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Remarkable Paper Pro

Remarkable Paper Pro review - Stylish, colorful digital notebook for working without distraction

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The Paper Pro from Remarkable is stylish, has a high-quality finish, and is ideal for taking notes, reading, and editing documents. To avoid distraction, that's all the electronic notebook can do. But is that enough to justify a price of almost US$750?
Florian Schmitt, 👁 Florian Schmitt, Anton Avdyushkin (translated by DeepL / Ninh Duy) Published 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 ...
ARM E-Ink Tablet

Verdict

If you want to do without paper but like taking notes or need to edit a lot of documents, there is hardly a more sophisticated digital notebook on the market than the Remarkable Paper Pro.

However, the price is very high, especially as the e-ink-based tablet only allows you to read, write, and edit documents: there is no camera, no speakers, no option to add new functions via apps, and no web browser. This means that you won't be distracted from your work. At the same time, you can get an e-ink tablet like the Lenovo Smart Paper for a much lower price. This tablet allows the installation of Android apps, which provides access to numerous additional features.

It is possible to use the Remarkable Paper Pro to read e-books, but you won't necessarily have the most comfortable experience: The software here is slow in parts and offers few options. It is also more challenging to transfer e-books to this tablet compared to other devices.

However, if you are looking for a pure electronic notebook and don't want any bells and whistles, the device offers a great experience: the input pens offer very precise experience, the response time of the screen is fast and there is a comprehensive selection of different writing and drawing tools, which can also be adjusted. The fact that some colors even blur into each other is a great effect, for example.

Thanks to the lighting, the screen can also be used in dark environments. The colors displayed are not as vibrant but are surprisingly varied for an e-ink display. The high-quality accessories, including those from third-party manufacturers, also make the digital notebook enjoyable.

In its special field of application, the Remarkable Paper Pro is a great tool with many possibilities. For all other tasks, however, you need an additional device.

Note: In this case, we have not included a numerical rating, as our automated system cannot adequately represent the Remarkable Paper Pro's special advantages.

Pros

+ optimized, very slim OS
+ backlight
+ high case quality
+ very precise stylus
+ E-Ink display with high resolution...
+ ...also for color display
+ long software updates
+ lots of memory
+ fatigue-free display
+ long runtimes

Cons

- expensive
- only a few possible applications
- illumination with only one light color
- few options for e-reading
- relatively heavy

Price and availability

 The Remarkable Paper Pro costs $579 directly from the manufacturer without the folio and with the simple stylus. With the Marker Plus and a Book Folio, the price increases to $779. You can also get a Type Folio with backlit keys and a palmrest for an additional $229 on top of the standard price, or pick a different material for the Book Folio.

On Amazon, the device is available starting from $620 at the time of testing.

