Remarkable Paper Pro review: It's the ultimate writing tablet, but it'll cost you

My laptop is fine for laptop-y things, but when it comes to interviewing someone for a book, taking notes for a podcast or even just compiling a weekend to-do list? The pen is mightier. That's one reason the Remarkable 2 writing tablet is so widely loved; it emulates the feel of pencil on paper while providing the benefits of a digital device: unlimited notepads, easy document mark-ups, convenient sharing with others and so on. Now comes the even better Remarkable Paper Pro (aka Remarkable 3), which adds one long-overdue feature — a lighted screen — and one surprising one: color. It's expensive, yes, but if you like to take notes the old-fashioned way and want a distraction-free place to do it, this tablet surpasses competition from both Amazon and Apple. Here's my Remarkable Paper Pro review.

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Remarkable Paper Pro Writing Tablet with Marker Plus

Screen size: 11.8 inches | Screen resolution: 2160 x 1620 (229ppi) | Weight: 1.16 pounds | Storage: 64GB | Estimated battery life: 2 weeks

VERDICT: A writing tablet that's nearly perfect for the pen-and-paper crowd but with a price that may put it out of reach.

Pros

• Color!
• Large, front-lit screen
• Easy to set up, learn and use
• Great assortment of pen styles and document types
• Realistic pencil-on-paper writing feel
• Can convert handwritten notes into digital text

Cons

• Colors are muted
• Screen doesn't get very bright
• Expensive

$629 at Amazon

The Paper Pro is an e-ink tablet, a familiar technology for anyone who's ever read books on a Kindle. However, this one supports input from a digital stylus, meaning you can scribble all manner of notes, doodles and more. You can also import documents (such as PDFs and EPUBs), mark them up and export them again.

With its 11.8-inch display, it's roughly akin to working on a standard sheet of paper. And because that display is self-illuminated, you can easily work in dim or dark environments.

The Paper Pro with Marker stylus costs $579; I recommend spending the extra $50 to get the Marker Plus, which includes a built-in eraser (just flip it over to erase your digital ink same as you would with a pencil). In for a penny, am I right?

I'm not going to delve into the minutiae of the Paper Pro's features, which are both extensive and impressive. You can find that information on Remarkable's website and elsewhere. My focuses here are the following:

• How easy is this device to set up and learn?

• How comfortable is it to use for its intended purposes?

• Are there better alternatives?

Remarkable Paper Pro: Setting it up and learning to use it

Remarkable's printed quick-start guide is tiny, with just three steps, but it's more than sufficient: All you do is plug in the USB-C charging cable, magnetically clip the stylus to the side so it begins charging, then follow the onscreen setup instructions. These are generally excellent, even going so far as to demonstrate what a screen refresh looks like (a quick flash, basically) so you don't think you've got a defective unit.

The one step that left me slightly confused was "device pairing," which sounds like what you do with Bluetooth headphones but instead refers to pairing your device with a Remarkable account. That requires a visit to Remarkable's site (via phone or PC) to get a verification code. The language made it sound like I should already have that account, which I didn't. But it was easy enough to get that set up, and from there, smooth sailing.

The one step that left me slightly annoyed was back on the Remarkable site, where the final device-pairing step was to activate a trial Connect subscription (more on that below). The trial is free for 100 days, $3 a month after, but you have to provide your credit card information; you can't complete setup without doing so. Or so it seemed; strong "subscribe now" language to the contrary, I was able to forgo this final step.

Once paired, the tablet walks you through basic operation, which is quite simple: Create a new notebook, start writing. If you're confused about something or can't remember how to perform a certain task, there are a few helpful built-in guides: a tutorial that shows you the different ways of working on the device; a cheat sheet illustrating the various gestures; and a "tooltips" toggle that adds pop-up help for tools and settings. There's also a QR code you can scan with your phone; it takes you to the Remarkable site, which is home to far more extensive tutorials and even some use-case stories.

Remarkable Paper Pro: What it's like to use

Ever put pencil to paper? That's what it's like to use the Paper Pro — and I mean that in the best possible way. Writing feels comfortable, natural. And I'm definitely spoiled by having the Marker Plus, with its "eraser," because otherwise you have to select the eraser tool, then re-select your preferred writing implement.

Speaking of which, the tablet offers just about every kind of virtual stylus imaginable: pencil, ballpoint pen, calligraphy pen, marker, paintbrush and so on. There are highlighter and shader tools as well, plus you can switch to a virtual keyboard if you want to add text. (Worth noting: Remarkable offers a Type Folio case ($229) that includes a keyboard, in case there are times you'd prefer to type rather than jot.)

