Is the reMarkable 2 worth it - why i'm returning it?

We’ve all heard that writing things down by hand as opposed to typing endless notes on a keyboard helps with learning and retention. But what if I told you it’s not just about writing things down by hand, but in fact it makes a difference if you use a pen vs a stylus? According to recent research by the University of Tokyo, Japan - selecting the right tool to take notes could make all the difference. In this video I’m going to review the Remarkable 2 tablet, and talk about 3 things you need to do when taking notes to remember more.
I hope you enjoy.
____________ Content Time Markers ____________
00:00 Intro
00:38 Japan Study
01:44 3 Memory Tips
02:00 iPad Note Taking
03:43 Paper Note Taking
05:24 reMarkable 2 Review
09:43 Why I'm Returning It
__________ Items Listed in the Video ____________
iPad Paperlike Screen - amzn.to/3EPvToj
Tomoe River Notebook - amzn.to/3uf8zLQ
_________ Video Making Gear that I use _________
Camera Equipment:
Canon R6 - amzn.to/39E1pXe
Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 is USM Lens - amzn.to/3i7EMPK
Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM - amzn.to/3uBMGWz
Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Wide Angle Lens - Fixed - amzn.to/31HjnYI
Audio Equipment
Rode VideoMic Pro+ Shotgun Condenser Microphone - amzn.to/3o9OPHB
Rode Wireless Go 2 microphone - amzn.to/3ABzna7
Shure SM7B Vocal Microphone - amzn.to/2XQTvr3
Cloud Microphones Cloudlifter CL-1 Mic Activator - amzn.to/3mdb50E
Lighting:
Aputure Amaran 100d LED Video Light - amzn.to/3ALQlmM
Neewer LED Bi-Color Studio Round Lighting - amzn.to/3B9JpAb
Other Video Production:
Glide Gear TMP100 iPad Teleprompter - amzn.to/3uE3fkz
Andycine A6 Plus 5.5inch Touch 4K Camera Monitor - amzn.to/3l1jK7g
_________ Video Production Websites I used _________
SoundStirpe - 10% Discount - soundstripe.com?fpr=montmoto
StoryBlocks - storyblocks.com
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[@solaomosebi]

100 days free return not true.. Well you can return but you dont get the full refund. At least not in my case.

[@MarcusCreates]

Can you share your experience and I’ll pin this post?

[@petadiaz2516]

Marcus, how did you go with the return process?

[@davidr1431]

I returned mine and got a full refund with no quibble. They paid the postage cost and the process was very easy to follow. I loved my remarkable and only returned it because the 227 ppi is visible compared to my kindle’s 300. I also didn’t like the monthly fee to get cloud integration. Lastly I want to read ebooks so am hoping that kindle continue to improve the scribe as it is great hardware let down a little by the software.

[@LiterateDuck]

Long live the return! Love to see you back. Came back just as sharp. Looking healthy and happy Marcus!

[@MarcusCreates]

Cheers Cain

[@mindfulawareness1]

Some people want a dedicated and focused note taking device, without all the myriad distracting functions of any tablet. That's why the RM is successful.

[@MarcusCreates]

That’s right. And that’s what I was looking for too. Hopefully the RM3 will do a better job with lag.

[@ogriofae]

Hi Marcus, great that you are back posting. Great review and something that constantly consumes my thoughts, the great experience of pen and notebook or the hyper efficiency of banging out notes in Evernote/one note. I’m not sure I have a good mix but one thing I use to help with search on physical notes is keeping a digital index. I name date and page number my notebooks and then record the topic and a few hashtags in an online contents that lives with my online notes. I like this better than digitising written notes. Keep up the good work.

[@MarcusCreates]

Cheers Bob. Great to a see you on here and haven’t though about a hybrid solution. Thanks for the heads up. 👍🏻

[@claudetteh67]

Thank you for your concise and honest review, Marcus! I'm a devout proponent of pen & paper and I've only just discovered this 'Remarkable' device (despite this being the second iteration of it!) Great feedback on its functionality, usability and usefulness. Very informative, and much appreciated!

