor) | E-Reading. Note-taking, Web Browser, InstaPaper, Overdrive/Libby | E-Reading, Note-taking, Web Browser, Calculator, Audio Player, Audio Recorder | E-reading, Note-taking, Web Browser | E-Reading, Note-taking | Unknown | E-Reading, Note-taking, E-Mail, Audio Recorder, Calculator | E-reading, Note-taking, Calendar, E-Mail, Calculator | E-reading (PDF only), Note-taking, Calendar |
| 3rd-party clouds ⓘ Supported third-party clouds | Proprietary, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Self-host | Proprietary, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, OneNote, WebDav, AliYun, Baidu, Evernote, NutStore, Readwise, Youdao, Zotero | Proprietary, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, OneNote, WebDav, AliYun, Baidu, Evernote, NutStore, Readwise, Youdao, Zotero | Proprietary (temporary storage only), Google Drive, Dropbox, MS OneDrive, Baidu | Proprietary | Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive | Proprietary, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Slack (synchronisation not supported on third-party drives) | OneDrive | OneDrive | Proprietary, Google Drive, OneNote, Baidu | Kobo (proprietary), Google Drive, Dropbox | Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Baidu, AliYun | Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive | Proprietary, Dropbox | Unknown | Proprietary | Proprietary, | - |
| Supported file formats | PDF, EPUB, DOC, DOCX, TXT, CBZ, FB2, XPS | PDF, EPUB, DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, TXT, HTML, RTF, FB2, CBZ, CBR, AZW3, MOBI, PRC, DJVU, CHM, ZIP | PDF, EPUB, DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, TXT, HTML, RTF, FB2, CBZ, CBR, AZW3, MOBI, PRC, DJVU, CHM, ZIP | PDF. EPUB, TXT, MOBI, AZW | PDF, EPUB (via conversion), DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF, HTML, KFX (Kindle), AZW3, MOBI (Limited support), AZW (Limited support) *Note that it does not support many these files natively - the process of transferring a file to a Kindle converts it to proprietary KFX file | PDF, EPUB, MOBI, AZW, AZW3, TXT, DOC, DOCX, RTF, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, HTXT, HTM, HTML, HEB, CHM, FB2, DPS, ET, JEB, JXT, JMC, JEB, HEVB | PDF, EPUB | PDF, EPUB, TXT, MOBI, AZW3, DOC(X), XLS(X), PPT(X) | PDF, EPUB, TXT, MOBI, AZW3, DOC(X), XLS(X), PPT(X) | PDF, EPUB, EPUB3, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF, HTML, FB2, CBZ, CBR, OEB, AZW3, MOBI, PRC, TXT, ZIP | PDF, EPUB, EPUB3, TXT, RTF, HTML, FlePub, CBZ, CBR, MOBI | PDF, EPUB, DOC, DOCX, TXT, HTML, FB2, CBR, CBZ, MOBI, PRC, DJVU, RTF, PRC | PDF, EPUB, MOBI, AZW, AZW3, TXT, DOC, DOCX, RTF, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, HTXT, HTM, HTML, HEB, CHM, FB2, DPS, ET, JEB, JXT, JMC, JEB, HEVB | PDF, EPUB, TXT, FB2, AZW3, MOBI, PRC | AZW, AZW3, DOC, DOCX, EPUB, FB2, FB2.ZIP, HTM, HTML, MOBI, PDF, PRC, RTF, TXT | PDF, TXT, FB2 | PDF, EPUB, DOC, PPT, TXT, RTF, HTML | |
| Supported file formats (images) | PNG, JPG, WEBP | PNG, JPG, TIFF, BMP | PNG, JPG, TIFF, BMP | JPG, PNG | PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF | JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF, PIC, JPEG, CBR, CBZ, ZIP Comics | PNG, JPG | JPEG, JPG, PNG | JPEG, JPG, PNG | PNG, JPG, BMP | JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF | PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP | JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF, PIC, JPEG, CBR, CBZ, ZIP Comics | PNG, JPG | JPEG, BMP, PNG, | PNG, JPG | PNG, JPG, TIFF, BMP | - |
| Supported file formats (audio) | - | WAV, MP3 | WAV, MP3 | - | AAX (Audible) via Bluetooth | MP3, AMR | - | MP3 | MP3 | WAV, MP3 | Kobo Audiobooks (via Bluetooth) | WAV, MP3 | MP3, AMR | - | MP3, WAV | Unknown | - | - |
| Companion app ⓘ Whether there is a desktop or mobile app | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Google Play Store? | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| ADE ⓘ Support for viewing DRM-Protected e-books using Adobe Digital Editions | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Kindle support? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Global handwriting ⓘ Write on the screen in any app (and save a screenshot of it) | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Split screen ⓘ The screen can be split so that two apps can be viewed at once | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Screencast ⓘ The tablet\'s screen can be mirrored and viewed on other devices | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Screen recording ⓘ The screen can be recorded and saved as a video file | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| AI Assistant ⓘ A ChatGPT-like interface for interacting with AI | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Notes ⓘ Note-taking related features | Ratta Supernote | Boox | Boox | Viwoods | Amazon Kindle | Penstar | reMarkable | iFlyTek | iFlyTek | Bigme | Kobo | Meebook | Penstar | MobiScribe | Pocketbook | Huawei | Lenovo | Fujitsu |
