The best E Ink tablets for 2024

Display measurement: 10.3-inch | Battery life: Two weeks | Community connectivity: Wi-Fi | Capability: 8GB | Included stylus: No, additional value | Supported file varieties: PDF, EPUB

The latest reMarkable tablet isn’t topping our listing as a result of it’s essentially the most full-featured and even most fascinating writing pill we examined. Quite, it offers the very best mixture of options individuals will discover helpful in an e-paper machine like this. We’ll get into all of them, however first, it’s value mentioning construct high quality. The reMarkable 2 weighs lower than one pound and is among the sleekest E Ink tablets we tried. It has a ten.3-inch monochrome digital paper show that’s surrounded by beige-colored bezels, with the chunkiest portion on the backside edge the place you’d naturally grip it. There’s a slim silver bezel on the left facet, which attaches to equipment just like the folio case and the brand new Type Folio keyboard. Hats off to reMarkable for making an E Ink pill that feels proper at residence with your whole different fancy devices.

Let’s begin with the writing and studying experiences on the reMarkable 2, each of that are nice. From the get go, scribbling, doodling and writing was a breeze. We examined out the Marker Plus, which has a built-in eraser, however each it and the usual Marker are tilt- and strain delicate pens, and require no batteries or charging. I noticed principally no lag between my urgent down onto the reMarkable 2’s display and features displaying up. The latency was so low that it felt the closest to precise pen-and-paper. However I’ll say that this isn’t distinctive amongst our high picks on this information – nearly the entire E Ink tablets we examined acquired this very essential function proper.

Relating to studying, the reMarkable 2 helps PDFs and ePUBs, and you’ll add information to the machine by logging into your reMarkable account on desktop or through the companion cellular app in your telephone. You too can pair your Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive or Dropbox account along with your reMarkable account and entry information that method as effectively. That needs to be adequate for anybody who, say, reads loads of tutorial papers or critiques many paperwork for work. It’ll be tougher for individuals who buy their ebooks from on-line marketplaces just like the Kindle or Kobo shops, however there are different choices for these.

One other enjoyable technique to get paperwork onto the reMarkable 2 is through the Read with reMarkable extension for Google Chrome. After putting in it and pairing your reMarkable account, you’ll be capable of ship articles you discover on-line on to your reMarkable 2 so you’ll be able to examine them out later. You may even customise these information to be despatched as textual content solely, which is able to allow you to change their format straight in your reMarkable, or as a PDF file. No matter which you select, you’ll be capable of mark up these articles as you’ll another file on the E Ink pill. I used this extension rather a lot and I did get pleasure from studying longform articles on the reMarkable 2 greater than on my iPhone. Having the ability to underline, spotlight and in any other case mark up these tales was extra of a bonus than a necessity for me, however for others who glean sources from on-line supplies can be higher off for it.

Total, it’s fairly straightforward to get information onto the reMarkable 2 and it’s doable to entry them elsewhere when you could not be capable of whip out the E Ink pill. These with a reMarkable Join subscription may have the very best expertise, and it’s a pleasant perk that you just get a one-year membership once you purchase one. The $3-per-month subscription offers the power to edit present notes and take new ones from wherever utilizing the desktop and cellular apps, plus limitless cloud storage and syncing. On that final entrance, in case you don’t pay for Join, solely “notes and paperwork synced on-line within the final 50 days” can be accessible in reMarkable’s companion apps. I think 50 days value of doc syncing can be sufficient for some, however not power-users. Placing the power to take notes wherever behind a paywall is a little bit of a bummer it doesn’t matter what and makes it a lot tougher for anybody to make use of the reMarkable ecosystem as their principal note-taking house.

That stated, I saved most of my testing to the reMarkable 2 itself and was impressed by its potential to be a digital pocket book with out a steep studying curve. You may create completely different notebooks and “fast sheets” to arrange your handwritten notes, and folders to make sense of imported information. You’ll discover eight completely different brush varieties with which to mark up paperwork and take notes, together with customizable line thicknesses and “colours” (which simply present up as shades on the pill itself). You may even kind wherever you need in a doc, and the reMarkable 2 can translate handwritten notes into machine-readable textual content with stunning accuracy.

