They CHALLENGED Me To Try It - reMarkable Paper Pro

- This video is sponsored by reMarkable. This is the brand-new reMarkable Paper Pro, and the idea is it is supposed to be the closest thing to writing on actual paper. So when reMarkable reached out to sponsor this video, my first question was, "You know, right, that I've never used a reMarkable before? And they said, "Yes, absolutely, Austin. Take a look and give it a shot. So, I'm gonna go into this curious, perhaps a little skeptical, about what exactly this product is all about. I'll say the packaging is incredibly nice. It is very sort of like soft-touch paper, as opposed to hard-touch paper. I don't know. So this is a product that is very much designed for single-tasking. I believe it's a new line for them because the earlier reMarkables, I've never used one, but I believe were significantly smaller than this. For context, it is basically just about the thickness of a USB-C port. It's got these sort of ridge, I assume, aluminum sort of railings around it. That is really thin. Wow. Better paper, better thinking. Hold the Power button to get started, I would love to. Now, there's a lot to go over here, including the fact that they have a very custom display here. But while it is starting up, let's take a look at some of the other accessories. So we've got ourselves the Marker Plus. Okay, so you attach the marker to the device to charge. Oh, sweet. So the marker attaches to the side of it. I like a magnetically-attached stylus. I gotta say, the texture of this is so nice. I would describe it as like rubbery, but in a really, really sort of fancy way. Let me take a look at this Type Folio. So this is the folio. Oh, it's also still very thin. Is there a keyboard? What? Is that... Wait. Oh! Wow. Okay, that's really thin. I was like, "Where did the keyboard go?" The keyboard's actually inside of here. I'm going to align it up like this. Okay, so that makes sense, right? So, Folio reMarkable looks great. How do I keyboard? How do I keyboard? Where's my keyboard? Okay, it's magnets, I should have known. Okay, okay, I told you I'm going into this. I don't know what I'm looking at here. That actually feels like paper. Terrible handwriting and all. And you can see the latency is incredibly thin. Also, do you see how I can like go lighter and then heavier? There's like a real level of sort of fine control over how my inking is going. It really does feel like paper, like it really does. Let me try to actually type with this keyboard. I'm very curious to see what this would be like as a more of a normal, I don't call it laptop, more of a like traditional typing experience. Okay, so let's try a little test here. So, this is a test. (upbeat music) Okay, so the keyboard is interesting. The only thing that, I think, takes a little bit of getting used to is the fact that, you know, my brain thinks, you know, like laptops sort of like keyboard. There's no track pad. So like my positioning is like slightly farther forward than it normally would be. But this feels quite nice. So, I guess the idea here is that I can type up a note, and then I could take my marker, and I could underline, I could circle, I could kind of really have more of a digital and sort of analog fusion, I guess, 'cause you don't just have to write out your notes with the keyboard and upload them. You also don't just have to actually like draw. I could theoretically sort of do the best of both worlds, right? (upbeat music) (Austin gasps) It's an eraser. Wait, it's an eraser. To me, my first impression here is that this is a product that is designed to sort of maximize your creativity. Whether you're taking notes at work, whether you are trying to write your next manuscript, or whether you're like me and you want to, you know, use this as a tool to help formulate thoughts on products or coming up with ideas. And I even talked about the consumption side of this. So, once I get this paired up with the app and everything, I should be able to actually load up content on here, whether it be books, whether it be PDFs, whatever the case is. So, let me do this. Let me spend some time with the reMarkable Paper Pro and see exactly how it fits in my life and whether or not it is worth the, I'll admit, not-insignificant price tag. After spending some time with the reMarkable Paper Pro, I have a lot of thoughts. The first is pretty simple. This is not for everyone. I don't mean that as a negative, but as someone who's coming into this without a ton of experience with products such as this, it is something that you need to wrap your head around. So, let me get something out of the way first and foremost. This is not a normal tablet. There's no TikTok, no Netflix, no Instagram. The closest competitor would be something like a pen and notebook. This