reMarkable Paper Pro vs reMarkable 2

Ereaders and graphics tablets are hardly new inventions. Amazon popularised the e-ink reader when it launched its first Kindle in 2007 but the origins of the ereader trace back to late 90s when the Rocket eBook and Palm Pilot devices were popular within their niche. If you want to get technical, the origin of the ereader goes back as far as 1971 when Michael Hart began an inititiative to convert the world's best books to a digital medium. Graphics tablets have been around even longer if you count the revolutionary RAND Tablet from 1963.

Despite coexisting so long together, the e-paper drawing tablet is a relatively recent innovation. One that has been popularised by a clever band of Swedes on a mission to the distraction-free creativity offered by a blank piece of paper to the digital age. Now, reMarkable has evolved the e-paper tablet once again, bringing coloured e-ink to the reMarkable Paper Pro. There are a few reasons to consider the premium model but it doesn't replace the reMarkable 2 entirely. 

• Coloured e-ink: The most significant difference between the reMarkable 2 and reMarkable Paper Pro is the Canvas Colour Display, which offers over 20,000 colours to play with. The reMarkable 2 is more like a typical ereader in that it can only render black, white and greyscale. 
• Bigger display: The other big upgrade is the 11.8-inch display, a sizeable upgrade from the reMarkable 2's 10.3-inch display.
• Heavier and thicker: That bigger display doesn't come without downsides, however. As a result, the reMarkable Paper Pro is over 100g heavier, weighing in at 525g compared to the reMarkable 2's 404g weight. The Paper Pro is also slightly thicker 
• More memory: File sizes on the reMarkable aren't huge - typical sketches with multiple layers only use up around 8MB of memory. Still, power users could still manage to fill the reMarkable 2's 8GB fast. The reMarkable Paper Pro offers 64GB of local storage, four times as much as the reMarkable 2. 
• Lower latency: The reMarkable Paper Pro 2 cuts the writing latency almost in half with a 12 millisecond delay compared to the 21 millisecond latency of the reMarkable 2. 
• Adjustable reading light: The other major addition to the reMarkable Paper Pro is the adjustable reading light. For the sake of battery life, the reMarkable 2 doesn't have a backlit reading light. That's one of the reasons the reMarkable Paper Pro has a much bigger battery while only promising the same two-week battery life. 

Now that you know the main differences between the reMarkable Paper Pro and the reMarkable 2, let's get down to brass tacks: the upgrade will cost you roughly $300 at least. In my opinion, that's a fair asking price. 

There are upgrades, of course. Every reMarkable sold comes with a perfectly capable Marker at no extra cost, but upgrading to the Marker Plus will get you a matte feel and built-in eraer for an extra $80. Then there are reMarkable's bespoke covers: the Folio ($119), Book Folio ($249) and Type Folio ($299.) You don't need a Folio, but the options on offer are quite nice.  

Comparing the reMarkable Paper Pro and reMarkable 2 side-by-side, it's clear there's room for both devices. The reMarkable Paper Pro comes with a lot of upgrades; coloured e-ink, a bigger screen, lower latency, more internal storage and an adjustable reading light are all great reasons to spend the extra dough. But those features don't come without a few small drawbacks. The Paper Pro is thicker and heavier than the reMarkable Paper Pro, noticeably so. 

The lightweight form-factor of the reMarkable 2 was part of its initial appeal and while the Paper Pro still doesn't feel like a burden, at 525g its not that much lighter than an M4 iPad Pro (it's also just as thick at 5.1mm.) 

Thankfully, what seperates your reMarkables from your iPads still remains just as impressive: that sweet, sweet two-week battery life. Thanks to a bigger 5,030mAh battery, the reMarkable Paper Pro still promises up to 14 days of regular usage before needing a charge. 

Here's a more comprehensive side-by-side comparison of specs for those deciding between the reMarkable 2 and reMarkable Paper Pro. 

I'm currently reviewing the reMarkable Paper Pro and I grow fonder of its colour palette and adjustable reading light with every passing day. Admittedly, the extra weight and larger display size felt a little unweildly at first and while I've grown accustomed to it, there's still something to be said about the lighter form factor of the reMarkable 2. 

The Paper Pro doesn't seem like a premium replacement of the reMarkable 2, rather a premium addition that long time reMarkable users can try out if they want to get a little more out of the e-paper tablet they already know and love. 

If you're just starting out with reMarkable, the Paper Pro doesn't seem essential but in the world of tech, the upgrades offered for a $300 price tag also feel quite generous.