[@MarcusCreates]

Glad it was helpful! And thanks for watching. 😀

[@mscargill1]

Absolutely fantastic review and presentation! I have subscribed. You make some very sensible and useful points about what the much talked about and loved RM2 offers and does not offer. Very nice too to be reminded of the simple and exquisite beauty of writing on good quality paper with a nice pen and ink! Thank you.

[@MarcusCreates]

Awesome, thank you!

[@p.d1036]

Great to see you back Marcus! Great advice as ever. Festive wishes. P

[@MarcusCreates]

Cheers P. Feels good to get another video out. Thanks for the support as always!

[@koenhennon1288]

I have had mine now a month.... I find myself using it more and more each day. I find .... the device to be very helpful.... no more sticky notes all over my desk.. Will be keeping my device.... very happy

[@MarcusCreates]

Glad to hear it. i know people who love them

[@kjelty7763]

Great review i like your format a lot

[@MarcusCreates]

Thanks!!! Appreciate the support. :)

[@InfinityRift7]

I think that in terms of price point, it depends on what iPad you’re buying. Currently 10th-gen iPads are selling for approx. $50 more than the Remarkable 2

[@rowdyblakley8669]

Excellent appraisal. I love eink devices (Onyx Boox for me) mainly because my eyes have become hyper sensitive to the front light on tablets and unlit eink is very comfortable and also I like to use them outdoors for reading books. They work perfectly including in bright sunlight, in fact the stronger the sun the better the screen display.

[@MarcusCreates]

Thanks for the feedback and for watching/ commenting 😀

[@stevemcclure2879]

My first time on your channel and love it! I'm in the process of evaluating the reMarkable 2. I agree with you with the lag. It was the first thing I noticed along with the lack of a back light screen. I seem to be having a problem with my device and can not write with. Therefore I haven't been able to test the writing but am probably just going to return it. You answered my question also about the "paper" screen saver on an iPad and lack of color :) Have you tried Evernote and/or RocketBook app for scanning your handwritten notes? I've been using that and it works really well! BTW I love your accent!

[@MarcusCreates]

I haven’t tried Evernote in a long time. It used to be my notes app when I was doing a masters but that was almost 10 years ago. Would you recommend it?

[@slimb0b]

Excellent video - your approach to videos and presentation / production value is great. Subscribed! Can I just check. In terms of the writing experience, do you think it may have been more to do with the stylus used? I’ve heard others mention that changing the stylus changes the impression of the e-ink writing experience and usually you have to try a few to find the right one. Or do you think that wouldn’t impact the laggy-feel?

[@MarcusCreates]

Thanks for the kind words and subscription Salim. Appreciate it. I think the lag for me would be perceivable irrespective of the stylus you use. In fact I really like the cardboard nib e-ink pen that comes with it. Feels great.

[@raphhh8805]

great vid mate

[@MarcusCreates]

Thanks for the visit

[@tichny]

Great video, thanks for sharing you insight! A slightly off topic question: What fountain are you using ? Looks great, in combination with the Tomoe River note book.

[@MarcusCreates]

Hey there. Thanks for watching. I’m using a Montblanc Meisterstuck 146 fountain pen.

[@justinpulu3984]

Just started a new job that’s a ton of info to keep track of and update. Seriously thinking of getting one because of that. My desk now looks like a collection of papers, sticky notes etc. lol. Great info! I need to decide.

[@MarcusCreates]

GOOD LUCK :)

[@justinpulu3984]

@@MarcusCreates thank you brotha!

[@nicolasramirez3944]

I recommend bullet journaling!

[@justinpulu3984]

@@nicolasramirez3944 what is that!?!

[@ryanbrownx1]

Hi Marcus, thanks for an amazing review. I have purchased one and awaiting delivery. I have not heard about the writing lag from other reviews. I will watch out for it.

[@MarcusCreates]

You’re welcome and I hope you love it. I know people who absolutely adore theirs.

[@ComeSeeVee]

How did you like it?

[@semp69]

Thanks for the great review! I have got the Remarkable 1, which was cheaper, but lacks some of the features of the MK2. I quite like it. If I want real pen and paper, I use the Neo Smarten. A plain pen to write that has a camera under the pen that scans your writing in real time to your phone. Downside: You have to use special notebooks.

