Hello everyone, I’m here today to share my thoughts on a device that has genuinely surprised me: the iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2.
When iFLYTEK first reached me out, I honestly thought it would be just another tablet. iFLYTEK is a company that specializes in devices like recording tools and translators, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from an e-ink tablet from them.
However, after using this device for a few days, I’m really surprised by the angle they’ve taken and the functionality packed into this little thing.
- ink tablets have become much more popular recently. This is thanks to better display technology providing sharper text and images, making reading and note-taking more comfortable.
Their long battery life and reduced eye strain compared to traditional screens are also big advantages. The iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 is a newer entry in this competitive market, and I’ve been exploring how it stacks up.
Unlike “do-everything” tablets from Apple or Samsung, the iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 has a very focused approach.
It’s not primarily a note-taking device, although it does that well. Based on my experience and the design, it is clearly geared towards professionals, managers, executives, or employees who do a lot of meetings.
It’s also suitable for students or even travelers. Its purpose is for meetings, scanning documents, reading and editing documents, scheduling, and note summarization using AI.
There’s something appealing about a device that does fewer things but aims to do them better, especially in a world full of distractions.
Here is the detail review for iFLYTEK AINOTE AI 2 from different aspects, enjoy yourself!
Key Takeaways:
- The iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 combines AI with E-Ink for powerful note-taking, transcription, and document handling tailored to professionals.
- Its stylus delivers a natural writing experience with pressure sensitivity and smart gesture support for to-do and priority tagging.
- Audio syncing and real-time transcription make it a standout tool for meetings and efficient information review.
- Lightweight, distraction-free, and long battery life make it ideal for mobile productivity.
- AI-powered organization tools and cloud sync ensure your handwritten notes are searchable, secure, and always accessible.
iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 Design and Build Quality: Lightweight, Sleek, and Durable
My iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 has a dark grey finish and a thin metal enclosure, which I believe is aluminum. It feels premium and sturdy. It’s incredibly thin, just about 0.2 inches (5mm) thick, except for a slightly thicker part where the camera is located (about 6.5mm).
It’s also very lightweight, only around half a pound. The thin profile combined with its weight makes it really handy and compact.
It has a minimalist look with narrow bezels and clean lines, giving it an elegant and modern feel. There’s a subtle camera bump on the back, but I found it barely noticeable and it doesn’t affect stability when it is laid flat.
The build quality is amazing, it feels solid with no flexing or bending, even under pressure.
On the top, you’ll find the Type C charging port and the power button. It also has an integrated fingerprint scanner for security purpose. iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 has a very simple layout with almost no other ports or buttons.
Display of iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2: Crisp E-Ink Screen with Adjustable Lighting
The screen of iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 is an 8.2-inch e-ink display with a resolution of 1440×1920 pixels, giving it 293 PPI. This provides crisp and clear text.
The screen-to-body ratio is quite impressive at 88.5%. While it uses Carta 1000 display technology, which has been around since 2014, the text clarity is still solid.
It might not be as sharp or have as deep blacks as newer Carta 1200 screens, but I don’t notice any pixelation, and the PPI is enough for comfortable reading and writing.
A significant advantage is the excellent front light, which offers both warm and cold light settings. With 24 adjustable levels, you can easily get the lighting just right for taking notes or reading at night or in darker environments.
The display is also glare-free, making it easy on the eyes even when reading in bright sunlight. However, it’s worth noting that the 8-inch size might feel a bit small for heavy PDF annotation or extensive writing.
The screen looks really good with stunning contrast, offering a pretty white experience overall.
Writing with iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 Stylus: Paper-Like Experience & Smart Features
The AINOTE Air 2 comes with an included stylus pen that uses a Wacom passive electromagnetic system (EMR), meaning it doesn’t require charging.
The pen is lightweight, around 8g, and feels okay in the hand, though it has a plastic feel that doesn’t quite match the premium metal build of the tablet.
It has a replaceable nib and an eraser tip on the opposite end, which is very convenient to use. I found the eraser surprisingly accurate and appreciated its slight flexibility.
The pen also has a customizable side button. By default, pressing and holding this button activates the smart pen features, which we’ll get to later.
Interestingly, you can also use other EMR pens like the Samsung S Pen with the device, and the S Pen’s button can even access the smart control features. This is a fantastic feature for me.
