Kindle Scribe vs Remarkable 2
Shako Memon
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The Kindle Scribe and Remarkable 2 are both multi-functional devices, and many people use them for very different purposes than I do. I’m going to review both of these devices primarily for those who want to use an e-ink tablet for writing.
The Remarkable 2 and the Amazon Kindle Scribe. Both are great for digitizing class notes or organizing your thoughts before work. So which one is best for your needs? Here are the main differences, in terms of design, performance, etc.
Shako's Quick Summary
If you want an e-reader first and a sketchbook second, Amazon’s Scribe is the smarter choice of the two devices. The Kindle Store’s closed garden has its own set of drawbacks, but it’s the easiest and most seamless way to read e-books.
The?reMarkable 2 is a more professional and capable digital notebook for uninterrupted note-taking. It’s thinner and lighter, has a better writing experience, looks smarter, and cuts out many of the typical tablet features that can tempt you to write, like a web browser or a bookstore full of the latest novels.
Adding the folio and premium marker stylus makes it particularly expensive, but it’s undoubtedly a digital notepad for the pen-and-paper purist.
Kindle Scribe vs Remarkable 2 Full Comparion
Design
The main design difference between the two devices is the backlighting. The Remarkable 2 tablet currently doesn’t offer any kind of backlighting. On the other hand, I found the backlighting on the Amazon Kindle Scribe to be a nice convenience when I had to work on a plane or after dark. That’s not to say you can’t work in the dark with the Remarkable, but you’ll need to make sure you have a light to see your notes.
Both devices offer similar-sized E Ink displays that feel like you’re writing on paper with a stylus, but where the differences really come into play is in the writing tool itself.
The Remarkable’s writing pen (called the Marker) doesn’t require batteries. That means you can keep writing until the tablet’s battery dies. There’s an option to upgrade to the Marker Plus, which has a built-in eraser.
Like the Scribe stylus, the Remarkable stylus comes with an extra nib to replace worn-out nibs, which you can order directly from the Remarkable website.
The Amazon Kindle Scribe comes with a basic model pen, or you can upgrade to the Premium Pen for an extra $60. If you don’t mind swapping out erasers and nibs using the tablet interface, the basic Scribe Pen is fine.
However, the Premium Pen has one feature that the Remarkable doesn’t: a shortcut button. As the name suggests, there’s a shortcut button on the pen near the grip. You can program this button to swap out pen “tips,” including a highlighter and an eraser, or unprogram it entirely.
Performance
Each tablet has a variety of features, but it ultimately comes down to how you want to use your digital E Ink tablet. Let’s take a closer look. Only the Kindle Scribe supports DRM EPUB e-books.
The Remarkable tablet is simply an organizing tool and note-taking device. If you’re looking for an e-book to take with you on the go, you won’t find it here. While you can get DRM-free e-books, most Kindle e-books have DRM (digital rights management) protection, making them unreadable on a tablet.
The same goes for Remarkable’s articles. It’s designed to provide an unobstructed note-taking experience, so don’t expect to be able to read Forbes articles on your device. The only way to read an article is to save it and upload it as a PDF. This alone is fine for business professionals or students who want to save articles for research purposes, but it’s time-consuming for most everyday reading.
If you’re looking to read the Internet on your e-reader, you’ll find that Scribe’s web browser isn’t all that useful. After testing Scribe for a few weeks, the browser stopped working. You might want to skip both Remarkable and Scribe altogether and check out the Onyx Boox Tab C Ultra for a full E Ink web browsing experience.
But for reading e-books, Scribe is great. Since it’s already integrated into the software, you can read any e-book in Scribe with just a tap or two. Like the Kindle Paperwhite, you can adjust the font size, style, etc. on the screen. Basically, Scribe is a notebook with all the features of the Paperwhite built in.
However, as a reader, I personally prefer the size of the Paperwhite compared to the bulk of the Scribe. I find it appealing to use a 2-in-1 on the go. For college students, this combination is especially useful because Scribe offers sticky notes on the pages of e-books.
Integrations
The smart notebook Remarkable offers several integration options, including Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Dropbox. I also found setting up a Google Drive account to be easy and intuitive.