Possible competitors in comparison

Image
Model / Review
Price
Weight
Drive
Display
1.
Remarkable Paper Pro
Remarkable Paper Pro
NXP i.MX 8M Mini ⎘
Vivante GC Nano Ultra ⎘
2 GB Memory, 64 GB eMMC
Amazon: $779.00
List Price: 699€
525 g64 GB eMMC Flash11.80"
2160x1620
229 PPI
E-Ink
2.
75.2% v7 (old)
Lenovo Smart Paper
Lenovo Smart Paper
Rockchip RK3566 ⎘
ARM Mali-G52 MP2 ⎘
4 GB Memory, 64 GB eMMC
Amazon:
1. $25.99
Black Smart Paper Pen for Le...
2. $19.99
A-10 Stylus Pen with Eraser ...
3. $25.99
Stylus Pen Compatible with L...
List Price: 499€
408 g64 GB eMMC Flash10.30"
1872x1404
227 PPI
E-Ink
3.
79.4% v7 (old)
Huawei MatePad Paper
Huawei MatePad Paper
HiSilicon Kirin 820e ⎘
ARM Mali-G57 MP6 ⎘
4 GB Memory, 64 GB UFS 2.1
Amazon:
1. $22.99
BLCshine 2Pcs Magnetic Paper...
2. $9.88
Zrengp Clear Shockproof Case...
3. $14.98
Puccy 3 Pack Screen Protecto...
List Price: 499€
360 g64 GB UFS 2.2 Flash10.30"
1872x1404
227 PPI
E-Ink
4.
78.5% v7 (old)
Onyx Boox TabX
Onyx Boox TabX
Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 ⎘
Qualcomm Adreno 610 ⎘
6 GB Memory, 128 GB UFS 2.1
Amazon:
1. $9.99
Aircawin for 10.3" Onyx Boox...
2. $116.60
Onyx BOOX BOOX Pen 2 Pro Black
3. $35.99
GOVTVA Magnetic Case for Ony...
List Price: 950€
570 g128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash13.30"
2200x1650
195 PPI
E-Ink Mobius
5.
70.5%
PocketBook Color Note
PocketBook Color Note
Allwinner B810 ⎘
PowerVR GE8300 ⎘
4 GB Memory, 32 GB eMMC
Amazon: $599.00
List Price: 599€
390 g32 GB eMMC Flash10.30"
1872x1404
227 PPI
E-Ink

Remarkable is known for its electronic notebooks based on an e-ink display.

The Paper Pro is not a direct successor to the Remarkable 2 but offers significant improvements, including color reproduction and an integrated backlight. However, the price is somewhat steep, starting from ~US$600.

The manufacturer is careful not to market the Paper Pro as the "Remarkable 3": The Paper Pro is instead intended to represent the new top-of-the-range model. In contrast, the Remarkable 2 remains the standard model, similar to the relationship between the iPad Air and iPad Pro.

E-Ink alternatives to the Paper Pro are the Onyx Book TabX, the Huawei MatePad Paper, and the Lenovo Smart Paper, to name just a few. However, unlike most of its competitors, the Paper Pro runs on a simpler Linux-based operating system instead of Android.

Specifications

Remarkable Paper Pro
Processor
NXP i.MX 8M Mini 5 x - 1.8 GHz
Graphics adapter
Memory
2048 MB 
Display
11.80 inch 4:3, 2160 x 1620 pixel 229 PPI, Canvas Color based on E-Ink Gallery 3, E-Ink, glossy: no
Storage
64 GB eMMC Flash, 64 GB 
, 60 GB free
Connections
1 USB 2.0, 1 Docking Station Port
Networking
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/)
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 5.1 x 274.1 x 196.6 ( = 0.2 x 10.79 x 7.74 in)
Battery
5030 mAh Lithium-Ion, 15 Watt charging
Operating System
Linux
Additional features
12 Months Warranty, fanless
Weight
525 g ( = 18.52 oz / 1.16 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)
Price
699 Euro
Amazon
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case and equipment - Very high-quality chassis

The back and sides of the casing are made of metal, while the front is made of special, borderless, matte glass that feels like textured paper when writing with the pen supplied. The distance between the pixel layer and the outer surface layer is just under 1 mm to make writing feel as direct as possible.

The rigidity of the case is excellent, and the device does not twist or creak when handled. If you press the center of the screen with the pen, the surface warps a little, but this would also occur with a normal paper notebook and is therefore not a problem in normal use.

At 525g, the Paper Pro is heavier than some alternatives, such as the smaller Lenovo Smart Paper or the MatePad Paper, and the protective cover adds weight. It is also slightly heavier than an iPad Air, but in return, you get a larger screen closer to the standard A4 format.

With 64 GB, there is plenty of memory for documents and e-books.

The only port available is USB-C for charging and data transfer. Video output is only supported via wireless screen sharing, which requires a Remarkable account.

 Unlike the Remarkable 2, the connector pins for accessories are located on the back of the Paper Pro. Therefore, Paper Pro accessories are incompatible with the Remarkable 2 and vice versa.

