reMarkable Firmware Version 3.23

Current sub-version: 3.23

This page takes a deep dive into the firmware that is pre-installed on reMarkable e-ink tablets to help potential customers decide if reMarkable products have the software functionality that they need.

New with this release

• Convert to notebook (Connect subscribers)
• Create a link (Connect subscribers)
• New Methods templates (Connect subscribers)
• Changes to tags
• Other minor optimisations

The ‘Convert to notebook‘ feature allows you to import Word documents onto your tablet in notebook format. Essentially, this means that you edit/update the text of a Word document, rather than be restricted to only handwritten annotations with the stylus (because the note-taking app supports text, and the reading app doesn’t).

Using the ‘Create a link‘ feature, you can export a single page of a notebook to the reMarkable cloud, which you can access with a special link sent to your email or displayed on the tablet in QR code format. Clicking the link displays both the page and converted text from the page. You can copy/paste the converted text, or download a DOCX copy of the page. This works well with the ‘Convert to notebook‘ feature because you can convert a Word document to reMarkable notebook format, edit it on your reMarkable tablet, then export as a new DOCX file. The link can be shared with others that do not have a reMarkable account (although there is no slick way of doing this on device – you have to either take a photo of the QR code or copy/paste the link from the email).

New methods templates include a 2026 calendar. There’s some minor changes to tags, and some other minor optimisations.

As I predicted last year, reMarkable’s software updates are becoming even more heavily geared towards Connect subscribers, offering very little to those that choose not pay pay the monthly fee.

Operating system

From the moment I boot up my reMarkable tablet, I am greeted by an interface that is austere to the point of severity. The home screen is nothing more (and nothing less) than a vertical scrolling list of my files. There are no widgets, no distracting panels, no algorithmic suggestions. It is simply my documents, presented with an almost monastic restraint.

I can toggle between three viewing modes: a straightforward list, a small grid, or a medium grid. Sorting options are available, and my folders sit neatly arrayed across the top of the screen. At the bottom edge is a diminutive toolbar containing just two icons: search, and add (for creating a new folder or notebook). That is the entirety of it. The system does not attempt to entertain me; it simply waits for instruction.

Search and Handwriting Recognition

The search function is more sophisticated than the interface might suggest. It will search file titles, of course, but it will also search the handwriting within my notebooks – and it does so with impressive accuracy. In practice, I have found it remarkably (pun intended!) competent at locating even loosely written phrases.

However, there are caveats. Handwriting search requires an internet connection to index the writing as searchable text, and newly written material can take some time before it becomes discoverable. More significantly, this feature is restricted to subscribers of reMarkable’s Connect subscription – it sits behind reMarkable’s paywall, alongside several other capabilities that I will address later when discussing the ecosystem. Functionally excellent though it is, it is not universally accessible.

File Management

Tapping a file opens it either in reMarkable’s reading interface (for PDFs and eBooks) or in the notebook environment. A long press reveals a contextual menu offering a comprehensive suite of options: rename, favourite, tag, duplicate, move, delete, send by email, archive to cloud, or export to a third-party cloud drive.

The “send by email” option is surprisingly flexible. I can dispatch documents as a PDF, PNG, or SVG. For compatible files, I can even send converted text directly within the body of the email. It is a practical feature, especially when I need to transmit annotated notes quickly.

“Archive to cloud” removes the local copy from the device while preserving it in reMarkable’s cloud storage. The file title remains visible on the tablet, but tapping it triggers a re-download. This strikes me as a pragmatic compromise between deletion and hoarding, useful for conserving storage space without relinquishing access.

Exporting to a third-party cloud drive produces a PDF copy of the file. It is important to understand that this is an export, not a live sync. The tablet does not maintain a dynamic relationship with third-party cloud drives.

Integrations and Importing

The hamburger menu in the top-left corner reveals filtering tools and integrations. I can filter by file type (notebooks, PDFs, eBooks), by favourites, or by custom tags I have attached for my own taxonomy.