It was no shock that the reMarkable 2 ended up having the very best mixture of options, together with a comparatively low studying curve. The corporate was one of many first on the scene with a very viable E Ink pill again in 2017, and so they’ve been refining the expertise ever since. However that comes at a value – the reMarkable 2 isn’t the costliest E Ink pill we examined, however it’s not low cost both. The pill will set you again $399 with the usual Marker, or $449 for a bundle with the Marker Plus. You could possibly get a 9th-gen iPad and the 1st-gen Apple Pencil for a similar value and also you’d have a extra versatile duo, purely based mostly on the capabilities of iOS.

However you’re most likely not contemplating an iPad for a selected motive, whether or not that’s your love for E Ink or the sensation of pen-to-paper writing, otherwise you merely need a extra distraction-free expertise. When you’re searching for an E Ink pill that won’t take ages to get used to, provides a stellar writing expertise and makes it comparatively easy to entry notes elsewhere, the reMarkable 2 is your greatest guess.

Display measurement: 10.2-inch | Battery life: Months | Community connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Capability: As much as 64GB | Included stylus: Sure | Supported file varieties: AZW3, AZW, TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively and more

You actually have two choices on this house: the Amazon Kindle Scribe and the Kobo Elipsa 2E. The Scribe edged out the Elipsa 2E purely due to its low-latency pen-and-screen mixture. The Elipsa has its deserves, which we’ll get into in a bit, however it simply couldn’t compete with the Scribe when it got here to a seamless and clean handwriting expertise.

We already gave the Kindle Scribe the full review treatment, and usually, I loved it whereas testing it out for this information, too. As talked about, there’s little to no latency when writing on the Scribe with its companion pen. Due to the latest software update, you even have extra brush varieties to select from now, together with fountain pen, marker and pencil, which add to the attraction. Like different E Ink tablets, the Scribe makes it straightforward to create a number of notebooks, and you’ll add pages to them and alter up their templates if you want.

As an e-reader, the Scribe shines not solely because of its 10.2-inch touchscreen with auto-adjusting entrance lights, but additionally as a result of you have got Amazon’s complete e-book retailer at your fingertips. When you get most of your studying materials from Amazon or subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, you’ll be capable of bounce proper into your whole titles immediately on the Scribe simply as you’ll on a tool just like the Kindle Paperwhite. As well as, the Scribe can hook up with Audible through Bluetooth for audiobook listening. It’s additionally straightforward to get ebooks out of your native library and browse them on a Kindle. This can be essential not just for voracious readers, however particularly for college kids who purchase or hire digital textbooks and people who eat books often for analysis functions.

I considered college students rather a lot when utilizing the Scribe. I began school in 2009, two years after the primary Kindle was launched and one yr earlier than the primary iPad got here out. Getting textbooks digitally actually wasn’t an possibility for me – however I can perceive the attraction a note-taking machine just like the Kindle Scribe would have for college kids. It’s arguably even higher than a normal Kindle as a result of its larger display measurement, which is able to make it much less tiring to stare at for lengthy intervals of time. Including the power to take handwritten notes when you’re finding out is icing on the cake.

Nonetheless, Amazon’s execution of guide notes is just not my favourite. You really can’t make annotations within the margins of Kindle ebooks. As a substitute you press and maintain the pen’s tip on the display to spotlight textual content or add a be aware to a selected phrase or phrase. When you do the latter, a window pops up on the underside half of the display the place you’ll be able to both take a handwritten be aware or kind a textual content be aware utilizing the Scribe’s mildly irritating and sluggish on-screen keyboard.

