I have one, and the cloud service is actually completely replaceable if you want. Since the device is running linux you can compile to arm7 and just run a sync cron to whatever server you want if you don't like their cloud service.

Edit: I think people may have the impression this is like Android where the process is "ok, first reboot, hold all the buttons but not that one button and then unlock root, then flash the rom with a custom version of the OS from this sketchy site and ... bam! You're in control now"

Actually it's like: sign into wifi on the device. It's now running an ssh server available on your network. The password to log in as root is in the settings. You can ssh in right then and write a bash script to do what you want.

Does that still hold for the reMarkable 2?

yeah, I have the reMarkable 2 myself. It's an amazing device. The only downside is really the cost. It's premium quality like an Apple device (the unboxing is a trip) and it's hackable on day one.

That, and the lack of documentation on repairability. I mean, I don't want to invest $450 on a device I can't fix or change the battery down the line.

Yes, and the filesystem is still mostly the same.

I was under the impression that ReMarkable in particular was pretty good about this. I believe they just run a custom Linux variant and you can even ssh into them.

I was really considering getting one, but I think the bigger issue for me is the LiPo battery. You can’t take the thing apart without a heat gun because it’s held together with adhesive, so in a few years when the battery doesn’t hold a charge, you have an expensive paperweight. I would pay a premium for a thicker device that used normal screws so that consumables such as the battery can be replaced easily.

(Many devices these days are similar, so it’s not only ReMarkable doing this.)

A thicker device would be more comfortable to hold as well. It feels heavy and it is slim. So, it "digs" into the palms a bit depending on how you hold it and that is not comfortable for extended periods of handheld use.

The iPad is much better at it. You just install Nextcloud on it and now all apps have support for saving to your own server

Looks like you replied to the wrong comment(?)

Regarding the Nextcloud's sync functionality on iOS, though: Does it support two-way sync? And do note-taking apps like Notability support it, too? Last time I checked, my impression had been that none of them does – which is a deal breaker for me, given that I'm a heavy user of Syncthing and have really gotten used to its instant two-way syncing functionality to keep all my devices up-to-date.

Ah yes I did reply to the wrong comment. And support is kind of universal but not deeply integrated in apps. Nextcloud adds itself as a location to the iOS Files app so anything that has the ability to save to Files can save to Nextcloud.

The problem is this is more of an import/export workflow rather than seamless syncing. I use it a lot while drawing, the files are all stored internally to the app but when I’m done I save the result to Nextcloud.

It would be nice to have apps automatically save everything there but I think Apple wants to avoid having these remote storage setups as primary storage so your device is still usable with no network connection.

You can easily disable software updates, and don’t need to set up the cloud sync service. The device is completely usable with no internet connection, and you get ssh access that you can do what you like with, and they provide a Qt SDK to build anything against. But I do wish xochitl (their UI) was open source.

I was worried about this too. Imagine my surprise (and pleasure) when the OOB wizard had a "not now" option for wifi config. "Auto-updates" were "off" by default, and did not nag me, "cloud sync" defaulted to "off" as well, and the device root ssh password was shown on the bottom of the about screen.

I have had great luck with "reMarkable Connection Utility." It bypasses reMarkable's cloud, which I have never once connected to. http://www.davisr.me/projects/rcu/

I'm sure one of the people who own one will chime in, but i think the whole device is hackable, you can get into a linux shell as root and do whatever you want.

Out of the box, the SaaS thingy is not really needed, you can just signup and use the device without ever logging in or downloading their mobile app. They're just kind enough to keep all your notes for you and thus, by default, need a bunch of battery power for the sync process.

You don't even need to sign up.

I have one, thus far their cloud service is free and hopefully will continue to be so. Every ReMarkable comes with an 8gb cloud account, which is the same amount of storage on the device.

Hopefully this doesn't change, because it's really a pain to put things on the tablet without using their app.

> Hopefully this doesn't change, because it's really a pain to put things on the tablet without using their app.

Have you tried Syncthing[0, 1]? I'm actually considering buying a ReMarkable 2 right now and the fact that Syncthing seems to be working on it is playing a major role in my decision process.

[0]: https://syncthing.net

[1]: https://github.com/evidlo/remarkable_syncthing

I haven't tried it. The existing app works pretty well for my purposes, but I'll keep this in mind if that changes. I also have a Kindle, and the ReMarkable app is a much easier way to get content onto the device than the process you have to use to get non-Amazon content onto a Kindle. Just drag an drop, then it syncs.