Under “Integrations,” reMarkable supports Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive. I can browse my cloud files directly, long-press to select them, and import them onto the tablet.

The import process converts documents into PDFs. This is a one-directional transformation. If I import a Word document, it becomes a PDF; I can annotate it freely with the stylus on the tablet, but those annotations cannot be synchronised back into the original Word file. Conceptually, it resembles printing a document, writing on it by hand, and then scanning it. It is functional, but not collaborative.

Having said that, reMarkable have recently introduced the option to import Word documents and Google Docs as notebooks rather than PDFs. This allows you to edit/update the text on your tablet. You can then create a link for the document on reMarkable’s servers, which you can access from another device and download the updated document in DOCX format Although this means that you can technically work on Word documents on a reMarkable tablet, you are not working on the live version – instead you are importing a copy of it for the remarkable, then exporting an updated DOCX.

Control Centre and Settings

At the top of the home screen sits the hamburger menu on the left, the reMarkable logo in the centre, and battery and frontlight icons on the right. Tapping the battery/frontlight area opens a control centre where I can view the exact battery percentage and toggle screen sharing, airplane mode, and rotation lock. Frontlight brightness can be adjusted across five levels or switched off entirely.

Within the main menu, I can also access the trash folder (for recently deleted files), user guides, and settings. The settings menu allows firmware updates, language and keyboard configuration, Wi-Fi setup, passcode protection, and accessibility adjustments. The user guides are lucid and genuinely helpful – mercifully free from superfluous marketing rhetoric, which seems to inhabit almost everything else reMarkable creates.

Overall Impressions

The reMarkable operating system is minimalist, clean, and highly intuitive. It is unapologetically singular in purpose: to facilitate note-taking and document annotation. It does not pretend to be a multimedia tablet, nor does it offer distractions masquerading as features.

Because the home screen is simply a document repository, I can begin working immediately. There is no need to navigate between tabs or applications. Everything is present from the outset, much like sitting down at a desk and opening a stack of papers.

That said, the transitions between screens are not smooth. There is frequent flashing as the e-ink display refreshes, particularly when navigating menus or switching contexts. This is not an occasional glitch; it is inherent and persistent. You do expect periodic full refreshes with any e-ink device to clean up any ghosting, but it is far more noticeable on reMarkable devices, particularly their newer colour tablets. While I have become somewhat accustomed to it, the visual disruption remains noticeable.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZKYcNxF4cAg?feature=share

In sum, the operating system reflects the philosophy of the device itself: deliberate, restrained, and narrowly focused. It excels within its chosen domain, but it makes no attempt to extend beyond it.

Native note-taking software

When I create a new notebook, the system immediately asks me to name it and select a template. There is a generous assortment of built-in templates – lined, grid, dotted, planners, storyboards, music sheets, and more specialised layouts. However, I cannot install my own custom templates natively. There is also a supplementary library called reMarkable Methods, accessible by logging into the reMarkable website through the web browser on another device and triggering an import to the tablet. Access to this repository is restricted to subscribers of the Connect subscription, another example of functionality partitioned behind a paywall.

Once inside a notebook, the interface is dominated by the writing canvas. A slim toolbar runs down the left-hand side, and a discreet “X” in the top right corner closes the notebook. The toolbar itself can be minimised or repositioned to any of the other three screen edges. The overall aesthetic is sparse and uncluttered, almost ascetic. Nothing intrudes upon the writing space unnecessarily.

Navigation and Page Structure

I move between pages by swiping left (next page) or right (previous page). Pages are also vertically infinite: instead of being confined to a fixed sheet, I can continue writing downward indefinitely. A pinch gesture allows me to zoom out and view more of these extended pages at once.

This hybrid of discrete pagination and vertical scroll feels pragmatic. It preserves the metaphor of a notebook while quietly transcending its physical constraints.

