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reMarkable has made a name for itself in recent years by producing paper tablets that strike a minimalist, clear-minded aesthetic. Unlike a lot of tablets that try to cram as much utility into themselves as possible, reMarkable really distills the notebook experience into a digital device, avoiding pop-ups and notifications wherever possible. The reMarkable 2 was arguably the device that got people talking about this approach, but the brand is now discontinuing it to make way for a new third-generation tablet.
reMarkable has today announced the Paper Pure, which will take its place next to the flagship Paper Pro and the smaller-sized Paper Pro Move. Bundled with its marker, the Paper Pure will begin shipping in early June, starting from $399 / £359 at reMarkable, the most affordable price of the three current-gen devices.
As minimalist as the reMarkable tablets are, they've found a home amongst a few of the gamers and nerds here at GamesRadar+, myself included. I use mine for content creation as a part of my streaming gear for gamers' loadout, but also use it for ideation, notetaking, and more. Elsewhere, we've detailed how these digital notebooks can be massive for keeping track of puzzle games like Blue Prince, or even as a DM's guide for a D&D game or other tabletop activities.
The Paper Pure sticks to the reMarkable 2's black and white display, which sets it apart from the full-color Paper Pro devices. That said, it will see some feature updates from the reMarkable 2, like newly introduced smart tools which will help organise thoughts and files, as well as move them back and forth from a PC or mobile device more smoothly.
“With reMarkable Paper Pure, we challenged ourselves to make the signature reMarkable writing experience more accessible to even more people,” says Mats Herding Solberg.
“Together with reMarkable Paper Pro and reMarkable Paper Pro Move, it completes our transition from reMarkable 2 to a family of third-generation paper tablets. Whether you want a color display, frontlight, and all the other latest technology, or just an excellent digital notebook, there’s a reMarkable Paper tablet for you.”
Rather impressively, one such refinement has been battery life, as the brand reckons the Paper Pure will last an estimated three weeks on a single charge (based on around an hour of notetaking per day). After switching from the reMarkable 2 to the Paper Pro, I definitely noticed a hit to battery life thanks to the brighter, color-filled display.
The Paper Pure will, however, update the reMarkable 2's display to have a backlight and the same advanced texture writing surface as the Pro models, which reacts to pen strokes in just 21 milliseconds. The Paper Pure will also support the same marker and marker Plus as the Pro models.
One common gripe with the reMarkable 2 is that pages turned slowly and required a very specific swiping gesture to move between them. On Paper Pure, reMarkable says pages turn twice as fast, and the display has 20% more contrast.
Launching alongside the Paper Pure are three new Sleeve Folio covers, available in either Ocean Blue, Mist Green, or Desert Pink. Bundled with the covers, a Paper Pure and Marker will set you back $449 at reMarkable.
Launching right as we approach the summer season and an inevitable new round of Prime Day Kindle deals, it will be interesting to see what kinds of discounts Amazon and Kobo put out on their competitor devices. For context, despite its wider use-cases and larger feature set, the Kindle Scribe costs the same $399 at Amazon, or $499 if you opt for the larger 32GB SKU. While the reMarkable isn't designed to be an e-reader, there are a lot of similarities between these tablets and the Kindle Scribe.
My takeaway after hands-on time with both is that if you're looking for the best writing experience possible, opt for the reMarkable. If you actually want to read books on a tablet beyond PDFs and imported comics, then the Kindle Scribe is going to be better for you. Note-taking feels much more paper-like on the reMarkable devices, though.
For more on portable devices check out the best gaming handheld, the best mobile controller, and the best gaming laptop.
