Onyx Boox Darwin 9 e-book review: the update that many have been waiting for

Today’s review is dedicated to the current version
the most popular Onyx Boox Darwin e-reader under
serial number 9. The novelty has received almost 100% improvement compared to
the previous device, improving lithography, performance, the current version of the Android OS, and more.

Factory
package

The Onyx Boox Darwin 9 eBook introduces us to Charles Darwin,
naturalist and traveler who first substantiated the idea of ​​evolution in
masses. In addition to a brief history of life, you can see the features of this
e-book models, as well as its characteristics.

Inside is a familiar e-book with
faux leather cover, charging cable, instruction in 2 languages ​​and
warranty card.

Technical
characteristics

• Model:
  Onyx
  Boox Darwin
  nine

• Colour:
  black

• Display: Ink Carta Plus 6» 1072*1448px

• Backlight:
  Moon
  light
  2

• CPU:
  Qualcomm
  four
  cores, 2GHz

• RAM/ROM:
  2/16 GB

• Interface: USB type-C

• Communications:
  WiFi:
  IEEE
  802.11ac
  Bluetooth
  5.0

• operating room
  System: Android
  eleven

• Supported
  formats: txt
  html,
  rtf,
  fb2,
  fb2.zip, fb3, mobi, chm, doc, docx, prc, cbr, cbz, pdb, epub, jpg, png, gif, bmp, pdf, djvu, mp3, waw

• Audio output:
  stereo output 3.5mm,
  microphone

• Battery:
  LiPo 3000 mAh

• Dimensions: 170*117*8.7mm / 182g

Comparison
with Onyx
Darwin
8

Since Darwin 9 is an improved version
line of e-books, then before moving on to acquaintance, let’s pay attention
for differences:

External
view and control

Like any other e-reader from Onyx, Darwin 9 comes with a branded
cover with magnetic fixation. At the top is the tree of life, at the base
which a person is located, and his roots and branches are represented by other people.

When working with an e-book, there is a transition to
standby mode when the case is closed and opening the last page when opened
cover. All this is implemented on the Hall sensor.

Unlike Onyx Boox Livingstone, which I
recently did his review, Darwin 9 does not have physical controls on
case itself, which allows you to conveniently operate the reader without it. Material
the outer side of the cover is eco-leather, the intermediate part is made of ABS plastic,
and inside something resembling nubuck. In general, there are no complaints about the manufacture, everything
performed at a high level.

The Darwin 9 e-book is made in the form
rectangle with 6” Ink Carta Plus display,
whose resolution is 1072*1448px. Distinctive feature
this display is to reduce artifacts when rendering with
SNOW technologies
field
and flexible, flicker-free MOON Light 2 with dimming,
shade. Map Screen
Plus
already familiar and found in most modern e-books from Onyx.

Thanks to the E Ink display
and backlight MOON
light
2 you can not be afraid for your eyesight when reading for a long time. Also, thanks to the high
Screen resolution text is easy to read and has high detail.

The side frames are sufficient for comfortable
using the reader without a cover. The side and top frames are 13mm, then
like the bottom 34mm. The touch screen is slightly recessed deep into the case.

Beyond touch control with multi-touch
screen, the e-book is equipped with 4 physical controls:

• Button
  turning the screen on and off on the top edge

• Button
  flipping back on the left edge (long hold redraw)

• Button
  flipping forward on the right side (long hold to bring up the menu)

• Button
  back at the bottom below the screen (long press turns off or turns off
  backlight)

If necessary, you can choose other actions when
pressing physical keys.

Also on the bottom are connectors: miniJack 3.5mm, microSD, typeC. To the right is a microphone for
recording sound through the voice recorder application.

operating room
system

When you turn on the Darwin 9 e-reader, an animation appears with
evolution of a monkey into a reading person, after which a library opens with
the last open book. To access the device’s internal memory and
the transition to the application library has a lower bar, while the upper
The bar contains virtual buttons and various indicators.

Since the basis of the operating system is taken
modern Android OS
11, then a curtain appeared in the reader with the appropriate settings: WiFi, BT, E Ink, auto-rotate (no G-sensor), volume
sound and fine-tuning the display. The latter allows you to synchronize the brightness
display and color tone, or adjust them separately. Maximum
display brightness is oversized so that it can be used at night if necessary
instead of a flashlight. As a pleasant innovation, you can see 3 presets,
which are easy to customize.

The app store allows you to install any
apk
files
from the Onyx brand store, such a solution allows you to simplify the transfer of APK files
to the reader. When you open the app store, 5 tabs open:

• Reading
  — Choice of 36 different book reading apps

• News
  — news programs

• Learning — Notepad Writer Plus

• Service
  – Google Services
  (Chrome,
  gmail,
  notes,
  translate),
  archiver and PDF
  reader

• Work
  — WPS office suite
  and
  Trello

NeoBrowser is preinstalled by default, RSS reader,
AIReaderX
pro,
BooxDrop,
music player, calculator, dictionary, voice recorder, gallery, etc. The list though
not the largest, but allows you to use the e-book «directly from
boxes.» Also, the installation of third-party APK files has not gone away.
from the file system of the reader (you can easily install WhatsUP, Telegram and
etc).

Compared to the Android 4.4-based Onyx Livingstone reader, Darwin 9 feels like a breath of fresh air.
air with a completely redesigned interface. Also with the transition to fresh
operating system, Onyx Boox Darwin 9 received a quick menu,
which allows you to customize up to 6 shortcuts.

Exploitation

The available memory at power on is
7GB
or
56%, with an average «weight» of a book of 0.5MB, this is enough for a very large amount of data.
Also, do not forget that Darwin 9 can be used as an audio player, because for
This includes support for microSD memory cards. Display
internal memory is represented by standard folders of the Android operating system and can be
made by list or tiles.

The Darwin 9 bookshelf is represented by 3 skins:
AIReaderX, Reader and ONYX. For
selection, it is enough to click on the corresponding interface element, after which
the interface is being redrawn.

Of the interesting points, it is worth noting the animation
page turning, which simply draws a new page when working with
buttons or simulates flipping a paper sheet when working with a touch
display.

As for autonomy, for the current week
in the hands of my wife, the charge dropped by only 15 percent. It is also worth noting,
that the brightness of the screen, the connection of wireless headphones and WiFi networks — all this can significantly
affect the remaining charge percentage.

Conclusion

The Onyx Boox Darwin 9 e-reader is worthy
continuation of the Darwin line, having received significant changes: Android 4.4 → Android 11, FullOTG typeC connector, lithography 40 → 11 nm, transition to the processor
Qualcomm QCS2290, BT upscaling 4.1 → 5.0 and WiFi 2.4GHz → 2.4GHz and 5
GHz. And this is only a small part of the changes that the updated model received.
Darwin e-book
nine.

Concerning
personally my impression, then I liked this reader by the presence of a smart
interface, omnivorous, flexible and convenient backlight settings.

Yandex Market