FWIW, I think that makes sense from their perspective. There are a ton of eReaders out there, but reMarkable is the only company that I'm aware of that focuses specifically on this use case, to the detriment of others. They don't _want_ them to be world-class eReaders, because then they would have to support the features that market wants. They want to support a smaller market niche.
They're clear about that, too. If anything, I wish more companies would focus on a specific use case and stick to their guns when it comes to scope creep.
I do still contend that a subscription fee on top of the cost for a single purpose device is a bridge too far, though. I’d strongly consider one to see if it’s truly that great as a note taker if it weren’t for that. I’d hate renting features on a premium device.
It's just such basic functionality that... why would you not, if even a small function of the device is indeed to read files?
Honestly from what I'm reading in this thread I'm rather turned off by ReMarkable now, which is sort of disappointing. Still, I'm glad to see more and more e-ink options.