The Supernote A5 X2 Manta is a new E Ink tablet with a 10.7 inch display, support for pen input for writing and drawing, and a modular design that makes it easier to repair than most devices in the ever-expanding category of E Ink tablets designed for writing.
Details about the Supernote Manta began making the rounds earlier this year when it was just known as the Supernote A5 X2. But now the tablet is available for purchase for $459, and Supernote explains that its calling the device "Manta" because of an updated design that balances thinness with full-sized USB ports and power buttons with manta ray-like sloped protrusions on the back of the device.
The A5 X2 Manta measures 251.3 x 182.6 x 6mm (9.9'' x 7.2'' x 0.24'') at the center and 3.6mm (0.14'') at its thinnest point, and weighs 375 grams (13.2 ounces), making it pretty lightweight for a 10.7 inch tablet.
In order to keep it thin and light even when you're using a case, Supernote is also introducing an optional "Half Folio" cover that weighs just 92 grams (3.2 ounces). And instead of including a pen loop in the folio, there's a removable elastic pen loop that can be screwed into the tablet itself, allowing users to choose from a variety of pens that can be used with the A5 X2 Manta.
The tablet's display is a 1920 x 2560 pixel greyscale E Ink screen with 300 pixels per inch and no front light, which puts the Manta directly in competition with the $379 reMarkable 2 rather than pricier devices like the $579 reMarkable Paper Pro (which has both a color display and a front light).
Other features of the Supernote A5 X2 Manta include a Rockchip RK3566 quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage, a microSD card reader with support for cards up to 2TB, a USB 2.0 Type-C port and support for dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0.
The tablet chips with a custom version of Android 11 called Chauvet and features support for touch and pen navigation, as well as touch-sensitive sidebars on the left and right sides of the screen.
As for the tablet's modular components, Supernote says that not only is the 3600 mAh battery designed to be easy to remove and replace, but so is the motherboard.
While it's unclear if that means you'll be able to upgrade the motherboard of this tablet the way you can with a Framework Laptop, it should at least make it cheaper and easier to repair a broken tablet since you won't need to replace the display, case, and other components if something goes wrong on the mainboard (or vice versa). You can access the battery and mainboard without any tools - just flip a switch on the back of the tablet to remove a panel that covers those parts.
The company has also suggested in the past that you could take the motherboard from a 7.8 inch Supernote A6 X2 and put it into the body of a 10.7 inch Supernote A5 X2 Manta, since they both use the same motherboard and processor. But I don't currently seen an option to buy the new tablet without a motherboard.