Remarkable Paper Pro
Remarkable Paper Pro
Remarkable Paper Pro
Remarkable Paper Pro
Remarkable Paper Pro

Size comparison

310 mm / 12.2 in 228 mm / 8.98 in 7.9 mm / 0.311 in 570 g1.257 lbs274.1 mm / 10.8 in 196.6 mm / 7.74 in 5.1 mm / 0.2008 in 525 g1.157 lbs246 mm / 9.69 in 173.5 mm / 6.83 in 6.4 mm / 0.252 in 390 g0.86 lbs225.2 mm / 8.87 in 182.7 mm / 7.19 in 6.65 mm / 0.2618 in 360 g0.794 lbs226 mm / 8.9 in 195 mm / 7.68 in 5.5 mm / 0.2165 in 408 g0.899 lbs297 mm / 11.7 in 210 mm / 8.27 in 1 mm / 0.03937 in 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Communication - No Bluetooth

Wi-Fi 5 is supported, but Bluetooth is not.

Since there is no web browser, the Wi-Fi connection is primarily used for cloud synchronization, software updates, screen sharing, and sending files via email.

The lack of a web browser is also the reason why we cannot measure the transfer speeds.

Software and sustainability - Tidy OS based on Linux

The software is a key differentiator between the Paper Pro and most other e-readers: there is no Android, but instead, Linux-based software is installed. Those who concentrate on reading and taking notes will be satisfied with the very reduced user interface.

Anyone expecting more, however, will have to look elsewhere: Remarkable users do not get functions such as a web browser, the ability to install other readers and apps, or support for many file formats - the tablet concentrates entirely on its core tasks.

Although there are hacks and utilities on the Internet to add functions and make changes, these involve extensive changes to the software and are only recommended for experienced users.

File support remains the same as for Remarkable 2; files should be available as PDF or ePUB if possible. Opening Word and PPT files requires additional steps on the PC, while JPEG and PNG files are automatically converted to PDF files.

The software is very minimalistic, the tools can be selected in the bar on the left.
The software is very minimalistic, the tools can be selected in the bar on the left.
The tool selection can also be collapsed using the small wheel at the top left.
The tool selection can also be collapsed using the small wheel at the top left.
The quick settings are also reduced to the bare essentials.
The quick settings are also reduced to the bare essentials.

Presentations in PDF format can be sent from the Remarkable via Screen Share to projectors or screens that support this function.

The manufacturer offers a relatively long software promise: 5 years after the end of sales in its own web store, the devices should still receive updates. In addition, the security risk should be relatively low due to the proprietary system.

Remarkable provides comprehensive information on its website about the sustainability of its products: The CO2 footprint of the Paper Pro is 58 kg, 82% of which comes from the electrical energy consumed in the production process. The manufacturer also states that around 74% of the device is recyclable.

Recycled materials, such as the cobalt in the battery or the polyester for the folios, are also used. However, the device is not really easy for the user to repair. Remarkable does not offer direct repairs for broken devices outside of the warranty; instead, refurbished devices can be purchased at reduced prices.

Operation, e-reading and notes - Can handle small tasks but performs them very well

The primary function of the Remarkable tablet is to read, write, and edit text. While the buttons can also be operated with your fingers, you need a stylus to write or draw: there is a standard pen included for free with the device or a higher-quality stylus with an included eraser for an extra $50. Both give you a very fine and very immediate writing experience. If you tilt the stylus, you can hatch. Colors become more or less intense depending on the pressure applied and even mix depending on the drawing tool selected.

The user interface is easy to learn and has large icons, but one problem typical of e-ink remains: although the screen is fast, it is not quite as direct as a typical smartphone or iPad. This disadvantage can be particularly annoying for fast writers, as the software cannot always keep up with the frequent changes between different colors, pen styles, and pages.