Amazon not too long ago rectified this a bit with a software update that permits for direct on-page writing in sure Kindle books. The Kindle Retailer now has a bit that showcases “Write-on Books,” which is at present principally made up of journals and recreation books that function puzzles like crosswords and sudoku. That is actually a step in the correct route, however it means you continue to will not be capable of mark up your favourite fiction and non-fiction books till they help the brand new function.

That is the place I give a nod to the Kobo Elipsa 2E, the place you can write notes within the margins, underline, circle and in any other case mark up your studying materials. It’s a extra pure (and enjoyable) expertise because it mimics what you’d do in case you have been studying a bodily guide. It’s a disgrace that the latency on the Elipsa was only a hair extra noticeable than that of the Scribe. If it weren’t for that, it might need overwhelmed Amazon’s machine right here.

What that additional little bit of latency interprets to in observe is handwriting that may come out only a bit messier, and that will increase precipitously the quicker you write. However that additionally implies that you’ll discover this essentially the most when taking notes longhand on the Elipsa; in case you’re primarily utilizing an E Ink pill to mark up paperwork, it received’t have an effect on you as a lot. Regardless of that, I did like the best way Kobo executed notebooks on the Elipsa. You may have a normal pocket book the place you’ll be able to write and scribble away, or an “superior” pocket book that helps handwriting-to-text conversion and inserting issues like diagrams and formulation. Textual content conversion is definitely fairly correct, too, even when coping with a few of my ugliest handwriting.

Kobo additionally has a fairly sizable e-book market, so it’s actually an honest possibility if you wish to keep away from the Amazon ecosystem. However Amazon has the higher hand on the subject of value. The Kobo Elipsa 2E pack that features its stylus is $399, whereas the 16GB Kindle Scribe with the premium pen (which incorporates devoted eraser and shortcut buttons) is available in at $369. Even in case you max out the Scribe with 64GB of storage, you’d solely spend $20 greater than you’ll on the Kobo Elipsa. That, mixed with the Scribe’s robust general efficiency and the ubiquity of Amazon’s e-book choices will make it the higher alternative for many readers.

Display measurement: 10.3-inch | Battery life: Weeks | Community connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Capability: 32GB | Included stylus: No, additional value | Supported file varieties: PDF, EPUB, Phrase, Textual content (.txt), PNG, JPG, Comedian guide archive (.cbz), FictionBook2 (.fb2) and OpenXPS (.xps)

I spent some time testing all of those E Ink tablets, and the Supernote X is the one I used to be constantly most excited to make use of. As a pocket book nerd, I discover this factor so cool. Out there in 10.3-inch (what I examined) and seven.8-inch sizes, the Supernote X has a “FeelWrite” display protector that has a special really feel than a normal e-paper display. When writing on it with Coronary heart of Steel Pen 2, which is weighty and appears like a fountain pen, you get a gel pen-like really feel moderately than the subtly scratchy vibe that different E Ink tablets have. The truth is, the Supernote X has probably the greatest writing experiences out of any pill I examined.

The Supernote X helps a spread of file codecs, together with PDF, ePUB, Phrase (.doc), PNG and JPG, which actually opens up the content material you’ll be able to put onto the factor. I needed to see if I might deal with it nearly like a digital bullet journal, and that wasn’t arduous to do. There are built-in web page templates, however I used to be in a position to obtain each day, weekly and month-to-month planner templates on-line, resize them and transfer them onto the Supernote X utilizing Android File Transfer. The machine has a devoted “MyStyle” folder the place it can save you information you wish to use as templates. Essentially the most troublesome half was ensuring I had the size proper whereas resizing the paperwork. As soon as saved in the correct folder, I might make a whole pocket book out of the templates I had gotten from the web without spending a dime.

Supernote does have its personal “app retailer,” however there’s not a lot in there, and its Play Retailer choices are restricted to solely the Kindle app. This machine doesn’t have a backlight, so it received’t be straightforward to see in darkish environments. However you’ll be able to obtain Amazon’s e-book app and browse identical to you’ll on a normal pill (no, you’ll be able to’t mark up books right here both).

