Remarkable 2 review

Surprisingly, the Remarkable 2 doesn’t do anything fancy to achieve the feeling of writing on paper. It’s all thanks to the nature of e-ink displays. They usually tend to have a rougher surface but there seems to be a protective film on the tablet that has a more coarse texture than the Amazon Kindle. Even the bundled Marker Plus has a textured finish which replicates the scratching of a pen. So both, the tablet and the marker together are responsible for the ‘feeling’ of writing on paper.

Weighing 403.5g, the tablet itself is extremely lightweight, and because there’s no camera bump sticking out on the top, the whole thing feels extremely well-balanced. The thicker borders are also intentionally kept so that you can hold it comfortably with one hand too. It’s also razor-thin at just 4.7 mm. For context, that thickness is the exact size of the USB Type-C port which sits at the bottom to charge its 3000mAh battery. 

There are four rubber grips on the frosted glass at the back so the tablet doesn’t move or slip away when you put it on a table to write. Yes, we tried it and it works even when you’re furiously writing at the speed of a stressed-out student in the last 30 minutes of an exam.

While the Marker 2 and the tablet bring the physical feeling of writing on paper. It’s the software smarts that are hella impressive. Grab any Kindle and you will see how snail-paced e-ink displays can be compared to the lightning-fast displays on any modern device. The Remarkable 2 overcomes this input lag between the Marker and the display by using clever AI and ML for predictive behaviour. The result is a flowing writing experience that is almost indistinguishable from the LED screens. What about palm rejection you ask? Well, that’s almost like magic. In our entire review period, the palm rejection was flawless.

However, that doesn’t mean that it’s void of any lag. Scrolling and opening image-heavy files will remind you that you’re still using an e-ink display and the technology hasn’t evolved yet for us to adopt e-ink for doom scroll.

Regardless, it’s not a product to replace your laptop or tablet, heck, it doesn’t even try to. The folks at Remarkable told us that the purpose of the Remarkable 2 is to allow for a distraction-free writing experience and while that may sound like the BMC’s clarification for Gokhale Bridge and the Barfiwala Flyover, it’s not. Here’s why. The remarkable 2 runs on a custom operating system based on Linux, so any possibilities of adding Android or iOS apps are squashed right from the start. Even the Wi-Fi connection is only for syncing files with your PC or mobile app. No apps means no more notifications, you can keep your head down and focus on your writing.

In my experience, the Remarkable 2 did make me more productive and reduced eye fatigue as well. Since there’s no backlight on the Remarkable 2, your eyes are naturally comfortable staring at its 10.3-inch display. However, you cannot read or write in the dark without a light so that might annoy some people. Meanwhile, the lack of apps and internet-connected features are fundamental to the appeal of the Remarkable 2. 

It’s made to make you more productive and for someone who has 7 hours of screen time at an average, I can comfortably say that writing on the Remarkable 2 is a lot more productive than writing on an iPad. Sure, you can turn on Focus mode to block all distractions on the iPad but it still largely depends on your ability to not habitually open notifications and check apps. So in every sense of the word, your mileage may vary.

While the efficacy of Remarkable 2’s approach depends on you, there are features here to aid a healthier writing experience. Firstly, you can’t hand over handwritten notes in this day and age. Everything is either typed or danced on Reels. Thankfully, Remarkable 2 is skilled at converting handwritten notes to text. Recording a dance? Not so much. However, if you’ve written more than five pages worth of notes, it’s easier to convert them on the desktop app —  a feature which got added recently. When we started our test a month ago, the only way to convert handwritten notes to text was on the tablet itself but now you can do it on the desktop app too, which is a lot faster. It also uses the cloud to convert your handwritten notes into text so if you’re writing the script of Fast and Furious 11, be warned.  

You also have to subscribe to Remarkable Connect for unlimited cloud storage and app sync. So you can’t edit documents or add new ones from your app without this subscription. The first year is free, post which it’s ₹299 for a month or ₹2990 for a year. You get exclusive offers in the webshop and up to three years of added protection for your Remarkable 2 paper tablet under this subscription.

There are two ways to start writing. Either you start a Notebook or a Quick sheet. Once started, you can swipe left to add more pages or keep scrolling endlessly. The Notebook feature comes with 47 different templates including writing, checklists, storyboarding, grids and more. And we mostly used the Notebook feature for writing our other reviews.

You can swipe between pages to go to the next sheet on Quick Sheets but only the page you were on last will show as a thumbnail in My Files unless you change the settings to show the first page always. So it is best to use the Notebook feature, add tags and name your files more often if you want to stay organised.

You can also add plugins to Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox that let you import a copy of your documents and PDFs from these drives directly onto the Remarkable 2. This is good for folks who want to move around files. Speaking of which, you can also send documents directly from the Remarkable 2 tablet to any email address.

The Marker 2 also works without any charge and magnetically attaches to the tablet. These magnets are hella strong, pretty much the strongest we’ve seen on any device. The rear side tip of the Marker 2 also works as an eraser so you can ‘rub’ things off like you’re using a pencil from your school days. It can mimic a pencil, calligraphy pen, marker, ballpoint pen, paintbrush, fine liner, mechanical pencil and a highlighter. The Marker 2 is also pressure-sensitive and has tilt functions for shading and sketching.

We also got the Type Folio keyboard for review and since you’ll be dropping ₹19,499 on this thing to type, we might as well review it too. Think of it as a review within a review. 

Like the Marker 2, the Type Folio doesn’t need any charging whatsoever. It connects using POGO pins and works like a fully functional keyboard. It even has keyboard shortcuts similar to Windows and MacOS. The keystrokes are tactile while the keycaps have a nice finish to them. It’s not the best tablet keyboard but it’s close enough to get the job done. It feels almost as good as the Apple iPad Magic Keyboard Folio and costs less. However, you can’t connect a Bluetooth keyboard to the Remarkable 2 so if you have a mechanical keyboard you wish to use for typing on your desk, it won’t work with the tablet.

At the end of the digital day, the Remarkable 2 is a solution to our modern writing woes. It doesn't aspire to be a laptop killer or tablet replacement - just a dedicated distraction-free canvas for your thoughts to frolic. The e-ink magic replicates that scribbling satisfaction like your high school notebook, minus the papercuts. Is it worth the steep ₹43,999 entry fee (add ₹19,499 for the Type Folio keyboard)? Depends on how much you value streamlined focus sans screens screaming for addictive doomscrolls. For uninterrupted inspiration, the Remarkable 2 is a splurge-worthy indulgence that lets your writing take centre stage.

Our only gripe with the tablet is that it doesn’t have a store to purchase ebooks. You have to manually add your ebooks and that is after you manage to get an unlocked version of it legally.