Today, a digital device specialized in handwriting and sketching feels absolutely normal. But it wasn’t always like this. reMarkable, the best-known company for digital notepads — or better, for “paper tablets,” as they are defined on the official website — launched its reMarkable 2 in 2020. Since then, reMarkable has focused much of its energy on software optimization and cloud integration, preparing the ground for the generational leap of color E-Ink displays.

The reMarkable 2 remains even today an excellent compromise for those looking for a monochromatic notepad with remarkable writing feel and a refined interface. But in the past five years competition has intensified: not only from specialized brands such as Supernote, but also from the giants of e-reading — Amazon with the Kindle Scribe, Huawei, and others.

The latest arrival is the Paper Pro Move, a device that uses the same technology as the Paper Pro — the first reMarkable with a color display. The Pro, launched in 2024, represented an important leap forward, but with some compromises: a pen less soft than that of the reMarkable 2; a very large format (13.3”), clearly a desk device; and a less “paper-like” writing experience. On the other hand, the introduction of color opened new usage scenarios.

And here comes the Paper Pro Move. Formally, it is “only” a reduced version of the Pro: an 8-inch screen (19.56 × 10.78 cm), therefore about one third smaller than the desk model. It costs €479, versus €649 for the Pro. But after a month of intensive testing I can say that the Paper Pro Move is a genuine stroke of genius — and probably the best reMarkable ever made. Above all, it’s a device that today has no direct competitors.

With the Move, reMarkable didn’t simply shrink the size: it introduced a new format, narrower and longer, almost like a reporter’s notebook. A choice that seemed like geometrical eccentricity but instead makes perfect sense. This way, the pad fits inside a jacket’s inner pocket, in a small bag, in a slingbag, and in some cases even in a trouser pocket. It is a reMarkable that truly “moves.”

There is an old adage by photographer Chase Jarvis: “The best camera is the one that’s with you.” Well, we can say the same about digital notebooks.

I have always been a strong supporter of the reMarkable 2’s format, which I started using in 2021 in preparation for an interview with reMarkable’s Chief Design Officer, Mats Herding Solberg. Since then, I’ve never stopped carrying it with me: compact enough to fit in a slingbag and versatile everywhere, from the ferry to Coney Island to a small table at London City Airport, all the way to my bed at home. But the Move introduces a new level of portability and, above all, a more intimate relationship with the user. It is no longer a digital notepad: it is a notebook. And it’s always at hand, ready to catch a sentence, a sketch, an unexpected idea. The Paper Pro Move comes with a collection of Book Folio cases in leather or fabric, the latter also in a “mosaic” version with a truly sophisticated palette: basalt, burgundy, and cobalt. Hard to imagine, considering its size, that the keyboard case — available for the other models — will ever arrive.

Compared to the 2024 Paper Pro, the Move features a less yellowish and objectively more neutral backlit screen, closer to real paper. The interface shows some optimizations: a quick zoom command, a slightly reduced number of tools, a choice that won’t please everyone — especially those who, when working in color, switch quickly between two pens (in my case, a basic black and a red one for emphasis).

Writing with the new Marker Plus stylus remains a bit more slippery than on the reMarkable 2’s surface: it’s not a flaw of the Move itself, but of reMarkable’s new hardware ecosystem. It’s an experience that requires a few days of adjustment.

A curious but real aspect: the device almost seems designed for left-handers. With the wider bezel at the bottom, the stylus attachment on the right side, and the vertical format that tends to shrink into a miniature when using color, you often end up holding it horizontally. In landscape, though, grabbing it from the wider bezel with your left hand, the pen naturally ends up at the bottom, making “inverted” use natural. It’s not a serious flaw — just an ergonomic choice that requires familiarity and in some cases affects posture.

All things considered, the reMarkable Paper Pro Move is a device that will likely change the way many users take notes. It is a radically new format, extremely simple yet brilliant, capable of creating a relationship to use that neither the Pro nor the reMarkable 2 — for opposite reasons — managed to establish.

It is a notebook that stays with you.