Pen Tools and Writing Experience

The pen selection on reMarkable devices is among the most comprehensive I have encountered on any E-Ink platform. There are nine tools in total:

• Ballpoint pen: pressure sensitive
• Fineliner: uniform stroke, no pressure sensitivity
• Pencil: pressure and tilt sensitive, with a subtle graphite grain
• Mechanical pencil: pressure sensitive, and similar texture to the pencil, but not tilt sensitive
• Calligraphy pen: pressure sensitive with vertical strokes
• Marker: tilt sensitive, not pressure sensitive
• Paintbrush: pressure sensitive
• Highlighter: semi-transparent overlay
• Shader: builds tonal density with repeated strokes

Each tool (except the highlighter) offers three stroke thicknesses. On colour models, multiple colours are available; on monochrome models, the palette is restricted to black, white, and graduated greys.

Writing in grayscale is genuinely pleasurable. Latency is minimal, and the tactile simulation of friction against the screen surface gives the experience a convincing materiality. Each pen behaves distinctly; none feel redundant.

Colour, however, complicates matters. When I write in colour, the stroke initially appears in black. A second or two later, the chosen colour fills in behind the stroke, taking the same path as the original mark. Upon lifting the stylus, the surrounding area flashes as the colour fully renders. For many users this may be tolerable. Personally, I find the delayed chromatic rendering and repeated flashing visually disruptive. It interrupts the otherwise fluid cadence of note-taking.

Moreover, when I turn to a page containing coloured strokes, there is an intensified sequence of refresh flashes, even more conspicuous than those encountered during ordinary screen transitions. It reinforces the sense that colour, while functional, is not the device’s most natural domain.

Shapes and Erasing

If I draw a freehand line or shape and hold the stylus in place for about a second, the system refines it into a geometrically perfected version. This gesture-based correction works reliably and feels intuitive.

There are two eraser modes: a standard eraser that removes marks at the point of contact, and a selection eraser that deletes everything within a defined area. I can also clear an entire page instantly. Undo and redo buttons are permanently available, and I use them frequently.

Text Input and Typing

The text tool allows typed input via the on-screen keyboard or the physical keyboard integrated into the Type Folio. With the keyboard attached, the device becomes a stripped-back word processor, almost a digital typewriter. Formatting options are limited to headings and bullet points, and a few others, but the typing experience itself is excellent. The latency is low, the screen refresh is well managed, and the absence of distractions makes sustained writing surprisingly comfortable. Among E-Ink brands, this is one of the most refined typing implementations I have used.

Layers

Layers function as stacked sheets of transparency. The base layer is always the template and cannot be altered. Above that sits a fixed text layer. On top of these, I can create up to five additional handwriting layers.

Custom layers can be reordered, merged, deleted, or hidden. This is particularly useful for diagrammatic work or artwork. For instance, sketching a structural outline on one layer, shading on another, and annotations on a third. While the layer limit is finite, it is generally sufficient for practical purposes.

Selection and Manipulation

The lasso tool enables me to encircle handwriting or sketches and manipulate them. Selected content can be moved, resized, rotated, cut, copied, or – if handwritten – converted to typed text. The transformations are smooth and predictable.

Page Overview and Organisation

The page overview displays thumbnails of every page in the notebook. I can tap to jump to a page or long-press to select one or multiple pages. Selected pages can be duplicated, moved, deleted, tagged, converted to text, or shared. I can also insert new pages before or after the selection.

Tags operate either at the notebook level or on individual pages. They serve as a flexible categorisation system, allowing me to group related materials across otherwise separate notebooks.

Handwriting Conversion

Selecting “convert to text” from the overflow menu (or from page overview for multiple pages) generates a new page containing the converted text. Accuracy is generally impressive. That said, formatting is not preserved, and pages containing mixed handwriting and drawings can produce eccentric artefacts, occasionally attempting to interpret sketches as typographic symbols.