| Notebook formats ⓘ Supported file formats for notebook exports | PNG, PDF, TXT, DOCX | PDF (BMP), PDF (vector), PNG, TXT, NOTE (proprietary) | PDF (BMP), PDF (vector), PNG, TXT, NOTE (proprietary) | PDF, PNG, TXT | PDF, TXT | PDF, PNG, SVG, TXT | PDF, HTML, DOCX | PDF, HTML, DOCX | PDF, PNG, TXT | PDF, PNG, JPEG, HTML, DOCX, TXT | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| Brush types | Needlepoint, Ink Pen, Marker | Fountain Pen, Paintbrush, Ballpoint Pen, Pencil, Marker | Pen, Fountain Pen, Calligraphy Pen, Paintbrush, Ballpoint Pen, Pencil, Marker | Calligraphy Pen, Fountain Pen, Ballpoint Pen, Fineliner, Pencil, Highlighter, and Thinkers | Pen, Fountain Pen, Marker, Pencil, Highlighter | pencil, ballpoint, brush, pen, calligraphy, marker | Ballpoint, Fineline, Pencil, Mechanical Pencil, Highlighter, Marker, Calligraphy, Paintbrush, Shader | Pen, Pencil, Quill Pen, Fountain Pen, Paintbrush,Fineliner pen,marker, gel pen | Pen, Pencil, Quill Pen, Fountain Pen, Paintbrush | Pen, Pencil, Brush, Ballpoint, Marker | Ballpoint Pen, Fountain Pen, Calligraphy Pen, Brush, Highlighter | Fountain Pen, Ballpoint Pen, Pencil, Marker, Paintbrush | pencil, ballpoint, brush, pen, calligraphy, marker | Pencil, Fountain Pen, Paintbrush | Unknown | Ballpoint, Fountain, Pencil, Highlighter | Ballpoint, Pencil, Mechanical pencil, Calligraphy, Fineliner, Pen, Marker, Paintbrush, Highlighter | Ballpoint, Fountain Pen, Fineliner, Marker, Higlighter |
| Handwriting search? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ |
| Handwriting conversion | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ |
| Draw straight lines? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Insert shapes? | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Insert text ⓘ Insert text into notebooks | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Insert images? | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ |
| Insert audio ⓘ Insert audio recordings into notes | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Shape perfection ⓘ Hand-drawn shapes are perfected when the stylus is held on the screen | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Scribble erase ⓘ Handwriting is erased when scribbled over | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Headings ⓘ Use headings to split notebooks into sections and build a table of contents | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Links ⓘ Insert links into notebooks | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Layers ⓘ Support for multiple transparent layers | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Smart lasso ⓘ Lasso-select handwriting without switching to the lasso-select tool | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Fill tool ⓘ Block fill enclosed sections with colour | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Custom templates ⓘ Use your own custom-designed templates in notes | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| PDF templates ⓘ Import PDF templates into notes (with working hyperlinks) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Lock ⓘ Lock/encrypt notebooks so that a passcode is required to open them | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Brand ⓘ Firmware brand | Ratta Supernote | Boox | Boox | Viwoods | Amazon Kindle | Penstar | reMarkable | iFlyTek | iFlyTek | Bigme | Kobo | Meebook | Penstar | MobiScribe | Pocketbook | Huawei | Lenovo | Fujitsu |
Table notes
- Whilst I strive to provide accurate information, sometimes things change (such as prices) and sometimes I do make mistakes. Therefore, I do not guarantee the accuracy of any information provided and highly recommend checking the manufacturer's website before making a purchase.
- All prices are approximate
- All prices shown are for the tablet, the least expensive official stylus, and the least expensive official folio/cover. Prices do not incude shipping, taxes, etc.
- Where applicable, all prices have been taken from the official manufacturer/brand website, rather than a third-party distributor
- * and [Affiliate link] indicates that this may be an affiliate link that we may earn an affiliate commissions from if it is clicked and a subsequent purchase is made
- A hyphen (-) indicates that the data is not applicable to this item or I was unable to verify the correct data to include
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