Once you set up Google Drive integration, you can pull all your documents from Google Drive and sign them. Remarkable offers more robust integrations for those who need to work across multiple systems and devices.
One of the biggest changes to Remarkable is that it offers unlimited cloud storage, mobile and desktop note-taking, and a reMarkable 2 protection plan.
You’ll need to pay for a Connect subscription. At the time of writing, you’ll get a one-year free trial if you purchase the tablet, after which it’ll cost you $3 per month or $36 per year.
That’s not to say Scribe doesn’t require a subscription. Microsoft OneDrive integration is available, but you’ll need a subscription to work with Word documents. You can send Word documents directly to Kindle Scribe, which is a great way to edit and mark up documents on the go. The catch is that doing so requires a Microsoft Word subscription. At the time of writing, a personal subscription costs $70 per year.
Scribe doesn’t have Google Drive or Dropbox integration, but it does let you send your notes straight to your email inbox with a few taps. It also works with other recipients’ inboxes. Plus, Scribe lets you convert them to text if you’re in a hurry.
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Kindle Scribe vs Remarkable 2 Features
Active Canvas
Kindle Scribe offers the first-ever writing-in-a-book experience thanks to Active Canvas. Start writing directly on the e-book page, and Active Canvas automatically adjusts the book text to make room for your notes.
Even if you increase the size or change the font, your notes will stay exactly where you want them, so you don’t lose context. Alternatively, with Kindle Scribe and Remarkable 2, you can also annotate directly on PDFs.
Premium Pen
The Remarkable 2 comes with two styluses, the Marker or the more expensive Marker Plus, while Kindle Scribe comes equipped with the Premium Pen.
Amazon describes the Premium Pen as being crafted to perfection and feels like holding a real pen, while the soft-tipped eraser on the other end feels exactly like a pencil.
The difference between the Marker and Marker Plus on the Remarkable 2 is that the latter also has a built-in eraser, much like Amazon’s Premium stylus.
Access to the Kindle Store
As the name suggests, Kindle Scribe gives you direct access to Amazon’s Kindle Store, which features millions of ebooks. If you’re a Prime member, you’ll automatically have access to a rotating catalog of books and magazines, while Kindle Unlimited gives you access to Kindle titles for a flat monthly fee.
The Remarkable 2 can be used as an ebook reader and supports epub files, but it doesn’t have the equivalent of the Kindle Store. To use the Remarkable 2 as an ebook reader, you’ll need to transfer ebook files from your computer.
Connected to the keyboard
While it’s not a required accessory for the Remarkable 2, users can purchase a wireless Type Folio keyboard to type notes. However, this is an expensive add-on, costing a whopping ￡179/$199.
Storage options
The Kindle Scribe comes in three storage options, and even the smallest one is twice as big as the Remarkable 2. The Remarkable 2 has 8GB of internal storage, while the Kindle Scribe comes in 16GB, 32GB, and a whopping 64GB sizes.
Kindle Scribe vs Remarkable 2 Price
The Kindle Scribe is currently available for pre-order only and will be officially released on December 4th, starting at a suggested retail price of ￡379.99/$399.99. It also comes with a premium pen.
The Remarkable 2 currently retails for a slightly cheaper suggested retail price of ￡369/$379. The Remarkable 2 comes with a Marker stylus, but you’ll need to pay an extra ￡40/$50 to upgrade to the premium alternative, the Marker Plus.
FAQs
Can Kindle Scribe and reMarkable 2 convert handwriting to text?
Yes, both tablets do.
Are Kindle Scribe and reMarkable 2 waterproof?
No, neither tablet is waterproof. Avoid spilling, splashing, or exposing your tablet to rain under any circumstances.
When were Kindle Scribe and reMarkable 2 released?
Kindle Scribe was released in November 2022. The reMarkable 2 was released in May 2020.
Do the Kindle Scribe and reMarkable 2 have web browsers?
The Scribe does, but the reMarkable 2 does not. The Kindle browser is not very good, though.
Can the Kindle Scribe and reMarkable 2 read ePub?
Yes, both devices support EPUB files.
Do the Kindle Scribe and reMarkable 2 have calendars?
Neither tablet has a built-in calendar app. The closest you can get is to load a third-party planner like Hyperpaper.
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