I need to use digital notebooks, however they are not for me

There’s an entire sector of the tech trade 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 trendy know-how. Assume, as an illustration, of “hybrid” smartwatches geared up with analog watchfaces, or smartphones that deliberately restrict you to a handful of apps. You sacrifice a number of the comfort of, say, an Apple Watch or a Pixel telephone, however in return you acquire somewhat additional model, or a life freed from social media providers like TikTok and X. Primarily, they promote us on the notion that life was higher within the Nineteen 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 use them as e-readers, you are actually meant to make use of them as handwritten notebooks — a manner of scribbling down concepts, plans, annotations, and sketches with out having to heft an iPad or Galaxy Tab. After utilizing one for a number of months, I’ve come to understand the idea, however realized that it simply does not go well with my life-style. It is for a really slim area of interest of individuals, as I suspected from the beginning.

The benefits of a digital pocket book

A bit of bodily, largely psychological

On a fabric degree, the primary good thing about a digital pocket book is the flexibility to jot paper-like notes with out losing paper, but additionally with out the price and weight of an equal iPad, Android, or Home windows pill. That is going to depend upon the precise system you purchase, naturally. At $500, the Word Air4C is definitely far costlier 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 at the very least embrace a good stylus, whereas Apple makes you pay additional for an Apple Pencil or a third-party accent.

One other plain benefit is battery life. A standard pill is unlikely to final greater than a few days (if that lengthy) underneath any severe utilization, owing to the mixture of an LCD or OLED display screen and a strong processor. E-ink gadgets can typically final for every week or longer, since they do not want a lot in the way in which of graphics functionality, and their shows do not devour any energy till a picture animates or for those who activate a frontlight. For note-taking, that implies that an E Ink pill is sort of 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 favor handwritten notes, whether or not due to their flexibility, the deeper affect on reminiscence, or the uncooked tactile sensation. A lot of them are designed to simulate paper all the way down to the feel of the display screen, 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 offered as a manner of distancing you from distractions. Even the fashions that help apps like TikTok or Reddit aren’t supreme for them, which makes it simpler to remain in a productive mode. In case you’re really dedicated to a digital detox, you may make one a major system, narrowing most of your leisure all the way 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, daily, and the one manner of conducting that effectively is on a single system 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 option to decide up and use, which makes it a detriment to productiveness.

I can and have used my Word Air4C to brainstorm characteristic pitches, however I shortly realized that when all I am doing is placing down textual content, it’s miles less complicated 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 most likely are as effectively. Particularly, I favor to make use of iCloud Notes, which mechanically syncs between all my gadgets. 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 positively not an illustrator.

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

So who’s a digital pocket book for?

You most likely know who you might be

The obvious use case is somebody who spends hours a day jotting down complicated notes, or at the very least filling out kinds. Just a few examples that spring to thoughts embrace college students, medical doctors, and a few workplace professionals like attorneys. Colour fashions will appeal to some artists, designers, and designers. You possibly can’t produce commercial-quality paintings on an E Ink system — however it’s a good manner of getting the ball rolling whenever you’re not in entrance of your Wacom.

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

In case you do really feel a burning must remove distractions and join together with your notes, by all means go forward. However personally, the subsequent time I purchase a pill, it is most likely 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.