I’ve had the joy of getting to test out the reMarkable Paper Pro over the past few months. It’s certainly an impressive device, though it isn’t quite for everyone. That said, I do think it makes a lot of sense for a lot of people, and I’m certainly happy such a device exists on the market. It’s certainly made me re-think a few things.
Hardware overview
At its core, the reMarkable Paper Pro is an e-ink tablet. It packs an 11.8-inch display, giving you a decently large canvas to work with. It also supports up to 20,000 colors, allowing you to express yourself fairly adequately, despite being an e-ink display. There’s also only 12ms of pen-to-ink latency, which should go practically unnoticed in day-to-day-usage.
As for resolution, the display comes in at 2160×1620, providing a pixel density of 229ppi. Everything you view will look incredibly crisp. For reference, Apple’s Retina displays on Macs are around 218ppi. This sharp display offers an adjustable front light as well, allowing you to adjust the brightness as you’d like while writing notes or reading e-books. This really maximizes comfort.
Obviously, as a paper tablet, the hardware feel matters a lot. I’m happy to report that writing on it feels almost exactly like paper. The textured glass really does a remarkable job (pun intended) mimicking the feel of paper. The tablet comes in at just 5.1mm thick, matching the ultra-thin M4 iPad Pro. The chassis is all aluminum, with a really nice grooved finish around the edges. The reMarkable Paper Pro certainly feels premium.
Out of the box, the reMarkable Paper Pro comes with a stylus. I personally tested out the premium Marker Plus, which comes with tilt detection and an eraser on the bottom. It also feels great in the hand.
Having an eraser on the bottom does take some time to get used to, but it’s incredibly nifty. It certainly saves a good amount of time, since there’s less to fiddle with. reMarkable also offers a cheaper Marker without an eraser or tilt detection, though I’d likely steer away from it. If you’re buying a device just for writing, you’ll want the better marker. It’ll also cost a lot more to purchase a Marker Plus later on.
Software overview
The operating system on the reMarkable Paper Pro is super simple. Once you enter your passcode, it’s essentially a one page setup. All of your notes, documents, and e-books are listed out on one page. You can switch between a grid view and a list view, and also choose from various sorting options. It’s a very bloat-free experience. You can also favorite and tag files for easier searching.
reMarkable has a companion app that you can use on your phone or computer. With this app, you can transfer files to and from your reMarkable Paper Pro. This’ll be the primary method for transferring e-books onto the paper tablet, as reMarkable doesn’t offer a store. It supports the ePUB format. I personally borrowed e-books from my library using Libby, which offered an ePUB download. The mobile app also now offers document scanning, making it easier than ever to sync paper documents to your reMarkable Paper Pro to write on.
You don’t only have to sync using the companion app, as the reMarkable Paper Pro also offers Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive integration for on-device file transfer to cloud services.
There are no apps on the reMarkable Paper Pro. Everything revolves around reading and writing. There isn’t even a web browser, even though it has internet access. This felt weird at first, but it’s actually blissful.
One could easily look at the $629 price point of the reMarkable Paper Pro and think: shouldn’t I just buy an iPad?
The reMarkable Paper Pro certainly isn’t a cheap product. That said, it does its job incredibly well, and I think there’s immense value in single-purpose tech. Sure, an iPad will do more, but you’re also more likely to get distracted with an iPad.
Plus, the reMarkable Paper Pro comes in at $629 with the included reMarkable Marker Plus, whereas an iPad Air, for example, starts at $599 without any Apple Pencil. You’d also have to spend more money on screen protectors to replicate the paper feel.
It certainly isn’t for everyone. If you’re a student, or otherwise a vivid notetaker, though, it’s an excellent buy if it’s in your budget. The reMarkable Paper Pro aces the digital writing experience. With it’s top-notch hardware, color displays, and wide array of writing tools, it’s a delightful device to own.
If the reMarkable Paper Pro isn’t in your budget, you can also consider the more affordable reMarkable Paper 2 model, which comes in at $449 with a slightly smaller 10.3″ monochrome display. It includes the Marker Plus as well.
Wrap up
Overall, I really enjoyed my time reviewing the reMarkable Paper Pro. I’m not a student, so I’m definitely a little bit outside of the demographic, but it was a joyful way to jot things down throughout the day. reMarkable ties the experience together really well.
They also offer a keyboard folio accessory for those who’d prefer to type out some of their notes instead of always needing to write. I didn’t spend a ton of time using it, but if typed notes are more of your thing, it’s an option.
One last thing: battery life is incredible. reMarkable quotes up to 2 weeks of battery life per charge, and I’d say thats about right. It also recharges relatively quick, gaining up to 90% in an hour and a half.
Buy reMarkable Paper Pro on Amazon:
Buy reMarkable Paper 2 on Amazon:
reMarkable says that prices will be increasing sometime this month because of recent tariffs, so I’d advise buying sooner than later if you’re interested in the device.
My favorite Apple accessories on Amazon:
Follow Michael: X/Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
