ReMarkable Paper Pro Move review: E-paper in your pocket

The ReMarkable Paper Pro Move ($449 to start) is the company's latest e-paper tablet, and after using it for a few weeks it might be my favorite ReMarkable slate yet.

If you're familiar with last year's ReMarkable Paper Pro then you can think of the Move as basically the same slate, just smaller and cheaper. The Paper Pro Move's 7.3-inch Canvas Color display makes it roughly the same size as a big airport paperback, so it's a lot easier to slip into a purse or jacket pocket.

Turns out, that smaller size makes the Paper Pro Move a lot easier to integrate into your daily life than the 11.3-inch ReMarkable Paper Pro. And while I occasionally missed the screen real estate of a full-size tablet, more often than not I was excited to pull out the Move because it offers the same tools and writing experience of other ReMarkable tablets in a more portable, usable design.

That's why I think the ReMarkable Paper Pro Move is a great e-paper slate for jotting down notes and tracking ideas, making it one of the best tablets for writers, note-takers and anyone who appreciates a pocket-sized notebook with infinite paper.

ReMarkable Paper Pro Move: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? The first pocket-sized (well, almost) ReMarkable slate, offering the same writing tools, feedback and limited color palette as the Paper Pro in a smaller size.
• Who is it for? Writers, executives, journalists, students and anyone who likes the idea of an e-paper tablet that feels like paper to write on, with a limited color palette and a 7.3-inch display.
• What does it cost? The tablet itself is starts at $449 and comes bundled with a ReMarkable Marker, which is the only kind of stylus this slate supports. For $499 you can get it bundled with a ReMarkable Marker Pro, which sports an additional built-in "eraser" module at one end.
• What do we like? I've always loved how it feels to write on ReMarkable slates, plus the limited color support is nice and the small size and weight makes the Paper Pro Move very easy to carry around.
• What don’t we like? There's typically a noticeable delay when loading documents, moving between pages or waiting for a line you've just drawn to "fill in" on the page due to e-paper's limitations.

ReMarkable Paper Pro Move review: Specs

ReMarkable Paper Pro Move review: What we like

I do most of my writing with a keyboard these days, but there's something ineffably compelling about putting pencil to paper that I still enjoy.

ReMarkable has made a business out of selling e-paper tablets with advanced display and stylus technology that makes them feel almost the same as writing in an actual notebook, down to the sensation of pencil lead scratching against ridges in the paper.

It's not quite the same, but the effect is close enough that I always find it charming. If that alone isn't enough to sell you on a Paper Pro Move, here are some other strengths I noticed during my time with the slate.

Pocket-sized design makes it easy to carry and use

One of my immediate reactions to seeing the Paper Pro Move was delight at the portable design of this pocket-sized slate. I have big, meaty paws and the Paper Pro Move fits perfectly into one of them like a plus-sized reporter's notebook, which I love.

The slimmer, more portable size of the Paper Pro Move is especially important because it makes it easier to carry this slate around with you—and that in turn makes it a lot more likely you're going to carry it around and actually use it during your day.

It reminds me that while I love the ReMarkable Paper Pro, I rarely use it because since its as big as a full iPad it mostly sits at home on my desk. Whereas I love being able to slide the Paper Pro Move into my interior jacket pocket like a giant notebook, then whip it out throughout the day when I need to jot down a note or cross something off my to-do list.

Now, obviously that's not putting this ~$500 tablet to full use, and that is something to think about before buying—do you actually need a ReMarkable slate to do anything you aren't already able to do on the phone you carry in your pocket?

On paper, probably not. Your phone is just as capable of holding your notes and stray thoughts, and it can do a lot more. But one thing it can't do is replicate the feeling of dragging a pencil across a piece of paper, and no device I've ever tested can do that half as well as the ReMarkable Paper Pro Move.

Colors are still fun to use and help your work pop

ReMarkable introduced color e-paper displays to its product line for the first time with last year's ReMarkable Paper Pro, and what was true then remains true now: more color means more fun!

If you haven't seen the Paper Pro in person, let me set your expectations: you don't get full color on a ReMarkable slate the way you do on an iPad. Since the ReMarkable Paper Pro Move has an e-paper display it's not a "screen" in the traditional sense and can't do full HD, but ReMarkable has designed a Canvas Color display that combines tiny CMYK ink particles in different ways at different layers to create 10 possible colors you can use.

