Remarkable 2 – Best Note-Taking Tablet Review

With technology running our lives, sometimes we would just like to go back to basics and that is what Remarkable provides. It provides its users the feeling of being able to write on paper again.

Through this article, we shall feature Remarkable’s best and latest tablet and markers.

What is the reMarkable 2?

reMarkable 2 as mentioned earlier is something like a kindle but it is something that you could write on. It is a tablet which comes with few differences. In fact, their tablet does not have any web browsers, no app stores nor you could use it for sending emails or checking your calendar.

It is a tablet which is designed for taking notes, reviewing documents and for reading. It is 10.3 inch device which you could interact by touching, writing or drawing.

Keep in mind, however, that this one does not come cheap. In fact, it is priced about £399 in UK and that is only the tablet which means, you will still need to get a marker which for a standard one, you will be able to get it for about £79 and for the Marker Plus £129. Hence, you will need to have at least £478.

Design, Screen and Battery Life

This tablet is a bit smaller than an A4page which makes it a usual size for general note-taking. It is made of high quality materials which makes it come in solid and decent built.

ReMarkable comes with magnetic attachment with USB-C charging feature. Its battery life is hugely impressive with it being able to last up to two-weeks.

As for its screen, this tablet shows a monochrome type of digital paper display with resolution of 226 DPI. Though it is sharp it is still pleasant on the eyes. The only downside is that it is not backlit but then, this is good as when you are note-taking on paper, your paper is not backlit as well. This means, you also get to have the feeling of traditional note-taking.

What is impressive about ReMarkable is that it works perfectly in direct sunlight.

Note-Taking and the Marker

ReMarkable partnered with a stylus would definitely give you a paper-like note-taking experience. In fact, this is as close as you could get in experiencing traditional with technology. It provides enough friction and even the sound that Marker’s tip produces gliding across the display would make it very addicting to write. Its latency comes with a rate of 21ms which is closely similar to Apple pencil. It is very fast even though there are limitations with the display’s refresh rate.

ReMarkable offers different options of pen styles which includes different colors, paper styles and templates. In fact, the ReMarkable has gone further by offering options even only few people will use. Their Marker is very lovely and though it may seem feel cheaper compared to Apple’s pencil, it is fun to use and more grippy. The upgraded version, Marker Plus, come with better materials including an eraser on its other end. It does not need any charging and it has features that include tilt and pressure sensitivity. After a period of time, just like the Apple pencil, you would need to replace its Marker top after a period of use. With ReMarkable, you would not need to worry about this as there are nine spare tips that are included in the package. As for the timeframe in changing the tip, keep in mind, that you would need to change its tip within three to seven weeks of use. Of course this would depend on your writing technique.

File Management and Sharing

With ReMarkable, there is a misconception that you would need to subscribe monthly for you to be able to use reMarkable 2, fortunately, this is not true. In fact, you could use it to its fully functional version without any form of ongoing payment. The only thing that you would not be able to access if you do not sign up is its Connect Service.

Moreover, even without a subscription, you will be able to sync notes to its desktop app. Keep in mind, however, that if you do not access within a certain timeframe, you would only have 50 days. But other than that, you could and would definitely be able to use ReMarkable.

There are two different Connect subscriptions and they are Connect Lite which is priced at £4.99 per month and Connect which is priced at £7.99 per month. With the Lite subscription, you will be able to get unlimited storage and you do not have the 50 day caveat. If you get the connection subscription, you could get support for Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, handwriting conversion, screen sharing, email feature and even an extended warranty of 36 months. A year’s subscription to Connect is about £624.

The next question would be is if you will be able to live without Connect and the answer is yes, absolutely. the 50-day period for syncing note is not even unreasonable especially to those who does not refer to old notes.

What Else Can You Do With the ReMarkable 2?

Though as you could have already surmised, reMarkable is definitely for note-taking activities, there are other uses for it. It could be used as a reading device. In fact, you could do the same with ePUB files which means if you have a DRM free book library, then you could use ReMarkable 2 as a reading and annotating device.

Keep in mind however, if you wish to use this device as such, you will have to do some manual effort as there is no bookstore included in it. Hence, you will need to copy across if you really want to read.

Some also say that there is a Google Chrome extension which allows users to be able to send simplified web articles to your reMarkable. It has also been said that you will be able to share your notes on other screens through Screen Share feature which you could do by installing ReMarkable on your computer which means you will need to subscribe to Connect.

As for its performance, reMarkable we could say feels like Kindle.

reMarkable 2 versus iPad Mini

When comparing reMarkable to iPad Mini 6, we could say that reMarkable could not compare to iPad on the surface as iPad is a legitimate, full-blown type of table which offers stylus support while reMarkable 2 is only a note-taking device. Though that is the case, we could still compare both in some aspects.

iPad mini has a note-taking feature which is setup on its tablet itself. The second generation Apple Pencil has a paperlike screen protector together with the Notability app. This device, you would need to invest about £636.

ReMarkable 2, on the other hand also provides a paperlike screen protector experience. Its stylus is as pleasurable to use just like Apple pencil.