reMarkable 2 Alternatives: Is there a better e-ink tablet?

Last updated: September 2023

If you’re here looking for information about e-ink tablets, you were probably introduced to the technology through reMarkable’s marketing machine.

Most likely, you were attracted to the reflective nature of the e-ink screen, which is easier on the eyes, usable in direct sunlight and has a long battery life. The concept of digitizing your
paper notebooks maybe also has particular appeal.

This was what happened to me a couple of years ago – I felt as though I was being bombarded with reMarkable 2 advertisements and was very close to buying one. But I decided to do a little research first and bought a different tablet instead (a Boox).

There was very little impartial information about e-ink tablets available at this time (one of the reasons I built eWritable) but I was very pleased with my purchase. I have since bought a reMarkable 2 and several other e-ink tablets so am well-versed in the nuances between them.

As a replacement for a journal, diary or all those scraps of paper you have lying around, the reMarkable 2 is pretty darn awesome.

However, due to reMarkable’s far-reaching advertising campaigns, and spin on their products, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the reMarkable is a unique device and nothing compares to it.

In this article, I want to introduce you to five alternatives to the reMarkable 2 and discuss
why (in my opinion) they are a better choice.

Supernote A5 X

Ratta Supernote’s slogan is ‘For those who write’ and this is a very accurate description of the sort of person that the Supernote is designed for.

Writing on the Supernote is a joyful experience that feels pinpoint accurate as the pen glides
across the screen with just enough friction on the smooth screen to prevent it from feeling slippy.

In contrast, the reMarkable’s screen has a rougher texture and makes a ‘scratching’ sound as you write or sketch – it’s no less pleasant, just different.

Whilst the reMarkable stylus (and the styluses from other manufacturers) use plastic nibs that wear down and have to be replaced every so often, the Supernote Pens use a ceramic nib that never needs to be changed.

The native note-taking app on the Supernote has several useful features that are not present on the reMarkable.

For example, you can search the handwriting in your notebook for specific words. Whilst there is a search function on the reMarkable it only works for text input – you can convert
your handwriting to text and then search but this adds an additional step to the process.

The Supernote also allows you to insert links into your notebooks that can be tapped to take
you to other pages, other documents, or even webpages. This can be very useful for navigation and many users use this feature to create an index page with links to their most frequently used notes and documents.

Sticking with the theme of organisation and navigation, Supernote allows you to tag handwriting as headings and automatically creates a table of contents with this information. This is useful for splitting a notebook into sections and quickly navigating the page you want.

The Supernote is also more versatile than the reMarkable. There’s a calendar app, an email app, and you can even install the Kindle app for reading ebooks. None of these apps are available on the reMarkable.

And switching between notebooks, documents, and apps is really slick on the Supernote because of the unique ‘swipe bar’ on the right hand-bezel. A quick swipe down is all it takes to navigate around your tablet.

In reMarkable’s favour, it does have more brush tools than the Supernote (pencil, calligraphy pen etc.) and utilises tilt and pressure sensitivity better, which makes it better for sketching than the Supernote. It also automatically syncs notebooks and documents with the cloud – on the Supernote, this is a manual action.

Boox Note Air 2 Plus

The reMarkable 2 has been designed to be a replacement for paper notebooks, and for this purpose, it is excellent. However, it cannot be used for much else, and the locked-down
operating system means that you cannot install additional apps.

Boox’s range of e-ink tablets all run the Android operating system, which means that additional apps from me Google Play store can be installed.

So, like the Supernote, you can use email, calendars, and Kindle on the Book Note Air 2 Plus, but you can also install anything else that is available from the Google Play Store.

For example, you can install a web browser, such as Chrome, the Reddit app, Google Drive, Evernote etc.

Of course, with so many software options, there is a danger that the hardware may run into performance issues. But don’t despair – the Note Air 2 Plus has far better hardware specs than the reMarkable 2. More processing power, more memory, more storage capacity and a bigger battery. It also has integrated speakers, a microphone, and a frontlight which are not built into the reMarkable.

The screen of the Note Air 2 Plus has a slightly grainy texture to it very similar to the reMarkable. However, although the writing experience is good, it does not feel quite as natural as the reMarkable (or Supernote). This is because the front light raises the screen slightly, so there seems to be a tiny gap between where the pen touches the screen and where the mark is made.

The native note-taking app does pretty much everything the reMarkable can do and an awful lot more besides – in addition, you can draw straight lines and shapes, insert links, tag handwriting with keywords, add images, and even insert voice recordings into your notes.

What’s more, the native reading app on Boox is very very good and opens a wide
variety of file formats – on the reMarkable you are restricted to just PDFs and EPUBS.

