🔥 Read this must-read post from WIRED 📖
📂 **Category**: Gear,Gear / Buying Guides,Gear / Products / Accessories,Buying Guide
✅ **What You’ll Learn**:
Compare our favorite digital laptops
Our favorite smart pens
Neo Smartpen M1+ for $129: Skip the tablet and write directly on paper with a smart pen instead. The Neo Smartpen M1+ is the thinnest and lightest of all the pens I tried, making it feel more like your standard pen. Most importantly, it is convenient to carry and use. You should be able to find the size and style of notebook you need as well as diagrams. The Neo Studio app (iOS and Android) is great, with an easy-to-navigate notebook system and the ability to search for pages by page number or date. You can change the ink color and line thickness directly on the page as you go, or you can switch them later and adjust the colors of what you’ve written. —Media Giudiano
Moleskine Smart Writing Set for $279: Moleskine has built a loyal following for its classic notebooks and journals, but it’s also moved into smart territory. The Smart Writing Kit provides you with a notebook and pen pack, so this is the best option for most beginners. Write in your notebook, and it will appear in the companion app! But you can buy the pen alone, as well as smart notebooks and planners in different sizes. The Moleskine Notes 2.0 app (iOS and Android) was easy to use once I settled in. An older version of the app is available for download, but version 2.0 is simpler. A pop-up tells me that version 2.0 is still in progress and I may need to downgrade if my device is having an issue, but my iPhone 11 hasn’t had any issues. I tested the $149 2018 version of the Smart Writing Suite, which is no longer available, but we plan to test the newer version soon. —Media Giordano
Honorable mentions
Box Note Air3 C, $450: This model was a solid performer in all respects. It has a more complex ecosystem than our top picks, but it also has more capabilities than a standard tablet. This version has been discontinued, but there is a new version, which is… Note Air4 C ($530)which we now recommend above.
Kindle Scribe Colorsoft ($630) and Kindle Scribe (3rd generation) ($500): The newer versions of the Kindle Scribe are still solid all-around devices with a good mix of e-reader and digital notebook features, but I still prefer the older model. Although the new Scribe Colorsoft is a good option if you want color, I think they are both quite expensive for what they are. The price comes from all the AI features built into the device, but I don’t think any reader or digital note taker was asking for more of these features. Our picks above are better priced for similar features, though the Scribe has more impressive battery life than any digital laptop I’ve tried (and that’s still true for the older model I recommend above as well, so you don’t need the latest model to get the best battery life).
Montblanc Digital Paper, $905: Yes, Montblanc, the famous owner of pens, now has its own digital notebook. It’s no surprise that I call its stylus one of the best. It has a very lightweight feel while having three different buttons, two of which you can customize. (There’s no eraser, but I’m ditching that so the pen tip becomes a home button instead.) I really like this device overall, but it’s pricey for what you get — and aside from the customizable pen buttons, there’s not much to set it apart from my top picks.
New Smartpen Demo for $59: This is the cheapest smartpen option and uses replaceable batteries. It’s not compatible with Google Calendar, iCal, or Outlook like our other picks.
Rocketbook Fusion Plus for $38: If you really prefer the paper experience and don’t want something you need to charge, the Rocketbook is for you. Rocketbook makes many reusable notebooks, planners, and accessories such as index cards and sticky notes. I like Rocketbook Fusion Plus because it comes with many different template styles, from your classic monthly and weekly pages to project management layouts and meeting notes, bringing it as close to the variety a digital notebook can offer you. Take notes with the Pilot Frixion erasable pen (the pen comes with any product you purchase), scan page images into the Rocketbook app, and wipe everything down with a damp microfiber cloth (also included). The app is designed to keep everything organized and easily send things to Google Drive, Slack, Trello, OneNote, and a host of other options.
Supernote A6 X2 Nomad for $394 (with standard pen): This is a smaller version of the Supernote A5 X2 Manta, measuring about 6 inches on one side and 7.5 inches on the other. Supernote designed it with travel in mind, but I find it’s a great size for a daily digital to-do list or taking quick notes from a meeting. It’s too small for anything large, but if you’re looking for something compact, this is a good option with Supernote (and with the same great pens!). Like the Manta above, the price of this model has increased due to tariffs, although it has only increased by $30.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a digital device to take notes?
The short answer is no. These devices are expensive, usually costing several hundred dollars, while a simple notebook and pen cost a few dollars. But if you love the physical act of writing but need digital copies, they’re worth considering.
Pros:
- Digital notebooks are thin and lightweight but hold hundreds of notes.
- You can copy your notes into text files, making them easier to read and manipulate.
- Depending on the device, you can export files as PDFs, Google Docs, Evernote files, and more.
- It digitizes your artwork instantly, too.
cons:
- beloved.
- It needs to be charged.
- You have a learning curve.
- Most smart pens need to be paired with an accompanying notebook. The upcoming Nuwa pen promises smart feedback any paper.
E Ink laptops are easier on the eyes and look closer to paper than glass-screen tablets. But in some cases, you might spend less for an iPad and an Apple Pencil (and a keyboard if you need to type sometimes). And you can even do more with it thanks to the thousands of apps in the App Store. The iPad is very intuitive if you’re familiar with the Apple ecosystem (although the ReMarkable and Supernote ecosystems are also intuitive). Former WIRED reviewer Jayna Gray recommended the 11-inch iPad Pro with GoodNotes and Notability in her write-up, but there are other models that should do just fine, including our top pick, the iPad 2025. Check out our guide to the best iPads for more tips on how to buy.
I also have an iPad, and I will say that the upside to a digital laptop is that the battery tends to last longer, especially if you’re the type who uses it for a day or two and then forgets about it for a few days. My trusty Kindle Scribe usually manages to save me a lot of battery when I feel the itch to take notes, even if it’s been a week or two since I last touched it.
Why are digital notebooks so expensive?
Just because these devices look like paper, doesn’t mean they’re as cheap to make as a sheet of paper. Like any tablet or smartphone, these devices are packed with features, a proprietary ecosystem, e-ink technology that’s not that hard to come by, and a similar feel to writing on paper. It’s an amazing piece of technology.
Prices have not gotten any cheaper for this category in the wake of tariffs that have caused technology prices to rise. ReMarkable recently raised the price of our top pick, the ReMarkable Paper Pro. Our other favorites from the Supernote rose just under $50, and Kobo also raised its prices a bit, though the $10 increase is very slight compared to other increases we’ve seen. We will continue to monitor prices and report any further price changes.
Enjoy unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe today.
🔥 **What’s your take?**
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
#️⃣ **#Digital #Laptops #reMarkable #Kobo #Kindle**
🕒 **Posted on**: 1767432560
🌟 **Want more?** Click here for more info! 🌟
