E-ink comes of age: the best new tablets for distraction-free reading and writing

The introduction of the new Note Max is an attempt to bridge the gap between pen tablet and Chromebook, with an optional keyboard cover and the ability to run the 13.3-inch monochrome screen at a faster rate (at the expense of battery life) to better mimic a traditional laptop. Android compatibility opens up thousands of apps

Alternatively, Boox has got the Note Air4 C, which features Boox’s colour Kaleido 3 Screen. At 10.3 inches it’s slightly smaller than the Max, but that’s offset by the image quality. Android 13 compatibility is also standard, and the Boox range offers a fairly comprehensive suite of drawing tools straight out of the box.

The Colorsoft is Amazon’s first venture into colour e-readers, after 17 years of experience as a pioneer in this sector. However, this is an e-reader, not a writing tablet, and the screen is just 7 inches, making it perfect for books. The eight-week battery life is pretty handy too. Coming soon – we suspect – will be the first generation colour-screened Kindle Scribe, the current flagship of the Kindle range and a model that’s already been substantially overhauled since it was introduced in 2022.

Kobo’s Libra is an obvious Kindle competitor, right down to its compact form factor, 7-inch colour screen and focus on reading. However, the Kobo comes with a stylus, which immediately transforms it into a pocketable note-taking device, with on-board journals and sketchbooks that can be synched with Dropbox or Google Drive. Onboard Bluetooth also means you can listen to audiobooks, making this much more of an all-rounder than the Colorsoft.

Coming soon is the third generation of Fujitsu’s Quaderno, an A4-sized (13.3-inch) colour e-reader and handwriting tablet. Unlike the reMarkable Pro’s stylus, the Quaderno uses a pen that doesn’t require charging. The company is pitching the latest Quaderno at the business user, with the emphasis squarely on PDF editing and note-taking.

With no colour screen or Android underpinnings, Supernote’s Manta is another device that’s being set up as a reMarkable rival. The chief selling points are a ceramic-tipped pen that’s promised to last way longer than the replaceable plastic nibs used by rivals, and the ability to sync up with Google apps like Gmail, Calendar and Drive, alongside Dropbox and Microsoft Word.