really is a device that's designed to entirely focus on creativity. So, to really lean into it, I actually hand-wrote this entire script on the reMarkable Paper Pro. Instead of using my usual Google Docs routine, I sat down on the couch and just started writing. And let me tell you, it definitely changed the way that I approached this video. The reMarkable Paper Pro is the most analog-feeling digital device that I've used in a long time, and that is absolutely a good thing. It really shines when you treat it as a new category of device. And for me, that's primarily using it with the marker with occasional use of the keyboard. Now, about the writing experience itself, it is phenomenal. The Marker Plus feels great in the hand and the inking experience surpasses any tablet and stylus combination that I've ever used. The Canvas Color display, coupled with their pretty refined software at this point, provides an experience that's remarkably close to writing on paper. You get all the benefits of a physical notebook without the drawbacks, such as smudged ink or struggling to write near just the edge of the page, or, you know, when you're struggling to find that note that you wrote a few weeks ago in the first place. It was in the other notebook, for when I left on the plane or in the coffee shop. Well, I will say that the backlight screen, while it is certainly a nice upgrade over the reMarkable 2, is noticeably dimmer than what you'd expect from a typical phone or tablet display. Now, this does have its own advantages. I mean, it's very readable in well-lit environments and it is very comfortable on the eyes in low light. You also have the advantage of long battery life. In fact, I can't even tell you how long it lasts. I've had this thing for several days using it a couple hours a day, and I think I burned, like, maybe 1/3 the battery at this point? (upbeat music) Still 1/3. It's not until I started really leaning into the Marker, though, that I began to understand what makes this such a special device. The options really are extensive. You can choose between several different ways to write. My personal favorite is just a normal ballpoint pen, but there are some fun ones, including stuff like a highlighter. And that actually brings me to one of the biggest features of the new reMarkable Paper Pro, the color display. So, typically, with devices like this, when you add features such as backlighting and color, it can impact the latency and responsiveness. I gotta say, though, reMarkable has done an excellent job with their custom Canvas Color display. It's sharp, responsive, and allows for splash of color for things such as that highlighting. When you put it all together, it definitely feels like a premium device. Another neat feature is the ability to select blocks of handwritten text and easily copy, paste, or convert it into a typed text. Now, the handwriting recognition is pretty accurate, although you might need to do a quick spell check depending on how neat, or in my case, messy your handwriting really is. The reMarkable Paper Pro isn't just for writing, it's also great for content consumption. The large 11.8-inch display works well with the full size keyboard, and of course you can sync across things such as books, PDFs, and other documents to it. Now, I will say that the whole syncing process does introduce a little bit more friction than I'd like. That said, once you get stuff synced across, it is really nice to be able to read and mark up a draft for an upcoming video. It's just about finding how this fits in your workflow. So, am I converted to the reMarkable Paper Pro? I kind of am. Now, I wanna be super clear. This is not a replacement for a normal device such as a tablet or a laptop, and at $629 for the bundle with the Marker Plus, it certainly isn't cheap either. But, compared to getting work done on a laptop, like I do for pretty much everything, it really has been an eye-opening experience. It's been surprising at just how much more creative I feel when I'm writing things on a display that's about as close to paper as it gets. If you're someone who loves the tactile feel of writing or just looking for a way to boost your focus and creativity in a world full of distractions, the reMarkable Paper Pro is definitely worth considering. Just be prepared for a little bit of a learning curve and maybe a renewed appreciation for the simple act of putting pen to paper, or in this case, marker to screen. Thank you very much to the reMarkable team for sponsoring this video. If you'd like to check it out, I will, of course, have a link in the description. Until next time, my friends. Don't forget that brilliant, genius idea. Write down in your reMarkable, or, you know, pen and paper if you wanna be fricking lame about it. (upbeat music)