reMarkable Paper Pro vs Kindle Scribe: Which smart notebook is better?
The reMarkable Paper Pro has just launched, but lets not forget our old friend the Kindle Scribe.
The reMarkable Paper Pro has just landed, bringing us the first e-paper tablet with full colour display.
The all-new smart notebook has taken a step forward in both design and features, with over 20,000 colours built into the textured glass cover lens, alongside a lower writing latency, and faster battery life.
According to reMarkable's CEO Phil Hess, this device provides "the best writing and reading experience ever on a paper tablet".
But, is that true? Just because the reMarkable Paper Pro is new, doesn't necessarily mean it's better than some of the other digital notebooks out there.
For comparison, we turn to the Kindle Scribe, first released in 2022 as a combination of both e-reader and smart notebook.
At the time the Kindle Scribe impressed us for managing to combine reading capabilities with the ability to write, sketch and organise notes, all the while maintaining the sleek and light-weight design we've come to expect from Kindle.
Even now the Scribe is an impressive beast, suitable for everyone from students to home-workers, so how does it measure up? Below, you'll find an in-depth comparison of the two paper tablets, covering price, design, specs and more.
For more information, take a look at the reMarkable Paper Pro release date and the best Kindle deals.
Jump to:
- What is the reMarkable Paper Pro?
- How does the Kindle Scribe work?
- reMarkable Paper Pro vs Kindle Scribe UK price
- reMarkable Paper Pro vs Kindle Scribe UK design
- reMarkable Paper Pro vs Kindle Scribe UK features and specs
- Our verdict on reMarkable Paper Pro vs Kindle Scribe
What is the reMarkable Paper Pro?
The reMarkable Paper Pro is a brand-new digital notebook designed to have the look and feel of paper. The previous version was the reMarkable 2, and both of these tablets allow you to make notes, mark up documents and organise your work into easy folders.
The Paper Pro comes with a Marker (or the more expensive Marker Pro) which you can use to make hand-written notes and then convert into text. It can also pull in documents from Microsoft One Drive, Google Drive and Dropbox and allows you to share notes across mobile and desktop devices.
It has an 11.8-inch full colour display with an adjustable reading light and a textured glass screen that feels just like writing on paper.
Last but not least, it has 64GB of storage and up to two weeks of battery life.
How does the Kindle Scribe work?
The Kindle Scribe has all the features of a Kindle except with the added benefit of a digital notebook. You can access the millions of novels, magazines and other titles available on the Kindle Store, while also being able to make handwritten notes, sketch and mark up documents.
The e-reader and notebook parts of the tablet are kept separate, so you're reading time is distraction free – although that doesn't stop you being able to add sticky notes to the books you're reading!
The Scribe has a large front-lit display two times larger than that of the Kindle Paperwhite, which is touch screen and comes with an e-pen. The pen can be used as a calligraphy pen, a marker, pencil or highlighter and features enhanced pressure and tilt capabilities to make it feel like you're writing on actual paper.
reMarkable Paper Pro vs Kindle Scribe UK price
Starting off with the most striking difference: the reMarkable Paper Pro is over £200 more expensive than the Kindle Scribe.
The Kindle Scribe starts at £329.99 with a Basic Pen and £359.99 with a Premium Pen. Whereas the Paper Pro costs £559 with the standard Marker and £599 with the Marker Plus.
It's worth noting that the reMarkable Paper Pro has a minimum of 64GB of storage while the Scribe starts at 16GB, so for the same storage model you'd actually be paying £409.99 for the Kindle. However, that's still a £150 difference so the point still stands.
The high price point of the reMarkable Paper Pro is likely justified by features the full colour display, the 12 milliseconds writing latency and the larger size, but that's moot if you're just looking for the cheaper product.
reMarkable Paper Pro vs Kindle Scribe UK design
Design is another huge point of difference between the two paper tablets. As we've said, the reMarkable Paper Pro is the first-ever digital notebook in colour, while the Kindle Scribe remains in black and white.
The Paper Pro's new Canvas Colour display can render more than 20,000 colours. Plus, you can select up to nine colours for writing and sketching which can be layered and blended together – helpful if you want to make your notes pop.
The reMarkable also has a larger display at 11.8-inches compared to the Kindle's 10.2-inches. However, both come with a glare-free screen and an adjustable reading light for comfort.
reMarkable wins the the thinness battle by less than a millimetre – 5.8mm for the Kindle and 5.1mm for the reMarkable – while Kindle takes it on weight – 433g for Kindle and 525g for the reMarkable.
Lastly, the only other main difference is the reMarkable Paper Pro has a new textured glass cover lens designed to enhance the paper feel more than ever before.
reMarkable Paper Pro vs Kindle Scribe UK features and specs
When it comes to features, the Kindle Scribe and reMarkable Paper Pro share many. Both afford you the chance to write hand-written notes and transform them into text. Both allow you to mark up PDFs, pull in external documents (although only reMarkable can sync up with Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox), and organise all your scribblings into folders.
The reMarkable Paper Pro has a new function where you can sync with your mobile and desktop, allowing you to complete work across various devices, and you can even share your smart notebook's screen during meetings. It also has a much lower writing latency of 12 milliseconds, meaning you won't notice any lag between the movement of your hand and what appears on the page.
However, the most obvious difference is, of course, that the Kindle Scribe also works as an e-reader. With the scribe, you can access the millions of titles available in the Kindle Store, including novels, textbooks and magazines. The reading half of the tablet is also kept separate from the note-taking half, which means you can enjoy diving into that Agatha Christie without fear of distraction.
Our verdict on reMarkable Paper Pro vs Kindle Scribe
As always, which notebook you choose depends on your priorities.
If you're looking for a device that's solely for work, we'd suggest going with the reMarkable Paper Pro. It's completely distraction-free, and ideal for writing down and organising your thoughts in a simple way. The fact it can also sync up with other devices and cloud-storage systems and that you can screen share in meetings makes it perfect for working on the go. Plus, the Marker (the Paper Pro's e-pen) doesn’t require a battery, so you can write to your heart’s content until the tablet runs out of charge.
We'd also say that the addition of colour makes the reMarkable Paper Pro attractive for students, who may want to highlight their notes, or anyone who wants to make their work look that little bit more interesting.
Overall for students however, the Kindle Scribe is bound to have a bigger draw, combining both textbooks and notebook into one. With millions of titles at your disposal, you can match the Kindle Scribe with pretty much any discipline, and the note-taking capabilities make it suitable for lectures, coursework and so much more. The Kindle Scribe has a longer battery life — up to three weeks in comparison to the reMarkable's up to two weeks — and also seems to be lighter and easier to carry around.
Then there's price. The reMarkable Paper Pro is a much bigger investment, but with that you're getting the closest possible match to real paper, with the lower latency and new textured glass making it feel like you're writing with a real pad and pen, not to mention vibrant colours to make notetaking feel a bit more fun.
However, the fact that the Kindle Scribe has all those capabilities, and all those books, for £200 less cannot be discounted. For us, it seems the more versatile choice and the device that will last you from school to university to working life and beyond.
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