Freakin’ reMarkable

In my opinion, reMarkable 2 is as thin as it gets when it comes to a tablet, and I absolutely love it. If you think about it, it would be too ironic if a paper tablet wasn’t close to being as thin as paper is. Imagine if the device is big and clunky! Not only would you hate bringing it places, but it would also make you feel like pulling out a laptop and just typing instead. I have never owned a device this thin before, but I’ve always wanted to. It feels so sleek and stylish as well. reMarkable 2 mostly boasts a white colour to emphasize the relation to paper, but it is housed by a steel-grey trim that makes it look fancy. In keeping with the thin look, it also doesn’t weigh much, which makes it super easy to drop into your backpack, briefcase, or even purse. Overall, you’ll have all eyes on you if you walk into a room holding one of these babies.

Obviously, the big selling point of reMarkable 2 is the way it feels when you write on the device. Does it actually feel like writing on paper? Well, yes and no. While I personally have not tried any of the competing paper tablets on the market, the feel I get from writing with reMarkable 2 is probably as good as it will get. When you touch the surface/screen, you can obviously tell it feels nothing like paper. However, when you start to write on the surface, two things happen: A) The stylus pen finds great traction on the surface, making for a strong and stable writing experience. I’ve used the Apple Pencil on my iPad quite a bit, and at the end of the day, it always just feels like it’s sliding against the glass. B) When the stylus writes onto reMarkable 2, it makes a sound that is eerily similar to a pencil writing on paper. I have no idea how they engineered this to happen or if it’s just a happy coincidence. Bottom-line? It feels amazing to write on and definitely motivates you to go back to handwriting!

reMarkable 2 currently has two stylus options available for purchase–Marker, a standard pen, and Marker Plus, an upgraded pen with an attached eraser function. While the second option is slightly more expensive, having the eraser makes all the difference to me. Sure, you can just as easily switch the tool onscreen, but flipping the pen around and quickly erasing just adds to the feel of the old-school writing experience. The eraser functions really well and works as intended, so no complaints there! As for the rest of the stylus, it has a very earthy texture to it, which I think is great because it does not feel like it will fall out of your hand the way a smooth stylus would (looking your way Apple). It’s a firm pen and has a simple design, devoid of any unnecessary buttons or grooves. It does, for whatever reason, have replaceable tips, which I suppose means they dull over time. This would be a drawback for me, but thankfully a lot of spare tips are included. Finally, perhaps the best feature of all is that the stylus pen does not need to be charged. My assumption is that because it does not contain any smart technology, it’s always ready to go. It snaps on magnetically to the device, so the power to start putting pencil to paper is never far.

So far, I truly contend that reMarkable 2 has an amazing set of writing tools in its arsenal, allowing for boundless creativity. You can select from a range of pens (ballpoint and fineliner), pencils (regular or mechanical), to highlighters, markers, brushes, and calligraphy pens. Each tool has its own unique settings, such as stroke thickness and colour. One important thing to keep in mind is that because the device only displays in black and white, the colour options most likely only work/show up on exported files (I have yet to test this out). Currently, I’m using the mechanical pencil on medium because it feels the best for my writing style. I find that the pencil functions a little too much like an actual pencil in that certain strokes can make your lettering bigger and wider (though this is not a complaint as it can be quite useful for sketching). The pencil options obviously have more of a tactile feel versus the pens that have a smoother feel. The highlighter works really well and adds that studying aesthetic to your writing and notes. Lastly, we have the marker, brush, and calligraphy options for our artists. All three tools produce amazing results depending on what you’re going for. While creating fully coloured digital artwork may not be possible with reMarkable 2, you can certainly master some great sketches or vector art. I’m not really a great artist, but even I am excited to try out a few things. The ease of switching between these tools is phenomenal, with a quick toolkit menu on the side making life so much easier. The more I use reMarkable 2, the more I fall in love with its functionality, features, and ease of use.

Everyone’s writing style and preference is different. My printing is pretty ugly, but my cursive is much better. Yet, I would think that hideous printing and standard cursive would be a real chore for any AI to interpret when converting to text. WELL, NOT FOR A BOSS LIKE REMARKABLE 2! I’d tried out writing-to-text functions on the iPad, but it was very temperamental. I am absolutely blown away by how accurate reMarkable 2 is at converting to text. I’ve barely noticed any errors, and any that I have seen were probably the result of my own horrid handwriting. This is such a critical feature to get right because of the potential uses for this tablet. From taking notes in class to writing out documentation for work, no one wants to spend time having to go back and constantly edit their work. reMarkable 2 lets you get it right the first time and is the peak of efficiency. The great news is that in addition to the many writing inputs, there is also a text/keyboard mode that allows you to edit any converted text, or even use the tablet as a typing tool if desired. There is an onscreen keyboard, or you can use an external keyboard. The possibilities are just endless!

