Review of the unusual tablet reMarkable 2. Elite Scandinavian reader and notebook

reMarkable 2 is a device that works great. Its key stability is an explanatory phrase. You have to try it yourself, and immediately you want one.

The unusual hybrid of an e-ink reader, a high-end matte screen, advanced note-taking features, and a high-precision stylus made a splash in the West back in 2020. Now, in 2023, he has reached Russia with all the accessories.

This is a high-end device, with a touch of “elite” and audience coverage over 30 years old. Everywhere his foreign advertising is no less than a CEO, who can be removed from the high level of the world and can take notes by hand or “type” plans for employees offline in a conference room with a combined cost of tens of millions of dollars.

Despite this positioning, reMarkable 2 makes sense for an absolutely simple person without high-flown sources. You just need to know in advance about its features.

What is so wonderful anyway?

If you haven’t heard anything about this company before, let me know. In 2014, an unexpected engineer Magnus Vanberg invented the creation of a combo-evaluation “reader” with mechanical and touch panels, capable of accurately recognizing stylus impressions. In the process, the Taiwanese company E-ink was considered – in fact, the manufacturers of the electronic cell technology of the same name.

The first generation of reMarkable was born after a successful kickstarter in 2016, and in 2020 a new model was launched with the motto “the world’s thinnest tablet”. Objectively, there is almost nothing in common between wonderful and typical external tablets, except for the form factor. But really cool design. awesome screen and more lofty positioning of the situation to truly ascend into the markets of the West.

Today, reMarkable 2 is featured among the top lists of the best e-readers in the world, including advanced templates from Amazon and other manufacturers. There have never been official sales or delivery to the Russian Federation. But recently, a site has appeared in the country where this unusual e-Ink tablet can be bought with home delivery.

reMarkable’s design is really great (sorry)

The packaging is made of recycled paper, everything is very neat, beautiful and stylish. School of unpacking from Apple, not otherwise.

Inside is a tablet, a USB-C cable for charging, and basic functionality help. When you first turned it on, you were asked to connect to Wi-Fi (built into the tablet) and create a reMarkable Connect account to identify notes with a branded “cloud”. This allows you to get notes on computers and smartphones: get up to 50 days of online storage of each unused note for free, for $ 3 per month of this discovery at the capture. A paid subscription requires a foreign card.

The tablet has a sizable bezel that’s exactly the same shade as the e-Ink display – except for the metal strip on the left. The frames are also metal, the back panel is made of the same material as the frame.

The thing is very pleasant in the hands. The thickness is simply ridiculous, only 4.7 millimeters. Nearly twice as thin as the current iPhone and 1.2mm thinner than the iPad Pro, Apple’s thinnest tablet currently on sale. Weight – 404 grams, which is 60 grams lighter than the iPad Pro.

I liked that there are little “feet” on the back to keep the device from touching the table when assembling. This would not hurt the iPad, but Apple thinks differently.

The reMarkable 2 really comes from a serious, top-of-the-line high-end device. Even the most expensive Kindle from Amazon will not be able to compete with him by any principle or tactilely. If Apple made a “reader”, then it would look about the same.

What are the characteristics. Display (smart), memory and battery life

The eponymous manufacturer of the remarkable second generation is very proud of its 10.3-inch display. This is the “second generation” of their screen CANVAS own development. Its exceptional brightness is a record low response time of 21 milliseconds. By comparison, most Amazon Kindles have a response time of 300 to 600 milliseconds.

The reMarkable 2 processor and display coordinate cadence to improve battery life. the maximum expansion speed is only in note mode, the occurrence in other cases is not required.

The screen resolution is 1872×1404 pixels, that’s 226 dpi, there is no backlight. The shade of the substrate is grayish, not white. The touchpad supports multi-touch and is protected on top with a matte coating a la real paper. Many who draw on the iPad buy films with a “paper” effect for them for better glide and tactile feedback (the so-called “paper”). So, in reMarkable such coverage was supposed.

The detection sensor recognizes 4096 fixation levels. What this gives in reality, I will show a little lower, discussing the possibility of a note mode.

Built-in memory is 8 GB, of which 1.43 GB is used for system perception and temporary files. The amount of results may not be enough, but objectively enough for the collected books and notes. On average, a typical book weighs between 300 kilobytes and 4 MB. Even PDFs are rarely “thicker” than 50MB. The large volume of the drive is absolutely superfluous here, since there is simply nothing to fill it with.

In terms of battery life, the wonderful 2 has a wide range, from several days to 4 weeks, depending on the frequency of use. With daily use as a reader for 5 hours, it lasts for 1 week, and with absolutely non-stop – up to 30 hours. When typing a note-taking device with style, the battery will drain within 14 hours of activity due to multiple episodes of detection rate.

How reMarkable 2 behaves in reader mode

Everything is fine, no complaints. Attached are ePUB and PDF files. There are Russian fonts.