In practice, this means you can use the ReMarkable Paper Pro Move's toolset (which include tools like a marker, highlighter, pencil and paintbrush) to draw and color on notes and documents in up to 10 colors, including green, blue, magenta, yellow and orange.

So while the Paper Pro Move isn't a great device for someone who wants access to the full palette of colors and art tools that you can get on a tablet, the extra colors you can use do make it possible to doodle, illustrate your notes and add splashes of color to your work in a way that I love.

Writing on the Move's e-paper display feels excellent

As usual, the latest ReMarkable slate feels fantastic to write on.

That's not terribly surprising since the Paper Pro Move sports the same Color Canvas display that debuted on last year's Paper Pro. When used in conjunction with the company's ReMarkable Marker stylus you get 4,000+ levels of tilt/pressure sensitivity and a surprising amount of feedback as you drag the stylus across the screen.

Presumably that's why writing on the Paper Pro Move feels way better than using a stylus on a glass screen like that on the iPad. It's hard to describe if you've never tried one yourself, but when writing or doodling on the ReMarkable Paper Pro Move it feels like the stylus nib is actually scratching against the display in a way that's leaving a mark on it.

In fact, the ReMarkable Marker ships with replacement nibs that you will have to swap on occasionally as they wear down with use.

I actually hate to write longhand these days because decades of writing for a living have made my hands achy and weak, but it's a testament to how enjoyable writing on a ReMarkable feels that I find myself wanting to bring the Paper Pro Move with me places so I can doodle and jot down ideas as I have them.

ReMarkable Paper Pro Move review: What we don't like

I'm very fond of the ReMarkable Paper Pro Move, but I'm not so enamored that I can't see the clear weaknesses of this $449 e-paper tablet.

The lag takes some getting used to

ReMarkable has been working for years to try and make their e-paper slates feel faster and more responsive, and they've come a long way. But while the ReMarkable Paper Pro Move is the fastest and snappiest I've used yet, there's still a noticeable lag between when you draw the stylus across the screen and when your work actually appears.

But while these slates feel a lot slower to use than an iPad or even a Kindle, it's not always a bad thing. In some situations I actually appreciate that delay when shading, highlighting or drawing because it helps me see what I'm doing and fill in spots I've missed or given short shrift.

However, any time I'm trying to page through a document or quickly navigate through the ReMarkable Paper Pro Move's menus it's a frustrating experience because it typically takes a noticeable moment or two to load a new page.

It's not a deal-breaker, but it's absolutely something you need to be prepared for before you drop nearly $500 on this slate.

Price makes this a niche device

With a starting price of $449 the ReMarkable Paper Pro Move costs more than an iPad and almost as much as an iPad mini 7 yet does far less, and that's just something you have to be okay with.

Now the same is true for most of ReMarkable's slates, and I actually feel better about the price of the Move than I do about the larger Paper Pro ($579 to start) because this newer, smaller e-paper slate is both cheaper than its older sibling and easier to carry, so more people are going to find uses for it on more occasions.

And really, while you can get an Apple Pencil and pair it with an iPad mini 7 to get similar functionality no iPad can match the experience of writing on the ReMarkable Paper Pro Move. So while it is awfully expensive for what you get, what you're getting is a one-of-a-kind pocket-sized e-paper slate that feels great to write on and never runs out of paper or ink—though you do need to charge it.

ReMarkable Paper Pro Move review: Verdict

If it's not obvious yet, I'm a fan of the ReMarkable Paper Pro Move. The color e-paper display is a delight to write on, and the 7.3-inch display makes this slate perfect for slipping in a purse or coat pocket.

While I still think it's a bit too expensive and slow to be the perfect pocket-sized digital notebook, it's awfully close. And since it's smaller and cheaper than last year's Paper Pro I think it's easier to use and easier to justify buying, so more people are going to find more uses for the Paper Pro Move.

You can do more with a tablet from the likes of Apple, Amazon or Samsung, but if you care about the feeling of writing on paper there's something special about a ReMarkable device that no other slate I've ever tested can match. And now that the ReMarkable Paper Pro Move has arrived, you can get one that's lighter and cheaper than ever.