Now, about the writing experience itself: it’s smooth and paper-like, feeling very natural. There’s the right amount of resistance on the screen.
Writing is fluid and responsive, with no noticeable lag. You don’t need to press hard with the pen, and lines show up instantly.
The iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 supports 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity, allowing for variation in stroke thickness based on how hard you press.
You can change the pen style (pen, pencil, calligraphy, brush, marker) and adjust stroke thickness. The pencil tool offers a really good simulation for drawing and shading.
A key feature is the handwriting-to-text conversion (OCR). This works offline and supports a massive 83 languages. You can convert your handwritten notes into digital text for searching later.
The accuracy is generally good, especially if your handwriting is deliberate. A neat feature is the ability to write a note’s title by hand, and it instantly converts to text, which I haven’t seen on other devices.
Note-Taking and Recording on iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2: AI-Powered and Precise
The iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 excels in its note-taking and recording capabilities, particularly how they integrate with AI. You can easily create notes, add titles, and organize them.
There are various built-in page styles or templates available, such as schedules, meeting notes, planners, Cornell notes, and analysis grids. You can even import external templates, like PNG files.
Recording and transcription are the core features of iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2. It has four built-in microphones with noise reduction, which helps capture clear audio.
It offers real-time voice-to-text transcription, supporting 14 different languages. In my testing, the transcription was surprisingly good and handled background noise well. It even kept up while I was writing notes during the recording.
While recording, you can take handwritten notes. A standout feature is the ability to tap on a handwritten note after the recording is finished, and the device will play back the audio from the exact moment you wrote that note. This is incredibly helpful for reviewing meetings.
The device also integrates AI for meeting summarization. You can quickly get a summary of the recorded conversation.
There’s an interesting feature called “multiplayer mode” or “radar recognition”. This uses the microphone array to try and identify where audio is coming from in the room.
You can export recordings as MP3 files and transcripts or summaries as PDFs. Sharing is possible via email or by connecting the device to a computer. The companion mobile app also allows you to access and play recordings synced from the device.
Smart Scheduling and To-Do Lists with iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2
Beyond notes, the iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 helps with organization. It includes a schedule feature with day, week, and month calendar views.
You can add new schedules and events. There’s also a to-do list feature for creating and managing tasks.
You can add tasks manually or, more uniquely, use the smart pen. By holding the pen button and drawing a circle around text, you can automatically add that text as a to-do item. You can mark tasks as complete and prioritize them.
There’s also a “Focus Star” section, similar to a priority list. You can add important items from your notes or meetings to this section using a specific smart pen gesture – drawing a star around the text. I found this a fantastic way to keep track of crucial action items from long meetings.
Reading Experience on the iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2: Versatile and Distraction-Free
The iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 works well as an e-reader. You can access your content from the bookshelf, which holds local files, or you can also explore the built-in bookstore.
You can easily import files to the device using Wi-Fi, USB, or cloud storage. The Wi-Fi import is a smooth drag-and-drop process via a local web address. Supported file formats include PDF, EPUB, TXT, MOBI, AZW/AZW3, and even documents viewable with WPS Office Suite.
While WPS Office can open and sometimes edit documents, using it for heavy editing might not be ideal on an e-ink screen.
For annotation, you have various options depending on the file type. You can highlight in ebooks and draw or write freehand notes in PDFs.
There’s also an attached notepad for taking more extensive notes alongside your reading material. You can rotate the screen to read horizontally.
Display settings are customizable, allowing you to adjust brightness, font size, fonts, and sharpness to create a more paper-like appearance.
The device also features a Text-to-Speech function. It supports multiple languages and allows you to adjust the play speed.
While the default speed felt a bit slow to me, adjusting it to 1.5x made it sound slightly better. Reading on the device provides a distraction-free experience as you don’t get notifications or pop-ups like on mobile phones.
Other Notable Features: Document Scanning, Email, Multitasking & More
The iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 includes a few other useful features. It has a 5-megapixel rear camera specifically for document scanning. You can scan documents, adjust the framing, and then annotate or mark them up. Scans can be saved as PDFs and shared.
Surprisingly there is the Email function as well. While I wouldn’t use it for heavy email tasks, it’s convenient for sending marked-up documents directly from the device.
I was able to add my Gmail account, but please note that you can see email attachments, bu you can not download them.
