1---
2title: 'Catchy title about Supernote being "the new paper"'
3author: ["Amolith"]
4cover: ./cover.png
5lastmod: 2023-01-27T13:00:37-05:00
6tags: ["Supernote", "Writing", "Productivity", "Organisation"]
7categories: ["Technology"]
8draft: true
9toc: true
10---
11
12I like writing things down. I like the feel of the pen (preferably a fountain
13pen) gliding smoothly over the paper, that nice solid feeling of the tip against
14the table, seeing the ink dry as it flows from the nib, accidentally swiping my
15hand through it before it's finished and smearing a bit of ink across the page,
16then cursing under my breath as I dab it up with a handkerchief or a napkin or
17something else nearby. I also love that writing things by hand [has an impact on
18memory and improves
19retention.](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797614524581)
20
21## The problem {#the-problem}
22
23Unfortunately, I don't love keeping up with that paper. Across many different
24classes, even with dedicated folders for each one, something important
25inevitably gets lost. Notebooks are also bulky and can take up a lot of space. I
26tried [bullet journalling](https://bulletjournal.com/) for about a month earlier
27this year and, while the process was enjoyable, the maintenance was not. My
28brain moves faster than my pen (even though I have terrible handwriting) and I
29inevitably forget letters or even whole words. This is a problem while writing
30in pen because white-out looks ugly and I dislike wasting whole pages because of
31a couple mistakes.
32
33The obvious solution here is to get an iPad with an Apple Pen, right? Right??
34
35Wrong because Apple bad.[^fn:1]
36
37## The solution {#the-solution}
38
39Enter the world of ... what are they even called? E-ink notebooks? Paper
40tablets? E-R/W?[^fn:2] Do they even have a "device category" yet? I don't know,
41but they solve my problem in a wonderful way.
42
43As the names suggest, these are devices that can _usually_ open and read e-books
44(EPUBs, PDFs, etc.), annotate them, and create standalone pages of notes as if
45they were full notebooks. The most well-known of these devices is likely the
46[reMarkable.](https://remarkable.com/) They had a [hugely successful
47crowdfunding
48campaign](https://venturebeat.com/2019/10/08/remarkable-raises-15-million-to-bring-its-e-paper-tablets-to-more-scribblers/)
49and produced the reMarkable 1, followed by [the reMarkable 2 in 2020.](https://blog.remarkable.com/remarkable-2-the-next-generation-paper-tablet-91b47d0080cb)
50There are a few devices like these by now but we'll look at the reMarkable
51first.
52
53## The reMarkable {#the-remarkable}
54
55This device boasts all of the features I was looking for. It renders digital
56content, from books and manuals to comics and manga, allows you to mark those
57documents up as you would if they were physical media, create full notebooks of
58hand written text, organise them, search, and, if your handwriting is legible
59enough (mine certainly is not), perform OCR on your notes and email a
60transcription to yourself. It even runs Linux and the developers have opened SSH
61up so you can remote in and tinker with it as much as you like. Because of this,
62there's a pretty awesome [community of people creating third-party tools and
63integrations](https://github.com/reHackable/awesome-reMarkable) that add even
64further functionality. My favourite is probably
65[rMview,](https://github.com/bordaigorl/rmview) a really fast VNC client for the
66reMarkable that allows you to view your device's screen on any computer.
67
68After watching all of [MyDeepGuide's](https://www.youtube.com/c/MyDeepGuide)
69[extensive playlist on the
70reMarkable,](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsSI9-gaSSmiXwb7Vjk5Vb-nB41UTnrXd)
71however, I decided to go with a different product.
72
73## Enter the Supernote A5X {#enter-the-supernote-a5x}
74
75The [Supernote A5X](https://www.supernote.com/#/product?type=SN-A5-X) has all of
76the basic features the reMarkable has: reading documents, writing notes, and
77organising your content. Its implementation, on the other hand, seems to be much
78more polished. It also lacks some features from the reMarkable while adding
79others.