[@MarcusCreates]

Huh. That sounds like the kind of thing that might be a good middle ground, but the special paper is a deal breaker for me.

[@seansperte1300]

We’ve missed you, Marcus. Thanks for the quick review. You sold me on getting a Paperlike screen protector for my iPad mini. I’d love a video on how you take notes, what app(s) you use, your workflows, etc. Keep the content flowing’! ;)

[@MarcusCreates]

Cheers for the support Sean. I love making these videos -> just hard to find the time. I’ll pull together a video on paper like and my note taking apps etc in the new year. Thanks for the advice.

[@MarcusFenixGears]

Thanks for the review. I also switched to pen and paper. Is there any app you recommend that could digitalize the handwirtten journals?

[@MarcusCreates]

I’m not using one at the moment but Evernote does it, as does Moleskine.

[@shawngee1]

Appreciate your thoughts, but my iPad was double the cost of this and even more when you add in the magic keyboard.

[@Carl-Camera]

Thanks for pointing out the latency on the RM

[@MarcusCreates]

You’re very welcome. It was the ultimate deal breaker for me.

[@agabrielhegartygaby9203]

To retrieve from paper notes - for work I use a notebook from which I can tear out the pages and in the iPad calendar and notes and reminders I can track and plan follow ups. I can't do notes on the iPad....but I agree the lag is absolutely critical and Apple does have it right. G

[@MarcusCreates]

It’s all about the lag

[@thetransformationtherapy]

After just one year of use with the RM2, I have had some many problems with the screen calibration, they have send me four refurbished RM2 as replacements and they all have the same problem with the screen.

[@MarcusCreates]

Huh. I haven’t heard anyone having trouble like that. Thanks for sharing. I’ll try pin this as a comment so folks that see this video see your feedback. 👍🏻

[@siggie8610]

Same, The line is 1mm off, sometimes above, below or left of the tip

[@84bashok]

I am returning mine today for the same reasons you mentioned ... how much time did it take for you to get your money back after return ? Was it easy returning it ?

[@MarcusCreates]

How did your return go?

[@ShonSpeaks]

I am returning mine’s but not because I don’t love it; I loved using it and it writes just like paper but it just was too hard to read PDFs on it and my eyes just aren’t set up for it so I have to send it back.

[@fangcrust]

Nice review - the main turn-off for me is the requirement for a Connect subscription in order to live view on my PC screen for sharing in online meetings. Very strange and a deal-breaker for me. A killer feature would be live collaboration ON the screen with multiple reMarkables (ghost writing?)

[@baconsledge]

That research was dubious at best. I find that my Remarkable 2 helps me to retain more. I do love notes with a fountain pen but there is no erasing, only scribbling out. Saving notebooks in pdf is great. Oh, about iPads, they are more expensive...not including $100 iPen.

[@MarcusCreates]

Thanks for sharing!

[@mscargill1]

Sure iPads may be more expensive but they are far more versatile and you can buy a perfectly adequate pen for them instead of Apple’s pen, for under £30 that will wirelessly charge. But an iPad is not e-ink so not good to use late at night if you’re still annotating PDFs or taking notes, etc. Also their battery life is a fraction of that of an e-ink device. All of that said, I would compromise and go for a Boox onyx device that runs full Android but is e-ink. Not a purist device like the RM2 but a decent enough note taker and far far more than just that.

[@SheriCarthan-MinistryHelp]

Hello. I’m curious as to how the return went? I enjoyed watching! 😊

[@MarcusCreates]

I missed the return window 🤫

[@rayofvictory]

Wait, so you ending up keeping it and missed the 100 day window? RM2 did work out for you then!

[@SheriCarthan-MinistryHelp]

Hello. I enjoyed your video. I watched every video on KZbin and Facebook and was so sure this was the device I wanted! It was so beautiful and enabled me to keep my notes in one place. When in received it, I knew within the first five minutes that it wasn’t for me. And I’m not sure why I feel sad about it, but I do. I’ll be returning mine as well. How did your return go?

[@MarcusCreates]

Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s a very personal thing really. You either love it or you don’t. How did the return process go for you?

