Before testing the new reMarkable Paper Pure earlier this year, I found the idea of e-ink ‘paper tablets’ a novelty at best. I couldn’t understand why, when I already own an iPad, I’d want a device with far fewer bells and whistles. But after a few minutes, I was converted. The writing experience on the Pure is, well, Pure – and suddenly it’s all those bells and whistles that look like a novelty.
But if I was a reMarkable guy then, I definitely am now. I’ve been testing the company’s more diminutive tablet, the Paper Pro Move, and it might just be my favourite gadget I’ve used in the last few years. There are a couple of minor issues, but overall is this is the premium yet portable paper tablet that, until a few months ago, I didn’t know I needed.
I’ve extolled the virtues of writing on a ‘paper tablet’ elsewhere. But in short, if you haven’t tried it, this feels as close to writing on paper as you can imagine. It makes writing on the glass screen of writing on an iPad feel like, I don’t know, writing on glass. And the Paper Pro Move takes this brilliant writing experience and puts into a smaller yet more premium package.
After using the Paper Pure, I was keen for a design that more closely resembled a notebook. The Paper Pro Move is as tall as a standard paperback, making it truly portable. I’m therefore more likely to actually be carrying the thing when inspiration strikes, meaning I can actually scribble ideas down rather than having to take out the dreaded phone and open Notes.
And because of its ‘Pro’ credentials, the Paper Pro Move features a more premium build quality than the plasticky Pure. Taking design cues from its bigger sibling, the Paper Pro, the smaller model features an aluminium body and colour display. Meanwhile, along with the book-like size, the backlight makes it a much more viable proposition as an e-reader than the bigger tablets.
reMarkable’s Pro tablets also enjoy more premium accessories. While the sage green fabric case for my Paper Pure is nice, it can’t compare to the luxury feel of the Paper Pro Move’s leather folio. For those of you of a certain vintage, it’s like using a Filofax.
There are minor niggles. For one thing, reMarkable’s decision to use a different aspect ratio screen to the Paper Pure and Paper Pro make swapping between devices somewhat of a chore. Documents sync seamlessly, but because the Pro Move is taller and thinner, you’re going to end with some cropping. Why reMarkable didn’t decided to make the Pro Move a touch wider to preserve the aspect ratio is a mystery to me.
So if you’re hoping to use the Paper Pro Move as part of a reMarkable tablet ecosystem, you could be in for some frustration. But taken on its own, the Paper Pro Move is a delight. It’s become my go-to notebook, one that I use for both work and my own personal writing.
I would end with a pun about it being truly remarkable, but I’m above that.