80
81## Operating System {#operating-system}
82
83While the reMarkable runs Codex,[^fn:3] a _"custom Linux-based OS optimised for
84low-latency e-paper"_, the Supernote just runs Android. There are both benefits
85and detriments to this; on one hand, they're running all of Android, bloated
86that it is, on a very lightweight tablet. On the other, they don't have to
87develop and maintain a custom operating system. This allows them to focus on
88other aspects that are arguably more important so I don't actually mind that it
89runs Android.
90
91The only place that Android stands out is in system operations; file transfer
92uses MTP and, when you swipe down from the top of the device, a small bar
93appears similar to what was in early Android. This lets you change WiFi
94networks, sync with the Supernote Cloud, take a screenshot, search, and access
95the system settings. Nothing else about the device really screams Android to me.
96
97## Community {#community}
98
99I don't usually browse Reddit but [the Supernote
100community](https://old.reddit.com/r/Supernote/) there is fascinating. I haven't
101looked around enough to know exactly what his relationship is with the company,
102but one of the members, [u/hex2asc,](https://old.reddit.com/user/hex2asc) seems
103to represent Supernote in something of an official capacity. He's incredibly
104active and usually responds to posts and questions within a day or two.
105
106Before I purchased a Supernote, [I wrote a
107post](https://old.reddit.com/r/Supernote/comments/lhffyd/sync_targets_open_document_formats_and_crossnote/)
108asking about a couple of things that concerned me: sync targets, open document
109formats, and cross-note links. I don't really plan to write full documents on
110the device but having the option to do so would still be nice. The other
111features are absolutely killer for me as I would like to maintain a Zettelkasten
112(I wrote about [using Vim to do so](/vim-as-a-markdown-editor/) last year but
113didn't end up sticking with it) and manage document synchronisation with my own
114Nextcloud server. The community was quick to respond and confirm that
115Zettelkasten functionality would be implemented soon™. u/hex2asc responded _the
116day after_ and said that WebDAV would be supported but not earlier than May
117(September update: it's still not supported), ODF would likely not be supported,
118and cross-note links were definitely a possibility. Another community member has
119been avidly following the subreddit and even put together an [unofficial
120roadmap.](https://app-rm.roadmunk.com/publish/03e6dca3d769e2b7015f7f48a649cb3f75f44d9e)
121
122## Interfaces {#interfaces}
123
124### Home & Organisation {#home-and-organisation}
125
126#### <span class="org-todo todo TODO">TODO</span> Record very short video about home/organisation {#record-very-short-video-about-home-organisation}
127
128### Settings {#settings}
129
130#### <span class="org-todo todo TODO">TODO</span> Record very short video about settings {#record-very-short-video-about-settings}
131
132### Writing & Annotating {#writing-and-annotating}
133
134The following images are screenshots of the full page above with the possible UI
135variations while reading a book. This first one is default, with the editing bar
136at the top. It is exactly the same as what's displayed on the blank pages for
137hand writing full notes. From left to right is the Table of Contents toggle, the
138pen tools (fineliner, "fountain" pen,[^fn:4] and highlighter), the erasers,
139lasso select tool, undo/redo, context menu, palm rejection toggle, previous
140page, goto page, next page, and exit.
141
142{{< figure
143src="~/repos/sites/secluded/static/assets/pngs/supernote-reader-default.png" >}}
144
145You can hold your finger on that bar and drag it down to detach it from the top.
146The default width exposes all the tools without whitespace. You can move it
147around the screen by dragging the circle with a straight line through the middle
148on the far left.
149
150{{< figure
151src="~/repos/sites/secluded/static/assets/pngs/supernote-reader-medium.png" >}}
152
153If you tap that circle, the width shrinks and everything except the pens,
154erasers, and undo/redo buttons are hidden. It can be dragged the same was as in
155the previous image and tapping that circle will expand the bar again.
156
157{{< figure
158src="~/repos/sites/secluded/static/assets/pngs/supernote-reader-small.png" >}}
159
160The last mode is with the bar completely hidden. You achieve this just by
161dragging it to the right edge of the screen. Once hidden, you can swipe right to
162left from the edge and it will be revealed flush with the right edge.