[@SheriCarthan-MinistryHelp]

@@MarcusCreates I packaged up the Remarkable and took it to the shipper. About an hour later I had regrets about returning it. I called to see if it had left the facility. It was still there. I jumped in my car and brought it back home. 🫣 Afterwards, I purchased several brands of nibs to see if that would fix the loud scratching noise that made me cringe. Either it’s better, or I’m getting used to it. Though I still prefer the Kindle Scribe over the rM2, it’s a fun toy. 😊

[@baylissfxbees2056]

I am still exited about getting RM2… Writing on my ipad is such a disgusting feeling.. my handwriting looks horrible because it has no friction. So lets see how it works for my purposes - but thanks for your review 🙏🏼

[@MarcusCreates]

That’s great and glad to hear it. It’s a super device but also very personal in terms of people’s preference. How do you like it 3 months later?

[@baylissfxbees2056]

@@MarcusCreates I am sitting here with my RM and totally agree with your impression. Thanks to your review I had no bad unexpected moments… Actually I totally got what I expected. Got me a LAMY pen, because this gets me my best writing experience and I love it :) Thanks again for your honest work - this is precious work for the community 👏🏼🤗

[@michaelkeaton32]

I heard you're returning it because it's expensive, not that much better than the iPad, and it has lag? I had the SuperNote for a year, and I then sold it for the RM2. I've gone back-and-forth on returning it, but I'm past the return window. I'm then thinking maybe I should sell it, then I use it and enjoy it all over again. There's an internal battle going on with me wanting to use paper notebooks and then wanting to use the RM2. It's such a first world problem.

[@MarcusCreates]

Hahaha. It’s a first world problem for sure but I get the conflict. I love a nice pen on paper but the digital aspect of the RM2 or something like it is super alluring. Just wish it worked better.

[@jesusavalos7360]

Hi. Did you already go to the return and refund process? I've heard it's a nightmare and takes so long to get the refund. Can you share your experience on this please ? Thank you

[@MarcusCreates]

Hey. I haven't started the return yet, but if I have any problems I'll update here.

[@varunavashisht]

I am looking for coloured e-ink note taking device, can you plesae recommend any?

[@MarcusCreates]

I don’t know of any. If you find one and you like it. Share back here.

[@trwashere5906]

I disagree with your review on its two main points: I perceive zero lag writing on my R2...not a hint of lag. Your evaluation of R2 vs iPad for marking pdfs should have included the advantage Read on Remarkable offers for reading and marking web articles stripped of ads (though there is a trick to doing so from the R2 mobile app).

[@MarcusCreates]

Appreciate you giving your perspective and thanks for sharing it here. Glad you enjoy your RM2. 😄

[@CourtNeeSupreme]

What I'm considering it for is writing. Writing novels, short stories, etc. I'm interested in knowing if I write something, can an editable file be sent to word or Google docs. If so, I'm sold. I don't like typing the first drafts of my stories. That's what interests me about this

[@MarcusCreates]

This isn’t something I tested before sending it back, but I’m sure other people on this thread would like to know too. Did you find the answer?

[@1965anthony]

I can holestly say that I am astonished by this complaint. Milliseconds of latency Are there really people bugged by something that they cannot see unless they drop their faces down and stare at the nib? I find it hard to believe that this is something that you could be aware of in a 'real life' situation where you are thinking about what you are writing. I can can only think that ir depends on your previous experience. I started with the remarkable 1. I had no expectations about latency and I never noticed any delay. By the time I upgraded to the rM2, I was aware that this had been improved because I had read reviews. But I never noticed this improvement. (Down 20 Milliseconds). Nor does this seem to bother anybody else. on the test done two years ago, none of the rM2's competitors had attempted to match this improved latency. It just did not seem to be a feature that affected the market.

[@MarcusCreates]

I’m glad you’re happy with your device. That’s the beauty here, particularly with their 100 day return policy. It’s safe to try and if you like it, keep it? But if you’re sensitive to latency/ lag, you can return. Thanks for sharing.

