AnE Ink tabletis only as good as the things you’ve put on it to read and write on. These devices don’t have bright, attractive screens or processors and operating systems that let you do anything other than read and write. If you want to use them as a notebook replacement, you never have to do anything other than use the templates that come pre-installed.
This is especially true of reMarkable’s E Ink devices. ThereMarkable Paper Procomes with a color E Ink display, which makes it slightly more capable than the grayscalereMarkable 2, but not by much. Changing your templates is really the only way you can fundamentally change what your tablet does – at least until a new software update comes down the line. Like finding a good bullet journal or planner, discovering a digital notebook template that fits your specific needs can really help you think and work differently. It’s the main reason why I’ve been exploring making some of my own and reckoning with the inherent limitations of my beloved reMarkable Paper Pro in the process.
Of all my gadgets, this unassuming tablet is the MVP
The reMarkable Paper Pro is one of the best E Ink note-taking devices you can buy, but it’s a lot more clever than you think.
reMarkable tablets are deliberately light on features
PDF can (sort of) make a difference
If you’ve never used a reMarkable E Ink tablet before, the company takes a very restrained approach to adding new features. Out of the box, the reMarkable Paper Pro can read PDFs, ePubs, and PNGs, write and draw in digital notebooks (and support files you upload), and send any of the files from your tablet via email. With a keyboard accessory you’re able to add typing to that bag of tricks, but that’s about it.
In comparison, reMarkable is devoted to making the Paper Pro and reMarkable 2 as close to digital paper as possible. That’s both freeing and very limiting.
That’s a dramatically simpler set of skills than you’ll find on competing devices like aSupernoteorBoox. These tablets offer sideloading, custom apps for checking your calendar and email, and in some cases, full access to the Google Play Store. In comparison, reMarkable is devoted to making the Paper Pro and reMarkable 2 as close to digital paper as possible. That’s both freeing and very limiting.
On the one hand, I appreciate the focus. I was drawn to E Ink tablets not just because they look nice or have a longer battery life than the average iPad, but because they’re a lot less distracting. But when you start incorporating a device like the reMarkable Paper Pro into your life, you can’t help but wonder why it isn’t doing more things for you.
You can add templates, but PDFs are easier
If you’re willing to get technical, the world is your oyster
Given the custom Linux operating system reMarkable tablets use, you need to be willing to get your hands dirty to actually change anything about how your tablet works. It’s not impossible: not only have fans found a way to SSH into reMarkable tablets from your computer’s command line when they’re connected over USB, people are porting apps to them, too.
You’ll have to use that method to add your own templates to the reMarkable 2 or reMarkable Paper Pro’s hidden templates folder. These need to be .PNG files – images rather than text – to work, but once you add them, they should show up in your templates menu when you create a new notebook. The problem with this method and this slightly complicated method of sideloading content in general, is that you have to downgrade your software version to make it work, and updating your tablet will typically wipe any new templates you’ve added.
Many of Canva’s templates require a Pro subscription to download, but you can get around that with a free trial or buy searching for free alternatives that you can upload yourself.
You can, of course, create PDFs of your own in user-friendly software like Canva. The app has plenty of templates that you available to download and tweak to suit your purposes, and I’ve been able to make simple documents that way when I needed something that went beyond my Paper Pro’s templates. The issue with PDFs is that unless you keep your writing on a separate layer, when you duplicate a page, you’ll keep all the annotations. There are ways around this, like keeping one blank page always available, or just remembering what layer you put your writing on, but it can get annoying quickly.
The other option is to get PDF that already has all the pages you’ll need in it. You can find hundreds, if not thousands, of PDF planners and bullet journals available to purchase on Etsy that are designed to be used on the reMarkable or inside tablet note-taking apps. If you don’t want to do any work at all, buying one of those is a perfectly valid way of making your reMarkable more useful. To make a PDF as complex as what you can buy from a third-party creator or download directly from reMarkable Methods, you’ll need to turn to professional PDF software, like Adobe Acrobat or PDF Expert. I found the process a little more time-consuming and complicated than I wanted to dig in to. Throwing together something simple in Canva went far enough for me, but the options are out there if you want to do the work.
You have to be willing to work with the limitations
Some devices aren’t supposed to do everything
The reMarkable Paper Pro and its sibling, the reMarkable 2, are deliberately limited. Disagree or agree with the decision to make the E Ink tablets that way, it’s not going to change unless you decide to do something about it. Working with and around my reMarkable Paper Pro has made me interested in exploring other options, but also even more confident that there are advantages to doing less. I can get by rolling my own PDFs in Canva, but I don’t know if I’ll feel that way forever.
reMarkable Paper Pro
The reMarkable Paper Pro has a color E Ink display that makes it great for reading and taking notes, but it gets even better with custom templates and notebooks.
Maybe that’s enough to make you interested in getting a reMarkable of your own. If it’s not, Pocket-lint has gone hands-on withother note-taking tabletsthat could fit your life better andnote-taking appsthat will be useful on not just tablets, but your phone, too.