163
164{{< figure
165src="~/repos/sites/secluded/static/assets/pngs/supernote-reader-minimal.png" >}}
166
167## Experience {#experience}
168
169### Reading content {#reading-content}
170
171I love e-ink. I think it looks beautiful and would love to have an e-ink
172monitor.[^fn:5] That said, the Supernote has an especially nice display with 226
173PPI (pixels per inch). The image below was taken with my phone's camera so it's
174not very good. However, if you zoom in a bit, you can see that the curved edges
175of some letters are _slightly_ pixellated. Viewing with my naked eye at a
176comfortable distance, it does look better _to me_ than some of my print books,
177however.
178
179{{< figure
180src="~/repos/sites/secluded/static/assets/pngs/supernote-resolution.png" >}}
181
182_At the moment,_ I am pretty disappointed with Table of Contents detection for
183ePUBs. A great many of my books seem to use a legacy ToC format that the
184Supernote sees and tries/fails to read before attempting to read the more
185up-to-date one. This is easily remedied by editing the ePUB in
186[Calibre,](https://calibre-ebook.com/) going to Tools → Upgrade Book Internals →
187Remove the legacy Table of Contents in NCX format. You might need to make a
188small change to one of the HTML files and revert it before the save button is
189enabled. After that, just copy it back over to the Supernote and everything
190should work properly.
191
192### Writing notes {#writing-notes}
193
194I write notes as often if not _more_ often than I read and annotate books. It's
195the main reason I purchased the device and I love the experience. The Supernote
196doesn't _really_ feel like paper despite what their marketing materials claim,
197though it doesn't feel _bad_ either. It's hard to describe but I would say it's
198something like writing with a rollerball pen on high-quality paper with a marble
199counter underneath: incredibly smooth with but a little bit of texture so it
200doesn't feel like writing on a glass display.
201
202While writing latency[^fn:6] is noticeable, I really don't have a huge issue
203with it. I write very quickly but find that the slight latency actually makes
204writing _more_ enjoyable. It sounds weird and I'm not sure why, but I _really_
205like writing on the Supernote; it's wonderfully smooth, pressure-sensitive, the
206latency makes things interesting, and [the Heart of Metal
207pen](https://supernote.com/#/part?id=SP-04) feels good in my hand.
208
209### Surfacing Content {#surfacing-content}
210
211While organisation is done using a regular filesystem hierarchy, the Supernote
212does have other ways to search for and surface your notes. As you're writing,
213you can use the lasso select tool and encircle a word. A little dialogue pops up
214and gives you a few buttons for things you can do with that selection: copy,
215move to another page, cut, add it to the Table of Contents, or mark it as a key
216word. If you select the key word icon, the Supernote does some incredible
217OCR[^fn:7] on it and displays a dialogue where you can add it to the note file
218as a tag. This dialogue allows you to edit the word before adding it just in
219case the OCR was wonky. Even with my terrible handwriting, I've found that it
220works very well and I rarely have to make edits.
221
222## <span class="org-todo todo TODO">TODO</span> Ping Isi and Volpeon when finished {#ping-isi-and-volpeon-when-finished}
223
224[^fn:1]:
225 I dislike Apple's operating system, their hardware, business model, privacy
226 practises, and much of what they stand for as a company. Don't @ me.
227
228[^fn:2]:
229 E-R/W is a play on media commonly being labelled as R/W when you can read
230 from it and write to it.
231
232[^fn:3]:
233 Taken from their [support page about the reMarkable
234 2;](https://support.remarkable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006699537-About-reMarkable-2-)
235 search the page for _operating system_ and it should show up.
236
237[^fn:4]:
238 It's not really a fountain pen even though that's what they call it; it's
239 just pressure-sensitive.
240
241[^fn:5]:
242 There does seem to be a group of people interested in just such a thing:
243 _[Challenges Building an Open-Source E Ink
244 Laptop](https://alexsoto.dev/challenges-building-an-open-source-eink-laptop.html)_
245
246[^fn:6]:
247 In this situation, latency refers to how long it takes for "ink" to show up
248 on the "page" after writing something.
249
250[^fn:7]:
251 _Optical Character Recognition_: the program looks at your handwriting and
252 tries to turn it into text.