[@doktorfaustus]

I'm rather surprised that of the many flaws the reMarkable 2 exhibits-particularly on the software side of things-you cite latency as your reason for returning it. Until very recently it had the lowest latency of any E-ink tablet out there, and is now only bested by the Boox Tab Ultra and the Kindle Scribe (which has its own, other, serious shortcomings). I've had my rM2 for about ten days now, and if I end up returning it, it will not be for any part of the writing experience, which I personally find superlative.

[@MarcusCreates]

Super. What are some of the shortcoming that might result in you returning it? For me, I didn’t compare it to any other eink device. I bought the most expensive and it was still super laggy, so it doesn’t really matter that it’s one of the fastest. Still perceivable to me. Had to go. 😁

[@doktorfaustus]

@@MarcusCreates My issue with the reMarkable device stems from the fact that the company fails to put in the effort to implement some very basic software features, even after years of development opportunity and more than a few cues from their customers and competitors alike. I shall cite my single, biggest complaint-that which, above all others, may drive me to return the device: there is no way to search for markup in a document. Let us say you have a 600-page PDF, and you trudge through it, adding marginal notes, highlighting passages which may need certain attention, etc. There is no way to search in the document for "pages I have edited," which is a functionality common on virtually every other platform. In effect, you would need to flip through the thing from beginning to end to see what you wrote. I have found a work-around which somewhat ameliorates the problem for me, but it is just that: a work-around. Annotating (and reviewing annotations) in documents is an essential part of my workflow, and such basic functionality that I did not think to confirm with anyone that the rM2 could actually do it before buying the device; it is almost incomprehensible to me that it can not. This missing-and in my mind, essential-feature does not stand alone as an example of reMarkable leadership's lack of serious attention to their software. It took them upwards of three years to implement pinch-to-zoom. Really guys? Really? I am forced to the cynical conclusion that the reMarkable team expends so much of their attention on marketing that development of the platform is nearly ignored.

[@MarcusCreates]

Thanks for articulating the problem so well. As someone who works in the tech industry I’m sure their product development team would love to hear your feedback. And thanks for sharing here. 👍🏻😁👍🏻

[@Jamielimyinyin]

Love the vibes of your video, but I have to disagree as well! No lag on the R2 for me and a far better writing experience on the R2 than the iPad for me! As long as we are happy with our devices :)

[@MarcusCreates]

Thanks for sharing Jamie and appreciate the positivity. That’s the beauty of these things. Find what works for you. 👍🏻

[@josipdominkovic6574]

I love pen and paper but im frustrated with my notes all over places, i want them on one place and dunno if r2 is worth it

[@MarcusCreates]

There is no substitute for pen and paper yet. We’re getting closer but still a long way to go imo

[@hueyschemin3135]

Does remarkable let u edit a document later on word ?

[@MarcusCreates]

Not sure

[@Broken_robot1986]

I can see in the videos of people writing on it that the latency isn't where I could use it. Hopefully in the next few years they'll get it to where it needs to be, sub 10 milliseconds.

[@MarcusCreates]

I’m not sure eink will ever get there to be honest.

[@dragosdadu]

You really can't compare screens - one is Retina IPS LCD the other one is E-Ink CANVAS screen. The technology behind is different and they work in a different way. E-Ink screens are way better if you read a lot but will never be as responsive as a LCD screen.

[@MarcusCreates]

That’s right. And that’s why the eink isn’t responsive enough to be used for hand writing.

[@cainephung481]

No one mention the difference between staring at ipad vs e ink screen for extended period of time

[@MarcusCreates]

Hey Caine. I didn’t really think of that to be honest. Do you find it tiring to look at an iPad vs eink? I guess it makes sense.

[@dannyw9314]

The cost is always a consideration for anyone but I think with any device it matters if you use it. Everyone focuses on how many things it can do and tbh it made me think about jack of all trades. Who wants a jack of all trades and master of none? This knows what it does well and it focuses on that and I think for that reason it’s successful. They should focus more on the OS and how it can support the creative tasks easily because that’s why people are buying this thing.

[@chrispugh2450]

£35 for a notepad!!! forget the RM2. Seriously £35 for a notebook is this for real!!!! great review of the rm2 though. im looking to upgrade my iPad if budget allows.

