I need to use digital notebooks, however they don’t seem to be for me

There’s an entire sector of the tech business that is unusually romanticized in 2025. By that, I imply it waxes nostalgic for a pre-internet and even pre-digital period, however refuses to truly jettison fashionable expertise. Suppose, as an illustration, of “hybrid” smartwatches geared up with analog watchfaces, or smartphones that deliberately restrict you to a handful of apps. You sacrifice among the comfort of, say, an Apple Watch or a Pixel telephone, however in return you achieve slightly additional model, or a life freed from social media companies like TikTok and X. Basically, they promote us on the notion that life was higher within the Nineties or early 2000s.

Nothing exemplifies this higher than the idea than the brand new wave of E Ink tablets, such because the reMarkable Paper Pro, the Amazon Kindle Scribe, or my very own Boox Note Air4 C. Whereas you should utilize them as e-readers, you are actually meant to make use of them as handwritten notebooks — a approach of scribbling down concepts, plans, annotations, and sketches with out having to heft an iPad or Galaxy Tab. After utilizing one for a couple of months, I’ve come to understand the idea, however realized that it simply does not swimsuit my way of life. It is for a really slim area of interest of individuals, as I suspected from the beginning.

Some great benefits of a digital pocket book

Just a little bodily, largely psychological

On a cloth stage, the primary good thing about a digital pocket book is the power to jot paper-like notes with out losing paper, but in addition with out the fee and weight of an equal iPad, Android, or Home windows pill. That is going to depend upon the precise gadget you purchase, naturally. At $500, the Observe Air4C is definitely far dearer than a base iPad — and never that a lot lighter, coming in at 420 grams (about 0.93 kilos) versus 477 (1.05 kilos). Boox does a minimum of embrace a good stylus, whereas Apple makes you pay additional for an Apple Pencil or a third-party accent.

One other simple benefit is battery life. A standard pill is unlikely to final greater than a few days (if that lengthy) underneath any critical utilization, owing to the mix of an LCD or OLED display and a strong processor. E-ink units can usually final for every week or longer, since they do not want a lot in the best way of graphics functionality, and their shows do not devour any energy till a picture animates or in the event you activate a frontlight. For note-taking, that signifies that an E Ink pill is nearly at all times able to go if you find yourself.

The true causes individuals purchase a digital pocket book, although, are psychological. Some individuals simply want handwritten notes, whether or not due to their flexibility, the deeper impression on reminiscence, or the uncooked tactile sensation. A lot of them are designed to simulate paper right down to the feel of the display, and that really is satisfying — I as soon as spent a couple of minutes sketching a flower just because it jogged my memory of what I missed from childhood.

They’re additionally bought as a approach of distancing you from distractions. Even the fashions that assist apps like TikTok or Reddit aren’t very best for them, which makes it simpler to remain in a productive mode. If you happen to’re actually dedicated to a digital detox, you may make one a main gadget, narrowing most of your leisure right down to e-books and possibly the net.

The issues with digital notebooks

How a lot do you care about effectivity?

Maybe essentially the most basic impediment for me is that I am unable to make an E Ink pill a day by day driver. My job includes writing all day, each day, and the one approach of engaging in that effectively is on a single gadget with a keyboard, a mouse, and easy accessibility to all my analysis supplies — i.e. one thing like my Home windows laptop computer. A digital pocket book is one thing I’ve to exit of my solution to decide up and use, which makes it a detriment to productiveness.

I can and have used my Observe Air4C to brainstorm function pitches, however I shortly realized that when all I am doing is placing down textual content, it’s miles easier to faucet one thing out on both my PC or my smartphone. I am at all times going to have one or the opposite with me, and I am far quicker at typing than I’m handwriting. You in all probability are as nicely. Particularly, I want to make use of iCloud Notes, which mechanically syncs between all my units. In that regard, a digital pocket book would solely simplify issues if I wanted to do loads of sketching — however I am not in Chemistry class anymore, and I am undoubtedly not an illustrator.

Once I do hassle scribbling one thing in E Ink, it is cumbersome to combine it into my workflow. Normally I must manually export notes to an out of doors cloud service. The individuals who use a digital pocket book for calendars are from a special planet, I believe — it is a lot extra sensible to place occasions and bookings into an app that reminds you of all the main points proper if you want them, resembling Google Calendar.

So who’s a digital pocket book for?

You in all probability know who you might be

The obvious use case is somebody who spends hours a day jotting down complicated notes, or a minimum of filling out types. A number of examples that spring to thoughts embrace college students, docs, and a few workplace professionals like legal professionals. Coloration fashions will entice some artists, designers, and designers. You possibly can’t produce commercial-quality art work on an E Ink gadget — however it’s a good approach of getting the ball rolling if you’re not in entrance of your Wacom.

If notes are only a minor a part of your life, I might recommend some critical analysis (and introspection) earlier than you plunk down a couple of hundred {dollars} on one thing that is usually much less succesful than the units you already personal. Discover that the adverts for units from Boox and reMarkable usually depict an elite, “govt” way of life — immaculately dressed fashions working from well-appointed rooms, with nary a Mac or PC in sight. If you happen to spend most of your day in entrance of a pc crunching phrases, numbers, or code, you’ve got in all probability obtained all of the instruments you want already, and little alternative to lounge for a number of minutes with much less environment friendly {hardware}.

If you happen to do really feel a burning must eradicate distractions and join along with your notes, by all means go forward. However personally, the following time I purchase a pill, it is in all probability going to be an iPad. By the point I am able to improve, a 13-inch iPad Air could be as mild as something E Ink has to supply, with out all the sensible limitations.