ReMarkable Paper Pro review: I'm breaking up with my iPad

I'm sure my colleagues are sick of hearing me talk about the ReMarkable Paper Pro. Heck, I feel downright blessed with being able to review the mother of all E Ink tablets. For that is what the ReMarkable is. Sure, there is competition from the likes of heavy-hitters like Kindle, Kobo, and Boox, but for a dedicated note-taking and writing device, there's no doubt that ReMarkable is the Holy Grail.

I'm going to be candid with you – I'm a diehard digital note-taker. I began, as many do, with the humble art of bullet journaling. For the uninitiated, this is a method of task management and scheduling that can be as simple or complicated as you like – I credit it (and several well-worn Moleskine notebooks) with getting my ADHD brain through both my undergrad and postgraduate degrees.

However, when I moved overseas, it was a painful reality check – trying to shove your entire life and worldly belongings into two suitcases, a stack of physical notebooks doesn't rank too highly on the priority list. Here began my obsession with digital note-taking, and my investment in an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, plus a more recent iPad Mini – which I'm obsessed with.

I say all of this to convince you of how radical a change the Remarkable Paper Pro has made in my life. And yes, the title of this review is a tad bit misleading, because I haven't entirely given up on my two iPad models. I officially use them in tandem with the ReMarkable Paper Pro (possibly making me the most high-maintenance tablet user I know), but here's why it's been such a game-changer.

ReMarkable Paper Pro review: Price and Availability

The ReMarkable Paper Pro is an exercise in restraint, in doing one thing really well – which is an increasing rarity in the tech world. My personal gripe with device-makers today is that they are constantly scrambling to expand their consumer base instead of zeroing in on what existing users love, throwing half-baked features into their offerings when they could be perfecting. ReMarkable hasn't added any unnecessary bells and whistles here, though.

But let's get it out there: the Paper Pro is an expensive tablet, starting at £559 / $579 / AU$929. This includes the tablet itself and the standard 'Marker' stylus. However, my review unit came with the 'Marker Plus', which is available for £40 ($40 / AU$70) more.

Feature-wise, the main differences between the Marker and the Marker Plus are the built-in "eraser" on the latter, and a supposedly more comfortable texture and grip. I can't compare the two, however, as I've never used the regular one. The other big difference is the colour: the standard Marker is grey, the Marker Plus is black.

There are currently two options from ReMarkable when it comes to protecting your tablet: a Book Folio and a Type Folio. ReMarkable very kindly provided me with both the Book Folio in brown leather and the Type Folio in Basalt (which is the only option at the moment if you want a keyboard) for this review.

ReMarkable offers a discount on some of the Folio options if you buy them alongside your Paper Pro, but the Book Folio ranges in price, with the Type Folio sitting at a cool £219 ($240 / AU$400). As you see, buying the ReMarkable Paper Pro with all of its accessories – as good as they may be – is a very pricy endeavour indeed.

Too rich for your budget? If you would still like a taste of the ReMarkable experience but are happy to forego some of the Paper Pro features – a bigger screen, colour ink, and a backlight being key among them – then the ReMarkable 2 is worth a look instead. That model begins at £379 / $399 / AU$679, which will be more appealing for some.

ReMarkable Paper Pro review: Design and Features

Now, let's get into the good stuff. The ReMarkable Paper Pro boasts an 11.8-inch colour display. And yes, that is pretty massive. However, when it comes to note-taking, I do find all that space useful – perhaps because my handwriting tends to be a bit on the larger side.

Another bonus the Paper Pro has over the 2 is its backlight. Truthfully, the brightness is a bit dim, even at its highest setting – which my partner probably loves, considering he often falls asleep before I do. Although this hasn't bothered me too much, it is worth noting for any would-be future product development.

The Paper Pro's navigation is wonderfully simple and intuitive. Finding your documents is as simple as organising them into folders and, if need be, using tags to sort them further. Once in a document, the slender menu at the side is similarly minimalistic, though you can still whisk it away at the touch of a button for the purest of writing experiences.

The ReMarkable Paper Pro comes with a good selection of classic paper-like templates, which range from those meant for calligraphy to music and more. I found myself gravitating towards Lined Medium the most, while the Calendar option is also great. If that isn't enough for you, however, then ReMarkable offers even more – although these are locked behind a monthly subscription, which I'll get to in more detail later.

You can also use the Paper Pro to read PDFs and ePubs. The former I have made use of in a few different ways – although it takes a little extra work. Downloading longer articles so I can jot notes on them has been rewarding, not to mention distraction-free.

I would have loved to have this back in school. Marking up short readings and PDFs was a pain back in the day – I often just resorted to printing them out because I found myself much more engaged that way. That being said, marking up PDFs isn't something I often do in my current role. Instead, I tend to find myself sending longer online articles to the Paper Pro and reading them that way, which is much preferred.

I am, however, very interested in marking up books. I am a tactile reader and love nothing more than jotting down notes and scribbling in margins (and there are studies to suggest this improves recall and comprehension).

Many eBooks come in the form of ePubs, which, officially, ReMarkable does support. But there's a catch. Unless you are reading only ePubs of older material (for out-of-copyright texts you're going to find that Project Gutenberg is your place) or are a big sci-fi fan (a few big publishers are pushing back against device-locking their eBooks), most of your reading material comes with those pesky DRMs attached.

