Which device to choose for taking digital notes?

In the last 3 weeks, I bought 3 different devices to fulfill my need to take notes digitally and to replace my first-generation Surface Duo. The reMarkable 2, the Boox Tab Ultra and finally the Samsung Tab S6 Lite. My 'digital notes' journey already lasted for several years and I thought it would be worthwhile to share my experiences because I see many people coping with the same challenges. How e-ink found its destination but in the meantime was outpaced by the mobile phone and tablet generation.

Where it all started: Surface Pro

It was in 2013 that I was looking for a solution to take notes digitally. I remember myself testing several smart pens where you had to write on regular paper but the notes were stored digitally. None of the solutions worked for me, too much hassle and limited integration with my existing devices. Good to know I am a Google adept which means I am using Google phones and smart home stuff, I am owned by the Google ecosystem. At that moment in time, my company laptop was Windows-based. At a certain moment in time, I was exposed to the 2nd generation of Surface Pro tablets with a smart pen included. After testing many smart pens and devices to write on this really felt like never before. The 'taking notes' experience was very close to what I used to have with taking notes on paper. So the start of my digital notes journey was there, a Surface Pro 2 tablet with the OneNote app.

Good to know I am a Google adept which means I am using Google phones and smart home stuff

Minimize your meal

From the start, the combination of the Surface Pro 2 with OneNote worked great for me. However, switching between the notebook and tablet/laptop mode was quite a hassle. The Surface Go was released and I decided to buy a 2nd device just for taking digital notes. The same package but way smaller with its 10-inch display size, a perfect size for just this application. The only downside was the speed of the processor. I had to keep my Windows installation relatively light in order to remain the speed at a reasonable level.

Google comes into play

As mentioned I am a Google adept so when Google announced its 1st generation Pixelbook in 2017 with a smart pen I was immediately intrigued. Moving from a heavy OS like windows towards Chrome OS and at the same time on the same device taking notes digitally with the smart en from Google. That was quite a step but I managed to get through this transformation quite smoothly. However, swapping between laptop and tablet mode again was a hassle. Time for something new.

Microsoft x Google = Surface Duo

By the end of 2019, a new interesting device was announced by Microsoft: the Surface Duo. A foldable Microsoft device with Android running on it! A pen for taking notes digitally was included so sounded like the best of multiple worlds. Still, I am using this device but it lacks the ultimate experience that makes it irreplaceable. It is a quite slow device but having 2 different screens running multiple apps on both sides appeared to be a very pleasant and useful use case. OneNote remains still the master app for me to take notes. The fact I was able to enter notes from my laptop with a keyboard was key being well-prepared for every meeting.

OneNote remains still the master app for me to take notes

E-ink reMarkable comes into play

Way before I considered buying the Surface Duo back in 2016 a very successful crowdfunding project was launched for the e-ink based reMarkable. They promised to be THE device for taking notes digitally with a smart pen. I tried and I have to say, such a writing experience I never had before. What I great accomplishment of these guys coming so close to the paperlike writing experience. But there was a huge trade-off, no support for OneNote, and limited integration with my other devices. So until a couple of weeks ago, this was a no-go area for me.

What I great accomplishment of these guys coming so close to the paperlike writing experience

Second attempt: reMarkable 2

I always kept on following the progression by reMarkable. During the course of years, I was able to feel the writing experience on their 2nd generation device, the reMarkable 2, and it even became better. Although the device was released in 2020 due to the fact there was limited integration with other platforms I didn't pay too much attention to it, until a couple of weeks ago. Their never-ending marketing campaigns, which are pretty nice I have to say, made me start to reconsider this option but with a huge trade-off, leaving my master notes-taking app: OneNote. Let's give it a try, so ordered the device which was delivered within a couple of days.

Single-purpose device with a great customer service

When I was unboxing the reMarkable 2 I did it very carefully. Normally I tear off the foils quite roughly but now I thought, let's be careful and leave the 100-day guaranteed return option still open. The physics of the device are pretty awesome. Ultra-thin and of high quality and very stylish. Although experienced before, the writing experience again was pretty cool. E-ink by nature is quite slow in terms of refresh rate and I could feel that this product design was already a couple of years old. But for handwriting it was sufficient. However, after a week of heavy usage and taking notes, I started to miss my integrations.

Not so much OneNote but the integration with other platforms. Yes, there is an app so you can view your notes on your mobile or on the laptop but entering new notes is simply not possible. In the meantime, I met a guy with an e-ink Onyx Boox device running Android. The writing experience was not as cool as with the reMarkable 2 but being able to run Android apps on it was pretty appealing. Reading about their newest super fast Boox Tab Ultra made me decide to walk another route: I returned my reMarkable 2. The return process was extremely smooth and within a couple of days, I received my money back. Although I said goodbye to reMarkable this felt like a great experience too.

Although I said goodbye to reMarkable this felt like a great experience too

Lots of features with less style

With great excitement, I unboxed my Boox Tab Ultra. The device felt pretty heavy and the first impression was less stylish than the reMarkable. Immediately you can see the photo camera at the back and the only thing I was thinking of is that it wouldn't be possible to just lay down the plain device at your desk. After a couple of updates, I was ready to go. Since it is running Android the number of features and functions is endless but also makes it pretty crowdy once entering the menus. It is an original Chinese device and my experience in general is that they never heard of less is more. It's more the other way around.

The refresh rate of the display is impressive and note-taking is not as paperlike as the reMarkable but it comes close. After downloading the OneNote app I was able to explore the experience on this Boox device. To put a long story short: I am still not convinced. Technically yes, it supports Android and all of the apps offered. But from a user experience perspective, it feels pretty straightforward, rough, and not even smooth. The strange thing is that compared with the reMarkable, having the ability to run Android apps makes the desire for a regular tablet even stronger. No, for this amount of money I decided also to return this e-ink device.

It is an original Chinese device and my experience in general is that they never heard of less is more

Not paperlike but super smooth

Before ordering another device, I was considering going for the Surface Go 3, I decided to visit a good old-fashioned traditional electronics retail store to do some hands-on research. With the Surface Go 3 running Windows and its still pretty slow processor this felt like a no-go. It felt too much like a Windows machine running on a too-small nonsuitable device not able to fully support it. As a Google adept looking at Android tablets is a logical route to take. Reasonable sized, with good speed, great display, and support for a pen (typical digital device taking notes experience) I ended up with the Samsung Tab S6 Lite.

I am looking forward to the rumored foldable Google devices which are expected to be released somewhere in 2023

On my current Surface Duo it is just a hard plastic pen writing on a solid glass display, more or less the same as the digital pen on an Apple iPad. At least Samsung did try with the S Pen Pro to come close to a more natural note-taking experience. For me, this feels way better than my previous attempts for buying a new digital note-taking device. Even for my wallet, my final choice is sweeter: 349 euros versus 579 euros for the reMarkable. Once the stylish reMarkable releases a 3rd generation which is faster and has better integrations I will reconsider them. Also, I am looking forward to the rumored foldable Google devices which are expected to be released somewhere in 2023, these will definitely have my attention.

So I ended up with a Samsung tablet, I have never thought about that before. The lack of a suitable Google device made me pushed into this direction. For now, I am fine but still, it feels like I didn't find my destination yet. So it feels like I am 'in between' and still not 100% satisfied. Let's continue this journey...