During the first few months of 2026, the e-ink world was rather quiet after a flurry of new releases in the last quarter of 2025. But at the beginning of 2026, none of the major manufacturers released any new hardware, and for someone who spends a considerable portion of their time reviewing such devices, the silence became increasingly conspicuous.
After several months without a new tablet to examine, I must admit that my usual level of selectiveness began to wane slightly. I found myself agreeing to review devices that, under normal circumstances, I might have politely declined. One of those was the Cuneflow AI Notebook, which I wrote about in a previous post. Another is the device that is the subject of this article – the Huion Ink.
To be perfectly candid, I am approaching this particular tablet somewhat blindly. Ordinarily, I would spend a fair amount of time researching the manufacturer and the product beforehand. On this occasion, however, I didn’t. As a result, my experience here is very much an authentic first encounter.
Sidenote: For those patiently awaiting my review of the new Boox Go 10.3 (Gen II) Lumi, please be assured that I am working on it, and writing this post is not slowing down the process. Earlier this week Boox released a new firmware version (v4.2), which threw a bit of a spanner in the works, because it could possibly have invalidated the battery/CPU tests I’d already completed, so I’m currently re-running them whilst I am going through this unboxing.
So, with that caveat out of the way, let’s begin with the unboxing.
The Packaging
The very first thing that struck me about the Huion Ink was the size and thickness of the box. Compared with the packaging used by many other E-Ink tablets I have reviewed, it is noticeably more substantial.
The tablet arrives in a single box made from sturdy white cardboard. Turning it over reveals a pictorial diagram showing the items contained inside. According to the illustration, the package includes:
- The tablet itself
- A folio cover
- A stylus
- Three spare nibs
- A microSD card ejector tool
- A nib removal tool
- A USB cable
- Various pieces of documentation (likely a quick start guide, though I rarely consult those unless absolutely necessary)
There is also a list of features printed on the back of the box. The first specification that caught my attention was the display resolution – 227 pixels per inch.
That immediately raised an eyebrow.
Most modern E-Ink tablets now use 300 PPI panels, so seeing a 227 PPI display suggests that this device is probably using an older Carta panel. At this point I began wondering whether this was a deliberate decision to keep the cost down, or whether the device itself has actually been on the market for some time and has simply flown beneath my radar.
Other listed features include:
- Eye-comfort display
- Warm and cool front lighting
- A claimed week-long battery life
- 4 GB of RAM
- Stylus input
- Android 11
- Up to 2 TB of expandable storage via microSD
The mention of Android 11 reinforced my suspicion that this may not be a particularly recent piece of hardware.
(And I must highlight that this was not because of any misdirection from Huion, it is because I did not do my homework).
Opening the Box
Lifting the lid reveals a secondary cardboard tray with a cut-out tab that allows it to be lifted out easily. This box appears to contain the folio case.
Beneath that sits the tablet itself, wrapped in a plastic sheath to protect the display. Removing the tablet reveals a plastic tray holding two smaller accessory boxes. One contains the stylus, while the other houses the remaining accessories.
Many e-ink tablets I’ve reviewed recently either ship the folio in a separate box or conserve space by shipping the tablet already inside the folio, so this was a little different to what I am used to.
The Stylus
The stylus immediately caught my attention because its design is somewhat unusual.
It is not one of the generic cylindrical stylii that many manufacturers bundle with their tablets. Instead, it has a slightly distinctive shape, giving it a bit more character.
Importantly, it uses EMR (electromagnetic resonance) technology. For me, that is always a positive sign. In recent years a number of manufacturers have shifted towards active styluses, which require batteries and charging. EMR pens, by contrast, are passive and generally provide a far more natural writing experience.
Interestingly, there is no side button on the shaft. That will likely divide opinions, but personally I prefer it this way. I have a habit of accidentally pressing side buttons while writing, so their absence is actually a welcome design decision for me.
The stylus also features an eraser on the top.
First Look at the Tablet
The tablet itself is finished in a metallic silver colour, although the construction is somewhat mixed.
The edges are made from metal, while the rear panel and lower bezel appear to be plastic, albeit plastic that has been colour-matched to resemble metal.
My first impression was that the device felt very sturdy and had almost and industrial look and feel to it (in a similar vein to the reMarkable Paper Pro). There was a very slight rattle from the power button, but overall it felt robust.
One thing I noticed straight away is that the stylus does not magnetically attach to the side of the tablet. This suggests that the folio cover likely includes some sort of pen holder.
The Folio Case
Sliding the folio out of its box reveals a rather unusual design.
After removing the plastic wrapping and lifting out the foam insert, I could see that the tablet fits into a flexible plastic compartment that grips the device by tension. The material is somewhat malleable, allowing the tablet to be squeezed in place.
There is also a stylus compartment on the left-hand side.
Interestingly, once the pen is inserted, there is no obvious way to grip it to pull it back out. Instead, the plastic compartment can be flexed slightly to pop the stylus free.
It is a somewhat unconventional design (at least these days – it was rather popular several years ago). I am curious to see how practical it proves to be in day-to-day use.
Booting the Device
With everything unboxed, I powered the device on for the first time.
The setup process began in the usual fashion:
- Selecting a language (I chose English)
- Connecting to Wi-Fi
- Proceeding through a few basic configuration steps
The virtual keyboard felt responsive, although I did notice something slightly unexpected – a few Chinese characters appearing among the keys, despite having chosen English as the system language.
Next, I was asked to choose between a standard display style and a minimalist display style.
The minimalist interface looked extremely familiar. In fact, it appears almost identical to the launcher used on Meebook tablets.
After that, the device displayed a brief tutorial demonstrating a set of gesture-based navigation controls. Curiously, there didn’t seem to be any option to customise or disable these gestures.
The final step involved configuring the screen sleep and automatic shutdown timers, after which I was taken to the home screen.
The Interface
The home screen is divided into three primary tabs:
- Notes
- Books
- Apps
There is also a button for accessing the settings menu.
Opening the settings and checking for firmware updates more or less confirmed my earlier suspicion: the software environment appears to be virtually identical to the launcher used on Meebook devices, which are produced by another Chinese manufacturer. To be honest, I think this is a common generic launcher for a lot of Android e-ink tablets manufactured in China.
Initial Impressions
After spending a short amount of time exploring the device, my overall impression was somewhat nostalgic.
The Huion Ink feels remarkably similar to the E-Ink tablets I was reviewing three or four years ago. The 227 PPI display, Android 11, and the style of launcher all contribute to that sense.
That is not necessarily a negative thing. Many of those earlier devices were perfectly capable tools.
However, compared to the latest generation of tablets currently on the market, the Huion Ink does feel a little dated at first glance.
Of course, this is only a very preliminary look. I have yet to spend any meaningful time testing the writing latency, the note-taking features, the reading experience, or the performance of third-party apps.
It is entirely possible that the tablet contains some interesting or distinctive features that only reveal themselves with deeper use.
For now, though, my initial impression is that the Huion Ink feels like a device from an earlier phase of the E-Ink tablet ecosystem – not necessarily bad, but certainly somewhat behind the current curve.
As always, I will reserve final judgement until I have had the opportunity to test it properly in a full, in-depth review.
Buying options
The Huion Ink can be purchased direct from Huion.