In addition, the integrated "Convert to text" function is unreliable with cursive writing and mathematical formulas. If you want to use this function frequently, you should definitely write large and with thick lines.

The Type Folio also comes with a keyboard cover, making writing long texts much easier.

If you also want to use the Remarkable Paper Pro to read e-books, you must first get the files onto the device. To do this, you have to open a browser window when connecting the tablet to the PC or use the upload to the cloud. Of course, this is not quite as convenient as using Windows Explorer or directly via the apps of your preferred provider, which you can install on Android devices.

Documents and eBooks are always opened in the note app. You can create your own layers for annotations and comments, mark text passages, and more. This all works quite well. However, there are sometimes fewer options for actually reading the documents than with other reader programs: You can only select a few fonts, for example, and the text display can only be regulated with six font sizes and three line spacings.

Remarkable Paper Pro with Folio
Remarkable Paper Pro with Folio
Remarkable Paper Pro Type Folio with keyboard
Remarkable Paper Pro Type Folio with keyboard

Display - Practical format and many colors

Close-up of the screen
Close-up of the screen

The 11.8-inch display has a 4:3 format, which is well-suited for documents. The resolution of 2,160 x 1,620 pixels is quite high and does not drop when displaying colors. This means that the display always looks fine.

A special feature of the E-Ink display in the Remarkable Paper Pro is the ink particles in three primary colors and white per pixel. These are mixed to produce red, green, and blue secondary colors. Together with black, this results in 8 color tones that the display can show natively. Additional color values can be generated by dithering.

In practice, some colors definitely appear more vivid than others. Blue, for example, looks almost like black unless the backlight is set to maximum. Nevertheless, the quality of the colors in terms of saturation and display is comparable to that of a newspaper. The colors are particularly useful for notes when they are combined with layers: this allows you to annotate, correct, underline, or write over existing text.

The backlight is a good addition, but it doesn't get really bright on the Remarkable Paper Pro: the manufacturer calls it "Glow Light" and in our test with the spectrophotometer we measured a maximum brightness of around 4 cd/m². This is very low when you look at comparable e-ink readers. However, it is enough to be able to read the display in dark environments without any problems. The color temperature is neutral white, a warmer backlight is unfortunately not possible.

Although the tablet supports automatic rotation of the screen content, this function is deactivated: according to the manufacturer, the Paper Pro is designed to be used in portrait mode. Remarkable says that auto-rotation could be included in a future update, depending on demand and user feedback.

4
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Canvas Color based on E-Ink Gallery 3 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 4 cd/m² (Nits)
Center on Battery: 4 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
Remarkable Paper Pro
E-Ink, 2160x1620, 11.8"
Lenovo Smart Paper
E-Ink, 1872x1404, 10.3"
Huawei MatePad Paper
E-Ink, 1872x1404, 10.3"
Onyx Boox TabX
E-Ink Mobius, 2200x1650, 13.3"
PocketBook Color Note
E-Ink, 1872x1404, 10.3"
Screen
2725%
1448%
1525%
2725%
Brightness middle
4
113
2725%
61.9
1448%
65
1525%
113
2725%
Black Level *
Brightness
106
60
67
111
Brightness Distribution
83
80
63
93
Greyscale dE 2000 *
9.9
9.1
15.2
Gamma
1.371 160%
2.02 109%
1.157 190%
CCT
7116 91%
6848 95%
8312 78%

* ... smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM not detected

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8354 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured.

Performance, Emissions and Battery life - No speakers

The Remarkable Paper Pro uses an NXP iMX8 Min SoC with four cores and a clock speed of up to 1.8 GHz. Unfortunately, performance benchmarks are not possible due to the Linux system. Compared to mid-range SoCs installed in other devices, such as the Onyx Boox Tab X or the Huawei MatePad Paper, and offer significantly more (and more modern) computing cores, the performance is likely to be modest.