Sharing Options

Sharing is handled in several ways:

• Screen sharing, which requires installing the reMarkable app on the receiving device.
• Email export, available as PDF, PNG, SVG, or plain text.
• Create link, which uploads a single page (not a full notebook) to reMarkable’s servers along with its converted text.

When I create a link, I receive an email containing a URL, and the tablet can display a QR code for rapid access via smartphone. From the reMarkable website, I can view the original page, copy the converted text or download a DOCX file containing both the typed text and an image of the original page.

Overall Assessment

The native note-taking app is deceptively simple. Its interface is restrained and immediately comprehensible, yet beneath that simplicity lie genuinely capable tools – layering, handwriting conversion, shape refinement, and robust export options.

In grayscale, the writing experience is excellent: responsive, tactile, and coherent. In colour, the delayed rendering and increased flashing introduce a degree of visual turbulence that I find distracting.

And, compared to note-taking apps from other e-ink tablet manufacturers, reMarkable’s offering does not include things like links, sections/title/headings, calendar/todo list integration, or the ability to use custom templates.

Finally, it is impossible to ignore that certain features, notably access to reMarkable Methods and handwriting search, are restricted to subscribers of the Connect plan. The core experience remains fully usable without subscription, but some of the more sophisticated conveniences are monetised.

Even so, as a pure note-taking environment, the app is disciplined and focused. It does not overwhelm. It simply provides a carefully delimited space in which to think on paper.

Native reading & annotation software

There is no delicate way to phrase this: as an eBook reader, the reMarkable software is deeply underwhelming.

Although the company states that EPUB files are supported, my experience suggests that they are not being opened natively. I can upload an EPUB to the reMarkable cloud and access it on the tablet, but the behaviour strongly implies that the file is converted into a fixed-layout PDF before I ever see it.

I cannot prove this definitively, yet the circumstantial evidence is persuasive.

When I adjust the font size or margins in an EPUB, the change is not instantaneous. On most dedicated eReaders, altering font size is trivial – it simply reflows the text. On reMarkable, the adjustment takes time. For a modest 100-page book, it may take a few seconds. For a 1,000-page volume, it can take considerably longer. The delay scales with the size of the book. This feels less like dynamic text reflow and more like regenerating an entirely new fixed-layout document.

Further clues reinforce this suspicion. I can zoom in and out of an EPUB – behaviour characteristic of a static PDF rather than a reflowable text file. And when I export the book, I can only share it as a fixed-layout format such as PDF; I cannot export it back out as an EPUB. All signs indicate that I am not interacting with a native text-based EPUB engine but with a converted, fixed-layout surrogate.

Interface and Tools

Once an eBook is open, the interface mirrors the note-taking app. I swipe left and right to turn pages. A toolbar sits along the left edge, and a close button occupies the top-right corner. Page numbers appear briefly at the bottom centre before fading away, presumably so as not to obscure the text.

The toolbar contains two custom pens, an eraser, a lasso tool, layers, undo/redo, page overview, and tags, essentially identical to the note-taking environment bit without the Text tool. The only substantive difference is that the book itself replaces the template as the immutable bottom layer. I can write directly on top of the page.

However, if I alter formatting, for example, adjusting font size or margins, any handwritten annotations are displaced onto separate pages. This makes layout experimentation impractical once I have begun annotating.

Missing Core Reading Features

What is most striking is what is absent.

There is no dictionary, neither local nor online. I cannot long-press on a word for a definition. I cannot select a passage of text and save it as an extractable highlight. The only highlighting mechanism is the highlighter pen. To its credit, it snaps neatly around lines of text rather than behaving as a completely freehand marker. But the highlight is purely visual. It cannot be exported as structured text.

Again, modifying the layout can cause highlights to shift position, reinforcing the impression that I am working atop a reconstructed static document rather than fluid text.

There is a page overview similar to that in the note-taking app, displaying thumbnails of each page. Some books provide a table of contents button; others do not, and the inconsistency is conspicuous.

