A TechCrunch reviewer just wrote his entire review of a writing tablet by hand, on that same tablet, then let it convert his handwriting into the article you are reading about right now. That is either the best marketing stunt of the year or the most honest product test possible. Here is what the $399 reMarkable Paper Pure actually gets right, where it still falls short, and how it stacks up against the rest of reMarkable’s lineup.
A Review Written On the Thing It Is Reviewing
Here’s the thing about most gadget reviews: the reviewer types them on a laptop, then tells you how good the device is at helping you avoid laptops. TechCrunch’s Ivan Mehta skipped that irony entirely. He wrote his full review of the reMarkable Paper Pure by hand, on the tablet, using its built in handwriting to text feature, then edited the converted draft in WordPress.
That is a clever way to prove a point without saying it out loud. If a tablet can survive being the tool used to review it, the handwriting conversion had better be good. According to the review, it was.
What the Paper Pure Actually Is
reMarkable has spent close to a decade selling the same basic pitch: put down the phone, put down the laptop, and write on something that feels like paper but syncs like a computer. The Paper Pure is the newest, cheapest way into that pitch. It costs $399, has no notifications, no browser, and no app store, and it replaces the aging reMarkable 2, which launched six years earlier in 2020.
In the years between those two devices, reMarkable did not sit still. It launched the pricier, color screened Paper Pro, then shrank that same idea into the pocketable Paper Pro Move. The Paper Pure is the company circling back to basics: one screen, one purpose, one price that does not make you flinch.
What Actually Changed From the reMarkable 2
The headline spec looks unchanged at first glance. Both the reMarkable 2 and the Paper Pure use a 10.3 inch monochrome display at 1872 x 1404 resolution, which works out to 226 pixels per inch, according to reMarkable’s own spec comparison page. Same panel size, same pixel count, same monochrome-only limitation.
But the review notes something the spec sheet misses. reMarkable flipped how that resolution gets used, shifting the device toward a wider, shorter layout instead of the reMarkable 2’s tall notebook shape. More characters fit on a single line, both when reading and writing, and the reviewer described the writing itself as noticeably crisper than the older model.
The physical build changed more than the screen did. Instead of gluing the chassis shut, reMarkable put it together with screws and snaps, a shift that Notebookcheck reports makes the Paper Pure meaningfully easier to repair than any earlier reMarkable device. The same report notes the tablet uses 38 percent recycled materials and has a smaller carbon footprint than the reMarkable 2 it replaces.
One thing did not change, and it is worth knowing before you buy. The Paper Pure has no frontlight, so you are reading and writing entirely by ambient room light, exactly like the reMarkable 2 before it. If you were hoping the cheaper price meant reMarkable finally added the light that only ships on the pricier Paper Pro, it did not happen this round.
The Software Side Got a Real Upgrade
Hardware aside, the more interesting changes are in the software, and they are the kind of thing you only notice once you actually live with the device for a week.
- Calendar sync. You can now link your calendar to the tablet, tap a meeting from the calendar icon, and start a notes page tied to that specific meeting block automatically.
- One tap sharing. Once you finish handwriting something, converting and sharing it takes one tap. You get an emailed link to the converted notes, which you can forward to anyone without them needing a reMarkable account.
- A genuine web app. Notes are also reachable through reMarkable’s browser based app, so you are not stuck waiting for an email every time you want to check something.
- Article import. You can now send a full web article to the tablet as a native notebook, highlight it, scribble notes in the margin, and have those notes follow the article back to the web app.
The review flagged one small annoyance worth repeating here: imported articles do not land in their own folder by default, so they mix in with your other notebooks unless you sort them yourself. Minor, but the kind of thing that gets old fast if you import a lot of reading material.
Where the Cracks Still Show
No distraction free device is without tradeoffs, and this one has three worth knowing before you spend $399.
PDFs still do not import cleanly. The review describes edges getting cut off on at least one imported PDF, which is a rough experience if your workflow leans on marking up contracts, worksheets, or scanned documents.
ePub support exists but underperforms. The tablet reads ePub files, but the review is blunt that the experience is nowhere close to a dedicated e-reader like the Kindle. If reading novels is your main use case, this is not built for that job.