A Quick Bar at the bottom provides fast access to functions. You can swipe up from the bottom to see open apps for multitasking or swipe down from the top for Quick Settings like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, brightness, and refresh. There are also gestures, like swiping with three fingers to undo/redo or take a screenshot.
The device has an Application Center where you can find pre-installed apps like Kindle, Outlook, Libby, and WPS Office.
It’s based on Android 11, and it seems possible to sideload APKs, although I haven’t personally tried this. It’s worth noting that opening third-party apps can be noticeably slow and feel sluggish.
The iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 features an integrated AI chat function called “Chat with AI,” which is powered by GPT-4o, which is accessible via the Quick Bar. You can type or use the smart pen for input and get answers to questions, with a saved history of chats.
This is a good addition to a focused device, allowing quick access to information without needing a full browser.
Performance and Battery Life of the iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2
The iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 is powered by a quad-core 1.8GHz processor with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of ROM, providing around 21GB of usable storage.
It runs on a custom Android 11 based system. For core tasks like note-taking, reading, and AI transcription, the performance feels smooth. However, as mentioned, third-party apps can be slow.
The device has a 2600mAh battery. Thanks to the energy-efficient e-ink display, the battery life is excellent.
I get a couple of days of active use, and it can last weeks on standby. I found that using the front light, especially at maximum brightness, significantly drains the battery.
In my testing, maximum brightness caused much higher battery drain compared to using the device without the light or at lower settings.
Connectivity and Cloud Sync: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and OneDrive Integration
The iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. You can pair Bluetooth accessories like earbuds for listening to recordings or books, and even a keyboard or mouse.
Cloud synchronization is available. If you set up an AINOTE account, your notes and recordings can be automatically synced to the companion mobile app.
Currently, the device primarily supports OneDrive for cloud storage integration. I’m hoping for more options like Google Drive and Dropbox in the future.
The companion app allows you to access and play synced content on your phone, though notes cannot be edited within the app itself.
AI Integration in iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2: Real-Time Transcription, Summarization & More
One of the standout aspects is the comprehensive AI integration. AI is woven throughout the device’s functions, from real-time transcription, meeting summarization, and translation during recordings to the integrated AI chat, handwriting-to-text conversion, AI search within text, and AI reading.
The iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 uses AI to help with organization, like automatically creating to-do items from handwritten notes. I found the AI implementation here to be practical and useful, potentially the best I’ve seen on an e-ink tablet.
Security on iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2: Fingerprint Unlock & Note Encryption
For security, the iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 offers a fingerprint reader integrated into the power button, password options, and the ability to encrypt individual notes with a password.
Pros and Cons of The iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2
Based on my personal using experience, here’s a summary of the pros and cons of the iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 as below:
Pros of iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2:
* Comprehensive and well-integrated AI features (transcription, summary, chat, translation, search, reading, handwriting conversion).
* Excellent writing feel, very paper-like and responsive with no lag.
* Lightweight and portable design.
* Long battery life.
* Focused, distraction-free experience.
* Useful organizational tools like tags, folders, smart gestures (circle for to-do, star for Focus Star), and encrypted notes.
* Good e-reading experience with annotation and Text-to-Speech features.
* Premium build quality with an aluminum alloy back.
* Handwriting search using OCR.
* Helpful companion mobile app for accessing synced notes and recordings.
* Document scanning capability.
Cons of iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2:
* Third-party apps can be slow and sluggish.
* Limited cloud storage support (primarily OneDrive). I hope for more options in the future.
* Stylus material feel could be better compared to the device’s build.
* The 8.2-inch screen size may be small for heavy PDF annotation.
* Handwriting recognition accuracy can vary depending on the language.
* Email attachment downloads are not supported.
Conclusion
Overall, the iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 is a seriously solid device for specific productivity tasks. It might have seemed like “just another tablet” at first, but its focused approach, especially in integrating AI into meeting and note-taking workflows.
The writing experience is fantastic, truly simulating paper, and the AI features like real-time transcription and syncing notes to audio are genuinely useful.
Its lightweight design, long battery life, and distraction-free nature make it an excellent portable tool.
I think the iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 is the cream of the crop. It’s an investment, but for someone who can fully use its unique features, it offers significant value. I recommend it for that person.
I’m excited to see what iFLYTEK does in the future. If you’re looking for a dedicated e-ink device that revolutionizes how you capture ideas and manage meetings, the iFLYTEK AINOTE Air 2 is definitely worth considering.
