Thinkblot vs Boox
Pick Boox if you want an e-ink tablet that runs Android 15 with Google Play, so you can add Android apps, including other PDF and note apps. The Note Air5 C is about $529.99.
Pick Thinkblot if you'd rather write on the iPhone or iPad you already carry and want a tapped line to become a reminder, a message or time on your calendar. Thinkblot reads your handwriting on the device, with no account.
Last checked: 27 October 2026
Thinkblot and Boox, row by row.
| Thinkblot | Boox | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iPhone (including iPhone Duo), iPad with Apple Pencil, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro (the iPad app). iOS and iPadOS 27.1 or later. | Boox e-ink tablets running Android 15, with Google Play. |
| Handwriting recognition | Read on your device. Fixing a misread word changes the text, never your ink. | Handwriting recognition and conversion to text in its Notes app, according to reviews. |
| What happens to a line you write | It stays ink. When Thinkblot can help, a small blot appears at the end of the line. Tap it, and the line becomes a reminder, a drafted message, a payment or time on your calendar. | It stays on the tablet. You can convert it to text. |
| Tasks and reminders | A box in front of a line makes it a task. Tick the box on paper and it's done in Reminders too. Unticked tasks carry forward. | — |
| Maths | Write a sum and an equals sign, and the answer is written for you. Write “total” under a column and it adds itself. | — |
| Privacy, account and where data lives | No account and no Thinkblot server. Notebooks live on your devices and in your own iCloud. Private Cloud Compute is optional and asks first. | — |
| Sync | Your own iCloud, through Apple's private CloudKit database, on the same Apple Account. | Boox's cloud, or third-party Android apps. |
| Export | PDF or Markdown. | — |
| Pricing model | Not out yet. Join the waitlist. | Note Air5 C about $529.99, or about $606.99 with the keyboard cover. |
On a phone, scroll the table sideways.
Where each one is better.
- An e-ink tablet that runs Android apps from Google Play.
- PDF annotation, in its own app or any Android PDF app.
- E-ink paper feel and battery life.
- No new device to buy or charge. It runs on your iPhone and iPad.
- A tapped line becomes a reminder, a drafted message, a payment or calendar time.
- Ticking a box on the page ticks it in Reminders.
- Sums answer themselves after an equals sign.
Thinkblot vs Boox, asked.
- Is Thinkblot a Boox alternative?
- If you already have an iPhone or iPad and want a handwritten notebook that can act on a line, yes. If you want an e-ink tablet that runs Android apps, Boox is built for that.
- Does Boox read handwriting?
- Reviews say its Notes app recognises handwriting and converts it to text. Thinkblot reads handwriting on your device, and your page stays ink.
- Is Thinkblot on Android?
- No. Thinkblot is for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro.
- Where does Thinkblot keep my notebooks?
- On your devices and in your own iCloud, through Apple's private CloudKit database. There's no Thinkblot account or server.
How do
you think?
Thinkblot is coming soon to iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro. One email the day it's out. That's all.
Join the waitlistClaims about Boox come only from its own pages, as they read on 27 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars and may change.
Thinkblot facts come from the Thinkblot support page. Last checked: 27 October 2026.