Amazon Kindle Scribe vs ReMarkable 2: What’s the difference?

(Pocket-lint) – At its product launch event in Autumn 2022, Amazon unveiled a new kind of Kindle. It’s called the Kindle Scribe and – as the name suggests – you can write on it as well as read all of the company’s e-books.  It’s the first E Ink tablet, or paper tablet, from the company but it’s certainly not the first to market.

ReMarkable has made a bit of a name for itself in this space, offering it’s own digital notebook. So how does Amazon’s compare? 

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Design

  • Kindle Scribe: 196 x 229 x 5.8 mm – 433g 
  • ReMarkable 2: 187 x 246 x 4.7 mm – 403g

There are similarities and differences between both of these devices. The main takeaway is that their different sizes will make them slightly different experiences.

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Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is a little wider, but shorter than the ReMarkable, giving it a wider aspect.

From looking at it front-on, you can see that where the ReMarkable 2 has a chunkier ‘chin’ beneath the display, Amazon’s has an even bezel around three sides and – instead – there’s a thicker bezel on the left side of the screen, ideal for gripping on to with a thumb.  What’s interesting about the bezel – or frame – is that Amazon went with its iconic black frame, marking a clear contrast between the display area and the frame, where ReMarkable has made the front the same colour as the display, so that it blends in a little more.  It is worth noting that ReMarkable’s tablet is more than 1mm thinner, and is 30 grams lighter, which will make it feel more nimble in the hand. Both devices have four small rubber feet on the rear to stop them sliding around when placed face-up on a surface for writing or drawing. 

Both devices are primarily designed to be controlled using the touchscreen on the front, and so only have their respective power/wake buttons. Both also have USB-C ports for charging and file transfer. 

Display 

  • Kindle Scribe: 10.2-inch monochrome – 300ppi
  • ReMarkable 2: 10.3-inch monochrome – 226ppi
  • Both: Paper-like writing and reading experience
  • Kindle Scribe: LED front light
  • ReMarkable 2: No front light

Both devices feature very similar displays, with the two both offering a large E Ink display with a rough, paper-like texture on the surface so that when you’re writing on it, it feels like writing on paper.  There are some differences, however.

The key one being that ReMarkable’s tablet doesn’t feature any LEDs for front lighting whatsoever. The Kindle Scribe has a total of 35 LEDs, designed to illuminate the display when light levels drop. Plus, like the Kindle Oasis and Paperwhite, you can adjust the warmth to make it more comfortable to read at night. 

The other advantage of the Kindle’s display is that it’s sharper. At 300 pixels per inch – compared to Remarkables 226ppi – it should mean crisper text with smoother lines. 

Software, hardware and features

  • Kindle Scribe: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB options
  • ReMarkable 2: 8GB storage
  • Kindle Scribe: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 
  • ReMarkable 2: Wi-Fi 
  • Kindle Scribe: 12 week battery (reading only) – 3 weeks battery with writing
  • ReMarkable 2: 2/3 week battery

What’s interesting about these two devices is that – while technology and hardware is similar – the software means they’re targeted at slightly different buyers. ReMarkable’s paper tablet is designed to replace all of your notebooks, journals, written to-do’s and anything else you typically use paper for. 

That means when you first boot it up you’re guided through how to create a new notebook, and you can choose from any number of templates designed to mimic page formats you’d find in any number of different books. You can have a daily to-do agenda template, regular lined and ruled pages, grids, dotted pages, as well as more niche formats like guitar tablature and blank sheet music templates. There’s a lot of flexibility. 

You can also sign into your Dropbox or Google Drive accounts and get immediate access to your supported documents on those services. Since ReMarkable’s tablet has Wi-Fi, it connects directly to those cloud services. And – with the ReMarkable app for desktop – you can drag and drop compatible files into your tablet directly. 

You can read e-books on it, but it means dragging and dropping EPUB files manually. In contrast, Amazon’s device is built on the Kindle platform, and so is already primed and ready for easy access to lots of books. It works just like any other Kindle, with access to millions of titles through Amazon’s own store. 

The Kindle Scribe also offers templates for checklists, lined paper, grid paper and others. Without getting it in and having a thorough dig through we’re unsure exactly how many it offers. Like the ReMarkable, it also offers support for reading PDFs, Word files and other documents.

Plus, you can add sticky notes for books that you’re reading.  You get audiobook support through Audible, as well as VoiceView screen reading – both of which work over Bluetooth using a pair of connected headphones. Kindle also has more storage, so you can download a lot more to the device. 

Price 

  • Kindle Scribe: £339/GBP329 (includes pen)
  • ReMarkable 2: £299/GBP299 (Marker not included)

On the surface it may seem the ReMarkable 2 is more affordable, but when you factor in that you will need to buy either the standard Marker (£79/GBP59) or Marker Plus with built-in eraser (£99/GBP109), you’re realistically going to be spending a minimum of £378/GBP358 on the ReMarkable tablet. 

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Amazon’s entry level option includes the Basic Pen for the £339/GBP329 starting price point. You can pay extra if you want more storage, or the Premium Pen which – like ReMarkable’s Marker Plus – has a built in eraser on the back. 

Verdict

If what you’re after primarily is a tool to get you access to Drive and Dropbox files, and something designed to replace your many different journals, to-do lists, diaries and notebooks, the ReMarkable is a great option. It’s also lighter and thinner than the Kindle Scribe. 

Amazon’s big advantages are the tie-in to the Kindle e-book store, support for audio and the LED front lit screen which means you can use it even when you’re not in bright environment. ReMarkable’s device requires light around you in order to be easily visible. Plus, you get a lot more storage space on the Amazon. 

We suspect the Kindle will be the one that makes most sense to most buyers, but there’s definitely appeal to ReMarkable’s minimalist approach. 

Writing by Cam Bunton.

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