E-ink Tablets

Note: This was part of a set of posts I wrote under self-imposed constraints. I wanted to avoid the structure of your standard tech blog review but I can't say that necessarily worked out here.]

I'll be dead in hell before I give you a simple review with pros and cons columns.

Do you have a stack of notebooks for your writing, your research, and your journals? Is the comment feature in Word inadequate next to the erratic line you squiggle to connect two thoughts on opposite ends of the page? Do you long to digitize it all but can't bear to say goodbye to the gratifyingly analog experience of pen on paper where each loop and curlicue form a cove that thought and memory can inhabit? Consider the e-ink tablet as one of the options that has sprung up to fill the space between classic analog tools and traditional computers.

A disclaimer: there are a dozen companies offering competing visions of what an e-ink tablet could be and they're constantly rolling out new features, so it's surprisingly difficult to get an up-to-date comparison of the current slate of products. Just this year Supernote has rolled out real-time handwriting recognition, multi-page linked PDF templates, and a host of other features, so consider this a snapshot of a slice of the field as reviewed in May 2023. For more recent updates, there's a small clique of YouTube Reviewers that are committed to staying on the cutting edge of e-ink--Kitt Betts-Masters, Brandon Boswell, Voja of My Deep Guide.

Consumer computers and tablets are consummate multi-taskers. They can do everything from work to play and post every step of it to social media. My iPad has two email clients, nine social media / messaging apps, four media apps, three writing apps (down from a peak of nine), two drawing apps (purely aspirational), a handful of puzzle games, and one folder succinctly labeled "Crapsack" for things I don't use often but might want to use. As a bonus, the home screen is littered with red notification dots all crying to deliver their payload of cognitive noise.

E-ink tablets are much more focused (excepting Boox). Instead of trying to do everything, they focus on a subset of features clustered around the experience of writing. The physical experience of writing is prioritized and you can pick from devices that emulate pencil and paper--Boox, Remarkable, Kindle Scribe--or pen and paper--Supernote. There are no notifications (again excepting Boox) and e-ink displays sip power so slowly that you never have to rush to a charger--I don't even bother packing a charger unless I'm taking it somewhere for more than a week. Additionally, the lack of blue light means there's less physical strain from using an e-ink display--something I greatly appreciate after a day working the code mines.

On the flip side, specialization means e-ink tablets tend to lack a lot of the interoperability that makes life easier with normal tablets. The file format for handwritten notes tends to be propietary by manufacturer--Supernote has a different version from Remarkable or Boox or Kindle--which means you're reliant on the manufacturer's tools for interacting with that note--do they have a handwriting recognition function? Can you search within a note? What formats can you export to--word, pdf, png? Fortunately, there tend to be passionate fan communities on Facebook and Reddit that will help answer your questions.

Don't get me wrong, nobody needs one of these. If you need something that will easily plug into whatever workflow you have with minimal extra steps, you should probably look at an iPad or Android.

I tried out four different models before settling on one and my impressions follow. Again, these notes were written in May 2023 so the lay of the land has likely changed by the time you read this.

Boox and the Note Air Plus 2

Feels like Pencil and Paper
Full Android Implementation
Poorer Battery Life
Questionable Corporate Practices

The Note Air Plus 2 is probably the best option to look at if you want a multi-tasking e-ink tablet. It's a full-featured Android tablet running the latest version of Android, so if you can do it on Android, you can do it on the Note Air Plus 2. (Games and movies likely won't render well here though Boox does have new tablets with dedicated graphics cards that might do better here). The writing experience also feels pretty good if you're a fan of the scritch scritch of pencil on paper.

That said, I'm not a big fan of their brand. The Note Air Plus 2 feels like it's trying to do too much and not providing enough value as an actual note-taker. I have a computer and tablet already and I want something more targeted and low-distraction. Additionally, Boox has a poor reputation for customer service and seems to release new devices constantly which gives me concern about how long the products I buy will be supported.

Kindle Scribe

Feels like Pencil and Paper
Low-cost
Strong Kindle integration
Horrific Corporate Practices

The Kindle Scribe is relatively new and wasn't released with a ton of features–the version I tested didn't even have a lasso for moving things around on the page--but it executes well on what it does offer. My hunch is that Amazon will be able to pour enough time and energy into it to catch up and beat out other products in the space and will be able to use its corporate might to offer unbeatable prices. At that point, it really comes down to how much of your life you want to invest in a company that seems dedicated to using its dominant position to steal ideas from other manufacturers and suck the marrow from their very bones.

Remarkable

Feels like Pencil and Paper
Tablet is low-cost and feels premium
The new Type Folio is a pricy delight
Good mix of features (including for visual artists)

The Remarkable 2 is my closest contender to the Supernote. It's got a solid feature set--especially for Office users--and a premium-looking finish that'll look slick in the conference room though it still lacks some of the features--links and keywords spring to mind--that make the Supernote so good for rich notes. The type folio--a detachable keyboard--is a fantastic add-on that offers a satisfying clickety-clack with zero response lag. (I'd skip the marker plus; its eraser is absolutely awful).

Supernote

Feels like Pen and Paper
Open feature road map
Excellent customer service and corporate philosophy
Response times are laggier than other e-ink tablets
Cheaper frame

The Supernote is my favorite of the lot. Physically, its white plastic frame is a little humbler than the others though for me that makes it feel more like a working tool. Functionally, Ratta has focused hard on the experience of writing and they keep adding improvements to its role as a knowledge management tool--links, keywords, pdf templates, navigation and editing gestures, real-time handwriting recognition, PDF and epub annotation, a massive jump in writing responsiveness, and so on.

Maybe more important than any of the functional details, I respect Ratta's corporate philosophy. They've publicly committed to improving functionality through feature releases--which they do regularly--rather than releasing new hardware every year. Additionally, they have representatives actively engaged with the reddit where they'll address customer service issues and poll users about prospective features. Oh, and they make their software roadmap available for everybody to see and make suggestions on.

One of the downsides of their approach to hardware is that the specs are getting a little long in the tooth compared to newer releases from Boox and it's not as responsive as it could be. It's perfectly usable but the lag is noticeable.

Again, nobody needs one of these, but the Supernote has quickly become one of my favorite tools.