[@MarcusCreates]

The notebooks have gone out of print since I made this video. They were $15 each (which is still a lot but they’ve gone up 3x in price)

[@uramalakia]

The engineering and design teams at reMarkable are crushing it. Their software development team, on the other hand, seems to be... stoned?

[@MarcusCreates]

I think it’s pretty good to be honest. The software is intuitive and good overall experience. The limitation for me is e-ink technology. The lag is perceivable and that’s what killed it.

[@uramalakia]

@@MarcusCreates I may have exaggarated. My point is the hardware seems to be way ahead of the software.

[@Bruceneuman]

You are likely in the minority of people who returned the Remarkable 2. Your personal experience is interesting but others should know that the Remarkable 2 does what it does very well. No such device is perfect. Alas, pen and paper is far from perfect. If you want to write, organize and store notes, the Remarkable 2 is an excellent choice. It is not an iPad, however, and I would buy an iPad first to see it is satisfactory to you for note taking. If it is, you can happily stick with that.

[@MarcusCreates]

I think this is absolutely fair.

[@RoyOlsen]

Possibly in the minority, but far from the only one. At my place of work, a tech company, most of the RM2 tablets have been returned to IT after a few months and passed to other employees, only to see the cycle repeat. Lack of essential digital note taking features is the likely reason. I mean, what’s even the point of having digital notes you cannot search in? Or having an annotation tool that does not sync the changes back to Google Drive? RM2 does not add value to typical work flows, which makes the excellent look and feel a bit of a waste.

[@MarcusCreates]

@@RoyOlsen Super insightful Roy. It feels like with a couple of key workflow enhancements and some new features it could be amazing.

[@jameslavis4660]

not at that cost. he’s dead on. ipad does it all better. all better. this is not remotely worth the cost.

[@mscargill1]

Interesting exchange of views. Particularly for me since I have both an iPad Pro 2018 11 “ (and now a 12.9”) and a Note Air 2. Before getting the 12.9” iPad I thought about similarly sized - so bigger than remarkable 2 - e-ink tablets (likely another, 13” Boox tablet) but then was persuaded to stick with iPads after having successfully applied a Paperfeel screen cover to my 11” iPad and, IMHO, significantly improved the writing experience. Since you can do so much more with an iPad and have beautiful colour, it seemed worthwhile to go for the 12.9” and trust to another good experience with a Paperfeel screen cover. Glad I did that since the writing experience is again pretty good. There’s no doubting the great premium quality and look and feel of the remarkable 2 but having tried - only momentarily I must admit - writing on it and then comparing that to writing on my Note Air 2 or iPad, I have to say, like the reviewer, while the RM2 feels better, it certainly doesn’t feel sufficiently better to justify buying it with all its limitations - when compared to the Note Air 2 and iPad. Of course, some will say many of those limitations are real pluses - no distractions. That’s true but again, I would say, if you can’t be disciplined enough to turn off notifications on your Note Airs/iPads and resist dipping into Android/iOS apps on your device, buying a device without that possibility seems an expensive indulgence! At a conference I was at yesterday, it was notable the number of tech people there with their RM2s, all of whom loved the device and disliked my Note Air 2 because it isn’t distraction-free. Of course, the other massive advantage of a RM2 over an iPad is e-ink. However, for me, the e-ink advantage comes from having a Note Air 2 with an excellent note-taking function and a writing experience that frankly doesn’t feel very much inferior to that on the RM2. If money was no object, I’d be tempted to get a RM2 simply because it is such a gorgeous looking and specialist note-taking device. Perhaps my Note Air 2 is (or at least risks being) a Jack of all trades and master of none but that’s not honestly how I feel about it. Leaving aside the latency issue - which I wasn’t so much aware of - if you want the very best-feel and looking e-ink note-taker out there perhaps RM2 (or Supernote) is the one to go for but I suspect for most of us, it makes better functional and financial sense to go for an iPad or, if you want e-ink, a Boox Onyx device.

[@marketcrorepati5729]

*try scribe*

[@MarcusCreates]

Okey-dokey

[@ThaoNguyen-jv4up]

What a scam doesn’t even have a backlight

[@JGable-um9vj]

Shed- yule.

[@MarcusCreates]

Lolz 😂