Almost two weeks ago, I purchased a reMarkable Paper Pro Move on a whim and, after some research, decided to order a Supernote Nomad to compare and see which device I prefer.

The Device

The reMarkable Paper Pro Move feels slightly more premium, with rigid aluminum edges and a nice back plate with small pads to prevent sliding while lying flat on a table.

The Supernote Nomad , on the other hand, is mostly plastic. While it doesn’t feel cheap at all, the reMarkable does have a slight edge in build quality. But barely, and it could be argued otherwise. 

Writing Experience

The writing and screen experiences differ significantly between the two devices. The reMarkable feels like writing on a hard, rough surface with a pencil. The Supernote features a hard ceramic tip on a soft, almost rubbery surface, making it smoother—much like writing with a pen. I don’t have a clear preference yet; both are excellent, but the Nomad is smoother while the reMarkable is more pencil-like.

Pen/Marker

Both devices come with comfortable writing pens. The Supernote pen feels more like a real pen, but it lacks a built-in eraser, unlike the reMarkable Marker Plus. However, the Supernote features a slider on the device that you can swipe with your finger to undo actions—an intuitive solution.

Since the Supernote pen features a ceramic tip, it does not require replacement, whereas the reMarkable Marker tips wear out and necessitate frequent replacement.

Folio

The folios for both devices are relatively standard, featuring vegan leather, a pen holder, and magnets to keep the device in place.

Screen Size

Screen size is a significant consideration between the two devices.

The reMarkable Paper Pro Move is narrower, making it easier to hold, but it also means less writing space is available. I found this somewhat frustrating, especially paired with the limited software (a topic for another post).

If you aren’t using the device while walking around, the reMarkable Move may not be the best fit for you. When viewing your notes on another device, the text is too narrow, and I often have to rescale them to make them readable. PDFs and EPUBs also display poorly due to issues with scaling.

The Supernote Nomad is about the same size as a Kindle. It feels normal to use, is still very portable, and reading on it is a delight.

If you plan to do a lot of writing and don’t intend to move the device around frequently, you may want to consider the full-size reMarkable Pro Paper or the Supernote Manta instead. I prefer the smaller device, because I also use it for reading.

Other Hardware Features

A few more hardware notes:

• The Supernote has no built-in backlight. You may need a small reading light for nighttime use, similar to a physical book. The reMarkable Move features an adjustable backlight, but I found the way it glows around the edges of the screen to be annoying, and it drains the battery quickly.
• The Supernote features sliders on both sides of the screen: one for undo/redo and one for accessing the quick menu, which is the primary navigation method, as well as for quickly refreshing the screen.

Software

I’m not going to dive deep into software here, but I do think it's one of the key reasons to choose one device over another.

The Supernote is much more capable and recently announced upcoming support for plugins. It supports the Kindle app and sideloading Android apps. The Supernote team has a clear roadmap and releases frequent updates.

The reMarkable software is fine, but limited due to infrequent updates and a lack of communication from the development team.

The software for both devices is minimal and easy to use. 

The reMarkable has a simple tagging system that works well enough, but the Supernote's keywords feature is more flexible. You can also create headings, which generate a table of contents for your notebook, and can even create links to other notes on the Supernote, but not on the reMarkable.

Conclusion

Overall, both devices have their strengths, but for my needs, the Supernote Nomad stands out for its versatility and user experience.