[pilotneko]

I have been really interested in this device, but the proprietary stylus really turned me off. In addition to not working on any other e-ink reader/notepad, it is a mystery to me why they went with a stylus technology that requires charging.

[ftigis]

It may be marketed as bespoke, but it does seem to take USI stylus (styli?), at least for basic inking purposes, https://youtu.be/4peCXY7duxI?t=486

and USI seems to be about interoperability https://universalstylus.org/ , at least within that ecosystem.

[swores]

I think you've been misinformed - ReMarkable pens have replaceable nibs (tips), because they get worn away as you use them, but they are not powered at all (unless there's a new aspect to the Pro's market that I'm not aware of?)

For what it's worth: the reason it needs those tips is they are what helps it feel like writing on paper, but the tips can be put into third-party stylos - if you search Reddit or elsewhere you'll find plenty of people discussing alternatives.

[pilotneko]

I am aware of the replaceable nibs, and I don’t have a problem with those. I have a Remarkable 2 and I use it practically every day. I replaced the nib with a titanium one and it feels very similar to a ballpoint pen writing on a clipboard.

The new marker requires charging. It is not compatible with the Remarkable 2 or other e-ink tablets like the Kindle Scribe. Look at the features on the store page, both the Marker and Marker+ talk about wireless charging.

Also, from their FAQ about the Marker:

Will other digital pens work on reMarkable Paper Pro? No. The new Markers have been custom-built for reMarkable Paper Pro’s Canvas Color display. Other digital pens, such as the Markers for reMarkable 2 or those developed by third parties, aren’t compatible with reMarkable Paper Pro. For more details, see our compatibility guide.

[swores]

My bad, thanks for the correction!

Gives me another reason I'll be happily sticking with my RM2 and not considering an upgrade, though not 100% sure which I'd choose if buying new now (probably still the older one).

[pilotneko]

No worries. Sorry if I came off as combative.

[swores]

You're fine, that hadn't occurred to me at all until you apologised :)

[proamdev123]

You are correct about the previous ReMarkable stylus, but OP is correct about the ReMarkable Pro stylus.

They have introduced a new, proprietary stylus that requires charging. And it’s incompatible with any other device, including previous ReMarkables.

[bryanlarsen]

One of the author's primary complaints about their prior ReMarkable was the poor pressure sensitivity while sketching. So there's an argument to be made that switching tech to make it better for sketching is worthwhile. The argument would land better if they actually succeeded at the goal -- the reviewer found an improvement, but not a great improvement.

[jgon]

My understanding is that the company is saying they went with the new stylus technology because the old tech was wacom and if they had stuck with that, as well as adding in front light, the pen-to-screen distance would have increased past where it is on the rm2. With the current tech they have made it essentially the same (maybe slightly smaller I believe), and since they heavily lean on the writing experience for these tablets I am guessing that distance was a deal-breaker with regard to sticking with wacom. Now is that the whole truth? I can't say as I don't have a full understanding of the engineering involved in these touch layers, but it at least sounds plausible to me.

Microsoft did a similar switch with their surface tablets, which were initially wacom based, and switched to a different tech that also required batteries in their pens, so this isn't without precedence.

[ncr100]

My understanding is that the dialysis that are used for Windows tablets work with this, there was one reviewer who was talking about that. On YouTube.

[proamdev123]

I agree with your sentiments. Makes me think that they are going for vendor lock in. I don’t know if that’s true, but it does feel like it.