The overflow menu allows text search, sharing, and adjustments to contrast and text settings. Beyond this, functionality is sparse.

As a PDF Reader

If I recalibrate my expectations and treat the app as a PDF reader, the experience improves considerably.

Each page can be fitted to height, width, or a custom zoom. Zooming in and out is among the smoothest I have seen on an E Ink device. Annotation atop PDFs is effortless and predictable, and because PDFs are inherently fixed-layout, I do not encounter the problem of annotations shifting position.

That said, even as a PDF reader, the feature set is not especially advanced. There is no vertical continuous scroll through pages. I cannot define persistent custom view areas for reading column-based layouts. On newer devices, I can rotate into landscape mode and view half a page at a time, which helps with dense documents, but the overall toolset remains comparatively restrained.

Sharing PDFs (including handwritten annotations) via email is straightforward and reliable.

Overall Assessment

The native reading app is, in essence, a PDF reader with ancillary format support achieved through conversion. It handles static documents competently and provides a good environment for handwriting directly onto them.

But it is not a true multi-format eReader. When I send non-PDF formats, including EPUBs, they appear to be converted into fixed-layout PDFs en route. As a result, I lose the defining advantages of EPUB: reflowable text, instantaneous font resizing, integrated dictionaries, selectable text highlights, and structured export.

The philosophy of the device is clear. It is built around static documents and handwriting, not around immersive digital reading ecosystems. For annotating PDFs, it performs well. For reading EPUBs as EPUBs, it is simply not up to the standard set by dedicated eReaders. This is more of an observation rather than a criticism – I don’t think reMarkable intend their tablets to be used as e-book reading devices – but because their promotional materials say that they support ePubs, and it may be an important consideration for some users, I felt it necessary to highlight this.

In this respect, the software feels less like a compromised eReader and more like a specialised PDF annotation tool that happens to tolerate other formats by flattening them.

Ecosystem

The reMarkable ecosystem is, in many respects, unlike that of any other E-Ink tablet manufacturer. It contains several genuinely distinctive and thoughtfully implemented features. At the same time, it is tightly controlled, vertically integrated, and, in certain respects, monetised.

You gain coherence and polish, but you relinquish flexibility.

Cloud Architecture and File Sync

Although I can integrate Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive, these integrations are manual bridges rather than true synchronisation pipelines. The only service that automatically syncs my files is reMarkable’s proprietary cloud.

Third-party drives are used for manually importing and exporting file, not for bidirectional sync.

I can import a respectable range of file formats, including DOCX and XLSX files. However, as with EPUBs, the import process appears to convert them into PDFs before they reach the tablet.

The system is fundamentally PDF-centric.

Web Interface

When I log into the reMarkable website through a browser, I can:

• Pair and unpair devices (up to five tablets per account at the time of writing)
• Manage or renew my Connect subscription
• Upload files (PDF, JPEG, PNG, EPUB, DOCX up to 100MB)
• Browse reMarkable Methods, a curated repository of premium templates
• Configure integrations with Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive
• Enable Slack integration
• Organise files (rename, move, delete, create folders)

Uploaded files appear to be converted to PDF before becoming available for annotation. The behaviour is consistent with the device’s overall architectural philosophy: normalise everything into a fixed-layout document.

reMarkable Methods includes planners, annual calendars, meeting templates, gratitude journals, and other structured layouts. Access to this repository is gated behind the Connect subscription.

Desktop and Mobile Apps

The reMarkable desktop app (Windows and macOS) and mobile app (Android and iOS) extend the ecosystem beyond the tablet.

From the apps, I can:

• View my synced files
• Export them as PDFs
• Rename, favourite, copy, move, share, and delete documents
• Search file titles (but not handwriting, unless subscribed to Connect)
• Import new files

I can also create new notebooks via the app, but only with typed text. I cannot add handwriting from the app itself. Similarly, I can edit the typed text layer of existing notebooks, but not their handwritten content.

