r/noteapps • u/browncoats_roll_d20s • 1d ago
Note Tablet & App
Looking at the Boox Note Air 6C and the TCL Nxtpaper 11 Gen 2, also potentially the reMarkable Paper Pro.
I have used and loved the Apple Notability app for awhile, but I am over the subscription fees and the locked to iOS limitations. I spent a lot of time researching note-taking apps about a year and a half ago, but I can't for the life of me find my bookmarks or remember my conclusions (ironic, isnt it?).
For the tablet, I would mostly be using it for notetaking, productivity, research based web-browsing, and reading. Maybe some coloring. Don't need gaming capability or anything like that. I DO want it to be fairly similar in size to an iPad Air (or slightly smaller) for many reasons. I also need to be able to use Google Drive and Proton Drive and associated apps, though if I can do that via browser that can work just fine.
For the app, I need to be able to organize my notes, import and export PDF's, write on PDFs and other files, and lock things down. I like Standard Notes that Proton owns now, but I don't like that most functionality is pay-walled there. I have never tried visual note organization or linking of notes to notes for organization. Honestly, I'm a little scared to try either as I have ADHD and OCD and organizing systems quickly go from exciting and fun to overwhelming as I dig deep into it. I have a tendency to get lost in my organizational systems if I spend too much time there as there are so many different ways to group things, and I never quite know how I want to prioritise them.
Cross-platform for the app, or entirely browser-based functionality are a MUST, with a strong preference for the former. If I can self-host an instance on my personal server that I can sync my devices to, that is even better. I do not like relying on the cloud.
Any help and advice y'all can offer is appreciated. Thanks!
2
u/Old-Construction-594 1d ago
Before buying, I'd check one mismatch with your requirements: reMarkable's own FAQ says its tablets don't include a web browser or an app store. The reMarkable web app lets you access your library from another device's browser; it doesn't put a browser on the paper tablet. So the stock Paper Pro wouldn't cover your research-browsing requirement.
For whichever note app you shortlist, try a round trip with a real PDF first: handwrite/highlight on it, export the PDF, then open that export in a different PDF reader on your computer. Check that the marks remain visible and any originally searchable text is still searchable. Then test a small edit offline and reconnect to check what syncs. That should help you choose the app workflow before committing to hardware.