Truthfully, the very last thing I needed to do with the Supernote X was learn, although. The machine actually shines as an E Ink pocket book and the corporate clearly put loads of thought into “constructing a greater mousetrap,” so to talk. You may translate handwritten phrases into typed textual content, however you don’t have to try this to ensure that the software program to acknowledge your handwriting. There’s a key phrases function that allows you to principally bookmark essential phrases for fast entry later. All it is advisable do is lasso the phrase, press the key phrase button and the pill’s software program will translate your writing into typed textual content. Then you’ll be able to add it as a key phrase and rapidly bounce again to it from the left-side pill of contents menu. Equally, you’ll be able to bookmark titles and add stars to pages which are essential, all of which show you how to bounce between essential bits.

That stated, the Supernote X generally felt a bit of inconsistent. The writing expertise was top-notch, however there have been different issues that felt rather less polished. For instance, you’ll be able to swipe down on the correct bezel to convey up a menu that allows you to rapidly navigate between favorited notes and up to date paperwork – that’s fairly considerate. However then the Recordsdata web page simply has a few starkly named folders like Export, Screenshot and Inbox that I didn’t contact as soon as, and the pen sidebar has extra choices than most individuals will know what to do with (and none of them have textual content labels).

These are small nit-picks, however they go to indicate that the Supernote X may not be the very best machine for tech novices. There’s a studying curve right here, however pocket book nerds like myself can be thrilled with all that the Supernote X has to supply. Unsurprisingly, all these superior options come at a steep value: the A5-sized pill with a folio and pen will set you again no less than $532, making it the costliest set on our listing.

Display measurement: 10.3-inch | Battery life: As much as 4 weeks | Community connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Capability: 64GB | Included stylus: Sure | Supported file varieties: PDF, PPT, EPUB, TXT, DJVU, HTML, RTF, FB2, DOC, MOBI, CHM, PNG, JPG, TIFF, BMP

Whereas we haven’t totally examined the brand new Boox Note Air 3, we really feel snug recommending it right here as a result of it’s principally only a barely upgraded model of our earlier decide, the Note Air 2 Plus. Key variations are the Word Air 3’s quicker processor and new fingerprint recognition function, however in any other case each gadgets have the identical 10.3-inch “paperlike” display, run the newest model of Android and are available bundled with a stylus.

Based mostly on our expertise with the Word Air 2 Plus, Boox’s complete Word collection is what you’d get in case you eliminated a number of the notebook-specific options from the Supernote X and added in a extra full model of Android. Boox makes quite a lot of fascinating E Ink gadgets and the Word Air 2 Plus/Word Air 3 are those that greatest examine to the others on our listing because of its 10.3-inch show. They’re E Ink Android tablets, so meaning you’ll be able to really obtain Android apps from the Google Play Retailer like Kindle, Kobo and others. There’s even an internet browser, and sure, you’ll be able to watch movies on this factor, too.

In fact, simply because you are able to do all of that doesn’t imply it’s best to. E Ink screens are actually greatest for studying and writing, so I didn’t spend a lot time binge watching YouTube on Boox’s machine – however I used to be joyful that I had the liberty to take action. Actually, the utility of Android is available in with the app retailer and I count on that most individuals will use it to obtain all of their favourite studying and writing apps. Very similar to a normal pill, this can be an incredible possibility for anybody that will get their studying materials from a bunch of various locations — and since you’ll be able to manually switch paperwork out of your pc to the machine, too, it’s far-and-away essentially the most versatile possibility on our listing.

I skilled little to no latency when writing on Boox’s machine and I used to be proud of the variety of brush choices it has. Just like the Supernote X, it comes with a bunch of web page templates you should use, or you’ll be able to usher in your personal PDFs and different paperwork to make use of as templates. There’s an “AI recognition” function that interprets an entire web page’s handwriting into typed textual content, and it’s really fairly correct. (Although, it did constantly confuse my “&” for a capital A). I additionally appreciated that you may add other forms of fabric to your notes, together with internet pages and voice recordings, and share notes as PDFs or PNGs through e-mail, Google Drive and different companies. Options like these make sure that, with this partially analog machine, you don’t miss out on a number of the conveniences {that a} true digital pocket book system would have.