Another exciting facet of reMarkable 2 is the ability to store files in the cloud and integrate with other popular services. There is unlimited cloud storage and an auto-sync ability, which is amazing because you can easily access your files via your phone or laptop as needed. You can continue to build on your notes using a mobile device or a desktop with the help of the reMarkable app. reMarkable 2 can be integrated with Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox. This is absolutely amazing if you already are heavily using one or more of these services. There are a variety of file conversion options available, which really extends the range of how you can transfer and continue your work on other devices. There is, however, one big catch; in order to take advantage of the unlimited cloud capabilities, you have to subscribe to reMarkable’s Connect service, which is indeed a paid subscription. The good news is that all new reMarkable 2 owners get a free subscription for a year. This really works well with the 100-day satisfaction guarantee, where you can fully try out the device and return it during that period if you don’t like it. What is there to lose?

Even though I’ve listed all of these amazing features above, perhaps the best benefit to me is the fact that reMarkable 2, despite being a connected piece of technology, offers a chance at truly distraction-free writing. This is absolutely huge for someone like me who has almost no attention-span these days. I find when I’m typing on my laptop, it’s very easy for me to get distracted with other tabs or the need to multitask frequently. reMarkable creates the same effect as an e-reader; some people might ask what the point is when you can read books on your phone or tablet, but the idea is that you’re able to read from a singular screen without any other distractions. Since reMarkable 2 does not allow you to do anything beyond writing, you focus more on the task at hand. While I do still find myself reaching for my phone at times, the thought of sitting down and writing brings me back into focus. There is a lot of nostalgia when you remember the days of journal-writing. My recommendation? Silence your phone, sit at a comfortable spot, find great lighting, bring a nice drink, and enjoy your writing experience.

The immediate criticism I felt for reMarkable 2 was the absence of a backlit screen. That’s right, if you own something like a Kindle, you’ll know what I mean. However, my old-ass Kindle still lets you adjust the brightness. This is non-existent on the reMarkable 2 and I find myself wondering why. At first, I thought about the fact that the designers probably felt that the best way to imitate a notebook was to require the user to sit in a well-lit area and use external lighting. But then I thought about how e- readers, which are meant to replicate the look of books, still offer some degree of backlighting. Presumably they do this with the understanding that sometimes the user may end up in a setting without a lot of light, like outside at night. If that’s the case, why wouldn’t reMarkable factor in the same logic? I could totally see myself taking this thing on vacation and sitting outside at night to journal something, but at the last resort I visited, that would have been impossible because there was no bright outdoor lighting. While this does not detrimentally take away from reMarkable 2’s amazing abilities, it seems like a missed opportunity that a competitor could scoop up. I’ve read rumors that this may be a key feature for reMarkable 3, but this has yet to be seen.

Hear me out. I’m not asking for full colour support, but maybe just the minimal range matching what the device offers for the writing tools. As mentioned above, the writing tools provide a selection of inking and highlighting colours. However, on the device, these colours only show up as different hues of grey. This is because reMarkable 2 does not display any colour onscreen, but rather through exported files. While this may look cool in exported documents, I would love to see this magic displayed on the tablet. Supporting full colour would be a challenge, especially without a backlit display. I think artists would also up the demand for selection of colours if the device allowed this, as they would aim to create full digitally coloured art. Based on all of that, I don’t see why adding minimal colour support for pens, markers, and highlighters would hurt. I think it would add that extra pop to everything.

WHY? Please help me understand this one. What material is the Marker Plus made from that it would dull over time? What is coming off the tip with each strobe that us users cannot see? Well, according to reMarkable’s website, the tips dull over time due to friction and pressure sensitivity. Depending on how often you write with the tablet and how much pressure you use, the tips can dull anywhere between 3- 7 weeks. That seems crazy to me! While, yes, they ship the Marker with a bunch of replacement tips, I can’t help but wonder when I’ll have to purchase more and how much that will cost. When you consider the costliness of the actual device and stylus, along with the subscription cost, it might be asking for too much to also replace stylus tips too. The big question is, do you absolutely have to replace them? reMarkable vaguely claims that writing will become less smooth and continue that way until the Marker eventually is unable to connect. I’m not entirely sure what that means, but hopefully it’s a while until I find out!

As I mentioned above, reMarkable 2 allows for cloud storage and automatic file-syncing, provided you subscribe to their Connect service. While, yes, I appreciate the free year-long trial given to new tablet owners, once that year has elapsed, there is a monthly charge of roughly $5. The amount, from an annual billing perspective, is not too demanding, but it’s still worth noting that owning reMarkable 2 may not be a one-time cost. You can still use some degree of cloud syncing without Connect, but there are limitations, such as file expiry dates. When you think about the cost of the device, the stylus pen, the case, and the eventual subscription, reMarkable 2 might run you around $800, making it more expensive than some entire laptops on the market. Just something to think about!