This limitation reinforces the idea that the tablet remains the primary creation device, while the apps function as management and distribution tools. Nevertheless, reMarkable are currently the only e-ink brand I know of that allows some functionality with regards to editing your notebooks from your computer, tablet, or phone.

Finally, the mobile app also includes a document scanner, which can be used to take a photograph of a document and import it into your reMarkable tablet.

Screen Sharing

Screen sharing is available through the desktop app (Windows and macOS). In practice, this means I can mirror my tablet screen onto my own computer.

The limitation is implicit rather than technical: I would not realistically log into my reMarkable account on someone else’s device simply to share my screen, as that would introduce obvious security risks. In effect, screen sharing is best suited for presentations from one’s own hardware rather than ad hoc collaboration.

The Connect Subscription

Several core features are contingent upon subscribing to Connect:

• Handwriting search
• Access to reMarkable Methods
• Creating and editing notebooks via the app
• Screen sharing
• Import files as a notebook from third-party cloud drive
• Continuous cloud sync for all files

In addition, without a subscription, files that I have not accessed for 50 days cease syncing to the reMarkable cloud. They remain on the device, but they are no longer backed up automatically.

Technically, the tablet is usable without Connect. Practically, the experience is diminished. The ecosystem is clearly designed with subscription in mind. And recent firmware updates indicate that the direction reMarkable are taking with regards to future software improvements are heavily subscription-centric.

Prospective users should reflect carefully on this. If I build my workflows around reMarkable’s cloud infrastructure and proprietary services, I become structurally dependent on them. Should subscription prices rise in the future, my reliance on the ecosystem would make disengagement inconvenient.

Enterprise and Security Positioning

One area where reMarkable differentiates itself is in security and enterprise positioning.

The platform provides:

• Full disk encryption
• End-to-end encryption
• Secure boot
• ISO 27001 certification
• Enterprise device/user management tools

I am not qualified to adjudicate whether these measures satisfy the compliance requirements of large organisations. However, relative to other E-Ink manufacturers, many of whom design exclusively for consumer use, without enterprise-level security assurances, reMarkable appears to have invested more heavily in this domain.

For corporate environments concerned with data governance and controlled deployment, this may prove significant. Again, some of this is monetised under reMarkable’s ‘Connect for Business‘ plans.

Overall Assessment

The reMarkable ecosystem is elegant, cohesive, and deliberately constrained. It offers polished integrations, intuitive cross-device workflows, and features that few competitors replicate. At the same time, it is vertically integrated and subscription-dependent.

You gain a streamlined, distraction-free environment, but you surrender interoperability and long-term independence.

Whether this is acceptable depends entirely on one’s tolerance for ecosystem lock-in. For some users, the coherence will outweigh the constraints. For others, the proprietary architecture and recurring costs will feel restrictive.

In my experience, the ecosystem is intelligently designed, but it is not neutral. It gently but unmistakably channels you inward, toward reMarkable’s own infrastructure, and asks you to remain there.

Other native software

Beyond the native note-taking app and the native reading app, there are no additional on-device applications. There is no app store, no calendar app, no email client, no task manager, no web browser. The tablet does not even gesture toward general-purpose computing. It remains resolutely singular in scope.

Any expansion of functionality occurs off-device, via integrations on a computer or smartphone.

One of the more useful peripheral tools is Read on reMarkable, available either as a Google Chrome browser extension or as a Microsoft Office add-in.

The Chrome extension allows me to send a webpage I am currently viewing directly to my tablet. The page is converted into a PDF and appears in my library, ready for reading/annotation. In practice, this is one of the most seamless workflows in the entire ecosystem. It transforms long-form online articles into static, distraction-free reading material.

The Microsoft Office add-in performs a similar function for Word documents and PowerPoint slides. From within Word or PowerPoint, I can send a document directly to the tablet. Again, the file is converted into a PDF before arriving on the device. I can then read and annotate it as I would any other static document.

