Remarkable Paper Pro Move

A return to analog thinking in our post-pandemic world

Full Circle: From 2018 to 2025

Six years ago, I wrote about my experience with the original reMarkable tablet, describing it as a device that made me "a more effective leader" because it kept me "focused and engaged." At the time, I was using it four hours daily, attending countless meetings with nothing but this digital paper replacement and finding genuine value in the friction of handwriting as a focusing mechanism.

Then came 2020.

Like everyone else, I found myself staring at screens for eight hours straight, jumping between Teams and Zoom calls, Chat messages, and shared documents. The reMarkable gathered dust. When your entire professional life exists within a laptop screen, the case for a separate note-taking device becomes difficult to justify. The pandemic didn't just change where we worked—it fundamentally altered how we process information and maintain focus.

But as we've gradually returned to conference rooms, coffee meetings, and in-person collaboration, I've made a surprising discovery: the need for distraction-free thinking tools has never been greater. This is where the reMarkable Paper Pro Move enters the picture.

The Paper Pro Move: Solving the Portability Problem

The reMarkable Paper Pro Move represents a fundamental shift in reMarkable's approach—their first truly compact device with a 7.3" color display. At 7.6 inches tall and 4.3 inches wide, weighing just 230 grams, it's dramatically more portable than its 11.8" sibling.

This size reduction addresses what was perhaps the original reMarkable's biggest practical limitation: the commitment required to bring it along. The original device, while thin, demanded deliberate planning. You brought it to meetings where you knew you'd need it. The Paper Pro Move eliminates that friction entirely.

The writing experience remains the headline feature. The paper-like texture and near-instantaneous response that made the original reMarkable compelling remain intact.

The Pen or Marker has the same feel but now comes with an eraser which is super handy!

Addressing the 2018 Wish List

Looking back at my original review, several pain points have been systematically addressed. The move to USB-C eliminates one source of cable management frustration, and battery life maintains the two-week promise despite the significantly smaller form factor. Perhaps most significantly, handwriting recognition and search functionality—items at the top of my 2018 wish list—are now core features.

What hasn't changed—intentionally—is the core principle of focused simplicity. There's still no web browser, no email client, no notification system. In 2018, these felt like limitations. In 2025, they feel like features.

The Premium Positioning

At $449, the Paper Pro Move is expensive. The question isn't whether it's expensive—it objectively is—but whether the specific value it provides justifies the cost for your particular workflow. For those who value digital paper as their primary interface, the Paper Pro Move represents "everything I want in a writing tablet".

Practical Considerations

The narrow 9:16 aspect ratio creates some challenges for PDF reading and document compatibility between different reMarkable devices. Documents created on the Move's narrow format appear as thin columns when viewed on larger reMarkable devices, while full-sized documents get scaled down significantly on the Move.

Some of the most valuable features, including the new Methods templates and enhanced organization tools, require a $2.99 monthly Connect subscription. This ongoing cost transforms what was once a one-time purchase into a subscription relationship, though the monthly fee remains modest.

The active stylus requires charging via magnetic attachment and so far I’ve not run out of chage.

Where It Fits

The reMarkable Paper Pro Move succeeds not by trying to replace your laptop or tablet, but by carving out a specific niche: the space between quick phone notes and formal document creation.

For leaders returning to in-person meetings, this distinction matters. The device signals presence and engagement in a way that opening a laptop simply cannot. More practically, it provides a space for the kind of preparatory thinking and post-meeting reflection that often gets squeezed out by back-to-back video calls.

The improved synchronization features mean that handwritten notes can seamlessly integrate with digital workflows when needed, with the ability to convert handwriting to typed text and search through handwritten content.

Looking Forward

The reMarkable Paper Pro Move embodies a philosophy of restraint in an age of feature bloat. It won't offer to draw doodles with AI or prompt you with journal queries—the experience remains "distraction-free by design".

For those who value the cognitive benefits of handwriting and find themselves yearning for undistracted thinking space, the reMarkable Paper Pro Move doesn't just fill a gap in the market—it fills a gap in how we work and think. In a world of endless notifications and infinite scroll, sometimes the most innovative thing you can do is pick up a pen.

The device succeeds because it solves a real problem: maintaining focus and presence in an increasingly fragmented professional environment. For leaders spending more time in physical meeting rooms again, that may be worth considerably more than $449.