reMarkable 2

The reMarkable 2 is a 4.7mm thin digital notebook with a paper-like 10.3-inch monochrome display and a writing feel that beats any general-purpose tablet. It scores just 23.6 out of 100 overall, with productivity as its weakest area at 12.6, because it deliberately does almost nothing beyond notes and reading. Pricing varies by market, with listings at 91,053 JPY and 7,199 MXN. Buy it if you want a distraction-free writing tool. Skip it if you need a real tablet.

The reMarkable 2 runs on a 1.2 GHz dual-core ARM processor with 1GB of RAM. Those specs sound laughably small compared to an iPad Pro, and in raw performance terms, they are. Our database puts the CPU at the 35th percentile and RAM at the 31st percentile for this product category. But here's the thing: this device doesn't need horsepower. It renders a monochrome 10.3-inch CANVAS display at 1872 x 1404 and processes pen strokes. That's it. No video editing, no gaming, no multitasking. The hardware is tuned for one job, and it does that job without stuttering.

The screen is the real star here. It's a 10.3-inch monochrome digital paper display with no backlight and no glare. The 29th percentile screen ranking sounds bad until you remember that this screen isn't competing with OLED panels. It's competing with actual paper. And on that front, it's genuinely impressive. The writing latency is low enough that the ink appears to flow from the pen tip, and the textured surface gives just enough resistance to feel natural. The Marker Plus stylus has an eraser on the back end, which is a small touch that makes a big difference when you're sketching or correcting notes. Battery life sits at the 29th percentile, which is mediocre for a tablet but fine for something you'll charge once a week like a Kindle.

Stacked against the Apple iPad Pro M5, the reMarkable 2 looks almost absurd. The iPad has a faster processor, a color display, an app ecosystem, and roughly a thousand more features. But the iPad also has notifications, a browser, and a screen that feels like glass under a stylus. The reMarkable 2 wins on focus and writing feel. The iPad wins on everything else. If you need one device that does everything, get the iPad. If you need a digital notebook that won't tempt you into checking email, the reMarkable is the better tool.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition is a similar story. It's a full Windows PC in a tablet body, with a keyboard, a proper OS, and real productivity chops. The reMarkable 2 can't touch it on versatility. But the Surface weighs more, runs hot, and demands attention with updates and notifications. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ splits the difference with a gorgeous AMOLED screen and S Pen support, but it's still a general-purpose tablet at heart. The reMarkable 2 is the only device in this group that actively refuses to do more than one thing, and for a certain kind of user, that refusal is the feature.

Pricing is tricky here because the reMarkable 2 is sold in different markets at very different price points. We're seeing it listed at 91,053 JPY in Japan and 7,199 MXN in Mexico. Those amounts aren't directly comparable across currencies, but both put this device in a strange middle ground. It costs more than a premium notebook and a nice pen, but less than a flagship tablet. The question isn't whether it's cheap. It's whether the focus is worth the money.

For the right buyer, the value proposition is strong. You're paying for a device that removes distractions rather than adding features. That's a hard thing to put a price on, but if you've ever lost an afternoon to Twitter when you meant to be outlining a chapter, you know exactly what it's worth. For everyone else, the same money buys a tablet that does a hundred times more, just with a worse writing feel and a lot more notifications.

The reMarkable 2 is a weird little device in the best way. It's not trying to replace your laptop, your iPad, or even your phone. It's trying to replace a legal pad, and honestly, it does that job better than anything else we've tested. At 4.7mm thin and 476g, it feels like holding a single notebook rather than a piece of tech. The whole pitch is simple: a digital screen that feels like paper when you write on it, with no notifications, no browser, and no distractions. For a very specific kind of person, that's liberating. For everyone else, it's probably confusing.

Who is this for? Writers, students, designers, lawyers, anyone who fills notebooks with sketches and margin notes and wants those notes searchable and backed up without giving up the feel of pen on paper. The reMarkable 2 syncs your handwriting to your phone and laptop, converts it to typed text when you need it, and plays nice with Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive. It's a focused tool, not a general-purpose tablet. And that focus is exactly what makes it interesting.

But let's be clear about the trade-off right up front. This thing scores 23.6 out of 100 in our database, and its weakest area is productivity at 12.6. It's not a productivity device in the traditional sense. It's a thinking device. If you go in expecting an iPad competitor, you'll be disappointed. If you go in wanting a distraction-free digital notebook, you'll get it.

Skip the reMarkable 2 if you need a device that handles email, web browsing, video calls, or any kind of app-based workflow. The productivity score of 12.6 out of 100 is the weakest in our database for a reason. You'll be frustrated within a day. Get an iPad Pro M5 or a Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition instead. They cost more in some markets, but they actually do the things you need.

Also skip it if you do a lot of reading or writing in dim environments. The lack of a backlight is a real limitation, and no amount of paper-like charm fixes a screen you can't see. If you want an e-ink reading device with a front light, look at a Kindle Scribe or a Kobo Elipsa. They offer a similar writing experience with better low-light support and a lower price in most regions.

If you're a student who takes pages of handwritten notes every day, the reMarkable 2 is a strong pick. The writing feel is the best we've tested, the battery lasts long enough for a full week of classes, and the cloud sync means your notes are backed up without you thinking about it. The handwriting-to-text conversion is solid enough for turning lecture notes into study guides. Just know that you'll need a lamp for evening study sessions, since there's no backlight.

If you're a professional who wants a tablet for email, spreadsheets, video calls, and the occasional sketch, this is not your device. The productivity score of 12.6 out of 100 tells the story. You'll be fighting the hardware every step of the way. Get an iPad or a Surface and accept the distractions. The reMarkable 2 is for people who want less from their tech, not more, and that's a smaller group than the marketing would have you believe.