I wrote this ReMarkable Paper Pro Review. What better way to test it out than by using it as the distraction-free writing device it promises to be? This digital notebook is technically a successor to the ReMarkable 2 which was launched in 2020, although the Norwegian company presents it as an “updated” model with more features and a higher price.
This tablet now has a color E Ink display, a front light that makes it visible in the dark, and an active stylus alongside a more responsive screen, making the whole package feel much closer to the experience of writing with a pen and paper. Considering that the company will still sell the ReMarkable 2 for $399 (which is still an excellent digital notebook), it’s hard to say that the ReMarkable Paper Pro is worth the $579 price tag (minus accessories), and it’s probably not worth the upgrade if you already have the ReMarkable 2.
But if you have a hard time concentrating on a laptop and miss the feel of pen and paper, what do you have? Real benefits for memory retention—The Paper Pro can be an invaluable tool. The upgrades to this model are welcome, and if it means being able to write this review without hearing incessant clicking, whistle from Slack, then that might be priceless.
Color me mine
Photography: Nena Farrell
I love taking notes, whether in a paper planner or a digital notebook. Pro Paper It’s larger than most of these, with an 11.8-inch screen, so it feels a lot more like having a sheet of A4 paper in front of me. It’s a nice size for my irregular handwriting and increasingly long lists, but it’s not so big that it’s awkward to carry around. It’s slim enough that I can stack it on top of my laptop or a large book as I wander around my house. It weighs just over a pound, which is manageable.
I’m also a big fan of adding color when I can, and that’s the main theme here. Color e-ink displays have become more common lately (Kobo has a color e-reader, and it’s safe to expect Amazon to release one soon), but ReMarkable says its Canvas Color technology is built on top of E Ink’s color display and features physical color particles that move around the screen. It’s not a color filter sitting on top of a black-and-white screen, which is what you’ll find on other color e-ink displays.
The colors aren’t electric, but rather muted, like colored pencils rather than a set of vibrant pens or highlighters. Shades range from the classic primary hues of red, blue, and yellow to magenta and cyan. You can also choose gray or white, with the latter only appearing if you’re writing over another color. There are seven different pen styles to choose from, similar to the ReMarkable 2, all of which have the same range of six colors and three neutrals, while the highlighter and new shader have slightly different color options.
The colors on the page are still easy to see and identify. The experience of using them is fun, too; when you first write, it’s usually black or gray, and then Paper Pro starts recoloring the letters after you lift the pen. Typed text, meanwhile, can only appear black. I liked using the colors to mark edits I needed to make when proofreading my typed work, or to write color-coded notes. The black color of the pen is much darker than any of the colors, so much so that I used the gray as my neutral choice so it wouldn’t make the colorful writing look washed out.
Light
Photography: Nena Farrell
Another major improvement is the built-in light. It’s not a backlight like the one on your smartphone or tablet, but a front light like the one on many e-readers: the light is aimed at the screen and illuminates it, reflecting it back to your eyes and making the screen readable in the dark. If you’re in a well-lit room, you might not even notice the light is on—I can barely tell the difference when I’m sitting at a table with plenty of natural light. But in darker rooms, the soft glow of the screen reminds me of reading on my Kindle at night. It’s great for writing your novel on a late-night plane ride or taking notes in a dimly lit presentation room.