The reMarkable is an E Ink writing tablet for reading documents and textbooks, sketching and note-taking that attempts to fully replicate paper writing.[3] Developed by a Norwegian startup company of the same name, the device is geared towards students, academics and professionals.[4][5]
The company was founded by Magnus Wanberg and started product development in Oslo in early 2014. It has collaborated with Taiwanese company E Ink.[7] Development was started in 2013[8] and a crowdfunding campaign launched in late 2016.[9] Pre-orders began in 2017.[10]
The second generation reMarkable 2 was announced on March 17, 2020.[11] It was marketed as the 'World's Thinnest Tablet' (measuring 187 x 246 x 4.7 mm[12]) and sold in August 2020 for US$399 (EUR€337), not including the marker.[13]
A third generation reMarkable Paper Pro was announced in September 4, 2024.[14] This version features a colour electronic paper screen with a built-in backlight. Sales began immediately after the announcement, with the reMarkable Paper Pro sale price set at $500, not including the marker.[15]
Operating system
ReMarkable uses its own operating system, named Codex. Codex is based on Linux and optimized for electronic paper display technology.[16]
Community support
As Codex is based on Linux and an open source ecosystem, it has gained community projects and 3rd party software for it. The device is accessible through SSH, allowing the installation of 3rd party software.[17] Many packages are accessible through Toltec, a community-maintained free software repository.[18] The Cloud system has been reverse engineered and an open source alternative has been created.[19]
Alternative operating systems
An alternative free operating system, Parabola-rM, has been made to replace Codex.[20] Parabola-rM aims to turn the device into a full-fledged computer, allowing typical desktop Linux applications to be run,[21] with the caveat that this is not a supported configuration.[22]
Subscription
In October 2021, a connect plan was launched which required a monthly subscription of $5 for its Connect Lite plan or $8 for the Connect plan with unlimited cloud storage.[23] This was withdrawn in September 2022 however and some of the original features that were withdrawn, such as integration with file hosting services, were made available to all ReMarkable owners, with there being a single Connect plan price that was reduced to $2.99 per month.[24][25]
Reception
Of the first generation of the tablet, Remarkable 1 (or ReMarkable RM100 as known by its model number), launched in late 2017, suffered some criticism due to sluggishness when loading and unloading files.[26]
The Bad Voltage podcast stated, the lack of integrations with other software limits the device's usefulness for taking notes for some users,[27] and there is no official third-party app ecosystem, but the ability to add software via unofficial hacks offers interesting possibilities.[28][29]
The second generation Remarkable 2 was released in May 2020, and a review by Wired, stated it "excels at taking your handwritten notes, but it doesn't do much else well."[30] Other media outlets have seen the lack of a distraction or ability to do much else as positives. [31]
A PDF file on the reMarkable annotated with the passive pen
Size of the reMarkable tablet compared to A4 and A5 sheets of paper
Second generation reMarkable 2 with Wikipedia Article about reMarkable
^Henry T. Casey (15 September 2017). "reMarkable Tablet Review". Laptop Magazine. Retrieved 8 June 2019. reMarkable uses Codex, its own OS. This is a custom version of Linux that's optimized for low-latency e-paper.