For any of those tools, you can choose not only black, white or gray, but also half a dozen colors. That's a major advancement in e-ink technology, but keep your expectations in check: They're all fairly muted, or at least they seem that way relative to the vibrant colors we're all accustomed to on our phones and tablets. Red looks more like a burnt orange; green is a decidedly pea-soup shade. Color images in imported PDFs reminded me of the early days of "colorized" movies — which is to say, dull, faded ... not great.

To be fair, this isn't an art tablet (as evidenced by the lack of even the most basic drawing tools, like lines or circles). It's for taking notes and, if need be, marking up documents. Everyone has different use cases, but my feeling is that yellow highlighter is the most useful application for color here. And I will say that when you export a document, the colors appear much more vibrant in the resulting PDF.

As for your actual documents, they can be "quick sheets" (a simple blank page) or notebooks, the latter with dozens of available templates: ruled paper, planners, storyboards, grids, sheet music (piano, guitar, etc.) and so on. This is part of the power of a writing tablet: Any kind of virtual paper you want, in whatever quantity you need. And even if you write a thousand-page masterpiece, the tablet doesn't get any heavier.

You can also import various kinds of documents by way of Remarkable's mobile and desktop apps. In addition to native PDF and EPUB (a popular e-book format) support, there's an optional Microsoft Office add-in for transferring Word and PowerPoint documents (which get converted to PDFs) and a Chrome extension for grabbing web content (converted to straight text or PDF, your choice).

I was particularly impressed with the Paper Pro's OCR capabilities, meaning the way it can convert handwritten notes into text. You just use the selection tool to highlight what you want, then tap the Convert icon. To my amazement, this worked accurately not only with my chicken-scratch block writing, but also the cursive I barely remember from school and was never good at.

All this is likely familiar to any Remarkable 2 users; the main updates here are color and front-lighting. Unfortunately, the latter is just as subtle as the former. In a dark or dimly lit room, you can certainly see the Paper Pro's screen, but it's a far cry from bright — even with the setting cranked to maximum. One could argue that limiting brightness helps reduce eyestrain, but I'd prefer to make my own choice there. Amazon's Kindle Scribe (see final photo) has a much brighter screen.

Remarkable's Connect service provides unlimited cloud storage for your documents, mobile and desktop apps that let you create and edit documents, an extended warranty (3 years) and miscellaneous other perks. I suspect these will prove superfluous features for most users, but the $2.99/month price tag is certainly reasonable enough.

Remarkable Paper Pro: Are there better alternatives?

Better? No. The Paper Pro is best-in-class when it comes to dedicated writing tablets. However, if the price tag is too steep or you're not sure you actually need a dedicated writing tablet, there are other options worth considering.

First is the Amazon Kindle Scribe, which starts at $339, weighs a bit less, doubles as a full-featured e-reader and has a brighter (but smaller) 10.2-inch screen. The pencil-on-paper feel isn't quite as pronounced, however, and it offers fewer writing, mark-up and syncing tools. Handwriting-to-text conversion is also quite rudimentary in comparison to the Paper Pro's. That said, if you just want a good basic note-taking tablet, it's well worth a look. And it's often discounted, too.

Second, there's the iPad and Apple Pencil combo: You can buy a 10th-generation iPad for $349 (often discounted to $299) and an Apple Pencil for $95, for a total of $448. The iPad weighs about the same as the Paper Pro but has a slightly smaller screen: 10.9 inches to the latter's 11.8.

Obviously an iPad is a far more versatile device, a full-fledged tablet with a vibrant color screen, front and rear cameras and a zillion compatible apps and accessories. However, it's also a more distracting device, with other apps and possibly even text messages clamoring for your attention. The iPad's battery life is also nowhere near the Paper Pro's estimated two weeks.

But the real difference is feel: When you run the Apple Pencil over the iPad's screen, it doesn't feel the least bit paperlike. Rather, it's slippery, and therefore less appealing for note-taking, at least for me. You need that little bit of resistance, that grit.

Can it get the job done? Sure. So can just about any tablet paired with a decent stylus. It just won't feel the same.

The Paper Pro, then, is for purists, those who want a tablet that's for notes and nothing else. A tablet that provides a true writing-on-paper feel. And it's excellent in that regard, a real boon to anyone who prefers scribbling to typing. This is an expensive writing companion, to be sure, but also a splendid one.