Kindle Scribe

Whereas the remarkable 2 makes a poor e-reader, this is exactly the area in which the Kindle Scribe excels.

The scribe can open a wide range of file formats and includes features such as
dictionaries, highlights, sticky notes and X-ray.

In addition, the screen technology is better, having a density of 300 dpi, which makes the text appear crisper (reMarkable has 226dpi). The Scribe also has a frontlight for reading in dark or dim environments.

The writing experience on the Scribe is very similar to the reMarkable, with a rough texture
that makes a satisfying scratching sound as you write. Like the remarkable, there are also several brush tools to choose from.

When the Scribe was originally released in November 2022, the native note-taking app
was very limited but after several software updates, it is now much closer to being on par with the reMarkable. It still has a bit of a way to go – it doesn’t yet support layers or text-insertion but it is rapidly closing the gap.

Boox Tab X

The Boox Tab X is one of the few e- ink tablets available with a 13-3″ (A4-sized) screen. In contrast, the reMarkable (and the other tablets on this list) have a 10.3″ (A5-sized) screen.

This means that the Tab X has around twice the screen real estate of the reMarkable.

This does make the Tab X a lot more expensive but the advantage of the larger screen cannot be understated. The larger canvas size in the note-taking app means that you can fit a lot more on each page. And the reading experience is much better (particularly for PDFs, which have a fixed layout often designed for A4).

Of course, the downside is that it has a larger form factor and is heavier, making it
a little less portable.

Because this is a Book device, you have all the advantages of the Note Air 2 Plus (above) including access to the Google Play Store, a comprehensive note-taking app, decent native reading software and higher hardware specs (including frontlight, microphone and speakers). In fact, the Tab X goes one step further and has a dedicated GPU, which coupled with Book’s proprietary super Refresh technology allows you to do more with an e- ink screen than was previously possible, including watching videos and even playing games.

The writing feel on the Tab X is not quite as pleasant as it is on the reMarkable – it is
a little slippy and does not feel quite so accurate but this is only something I notice when
switching between the two devices.

Boox Tab Ultra & Tab Ultra C

We are now moving into the realm of E-ink laptops, which function more like a fully-fledged
computer than a simple writing tablet.

And, Boox is currently the only manufacturer that operates in the multifunctional e-ink device space.

The Tab Ultra series includes the monochrome Tab Ultra and the colour screen Tab Ultra C.

With an attachable keyboard folio, these devices support typed input which can be used for a myriad of tasks, such as writing Word documents, composing emails and chatting with colleagues. The reMarkable also has a keyboard folio, but this can only be used to add text to notes.

Again, because it is Boox, there’s access to the Google Play store, top-of-the-range hardware specs (including the GPU/Super Refresh of the Tab X) and decent native reading and note-taking apps.

The writing experience is a bit slippy, but the sheer volume of additional features more than makes up for this.

Verdict

As a dedicated and focused notetaking tablet that replaces your paper notes and journals, the reMarkable 2 is superb. It has a great tactile writing feel, is beautifully designed, and is the thinnest e-ink tablet on the market (although not the lightest).

But beyond note-taking. the reMarkable 2 is severely limited.

The Kindle Scribe does not quite have all the note-taking features of the reMarkable, but it
does provide a much better reading experience (and its note-taking software is rapidly improving).

In terms of note-taking, the Supernote can do everything the reMarkable can do (except native keyboard input). It also has additional features that make the organisation and navigation of notebooks much slicker.

Although the tactile writing experience on Boox devices is not quite at the level of the previously mentioned tablets, the higher hardware specs, solid native reading and writing apps, and access to the Google Play store more than make up for this.

The Note Air 2 Plus is perhaps the closest Boox device to the reMarkable. They are both 10.3″ tablets and were released at around the same time (2021).

Since that time, Boox has launched its Tab range of devices, which includes the 13.3″
Tab X and 10.3″ Tab Ultra/Tab Ultra C. These devices are pushing the boundaries of what is possible with e-ink and narrowing the divide between e-ink devices and conventional LCD Laptops.

Overall, these reMarkable 2 alternatives offer more features, power and versatility. However, it should be noted that the simplicity of the reMarkable 2 might be considered one of its strengths. The company behind reMarkable will argue that a basic single-function device means that there are no distractions to interfere with your train of thought and focus (a great way to present a weakness that has been turned into a perceived strength).

Some users may retort that you can simply turn off notifications to avoid being disturbed whilst still having access to all the additional features if you need them.

Where to buy the Boox Tab Ultra
Where to buy the Boox Tab Ultra C
Where to buy the Boox Tab X
Where to buy the Boox Note Air2 Plus
Where to buy the Kindle Scribe
Where to buy the Supernote A5 X
Where to buy the reMarkable 2

My Subjective Ratings

Spec Comparison