Best digital notebooks for smart scribbling, tested by a tech expert

Even though it’s the sophomore device from its namesake company, the Remarkable 2 is the device that put digital notebooks on the map, and one that remains the best option for most people years after its release. Not only does it brilliantly recreate the sensation of writing on paper, but it’s the most affordable means of accessing the Remarkable ecosystem.

Starting at £389, it’s not a massive difference in price between the Remarkable 2 and the Remarkable Paper Pro Move, but given how costly it can get when accessories are brought into the mix, any chance to save is worth taking. In daily use, it’s Remarkable’s easy to understand UI that seals the deal, making it simple to organise notes, set up layers within a single page and even convert your handwriting into text.

The lack of a backlight does make working without a light source tricky, and you need to factor in the £2.99/month cost of Remarkable’s Connect subscription to have all available features, but the core experience just can’t be beaten.

It took just over four years for a successor to the Remarkable 2 to come to market, but with the Remarkable Paper Pro, the wait was most certainly worthwhile. This larger tablet doubles down on everything that made its predecessor great by boasting a larger 11.8-inch display which offers more room to scribble down your thoughts, alongside a colour display.

I didn’t think that I’d get much use out of the ability to swap to other colours on the fly, but being able to highlight passages in shades of yellow, cyan or navy (just to name a few options), has become a huge help in making sure that the focus of my notes is never lost. Even though the Paper Pro has the same two-week battery life claim as the Remarkable 2, I often found that the former would outlast the latter between charges.

The big problem is that with all the added features, Remarkable has upped the price by a considerable amount. The Paper Pro itself costs £559, and an accessory like the Type Folio keyboard case can set you back an extra £219. It’s definitely not for those on a budget, but for avid notetakers who will make full use of its features, the Remarkable Paper Pro is worth the expense.

Now in its second iteration, the Kindle Scribe 2024 is a much sleeker device than its predecessor with white bezels framing the display and a grip on the left hand-side where you can easily rest your non-writing hand. The Scribe is almost as thin as its USB-C charging port, so even if you do add a case to it, the device won’t be taking up a ton of space in your bag.

Because this is a Kindle device, you can use the Scribe much like any Kindle e-reader, which is an instant win for anyone who’s already invested in Amazon’s ecosystem. You get a much larger display than your average Kindle and the backlight is great for reading and writing in bed. Speaking of which, the included Premium Pen is the only other stylus I’ve used that comes close to offering the same writing experience as the Remarkable range, and the dedicated button for instant highlighting is a nice touch.

It’s a shame then that the UI isn’t as well-designed as the competition for actually taking notes. You can’t write directly onto a Kindle book, but rather leave digital sticky notes that the wording makes way for, and the dedicated notebook tab is sorely lacking in templates and smart features. If all you want is to read Kindle books and jot down your thoughts about them, you’ll get on just fine here.

If the Kindle Scribe’s inability to let you enjoy seamless annotation is a major let-down, then the Kobo Libra Colour is here to pick up the slack. Not only does this Kindle alternative let you absolutely deface ebooks in any way that you see fit, but it also costs a great deal less which makes it a more tempting buy for students on tight budgets.

The best part is that, unlike a Kindle, not only can you buy books from more than one digital storefront, you also have the ability to access the ebooks of your local library via an OverDrive account. Once it’s all set up, you can enjoy the latest bestsellers at no additional cost, so for folks who want to save money in the long run, it’s a very cost-effective option. The inclusion of a colour screen is also helpful for highlighting passages with different hues, or even reading graphic novels.

The writing experience is the one area where the Libra Colour isn’t quite able to match the Kindle Scribe, let alone the Remarkable range, and what’s odd is that Kobo’s official stylus is sold separately, so you’ll have to factor in an additional £69.99 if you want the full plate of features.

It seems strange now to think that a smaller Remarkable tablet didn’t appear sooner given that there was an obvious gap in the market for a pocketable digital notebook, but I’m glad that the Remarkable Paper Pro exists at all. Instead of being an entirely new type of device, the Paper Pro Move is effectively a shrunk-down Paper Pro with all the features intact.

You have an E Ink-style display that’s capable of producing colour, and a backlight that makes scribbling down notes after dark an easy process. Because the screen is only 7.3-inches and the device weighs just 230g, it stands out for just how easy it is to carry around, which is why it’s great for professionals on the move. From my own experience, whipping out the Paper Pro Move during a product briefing has been a much simpler experience for taking notes, compared with some of the more cumbersome options on this list.

Still, the smaller screen can be a downside at times – you can’t really delve into detailed notes without constantly scrolling down the page for more space, or moving to a new page entirely. To that end, the Remarkable 2 and the aforementioned Paper Pro have the right amount of space available for more expansive brainstorming.

As much as I’ve enjoyed using the other options on this list for jotting down notes throughout my day, if you want a digital notebook that can also serve as a potential laptop alternative under certain use cases, then the Onyx Boox Tab X C is my go-to pick. Unlike the others which run proprietary software, the Tab X C operates on full-blown Android which includes a ton of extra benefits.

You can write down notes on Google Docs, read books on the Kindle app, or browse the web in a way that’s very easy on the eyes thanks to its bright, E Ink display. There’s just so much more functionality that you don’t get with most digital notebooks, and this sits on top of Onyx’s built-in note-taking software which resembles what you get on Remarkable tablets, although it is a bit more cluttered and lacks the simplicity that makes Remarkable devices so much fun to use.

The big problem is the price, which at £759.99 makes even the Remarkable Paper Pro look affordable, and that’s before factoring in additional accessories like the available keyboard case. If you’re going to use the full breadth of functionality that’s available with Android then it’s a worthy buy, but everyone else is better off looking at the alternatives (and saving a small fortune).