Ive always been a sucker for a good notebook. Despite my sloppy handwriting, I love taking notes, jotting down random to-do lists, and writing letters. Theres nothing like writing on a big yellow legal pad or doodling in the margins of a composition notebook. The ReMarkable Paper Pro does a marvelous job of emulating that feeling of writing on pen and paper using a stylus and screen, which can often feel more like using a toy. While an achievement, it comes at a price that Im not sure most people are willing to pay. ReMarkable Paper Pro A Paper Pro is a gorgeous digital notebook that's an absolute pleasure a write on, but it's also a slow-loading e-reader that will cost you an arm and leg. Pros Cons ReMarkable Paper Pro Review: Design and Features Adriano Contreras The Paper Pro is a half-step upgrade from the Remarkable 2. Its bigger (11.8 inches vs. 10.3 inches), has a color display, and has a reading light that allows you to use it in dimly lit environments. Much like ReMarkable 2, the Paper Pro essential wants you to ditch your tablet or phone in favor of something free of the distractions of text message notifications and upsetting news updates. The Paper Pro is slightly thicker than the ReMarkable 2, at 5.1 mm, and weighs just over a pound. Still, I appreciate the extra real estate because it allows me to fit more onto a single page. Even with a case on, it felt as heavy as holding onto a magazine or a book, which I didnt mind since it still felt light but not fragile. The biggest upgrade for the Paper Pro from the Remarkable 2 is the color display, which makes reading comics and highlighting texts in PDFs much easier. However, I did notice a slight delay whenever you try to write in a color other than black. It first appears black for a moment, then flickers to the selected color, which is a little distracting and highlights a common problem with the Paper Pros performance. When it came to notetaking and writing, I switched to ballpoint pen and mechanical pencil modes. Each pen style feels different enough to accommodate most peoples preferred writing styles. I have been using the Paper Pro for over a month, taking it into meetings, making to-do lists at home, and reading a handful of e-books Ive stashed in a Google Drive folder. It remains at my side well after Ive finished reviewing it because its easy to pick up and start writing. Adriano Contreras Organizing your notes is simple and intuitive. You can highlight and move text around with the pen, change its size, and use handy preset templates. I like a good list, so I often use the Checklist template. You can easily edit your text on the fly as well. To make text bigger or move it around, you simply hit the highlighting tool and circle the words you want to tweak. My review unit came with the Marker Plus, which includes a built-in eraser head at the end of the stylus, which was extra helpful since I tend to write fast and make a lot of mistakes. I like how easy it is to mix handwritten and typed notes (via virtual keyboard or keyboard folio). It gives you fun ways to organize your digital notebooks so they dont look like scribbles written by a madman. If youre reading a PDF, its nice to highlight passages or to write in the margins, making it great for sharing during a study session.ReMarkable Paper Pro Review: Performance Adriano Contreras Writing on the Paper Pro, like the ReMarkable 2, is a pure joy. The stylus is responsive, and the Marker Plus pen is comfortable. It really feels like you are writing on paper the way the pen tip glides as you write, which is a tough trick to put off. I never once felt like I had to adjust how I write like I do on other tablets or phones that let you write on the screen with a stylus. The Paper Pros ability to convert handwritten notes to typed text highly dependent on your handwriting. Your mileage will vary depending on how neatly you write, but its a great feature when it works, especially if youre one to share notes with other people. It accurately converted about 50% of the text I wrote. For others around the office with clearer penmanship, it was around 90%. Obviously, the problem was me and not the Paper Pro. Im okay with that. Adriano Contreras Adriano Contreras One useful feature is accessing and sharing notes from other devices. I can easily view and edit notes I took on my phone via the ReMarkable app. I made an inventory list for a charity event I was helping out at on the Paper Pro and then sent the PDF to our Discord server. You can also send those files via text, Slack, Threads, and a handful of other apps. The only downside is you pay $3 a month (or $30 a year) to use its cloud-storage service.Getting PDFs and EPUBs onto Paper Pro is still a bit of a headache, requiring you to upload the files via the ReMarkable app or website. Since I have a rather large Kindle library, tracking down the files for books I already own is one hoop I hated jumping through. I understand the simplicity of the Paper Pro, but much like the ReMarkable 2, I wish there were a way to access various e-book apps. Once your books are set up, the Paper Pro is a perfectly average e-reader. I welcome the adjustable reading light, which allows you to read in the dark or direct sunlight. The E Ink Gallery display is easy on the eyes, and during my evening reads, I spent at least 20 more minutes reading ebooks on the Paper Pro than I usually do on my phone.The problem with the Paper Pro is that everything takes too long. Loading up a notebook or even flipping through pages takes a second or two longer than it should. Though it does have a faster processor and double the memory of the ReMarkable 2, anything outside of writing on the page is sluggish. The upside to having a less demanding processor is that you get a decent battery life. I went nearly two weeks before needing to grab the charger. ReMarkable Paper Pro Review: Verdict Adriano Contreras Adriano Contreras Adriano Contreras Adriano Contreras Adriano Contreras As much as I enjoyed my time on the Paper Pro, the price of distraction-free writing and note-taking is high, starting at $530 (an extra $50 if you want the Marker Plus that includes the built-in eraser). When you start to factor in accessories like the $230 Type Folio keyboard, the checkout price gets closer to $800. If youre like me and have poor handwriting, the keyboard becomes a nice-to-have device to reduce mistakes when jotting down numbers, or you simply want to go for a digital typewriter vibe. But if thats the case, something like the Freewrite Alphashould be more up your alley. If you want a tablet first and an e-reader/notepad second, theApple iPad Mini is a great choice. If you want something smaller with a color E Ink display, the Amazon Kindle ColorSoft might be another option. Its quite a lot of money, considering you cant use third-party apps or even browse the web. The Paper Pro is not meant to be used like a tablet. Opening different books and notes takes much longer than Id like, so I can only imagine how the Paper Pro would crawl when opening BlueSky or checking your email. Again, this is meant to be a device to keep you off those apps anyway, so I understand it being a walled-off ecosystem.If you want something simpler that wont cost you an arm and a leg, the ReMarkable 2 for $330 (Pen included) is likely a better choice, as long as youre okay with not having color display and a slightly smaller screen. Price aside, the physical act of writing on the ReMarkable Paper Pro still feels incredible, and quite frankly, I dont see myself putting it down anytime soon. Every day, I find more and more reasons to sit and write, put my phone aside, and not stare at a laptop screen for hours on end.