[dredmorbius]

You have access to the Android app ecosystem.

In the event you're not a fan of prorprietary Android apps, the BOOX also does F-Droid quite well.

(I use a mix of F-Droid and APK-Mirror sources.)

There seem to be a good set of mostly-works-on-eink apps on Android. Onyx's bookreader and note-taking apps (native and with better e-ink support) are also quite good. I've been disappointed by Linux e-book support on desktop, and the even smaller tablet space is quite probably worse.

Another available tool is Termux, and while no Linux replacement, it vastly increases the usefulness of Android devices.

[nsomaru]

I just ordered a boox max lumi, I noticed that there’s an option to install play services.

I am hesitant to do it, except for the security fixes Google apparently brings to Android via these updates. Boox might not update the device in the future which is my main worry.

[dredmorbius]

The Max Lumi is what I picked up this past March. It's big, but an excellent choice for scientific articles, note-taking (a surprise --- not my intended use but one I'm finding I do make use of extensively), or reading comics at full-size.

Onyx updated the device once shortly after it arrived, but not since.

I've not been able to activate the Google Play Store ... I think because of Google's "you must register an account" bullshit, so I've just stuck with F-Droid and APK-Mirror for a couple of apps (mostly Pocket, as the F-Droid version is badly out of date).

Since I install few apps regardless, this is not much of a handicap, and I consider it a benefit.