And, importantly, Boox tablets usually supply an fascinating worth proposition. A Word Air 3 bundle with the pill, a normal pen and a folio case is available in at $400, placing it on the upper finish of the worth spectrum among the many gadgets we examined. However contemplating it’s a full Android pill, that doesn’t appear absurd. Those that wish to keep away from distractions more often than not whereas nonetheless getting access to e-mail and an internet browser would possibly gravitate in direction of a tool like this.

There’s additionally the Word Air 3 C, a model of the identical pill that has a colour e-paper show, and have been in a position to spend a while with that machine. Colour, unsurprisingly, provides loads of dimension and enjoyable to a tool like this. Not solely are you able to get pleasure from full-color photos in books, however you can even take notes, spotlight and mark up paperwork utilizing just a few completely different colours of digital pens and markers. The large caveat, although, is that the Word Air 3 C prices $100 greater than the usual Word Air 3, so you will must pay a premium if colour is a precedence for you.

Display measurement: 7-inch | Battery life: As much as 40 days | Community connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Capability: 32GB | Included stylus: No | Supported file varieties: EPUB, EPUB3, FlePub, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR, Kobo audiobooks

The Kobo Libra Colour, one of many firm’s latest ereaders, not solely provides colour to its display but additionally stylus help. Meaning you’ll be able to spotlight textual content, write within the margins of e-books and create notebooks. The low-latency, feature-rich stylus, plus integration with Dropbox and Google Drive, make the Libra Color a surprisingly efficient E Ink pill. Finally, we nonetheless assume the Kindle Scribe is your greatest guess for a tablet-and-ereader combo, because of the extra expansive Kindle library and the bigger, ten-inch display — however Kobo’s newest deserves a point out.

The Libra Color is our present decide for a mannequin with buttons in our ereader guide. It has a premium construct, loads of textual content customizations for snug studying and a crisp, warm-light, seven-inch show. The addition of colour provides curiosity to guide covers and allows you to spotlight textual content in 4 completely different hues. Kobo additionally caught a quicker processor within the machine, which makes waking from sleep, turning pages, navigating the menu and altering orientation zippy quick.

The Libra Color doesn’t include the Kobo stylus — one other level within the Scribe’s favor — however in case you add the $70 accent, you’ll be capable of spotlight textual content and scribble notes within the margins of any guide. You’ll additionally unlock entry to Kobo’s two kinds of notebooks: Fundamental, which helps you to draw, scribble and write freehand, and Superior, which may convert handwriting to typed textual content and allows you to add diagrams and sections.

The stylus provides three pen kinds, plus a brush and highlighter, and switching between them is fast with an unobtrusive menu. Due to the colour know-how, you’ll be able to write and attract ten colours and spotlight in 4. One of many few points I bumped into was with the highlighter button — it’s in an incredible spot for spotlighting textual content on the fly, however that location can also be proper the place I relaxation my pointer finger, so I typically hit it whereas writing. However the utility of the built-in eraser balances out that irritation.

I seen a barely perceptible latency and good strain sensitivity, which is most evident utilizing the fountain pen. The faucet-to-convert function nearly at all times accurately turned my bizarre printing-and-cursive-hybrid handwriting into kind, and importing notebooks to Dropbox or Google Drive took mere seconds. (You too can do hardwired, USB-C transfers to a pc.)

With the added value of the stylus, you’ll pay $290 for Kobo’s set, which remains to be $50 cheaper than the bottom mannequin Scribe. When you don’t want a bigger display or entry to the tons of of Kindle titles you might have already bought, the Libra Color makes for an interesting ereader/E Ink pill different. — Amy Skorheim, Reporter, Shopping for Recommendation