However, this is not so tragic in this case, as the Remarkable tablet is mainly used for taking notes and can hardly be used for anything else anyway. And this usually works smoothly, with loading times only being a little longer from time to time for elaborately designed documents with large graphics.

There is no need to worry about high temperatures under load; we measured temperatures below 30 °C, even after long periods of use.

The Remarkable Paper Pro does not have speakers, so it is not possible to play audio books or have texts read aloud. There is also no Bluetooth, so external audio devices cannot be connected.

The power consumption during operation is relatively high at an average of 6.7 watts with maximum screen brightness. On the other hand, the Remarkable Paper Pro has a generous battery with 5,030 mAh. We can operate the tablet for around 20 hours with Wi-Fi switched on, minimal lighting, and regular page changes. The tablet can be charged with almost any USB charger; a full charge takes just over 2 hours.

Max. Load
 27.1 °C
81 F
25.4 °C
78 F
24.2 °C
76 F
 
 27.9 °C
82 F
24.7 °C
76 F
25.1 °C
77 F
 
 27.2 °C
81 F
27 °C
81 F
26.5 °C
80 F
 
Maximum: 27.9 °C = 82 F
Average: 26.1 °C = 79 F
25.2 °C
77 F
25.5 °C
78 F
26.5 °C
80 F
25.1 °C
77 F
25.9 °C
79 F
26.2 °C
79 F
25.8 °C
78 F
26.2 °C
79 F
26.8 °C
80 F
Maximum: 26.8 °C = 80 F
Average: 25.9 °C = 79 F
Power Supply (max.)  39 °C = 102 F | Room Temperature 21.2 °C = 70 F | Fluke t3000FC (calibrated), Voltcraft IR-260
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 26.1 °C / 79 F, compared to the average of 30 °C / 86 F for the devices in the class Tablet.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 27.9 °C / 82 F, compared to the average of 33.7 °C / 93 F, ranging from 20.7 to 53.2 °C for the class Tablet.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 26.8 °C / 80 F, compared to the average of 33.2 °C / 92 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.9 °C / 77 F, compared to the device average of 30 °C / 86 F.
Heatmap Back
Heatmap Back
Heatmap Front
Heatmap Front
Power consumption Remarkable Paper Pro (Image: Allen Ngo)
Power consumption Remarkable Paper Pro (Image: Allen Ngo)
Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
19h 58min
Remarkable Paper Pro
5030 mAh
Lenovo Smart Paper
3500 mAh
Huawei MatePad Paper
3625 mAh
Onyx Boox TabX
6300 mAh
PocketBook Color Note
4000 mAh
Battery Runtime
-12%
-20%
24%
-7%
Reader / Idle
1198
1056
-12%
963
-20%
1486
24%
1113
-7%
Load
278
249

Notebookcheck overall rating

In the review: Remarkable Paper Pro. Test device provided by Remarkable.
In the review: Remarkable Paper Pro. Test device provided by Remarkable.

The Remarkable Paper Pro is not exactly cheap. It is certainly a very special tool for anyone who wants to do without actual paper but still wants to make notes and annotations in texts conveniently.

Apart from that, it has virtually no functions but is equipped with an elegant casing, plenty of memory, and a comparatively responsive and colorful e-ink display.

Transparency

The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was given to the author by the manufacturer free of charge for the purposes of review. There was no third-party influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.

This is how Notebookcheck is testing

Every year, Notebookcheck independently reviews hundreds of laptops and smartphones using standardized procedures to ensure that all results are comparable. We have continuously developed our test methods for around 20 years and set industry standards in the process. In our test labs, high-quality measuring equipment is utilized by experienced technicians and editors. These tests involve a multi-stage validation process. Our complex rating system is based on hundreds of well-founded measurements and benchmarks, which maintains objectivity. Further information on our test methods can be found here.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Remarkable Paper Pro review - Stylish, colorful digital notebook for working without distraction
Florian Schmitt, 2025-03-25 (Update: 2025-03-29)