To download books here, you need to install a proprietary application. It is available for Mac and Windows, Android and iOS. You can also connect to the tablet and upload files via the Internet using the login and password from the account on the official reMarkable website. Everything syncs automatically when the tablet connects to Wi-Fi.

The screen refresh rate in reading mode is normal, just under a second. You can scroll through the pages with taps or swipes across the screen. Text search (without Russian language), chapter navigation are available.

On top of any books and documents at any time, you can leave notes by hand or using a proprietary stylus. A convenient topic for those who read professional literature.

Notepad mode, or the reason to buy reMarkable 2

The entire marketing of this device is built around the notepad mode. Which is logical, this is really a killer feature of the device.

Writing on the screen by hand requires branding. It comes in two types: with and without an eraser range. Charging for the stylus is not required – it is, roughly speaking, eternal. The parish is easily attached with magnets to the frame of the reader.

Of the tools – 8 writing modes with color adjustment. One of them is a highlighter with a customizable color that will be visible after exporting notes and edited PDF files from the reader. There is an eraser and a virtual ruler.

When creating a new notepad with notes, you can choose the page layout from as many as 46 (!) preset options, fitted to the screen. There is everything in the world, from a simple cell to a music notebook. Two senses Zoomed in or out.

The main thing: drawing and writing on the reMarkable 2 screen is incredibly fun, I just can’t find another word. It feels like you’re just writing with a regular pencil. The accuracy of the stylus is very high, the matte surface of the display creates a feeling of touching the paper, which is so lacking in the same iPad with Apple Pencil.

Nothing prevents you from drawing sketches, complex diagrams and plans on the tablet. And the feeling is natural. Pressure and angle are recognized correctly. In general, a real pleasure.

Handwritten text can automatically change to printed text. Under the arrival of 33 languages, among which, alas, there is no Russian. Once upon a time, the company announced that it was working on adding it, but there was no other news on this subject yet. You can also enter text from the on-screen keyboard – and here, too, there is no Russian language.

Important: on reMarkable 2, you can access secure computer web pages and Microsoft Office documents through automatic PDF conversion. To do this, just install branded plugins for Google Chrome and Microsoft Office. It is also possible to sync documents via Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive.

The finished note can be sent by e-mail to any other email address or transferred to the reMarkable cloud in order to have access to it from proprietary applications for other system protocols or directly from the official website.

You can very directly on a computer or smartphone, work on reMarkable 2 and vice versa.

Additional top-end accessories: leather cases and even a keyboard case

I tested the basic version stylus reMarkable 2. If you buy it separately, it costs 11,990 rubles. The advanced version differs only in the built-in eraser dispersion. This one costs 16,990 rubles.

For convenient transportation, reMarkable 2 is worth buying book folio case. It’s magnetic, like a modern iPad Smart Folio. The tablet is fastened inside very securely and does not fall out when shaking, even with the “lid” open.

The case itself is made of leather, looks nice. Alcantara interior. You can’t turn the cover into a stand. In Russia, it costs 20,990 rubles when purchased separately from the tablet. There is also a version of the cover in a folder format, with access to a pocket for style. It is not made of leather and is sold with us for 16,990 rubles.

The most unusual and controversial device for a Russian-speaking user is branded docking keyboard. Outwardly, it looks like a Book Folio case, but in two movements it transforms into a stand for reMarkable 2 in a horizontal position. Charging the tablet is not required, it can be powered through the contact pads on the metal frame of the tablet.

I rate the print quality and the feeling of printing at 10 out of 10. This is an absolutely top-end thing from this point of view, in no way inferior to Apple solutions. There is only one problem, or rather two. There are no Russian letters on the keys. And putting it on through engraving is still common, because in the environment itself there is a wonderful non-feeling of entering the Cyrillic alphabet. You can only type in English with this keyboard.

On this occasion, the keyboard dock is not currently sold in Russia.

What in the end. Who is reMarkable 2 for?

Let’s close our eyes, get inspired by marketing and imagine. The owner of reMarkable 2 is a person who has everything and everything is “in the ointment”. He does not need to be online in 25 applications at the same time. He can easily sit down in his own spacious office and visualize plans and tasks, whether for himself or his office.

Then he will send all this to the mail managers, investors and further down the list. On the next flight or business trip, he reads a book, looking out of the window of the first class cabin. And in general, reMarkable 2 was presented to him by partners, the intention not to be afraid of what else in this life can surprise him.

And if you step back from placement, reMarkable 2 is really good reader and cool notebook. Another convenient, stylish tool for review and planning. It surprises, causes interest outwardly, attracts the eye. There is no full-fledged alternative to this, and for some it will be one of the reasons to buy or give as a gift.

In Russia, reMarkable 2 is sold on the website wonderful2.ru with standard delivery for the whole country. The tablet without accessories costs 39,990 rubles. But it makes sense to immediately take the kit: a set of reMarkable 2, a stylus and a leather case will cost 69,990 rubles instead of 100,990 rubles.

And also by promo code iPhones when ordering, you can get discount 3000 rubles.

📸 All photos in the article: