One year of using the reMarkable 2 - don't buy, before watching this long term review
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- čas přidán 8. 06. 2024
- Long term review of the reMarkable 2. Long story short; did not end up on the tech pile but, would not buy it again. Why? You'll know it in 5 minutes.
Longer written review
Is that all you can say about the device? No, an in-depth review can be found here:
EN: www.voys.co/blog/long-term-re...
NL: www.voys.nl/weblog/long-term-...
Comments are open!
If you have any feedback or thoughts I would love to see them in the comments. I will be making more content. Useful tech + thinks that can help you grow as a person or as a business will be the topics. If you're up for that a subscribe is much appreciated!
I'll will start with one video a month in the weekend. Find out more here: / @markvletter
Chapters
00:00 reMarkable2 intro
00:23 The true price of the reMarkable
00:43 Which pen/stylus to choose
01:10 Getting stuff on your reMarkable
02:04 Reading, annotation and highlights
02:44 Taking notes
03:17 Drawing
03:35 Does the reMarkable 2 suck?
04:23 The competition - Věda a technologie
The fact the pen doesn't come with the remarkable 2 itself is a huge L 🤦♂
100% agreed.
That and the subscription paywall....
Maybe they have a combo pack, there are reasons why manufacturers selling them separately.
@@Jinkypigs yeah subscription paywall is the worst thing about it. It's as outdated as sending your notes to yourself via email. The reMarkable would have been remarkable in like 2001, tho
@@kuhaniresti what are those reasons?
The monthly fee is a deal breaker for me, as is the ridiculous fact that they charge extra for the pen. This is a device segment that could be great, but this company seems to have been too focused on profits.
Yea, I've been on the bubble about buying one and this really influenced me away from it. Maybe the next generation?
Typical Apple approach
It appears the company in Sweden contracted with a China business to take care of all of its issues.
@@pmf822 I find it stupid that Dropbox only 2gb free storage at least Google Drive has more but storing books with some pics and comics are going to be hasty, I'd rather that they make the free storage at least 10
@@studiosinger but the Sweden company makes the business decision, and probably didn't pay much for whoever it outsources.
An e-notebook that doesn't come with a pen is like buying a car that doesn't come with tires. And a monthly fee for basic syncing? What an insult.
I've had my Remarkable now for around 15 months. I absolutely love it. I am a private health professional and keep all my handwritten session notes on it. I also have my forms in PDF and hand it straight to my clients to complete them. It has saved me so much time compared to my old paper, photograph, folderize, shred system. And the other psychologists I know who also have one absolutely love it too. I guess it's all about the use case.
Can you write in other colors besides black?
100% agree, remarkable2 meets my needs perfectly (e-ink writing pad distraction free) have never lost any of my meeting notes or project notes. A great business partner.
I'm a psych student and was looking at reviews for this exact reason! Thanks for your comment, very helpful :)
I'm a hospice RN and I use it daily for taking notes. I absolutely love it!
How do you find reading academic papers on the rM2?
REMARKABLE video on the product. I was considering this as a note taking replacement to my Surface device. Your in depth review has changed my mind and you answered literally every question I had about the product. Well done.
What alternative did you find to the surface? Finding it too big to take university notes. A samsung tab?
Thank you , this could not come for better time for me . It's really an eye opener . Skipping it for now , maybe a new version of it would be better at integrating with modern day services.
Ratta Supernote (2). It is a dream.
Not so Much the device itself, rather the set-up of How the software works and How it syncs with Google Drive and Dropbox. Its creates pdf-files when you transfer docs to storage which cant be recovered as reMarkable files to be worked on again. And to acces either drive or dropbox costs you the subfee
My thoughts exactly. For that amount of money, i would at least want different highlighter colours 😅
Yeah same. I was super stoked to buy this and this was really the only more negative/critical review. I’ll keep digging.
*Longer written review*
Is that all you can say about the device? No, an in-depth review can be found here:
EN: www.voys.co/blog/long-term-review-remarkable-2-buy-or-pass/
NL: www.voys.nl/weblog/long-term-review-remarkable-2-kopen-of-niet/
*The alternative*
I got some questions via Twitter and in the reactions about the alternative I was mentioning. It's the Onyx Boox Note Air 2, which is based on Android. That means it does have an app store and a bookstore and does work with your favorite sync service like Pocket. The Supernote A5x is also advised in the comments by Don who added some nice thoughts.
*Chapters*
00:00 reMarkable2 intro
00:23 The true price of the reMarkable
00:43 Which pen/stylus to choose
01:10 Getting stuff on your reMarkable
02:04 Reading, annotation and highlights
02:44 Taking notes
03:17 Drawing
03:35 Does the reMarkable 2 suck?
04:23 The competition
Good day Mark, I was going to get a Remarkable 2 for my wife who has to go through a huge amount documents daily, comment and interact with several colleagues on various issues. It would be easier to have access to her emails on the same device and be able move all annoted documents across her notebook and smartphone. All her systems are Apple. Which of the options mentioned in your review video is most suitable? I am open to other options
@@viifedi An iPad is clearly what is needed for this use case. An eink device will drive you up the wall in this scenario.
Problem with Supernote, they've been unable to ship all year, with no end in sight.
Can you us remarkable for drawing and art or just writing
Onyx book reviews
This is one of the best, honest and most balanced reviews I have come across. Well done!
This saved me a purchase. These issues would seriously annoy me. Thank you! If reMarkable 3 won't come with Kindle support and better export of notes, it won't ever be used by me other than as a brief novelty.
Two and a half minutes in and you have saved me a bunch of money. Thank you for your honest review. Much appreciated!
I appreciate a video that evaluates the product after a fair trial period. Given that you have used this item for 1 year adds complete credibility and that is obvious from your remarks. I've been going back and forth about the Onyx Boox for a couple months now. This video came at a great time for me. So, thank you. And I have to agree with T HOFF on your Dutch accent, it reminded me so strongly of my Dad who came to Canada from Enschede when he was 17 years old. My Mom always said, "Wooden Shoes, Wooden Head, Wooden Listen" Ah...but he was a good man.☺
you really skipped passed the fact that they are charging you 8euros a month to access free services. what exactly are you paying for?
I've been using the Remarkable for 1 year and I love it. My needs are very basic - I use it as a note book instead of individual pieces of paper which used to end up all over my desk. The writing experience is great, as is hand sketching mind maps etc... This single use is a major benefit. I hate devices capable of ruling the universe, which make me feel like an idiot because I'm only taking notes. By the way, I'm not sure if the review mentions this but it's important - the device isn't back lit so you can't use it in low light conditions.
Great review, thanks for the honesty and getting to the point without talking unnecessarily long just to break the 10 minutes barrier
I think the Kobo Elipsa is a much better deal: has the pen included, far better handwriting recognition, no subscription fees and built-in Dropbox integration. Granted, it doesn't look as sleek and the cover (which is included) is not nearly as nice. But if you want something that actually works...
Thanks for the suggestion, for sure a better option than RM2, I'll save about 300€
I might be the only one who's decided to buy this based on your video. I want it simply take notes in university. Nothing else. I just want to replace paper without needing to type on my laptop. I don't need them to be moved to the cloud or anything, just a simple device to write on and store my notes.
Even then there are better alternatives that are cheaper.
Thanks for the honest review - not often you see people take the long-term perspective when creating these reviews for us looking for real information on the product
After dozens of reviews over the years yours was easily the most helpful and insightful. Thx.
Love the idea of the reMarkable2. My challenge is that I move between paper note-taking and typing on my computer, and I'm interested in being able to move more fluidly between these note-taking styles - plus have less paper floating around generally. But I think I will wait til 1) integration with other office tools improves, 2) price comes down. Agree that it's a bit bogus to sell the marker separately. Thanks for the review!
I got my Microsoft Surface Pro 4 for exactly that purpose. Granted, it's not e-ink, and you write on glass surface, but it's been a godsend. Still running great almost six years later.
They have a keyboard folio you can type on
Me too
FINALLY AN HONEST REVIEW! NOBODY DISCUSSES THE SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR MOST NECESSARY FEATURES! AND ABOUT UNABLE TO USE EBOOKS ! SUBSCRIBED!
Excellent all around review, short and precise, the way all reviews should be, thank you, I was very close to buying one but the issues that you highlighted would make it a poor purchase for me.
Thank you for the honest review. You have truly broken down the pros and cons of this device and made it very easy for me to decide if I should buy one or not.
Very helpful and honest review. Thank you. I'm looking at the Remarkable, but some of the downsides were not so apparent until I saw this review. I'll take a look at the ONYX book as well.
I love how clear and opinionated you are. I am glad your verdict wasn’t one of those “it depends” kind of verdicts. Thank you.
I've owned my Remarkable 2 since they were on pre-order. I absolutely LOVE this device. I never leave home without it. I purchased a custom leather cover from a gal in the Netherlands.
Do you need it to be interoperable and easily hare notes and pdfs with notes on them?
Thanks for the honest review! I’ll be reconsidering getting this and will look into other competitive products.
Thank you for the great review. Short, but answered every question that I had.
I enjoyed your review for the fact that you managed to accentuate several good points about the devices in a concise way through fair and straight comments on its pros and cons, all within 5 minutes.
A fair review which i would agree with. Unfortunately our IT Dept said I couldn't use it and provided an iPad pro instead. So now my granddaughter is loving the experience of using it.
Great review! Love the honesty.
Could you pls tell us the name of the competitor you mentioned in the video?
Good day Mark, I would like to know which of the writing pads has a audio recording and playback ability? Which one makes it easy to find past scribbles or notes? Which of the options has the least breakable screen?
THANK YOU for actually getting to the point and not everything else! Great review.
Thank you for the short yet in-depth review of this device. I truly appreciate it!
Wow! You killed it (the remarkable that is) Dutch directness is so honestly refreshing! Thanks!
Good, fair, impartial review. Thank you
This review is the first honest review I’ve found. Thank you.
thank you! most useful review I’ve watched on this!
Good review. I’m a writer-artist and I’ve been looking for a tablet/enotebook that does exactly what this tablet does. I don’t want any other features, I just want a notebook that is digital so I don’t have to go through so many chunky notebooks for different purposes. My workstyle is to sketch and make quick drawing drafts alongside my writing, so the built in drawing software actually looks perfect to me. It replicates the experience of sketching with nothing but a black ink pen, and that’s what I need on a notebook.
But the price doesn’t include a pen or cloud integration which makes it seem overpriced for what it does. In fairness, I know the original model used to be $600-700 so $400 for the 2 is a respectable cut. I think I’ll still hold off on buying given the information you shared, and wait for a new model. Or possibly a new brand that does what reMarkable does, but I doubt it, it’s too niche haha
None of the competitors interest me since I am not looking for an ereader.
thank you for point out the ebooks arent supported!
Thank you so so much for this honest review!
I literally was about to purchase this to replace my daily / weekly planner. I'm very much connected outside of this device and may want to bring my data from inside to outside. I'm looking at The Onyx Book. Sounds like the functionality is more modern.
Very helpful review as I consider buying this for my husband after seeing constant ads on Tiktok for this.
Thanks for the review! I've been checking out people's responses and uses over the past few weeks and I decided that this is still the gadget I should try right now. My office space is chock full of sticky notes that, in the past (hopefully??), I would transcribe to an actual notebook. While the process of transcribing notes helps me learn/remember what I've noted, these days I just don't have time to constantly collect and rewrite my notes just to clear off my desk. So I'm really interested in the reMarkable as a never-ending notebook. I bought it a few days ago and I'm actually opting out of the whole cloud/syncing function for now because I really just need to write somewhere that doesn't make a mess. I'll likely have to set up the user account, though, because at this point, the writing-to-text function won't work and eventually I'd like to be able to search all these sticky-note-like notes on the device (especially for things like folder pathways and filenames that I seem to write down a lot). So I can relate to the downside of the whole subscription/paywall thing but maybe I didn't need those functions so badly anyway?
thanks for helping me out with this super on-point review!
Thank you! I’m waiting for mine in the mail now-
Can you provide a link to the competitor that you recommend please?
Thanks for the great video!
Thank you for the video! I really want a reMarkable 2, but I'd love to know, in your opinion, excluding the cloud features, as I don't care about them, is the ONYX still better than the reMarkable 2? How?
Thanks for the clear and succinct review. Helped me a lot.
The onyx boox is great; I have one. Having a backlight was the big difference for me. However, I still feel I need a larger tablet for the purposes I would use it for. In the future, the perfect tablet will come by.
Was looking for a comment that was able to translate what the hell the other thing he was saying. Sounded like he kept saying ongshbook and judging by that segment being the most replayed, I think other people might have also been trying to figure that out
Great honest review. Love that dutch accent btw - reminds me of my days in Europe. I want to get an e-Ink device, but can't see it replacing my OneNote / Suface and iPad workflow. Pens with colors, highlighter and the incredible search and synch capabilities of OneNote make it impossible for me to take this big step back.
Brilliant! Just had an ad for the Remarkable on my IG account so googled it to check it out - and then came here. Excellent summary of good and bad in 5 minutes. If only ALL reviewers could do that. Thank you. I'll check out the competition next.
Glad I watched this review. I wasn't planning on buying this but this video saves me the trouble if I had planned to buy it. Thank You.
Hi Mark - thanks very much for this helpful video. I did not get the name of the main competitor for the remarkable you talk about. Are you referring to the Onyx Boox, did I hear correctly? Thank you so much for your help again. Best, Bertrand
Thank you for this honest review. I will be sure to take a look at the alternative you mentioned.
Clear, concise and straight to the point. Brilliant review.
Hi Mark, Thx 4 your honest review.
Did you try the rm3 update version?
Rm says now, the work flow with documents and their integration would be super convenient.
Is this true?
Could you please do an update video if so?
Thank you truly !! I have ADHD and single-purpose devices really help!!! so even though I have a tablet, I got a kindle for reading. And I have a watchminder just for reminders instead of a smartwatch. Off I go to review the Onix, thank you again. I am currently drowning in paper notebooks, they are so pretty, but what a mess!
I have been using it for about 14 months now. I still use it. I would say the biggest problem is price. If price is not an issue, it is a great note taker. I still use the reMarkabl 2 and with 2.12 update, it became a lot more useful. But again, the price is high.
I also have Boox Onyx Lumi Max, which is bigger and not a great direct comparison. However, it still give me a good software feel of Boox Onyx devices are like. Note taking is ok, but Onyx devices is a Android skin. It is good in some ways, including allows loading Android apps. But note taking on such an complex device feels a little too much. But if I only have the same amount of money, Onyx devices is still a very good option.
They dropped price to $300 and the pen is $129
Does it still cost 8/month in subfees to access dropbox and Google Drive? And How does it work with the pdf-format that it used to create when you transfer files? Can you interact with notes that have been uploaded and then loaded back to the device?(hope my question makes sense
This is an amazing review. Thank you so much. So helpful.
What was the tablet you recommended at the end? It's not listed in the description.
appreciate your honest review 👍👍👍
Honest review, not like the others who felt more like paid ads. Keep it up.
He spoke for one or two seconds and I immediately looked at his name to conform what I heard. And yep, he's Dutch. I recognize Dutch accents anytime. My native language is Dutch and I'm from Suriname, South America.
Very well put together. Thank you for sharing this information.
Cant really tell what the name of the 'competition' is from the video. Would have been helpful to include link(s)
@MarkVletter We’re a year on now - do you feel the 3.0 software update made enough of an improvement to change your initial recommendation?
Clear concise and honest. Thank you Mark.
A question for you or anyone who uses and likes their remarkable2: Im not all that interested in using cloud storage and wondering with only 8gb how big the notebook files are? Will it fill up very fast?
Thanks for the honest review❤
Hi Mark,
The content of your review is great, especially the parts about:
-how much do the different types of pens cost
-how to send articles using the Google Chrome extension
But, if I would be able to suggest a possible missing on your vid is the following:
When you talk about the layer on top of the document, it will help you see your screen on the 'remarkable' to understand what you refer to.
Apart from that, your review is really helpful. Congrats!
Very informative review. I’m glad I watched this before investing in one. I think I’ll stick with my iPad for now
Thank you. Very useful review
Great review. Thank you. Very helpful. The monthly subscription fee was a dealbreaker.
Thankyou for the true opinion!
Helped me a lot
Very informative and useful to know. Thanks!
How does an iPad Pro with paper-like screen protector compare for drawing?
By the sounds of it I could buy a tablet for the same price and do more with it.
I was super excited for this, but the pen being extra, the monthly fee to connect to Google drive, not being able to synch books. Feels like saving for a tablet is gonna be more worth it.
very concise and straight to the point, thank you!
What was the thing mentioned at the end? Ongs-book? A card/link to that Good e Reader buffet would be good
Thank you. Let's wait for remarkable 4
Objective and Honest review! Thank you Mark!
Thank you for this review. Very much to the point and clear.
Hi, am I able to send a PDF file downloaded from interneet from mac to remarkable 2?
As a software engineer
- you can also communicate with the device via ssh, which means it's easy to sync documents without any application or extension
- it's trivial to strip DRM from e-books, so this absolutely isn't a limitation
Unlocking the eBooks is pretty simple and you can still use ePub files (i.e. scalable text, font changing, & tracking annotations)... That being said, I started using it for notes, reading, and writing. After a year I use it for reading only, using a laptop for everything else, and it is a very expensive kindle at that. It is however the biggest (full A4 page), coolest, and slimmest kindle out there. Until you want to read in bed at which point I switch back to the backlit kindle. Which means either fumbling around pages to sync to your last read page or just dedicating to read different books on different devices simultaneously. Like a kindle it also has an awesome battery life too.
Thank you for a shortened, in-depth video on this tablet. I was seriously considering purchasing a reMarkable 2, but after watching...No!
I don’t understand, if you can’t use the tablet for e books, what books can you use it for?
Have they done any software upgrades since you've had it to help with the problems you were facing?
Is this a good notebook to have while in nursing school to take notes in multiple classes
I was super ready to get one but glad that i came across you video, i did not know that it comes with no Pen, and cover, also the monthly fee !!! No thank you I will keep stacking my notes :) perhaps in the future, they will change or a better device will be released with more affordable budget and better options.
What is the name of the competitor that you mentioned that’s a better value for the price?
prima review Mark, zie nu dat je uit groningen komt, dacht al, bekend gezicht...
What is the name of the alternative product? The ouchn book? I'd like to check it out, if anybody knows, please help.
Great review. I would have tried it already if there wasn’t a monthly fee for syncing. I find that fee insulting.
Nice video, well organized, thoughtful!
I'm almost sold in the RM2, but they would do a great favor if they can introduce normal "Adobe PDF reader" features. Is it that hard to have highlights that can be later on read by another pdf reader? Is it that hard to introduce steaky notes (maybe mixed with OCR or just typing?). I don't know. It seems to me that those things are simple, but not necessarily will come up with software updates.
I have a computer, a phone, the remarkable was a gift. I love, love, love it. It has taken the place of all the spiral notebooks I only stopped using once I got it. It does what I need it to without interjecting it’s own thoughts as does my computer at times. When I finish something I want to them send to my computer I can do so, or mail it. I can’t draw with my computer as if it were paper. It’s just more personal.
What monitor is that you are using? :O looks awesome
Thanks for the review. I was considering getting this for my wife for Christmas because she takes tonnes of notes in notebooks and is always losing information, but not being able to get those notes off the device easily is a deal-breaker for me.
Same! I ended up getting my wife a Samsung S Tablet, which has worked very well for her (Samsung Notes app is excellent). And stylus is included!
Thank you!! 🙏 I was wanting a device I could draw on and then print out the documents, this does not sound like the device for me
Thank you. Valuable info!