Best E-Ink Note Taking Tablet: reMarkable 2, Boox Go 10.3, or Supernote Nomad?

Upfront Conclusion Let’s check out if the reMarkable 2, with over 2 million units sold, remains the king of digital note-taking compared to the Boox Go 10.3 and Supernote A6X2. And before going into detail, here’s the upfront conclusion to not waste your time: The paradox of the Boox Go 10.3 is that it’s the best note-taking tablet if you want a device that’s actually not just for taking notes. It runs Android 12 and lets you easily install Android apps through the Google Play Store. While it’s not always flawless on E-Ink, it works surprisingly well most of the time. Plus, the Go 10.3 comes with the best PDF and eBook features out of the box. It also has vast note-taking capabilities, but the UI isn’t as polished as with the others, and it comes with a steeper learning curve as a result. That brings us to the reMarkable 2, which the Boox Go 10.3 seemed to have taken inspiration from when it comes to design. But that’s where the similarities end. The reMarkable 2 is a much more focused note-taking device, offering better handling thanks to its rubber feet that keep it stable on a desk. It’s a small detail, but those little things often have the greatest impact. Also, the magnetic pen attachment is much stronger than the Boox Go 10.3's, making handling generally more pleasant. Beyond these small hardware advantages, the software is also more focused. People often say that reMarkable takes the Apple approach by reducing complexity as much as possible while maintaining the most important functions for an efficient note-taking experience. I tend to agree with that assessment. Everything looks and feels clean and is fairly easy to use. However, the reMarkable 2 does have some downsides, like an older chipset that can make the tablet feel sluggish at times. The lower 227 PPI resolution isn’t exactly on par with the 300 ppi of the others. Neither of those are dealbreakers in my opinion for everyday use, but if you want the latest and greatest, the reMarkable 2 might feel more like a compromise now. It’s perfect if you want a note-taking tablet that is easy to use, with a clear focus on note-taking and exceptional haptics. The Supernote A6X2, also known as the Nomad, is an even more focused note-taking tablet. It has specialized note-taking features and uses unique solutions, like the self-healing soft-touch film needed for its ceramic pen tip, which doesn’t require regular replacement. On a software level, Supernote often features solutions that make it incredibly well-organized for note-taking but slightly more complex to use than the reMarkable 2. The biggest difference is of course the screen size. With just 7.8 inches, this has much less screen estate than the other two with 10.3 inches so I wouldn’t recommend it for school. It’s more useful and convenient as a travel companion that fits easily in most bags. I’m not comparing the larger Supernote model because its release was delayed, so right now, this is the only one available. I’ll do a follow-up comparison once the larger model is available. So to summarize: The Boox Go 10.3 for best flexibility and PDF functions, the reMarkable 2 for easiest-to-use features and best convenience when taking notes at a desk, and the Supernote Nomad for the most powerful note-taking and organizing features with best portability. Please like and subscribe if you appreciate this format with the upfront conclusion and let us know in the comments below which of the three is your pick. Stick around for more details that will help with your decision-making if you’re not convinced yet. Build Quality, Haptics & Handling Now, let’s talk about haptics, build quality, and handling, starting with the reMarkable. This is hands down the best in terms of build quality and haptics among the three. Not that the others are bad—not at all—but there are fewer compromises with the reMarkable. It’s an incredibly thin piece of hardware and still manages to feel very sturdy. But more importantly, it’s also functional: The magnetic pen attachment is perfectly balanced—neither too strong nor too weak—and the rubber feet on the back are incredibly useful if you’re using it without a cover. The Boox Go 10.3 is a tenth of a millimeter thinner, and if you look at it side by side with the reMarkable, the similarities are definitely noticeable. But the reason I think the Boox Go 10.3 can’t match the reMarkable in terms of build quality and handling lies in the details. It also has a metal frame, but although the soft-touch areas on the backside feel nice, they slightly protrude and could be integrated better. It’s also missing the rubber feet. So while the soft-touch material provides a bit more grip, it’s just not as sticky as the reMarkable 2. But those are small issues and don’t matter that much. However, what I find annoying in everyday use is the weak magnetic pen attachment, which is much better on the reMarkable 2. The Supernote A5X2 takes a completely different approach. It’s a plastic build and isn’t made to feel premium. Again, don’t get me wrong—it’s a well-built device, but it’s not trying to compete with the other two in this aspect. What sets the Supernote Nomad apart