The pattern remains consistent: everything becomes a PDF.

There is a certain philosophical purity to this arrangement. The tablet itself is intentionally sparse. It does not fragment attention with peripheral utilities. All supplementary features are mediated through companion tools on conventional computers or phones.

For some users, this restraint will feel liberating. For others, it will feel restrictive. There is no possibility of installing third-party applications, no experimental software ecosystem, no extension beyond what reMarkable explicitly permits.

The device is not an expandable platform. It is a specialised instrument.

Whether that specialisation is admirable or limiting depends entirely on one’s expectations.

Final Verdict

The reMarkable software has always been deeply polarising for me.

On one hand, it offers several genuinely distinctive features. The enterprise-oriented security posture – full disk encryption, secure boot, ISO certification – is unusual in the E-Ink space. The note-taking app is competent and, in certain respects, excellent. The range and fidelity of the pen tools are among the best available on any E-Ink device, and typing using reMarkable’s keyboard-integrated folio is very pleasurable. The ability to create and edit typed notes via the companion app is also unusually well implemented. And across the board, the system is clean, restrained, and immediately intelligible. There is very little cognitive friction in using it.

On the other hand, the reading app is effectively a PDF viewer with ancillary format conversion. It cannot function as a fully featured eBook reader. The absence of a dictionary, structured highlights, or genuine EPUB reflow makes it unsuitable for serious digital reading outside static documents.

The screen flashing during transitions, particularly on colour models, remains distracting. While inherent to E-Ink to some degree, it feels more conspicuous here than on some competitors.

The note-taking app, while strong, is not exhaustive. Compared to other brands, it lacks structural tools such as internal linking, notebook sectioning, or more advanced document architecture. It is powerful, but not expansive.

Then there is the subscription model.

Several meaningful features (handwriting search, access to additional templates, text editing via the app, screen sharing etc.) are placed behind the Connect subscription paywall. Competing brands often provide handwriting search locally on-device and include screen sharing without recurring fees. Even cloud retention is conditional: if a file has not been accessed for more than 50 days, it ceases to sync for non-subscribers.

Technically, the device remains usable without Connect. Practically, the experience feels curtailed.

I should acknowledge that, as a reviewer, I have been granted a lifetime Connect subscription and therefore do not personally pay for it. My reservations are not financial. They are philosophical.

The ecosystem is tightly integrated. The tablet depends heavily on reMarkable’s servers and proprietary infrastructure. If the company were to alter its pricing structure dramatically, or – in a more extreme scenario – cease operations entirely, substantial aspects of the software experience would be compromised. The device is not architected for long-term independence from its parent ecosystem.

And that, ultimately, is what gives me pause.

I admire the minimalist philosophy. I genuinely enjoy writing and annotating on reMarkable tablets. The tactile experience is refined; the interface is disciplined. But I cannot comfortably incorporate the device into my daily professional workflow because I am always aware that I am operating inside a closed system whose parameters I do not control.

For users who value enterprise-grade security, elegant minimalism, and a focused PDF-centric workflow, the software will feel purposeful and coherent.

For users who value openness, multi-format flexibility, and autonomy from proprietary cloud infrastructure, it may feel constraining.

In the end, the reMarkable software is neither universally excellent nor categorically flawed. It is deliberate. It knows what it is. The question is whether you are comfortable living entirely within its boundaries.

Firmware Overview

Reviews of Older Versions of reMarkable Firmware

My rating	Firmware version	Tablets using this firmware
	3.25 (current version) Jan 2026	reMarkable 2 reMarkable Paper Pro Move reMarkable Paper Pro
	3.24 Dec 2025
	3.23 Nov 2025
	3.22 Sep 2025
	3.20 Jul 2025
	3.19 May 2025
	3.18 Mar 2025
	3.17 Jan 2025
	3.16 Dec 2024
	3.15 Nov 2024
	3.14 Nov 2024