Amazon, Kobo, Nook – they all encode the eBooks you buy from them to ensure you can only read that copy in certain locations (i.e. on their respective devices). Of course, I'm sure many of you reading this know there are ways to remove these restrictions (which I won't discuss in more depth here).

I dislike being locked into a certain provider, but I do subscribe to writers being paid properly and their numbers being accurate when it comes to that crucial renegotiation phase with their publishers. Can you tell I used to be a book reviewer before I worked in tech? Anyways, I digress.

Now, for the writing itself, the thing that I think will make people want to buy a ReMarkable tablet in the first place. This is by far the best writing experience I have had on any tablet, ever. And, yes, I do have the famous Paperlike screen protector on my iPad Pro, so I'm considering that too.

If you are an artist who enjoys pencil sketching, the ReMarkable experience is incredible. The shading and depth you can achieve is about as close to an original on-paper experience as I can imagine.

And don't forget about the colours, which is what truly earns this tablet its 'Pro' moniker. Admittedly, colour choice is limited, but with the shading tool you can layer them to make even more vivid shades.

As mentioned before, the ReMarkable Paper Pro already comes with a wide range of templates. Part of the Connect subscription, Method, is a sort of template marketplace. It's there where I found a lovely calendar that completed my ReMarkable desires.

If you are thinking that writing your notes would be a waste of time as you have to transcribe them to the screen, never fear – the handwriting recognition feature is pretty darn good. In fact, that's what I used to get this review from the ReMarkable to this very website. There are only a few times when it failed me, and when it did, I was already pushing the limits with a quick chicken scratch instead of my usual longhand.

If you aren't a fan of handwriting but do like the idea of disconnecting for your typing sessions, then the Type Folio might be of interest. I'll admit, I've rarely used it – I am a pen girl through and through – but when I did, it was faultless.

What really impressed me with the Type Folio is the design, which, in my humble opinion, blows the Apple Magic Keyboard out of the water. You can open the Type Folio just like the regular Folio, because the keyboard hides away. It is only after lifting the tablet away from the back (it's a bit of a trust-the-process situation) that the keyboard is revealed, backlit keys and all. It is overall very sleek, hardly adding to the thickness of the tablet when stowed away.

There are a couple of gripes I have, but they are really very minor. First off, I would love to be able to switch between documents a little easier – as, right now, it takes multiple steps to switch from one notebook to another, which is cumbersome, especially if you just want to jot something down quickly.

The ability to open two notebooks side-by-side would also be appreciated, as that's not possible. For example, if I jot down some dates in meetings, it would be helpful to transcribe them into my calendar without having to go back and forth. Of course, maybe that's a complication that would contradict the minimalist goals of the tablet, but worth knowing if that is a feature you would like.

There is also the matter of the subscription fee, which I know will put some people off. No, it's not necessary to subscribe to Connect to use your tablet – the device is not in any way bricked. But, I have to admit, having the subscription has been a lovely addition. With it, you get access to cloud backups, syncing across their suite of apps, and as mentioned before, the bevvy of extra templates available through Methods.

How much are we talking? It's £/$2.99 (AU$12.99) a month, I think that is a reasonable price, although I do understand some will find that frustrating considering the not-insubstantial amount the tablet itself costs.

ReMarkable Paper Pro review: Performance

The battery, as you would expect on an E Ink tablet, lasts for several weeks, no problem. I, however, used the backlight frequently, which diminishes that estimate significantly (and, I suppose, explains why it's not too bright). I also found it easy to forget the backlight was on in the first place, wasting precious energy, but that's more user error.

Where the E Ink excels in battery life, it also falters in some places – it is E Ink, after all, so this is to be expected. When writing in the normal black ink pen, I found the lag to be practically imperceptible, and that is truly key considering the device's prime purpose. However, you will notice when turning pages, shifting text with the lasso tool, and erasing. But it isn't painfully laggy by any means.

The colour is a slightly different story. When first highlighting or "painting" a stroke, it will initially show up as a dull kind of preview, only solidifying and becoming vibrant once you have lifted your pen. Again, I didn't find this to be a problem, and if it is for you – well, you should probably go and buy a "normal" tablet.

I mentioned before that the screen has a very satisfying texture to it, but with that texture comes a lot of wear and tear on the nib. I haven't had to switch mine out yet (the ReMarkable Paper Pro comes with six replacement nibs, and more are available for purchase in their store), but I am certainly getting there after a couple months of heavy usage.

ReMarkable Paper Pro review: Verdict

If you want a distraction-free writing experience or are looking to convert those piles of notebooks into a minimalist digital system, the ReMarkable Paper Pro is the device for you. It's a stunner that's changed how I work digitally.

But only go for the Paper Pro if you are completely sold on the idea of a distraction-free writing experience being beneficial to you – this is not an iPad, Pixel Tablet, or Samsung Tab replacement. Like I said, I now use the iPad in tandem.

If you're still on the fence about the ReMarkable and money isn't the biggest concern then, well, just go and buy one. It's a brilliant device that I reach for each and every day and, honestly, is my product of the year already.

Also consider

If you're looking for a dedicated eReader with the option to take notes and you aren't particularly tech savvy, the ReMarkable perhaps isn't for you.

You're likely looking for a Kobo Elipsa 2E or, if you don't mind supporting Amazon, a Kindle Scribe. For those who are tempted by the added splash of colour, the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C is also worth checking out.

If you specifically want a dedicated note-taking device, and aren't fussed about the screen colour and size, you might be better off saving money with the ReMarkable 2.