is its sustainability approach. You can easily remove the back cover, and in a few years, when the battery has lost too much of its capacity, you can swap it out for a new one. Handling is also different from the other two due to its size. I found myself using the Nomad much more by holding it in my hand and leaning it on a desk, my leg, or something similar. And obviously, it’s easier to transport the Nomad because it’s more compact. So, all in all, you can’t go wrong with any of them in terms of build quality and haptics. Writing Feel One of the most important aspects of a note-taking tablet is the writing feel. What sets all three apart from your typical LCD tablet is that writing on any of them doesn’t feel like you’re moving the pen over a glass surface. While all aim to give you that pencil-on-paper feel, none quite manage to do that. It’s more like using a felt-tip pen on paper, or maybe something in between. But the reMarkable 2 still takes the crown when it comes to writing feel. The display surface feels rougher than on the Boox Go 10.3 and Supernote, both to the touch and when writing with the pen. This makes it feel more “paperlike” than the others. reMarkable went as far as making the eraser on the back of the digital pen feel like a real eraser. But that’s only true for the more expensive pen option; the cheaper pen is missing that feature altogether. The Boox Go 10.3 isn’t too far behind the reMarkable though. It also has a textured display surface, but it’s a bit smoother. It still offers a very nice writing feel but isn’t exactly as paperlike as the reMarkable. The Supernote is again taking a completely different approach, which, when I first heard about it, I thought was just clever marketing. But that soft-touch film on the screen does offer a completely different—softer—writing feel than the others. Supernote uses this approach because they use a ceramic pen tip, which is much harder than the plastic nibs of the other devices and doesn’t need regular replacements. So this is a more durable solution. Even with the screen protector, the Supernote Nomad still has a textured feel, so you still don’t miss out on that paperlike writing experience. The only temporary issue is the stickiness of the screen protector right after unboxing. For some reason, the soft-touch film needs to be used for a few days for that to go away, so that’s definitely important to know. When it comes to pen latency, the Supernote and reMarkable tablets are ahead of the Boox Go 10.3. It’s a solid 50% difference, but while that sounds huge, it doesn’t translate to real-world use as much as you might expect. We’re talking about roughly a 20-milliseconds pen latency with the Supernote Nomad and reMarkable 2 and a 30-milliseconds latency with the Boox Go 10.3. In everyday use, this means the Boox feels slightly less direct than the other two. It’s not the biggest difference in the world, but you can see it when having them side by side and looking closely. Note Taking Features Now, let’s discuss note-taking features. The Boox Go 10.3 has the most expansive feature set, though not the most specialized for note-taking necessarily. Let’s quickly check out what’s here: different pen types, including fountain pen, brush, ballpoint pen, pencil, and marker; changeable templates and the ability to use layers to organize notes and drawings on page; AI features that can help create shapes and convert handwriting to typed text; and the ability to place typed text directly on the page and even include audio that you can record with the built-in microphone. Handwritten notes can also be searched for keywords without having to convert them to text first—you just need to enable the handwriting recognition via WiFi initially. So in short, the Boox Go 10.3 is a powerhouse for note-taking. But here comes the Supernote Nomad, which actually has fewer features in total but is more specialized. What makes this more specialized is the way you can organize your notes with headlines and keywords. Just highlight them and convert the handwriting to a headline for example. Sounds like a small thing, but it’s one of my favorite features on any digital note-taking device right now. All headlines are available in the table of contents, making it super useful for organizing your notes. The same goes for linking your notes. So while the Supernote A6X2 doesn’t have the most features, it uses a more focused and polished approach to taking and organizing notes. The reMarkable 2 takes a reductionist approach on the other hand. It brings useful and well-implemented features like the ability to scroll a page for example. The reMarkable doesn’t limit you to using a fixed canvas, which honestly makes sense, since this is a digital note taking tablet and it's not bound by physical limits like a regular paper page. I find that feature especially useful when switching to landscape mode. You can scroll down as far as you want and get much more screen estate horizontally—essentially the same as on a DIN A4 page. So that’s pretty neat. You can also easily zoom in and out to either add something as a tiny sidenote or just to get a better overview. It also has layers, many different templates, and very well-implemented pen