We finally have the specs for Supernote's hotly anticipated E Ink tablet

Key Takeaways

• Supernote A5 X2's details have been revealed by FCC disclosures, with key specs like screen size, resolution, and internal components.
• The A5 X2's 10.65-inch screen with Carta 1300 display, 4GB RAM, and replaceable battery is set to help it outshine competitors in both size and technology.
• Supernote has been unusually transparent in sharing new details, showing its strong community relationship and confidence in the upcoming product.

After months of interminable waiting, it appears that the Supernote A5 X2’s arrival is finally imminent. A slew of new details about the upcoming 10.7-inch E Ink tablet have just been made public, and now the only big mysteries left about the A5 X2 are how much it is going to cost, and when it will be released.

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The new A5 X2 details come from FCC disclosures first found on Reddit and include external photos, internal photos, and the quick start guide. We last heard from Supernote in September when it teased that the A5 X2 would have a 10.7-inch screen with 300ppi resolution, and other than some photos, that’s all the info we received. But now we can start to fill in the missing specs.

The external photos don’t reveal much that we didn’t already know, but there are a few morsels. One photo shows the A5 X2 next to a USB-A/USB-C charging cable and screwdriver. This could be what is included with the device, but given Supernote’s reputation for making high-end writing devices, I’m surprised that we don’t see a stylus. The other intriguing bit of information is that we can see pogo pin connectors on the left side of the device, so hopefully someone will make a keyboard folio case.

There isn’t too much to see inside the A5 X2 other than the RK3566 CPU. This is the same four-core, 1.8GHZ chip inside the Nomad. Considering that Supernote showed that the motherboard could be moved from the Nomad to the A5 X2 in its last release, this isn’t too surprising.

Source: FCC

Finally, the quick start guide has most of the new information, and nearly all the new specs. The guide lists a 10.65-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 × 2560 at 300ppi using a new Carta 1300 display (one of the largest Carta 1300 we’ve seen so far). It will be just 6.4mm thick, which is about the same as the new reMarkable Paper Pro, and weigh 370g without any covers. It has a 3,600mAh 5V/2A battery as well as 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage which can be expanded via SD card.

So how does the A5 X2 stack up to its competitors? For starters, it has one of the biggest screens on a stylus-equipped E Ink device at 10.65 inches. The only others that can beat it are Boox with its monster 13.3-inch Tab X and Bigme with its equally sized X6. There aren't many devices using Carta 1300 at this point, but the only one at this size is the niche AiPaper from Viwoods. When it comes to processing, it's a little under powered since most of the E Ink writing tablets have at least 2GHz under the hood, but it makes up for it in RAM, outclassing the Scribe, Elipsa, and Paper Pro. It could do with a bigger battery, but it not only outclasses Kindle, Kobo, and reMarkable, it's also a replaceable/upgraedable battery, which is practically unheard of. Finally, at 370g, this is one of the lightest E Ink tablets out there, only the PocketBook InkPad X Pro is lighter.

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One thing to note about this data dump is how unusual it is to have these kinds of images. Take the recent FCC filing by Kindle as an example. In that filing, practically all the information was embargoed for 180 days. In other words, Supernote didn’t have to make any of this information public. That it did speaks to the strong relationship Supernote has with its community and, hopefully, the confidence it has in its product. We've reached out to Supernote for information on price and release, and we'll update the story if they get back to us. In the meantime, I'm counting the days until I can get my hands on one of these.