About two years ago, I discovered the reMarkable 2 smart notebook from the Norwegian company reMarkable. Since then, I’ve become addicted to their product, which has become a daily tool for summarizing meetings, writing tasks, and signing long documents requiring extensive reading. Recently, the company launched a new generation – the reMarkable Paper Pro – incorporating a larger screen, color display, and backlighting, features absent in the previous model.
reMarkable notebooks are quite different from tablets (due to their E-INK screen technology, more on that later) and competing products like those from Boox. The Paper Pro (or earlier models) runs on the company’s proprietary operating system, not Android. This means no app installations, emails, notifications, or internet browsing. The rationale behind this choice is to make the notebook a tool for writing and thinking without the distractions we are used to on other devices.
For me, at least, this is an essential distraction-free tool. When I’m in meetings, there’s no temptation to get distracted, unlike with tablets or laptops, where I might check the latest notification on Telegram or email.
reMarkable Paper Pro – Smartphone App and Email Sharing
While there’s no Gmail here, the information you write isn’t left without backup or sharing options. The device has WiFi connectivity that syncs content with the company’s cloud or lets you send the document you just wrote to someone via email as a PDF, PNG, or SVG file. These features require a subscription to the company’s premium service, Connect. Buying the device includes a 100-day subscription (it used to be a year), after which the cost is NIS 12 per month.
Since you won’t always carry the Paper Pro with you, it also comes with a smartphone app and computer software that mirrors your notebook folder. This allows access to all the content you’ve written anywhere through your smartphone. You can also upload documents to the notebook itself for later reading, such as PDF files or eBooks in ePUB format.
Additionally, you can connect to cloud storage services like Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox for content access. If you have long Word or PowerPoint documents, you can transfer them to the notebook by converting them to PDF. There’s also a plugin for Microsoft Office, the Edge browser, and Google Chrome for quickly sending content to the notebook, such as articles. The downside? The notebook doesn’t support Hebrew fonts, so this feature is only useful for English and other supported languages.
Waiting for Hebrew Support
You can write summaries in Hebrew by hand in the notebook. These summaries can be shared or emailed to someone else, but they appear as image files. The lack of Hebrew support means handwritten notes in Hebrew cannot be converted to text, though this feature works with English writing. This allows users who take meeting notes in English to easily transfer them for further work on a computer.
reMarkable Paper Pro – Read at Night
The Paper Pro’s screen has significantly increased in size from 10.3 to 11.8 inches, making it taller and wider. This improves writing comfort, mainly because you can fit more text while writing or reading. However, the notebook is now more noticeable in my backpack. Instead of a device weighing 403.5 grams with a 4.7 mm thickness (without the cover), it now weighs 525 grams with a 5.1 mm thickness.
The screen uses color E-INK technology, offering a paper-and-pencil-like experience. Unlike the previous generation, the screen is not just in grayscale but also supports color. E-INK screens don’t cause eye strain, provide a reading experience similar to regular paper, and are power-efficient.
Although I’m not an illustrator and didn’t use the device for drawing, I believe this feature would appeal to that audience. For me, the ability to highlight text in different colors was somewhat helpful and enjoyable. However, the color screen does have a slight flicker in areas displaying colors. This happens when writing in color or switching pages, but it stabilizes afterward. The company even states this behavior is not a malfunction.
What I found most useful was the screen’s backlighting. Until I received the Paper Pro, I didn’t realize how much I missed this feature. In challenging lighting conditions or at night, the device suddenly became more practical.
The internal storage has been upgraded from 8 GB to 64 GB, and the battery capacity has increased from 3000 mAh to 5030 mAh, while the usage time remains up to two weeks. Charging time has improved from 120 minutes to a full charge in 90 minutes.
The stylus I tested was the Marker Plus, sold for an additional NIS 200 (the stylus from the previous model doesn’t work here). Writing with it (I didn’t try the regular version) is excellent, very similar to writing with a regular pen, even including the sound of writing with a pencil on paper. The back of the pen features an eraser, allowing you to erase text easily without navigating menus for this option.
The cover, called Book Folio, costs NIS 400, though you can find cheaper options on AliExpress. In any case, the original cover now includes a holder for the pen. This might sound minor, but it’s one of the issues that bothered me in the previous generation, as the pen would sometimes fall off its magnetic attachment when stored in my bag.
A Physical Keyboard
The Type Folio is not a new accessory but now comes in a version compatible with the Paper Pro. This significant addition costs NIS 1,000 and doubles as a device cover. It’s a slim, backlit keyboard that makes typing easy. The keyboard folds neatly, taking up minimal space and weight, turning the device into a laptop substitute. The keyboard draws power directly from the Paper Pro. The downside? It doesn’t support Hebrew, making it less useful for my needs.
Pricing - NIS 2,500 for the Paper Pro, including the Model Marker stylus and shipping to Israel.
Bottom Line - reMarkable has introduced significant improvements with the Paper Pro, making the product even better. The larger screen allows for more comfortable writing, with fewer page turns needed. The backlighting makes the device accessible even in dark environments, such as reading or writing in bed at night, while the color addition caters to users wanting to use it for drawing. However, if you’re mainly looking for a notebook for writing, and the new model’s upgrades are not critical for you, you can save 700 shekels by purchasing the previous generation.