types. The pencil with the pressure-level and tilt detection implementation is one of the best you’ll find in that space. But on the other hand, it’s still taking this minimalist approach by reducing everything that is not really needed for a pure note-taking experience. I’d say the reMarkable 2 is the easiest to get into for note-taking, the Boox Go 10.3 is the most versatile, and the Supernote Nomad is the most organized. Let’s talk about some of the unique selling points that set each Unique Selling Points & Quirks of these apart from the others. Starting with the Boox Go 10.3, the most obvious unique feature is Android 12, which lets you install apps via the Google Play Store. This gives you incredible flexibility when using the tablet. But even without app expandability, the feature set is much larger out of the box. PDF functions are more powerful, and the reading experience for regular eBooks is simply better than on the other two. But this versatility comes with a steeper learning curve. The reMarkable 2 has an optionally available keyboard cover that’s incredible in terms of haptics. It hides the QWERTY keyboard away so nicely that it’s hard to notice when it’s closed—even if you know it’s there. And that keyboard is really nice to type on as well. With that you can quickly convert your paper tablet into a digital typewriter without compromising too much on portability and handling. However, it’s disappointing that the templates don’t match the line height of that writing mode. You essentially type through and over the lines of the available templates, which is a bit ridiculous for an accessory that's been available for a while now and that’s also not cheap with over 200 Euros. Remarkable’s minimalist approach can be seen as an advantage but also as a disadvantage, depending on your needs. Compared to the others it’s definitely easier to get started, but it’s also more limited in its functionality overall. The unique selling point of the Supernote is its uncompromising approach to being used as an organizer. It’s not just about organizing your notes; you can also use it as a calendar, email client, and for organizing daily tasks. This is obviously not entirely unique to the Nomad, as you can do that with the Boox Go 10.3 and Android apps, but it’s an out-of-the-box experience on the Nomad that’s well integrated. What’s not so great for me personally is the missing home screen where typically everything comes together. Instead, the Supernote UI is connected through a sidebar task-switcher that works well, but personally, I prefer having a home screen as it’s a simpler approach for a better overview. I’d also like to see a better optimization for the EU-market, as it’s missing a dedicated server option for that and also only provides English, Chinese and Japanese as language options for the user interface – even though you can use more language options for the keyboard and handwriting recognition. Value for Money When it comes to price, none of these tablets are cheap. You’ll need to invest at least 400 Euros, and that price can get much higher depending on the cover and pen you choose. In terms of value for money, the Boox Go 10.3 takes the lead, not just because it brings the biggest feature set to the table but also because it’s the cheapest. That 400 Euro price point I mentioned before is met by the Go 10.3, and you get the tablet, pen, and cover if you order directly from Boox. However, if you’re not 100% convinced, I recommend getting it through Amazon with its more convenient return policy, but that also makes it more expensive, pushing it towards 500 Euros with the cover. Supernote and reMarkable are more expensive to begin with, quickly approaching and surpassing the 500 Euro price point when including a cover. Which is why I recommend getting a third-party cover for the reMarkable, which start at around 20 Euros. That’s a 120 Euro difference compared to the cheapest folio from reMarkable itself. Supernote devices didn’t have the same market reach, which means there’s not a huge selection of third party covers. In the end, I’d say the reMarkable 2 and Supernote Nomad are still quite similar in terms of value for money and all things considered are slightly worse than the Boox Go 10.3 in that regard. Summary Okay, let's wrap this up with a quick summary. You already heard the conclusion upfront, but if there’s something to add, it’s this: When considering one of these tablets, first ask yourself what exactly you want to do and what your expectations are. For the easiest, most friction-less note-taking experience, the reMarkable 2 is still the best choice in my opinion. The Supernote Nomad is best for organizing your notes, but with its smaller screen, it isn’t great for taking notes in class because the screen estate is just too small for that. It’s much more convenient as a portable note-taker. The Boox Go 10.3 is the right device if you’re willing to compromise on ease of use a bit and are looking for the best versatility and most affordable option. I hope you found this comparison helpful. Please like and subscribe if that was the case, and to not miss future reviews and comparisons. Thanks for your time watching, and see you in the next one.