No frontlight, still. Worth saying twice because it changes where and when you can actually use the device. Working in a dim room or in bed after the lights go out simply will not work here.
How the Paper Pure Compares to the Rest of the Lineup
reMarkable now sells three current tablets side by side, plus a refurbished reMarkable 2 for anyone who wants the old model at a discount. Here is how the specs actually shake out, pulled directly from reMarkable’s own comparison pages.
| Device | Starting Price | Screen | Resolution / PPI | Frontlight | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| reMarkable 2 (refurbished) | $399 | 10.3 inch, monochrome | 1872 x 1404 (226 PPI) | No | 404 g |
| Paper Pure | $399 | 10.3 inch, monochrome | 1872 x 1404 (226 PPI) | No | 360 g |
| Paper Pro Move | $449 | 7.3 inch, color | 1696 x 954 (264 PPI) | Yes | 230 g |
| Paper Pro | $579 | 11.8 inch, color | 2160 x 1620 (229 PPI) | Yes | 525 g |
Notice the gap between $399 and $579. That is a big jump for a frontlight and a color screen, and it is exactly why the Paper Pure exists. It gives reMarkable an entry point that does not scare off anyone who just wants a distraction free notebook without paying flagship pricing.
How to Decide Which One Is Actually Right for You
If you are staring at four different reMarkable devices and a mild headache, run through these questions in order.
- Do you need color, or just handwriting? If you are annotating charts, diagrams, or color coded documents, skip straight to the Paper Pro or Paper Pro Move. If it is just text and sketches, the mono screen on the Paper Pure is genuinely enough.
- Do you write in low light? If bedside journaling or dim conference rooms are part of your routine, the lack of a frontlight on the Paper Pure will bother you daily. Pay the difference for the Pro or the Move instead.
- Do you want the smallest possible device? The Paper Pro Move’s 7.3 inch screen and 230 gram body win here by a wide margin, at the cost of screen real estate for full page PDFs.
- Is budget the deciding factor? Between a refurbished reMarkable 2 and a brand new Paper Pure at the same $399, the Paper Pure wins on repairability, build, and writing feel. There is little reason to choose the older device unless it ships faster.
- Do you actually need any of this? If your note taking already lives happily in an app on your phone or laptop, none of these tablets are solving a real problem for you. This category is for people who have already noticed that screens are the problem, not the notes.
Why This Keeps Working for reMarkable
It would be easy to write reMarkable off as a company selling an expensive notepad in an age of infinite screens. That is not quite what is happening. The entire pitch works precisely because screens got so good at pulling attention that a device deliberately bad at everything except writing became the selling point. reMarkable is not competing with the iPad on features. It is competing with your own inbox and your own group chats, and on that front, a screen with nothing else installed on it has a real advantage.
The company still is not chasing AI features on the device itself, and the review treats that as a deliberate choice rather than an oversight. The more interesting question, which the review raises but does not answer, is what happens once your handwritten notes leave the tablet. A device that refuses to add AI internally but plays nicely with the AI tools you already use after export is a very different bet than a device trying to bolt a chatbot onto a page.
The Bottom Line
At $399, the reMarkable Paper Pure is not an impulse buy, and it is honest about what it will not do. It will not replace your Kindle, it still struggles with PDFs, and it will not write in the dark. What it does do is deliver on the one promise that actually matters here: a genuinely distraction free way to think on paper that syncs like a computer. If that is the gap in your day, between a cafe notebook and a laptop full of open tabs, this is built for exactly that moment.
If you know someone who still buys a new Moleskine every few months because their thoughts deserve better than a notes app, send them this. The paper is not the problem. The distractions around it are.
You might also like:
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Sources and further reading
- Remarkable’s new Paper Pure is good. That’s why I wrote this review on it, TechCrunch.
- reMarkable device specification comparison, reMarkable.
- reMarkable Paper Pure product page, reMarkable.
- The reMarkable Paper Pure costs $399 and has an easy to repair design, Notebookcheck.
- I tested the $399 reMarkable Paper Pure, CNN Underscored.
- reMarkable Paper Pure review, TechRadar.
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