Why I Returned To The iPad mini For Note-Taking

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Rarely have I seen a product review receive quite so many negative comments as my video about the reMarkable 2.

Ouch. Thanks to an unfathomably mean subscription model and a price point that places it squarely within iPad territory, the reMarkable 2 is a huge miss.

I’m genuinely disappointed by this because it’s actually a wonderful piece of kit. I’ve been using the reMarkable 2 for the last few weeks, and the combination of that wonderfully satisfying screen and paper-thin form factor makes it a brilliant note-taking device.

But it is simply too expensive, and the Connect subscription is terribly ill-considered. Shame.

At least I’ve still got my iPad mini! These are the reasons why Apple’s beastly tiny tablet is the best product for note-taking out there.

Oh, that size and form factor!

As much as I’m fond of the A4-sized reMarkable 2, I’d forgotten just how convenient the iPad mini is for virtually every task. It even slips perfectly into my Inateck tech organiser (complete with Apple Pencil attached).

I’ve noted previously that the iPad mini makes such a good note-taking companion because it feels like a digital journal. I love the Leuchtturm1917 paper journal, and the iPad mini almost matches its size, perfectly.

I’ve combined my iPad mini with an official Apple folio case, and even that doesn’t add much weight to it. In fact, I’d argue that it completes the package for anyone who wants to use the iPad mini as a serious note-taking device.

It does it all

When the iPad mini 6 first came out, I bemoaned the lack of advancement from Apple when it comes to actually making use of the M1 chip, and I think the iPad mini 7 still illustrates my point. Apple’s tiniest iPad released in 2024 uses the same A17 Pro chip found in the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and it clearly offers more power than most normal users will ever need.

That means you can do so much more on the iPad mini than you’d ever think of. Editing podcasts, making art or altering photos, the iPad mini is powerful enough for a whole range of tasks.

Although I rarely stray beyond note-taking and content consumption on the iPad mini, I really did miss the do-it-all nature of the iPad mini versus the reMarkable 2.

The joy of the Apple Pencil 2

During my Canada trip, I used the iPad mini every single day for taking notes during meetings. It became absolutely invaluable.

However, it would be next to useless in that regard if it wasn’t for the brilliant Apple Pencil 2. Granted, this raises the purchase cost of the iPad mini, but the increase in productivity and utility you get in return makes it entirely worthwhile.

More importantly, I never lost the Apple Pencil 2 once during my trip; it didn’t detach itself from the iPad mini, nor did I inadvertently flick it off while slipping it in and out of my rucksack countless times each day.

The combination of the iPad mini and this wonderful little accessory makes it the ideal note-taker for me. But there’s one other piece of this jigsaw that deserves special mention.

Paperlike seals the deal

I’ve been using Paperlike on all of my iPads for years now. It simply transforms the user experience of writing on a tablet.

I’ve never been one for screen protectors, but the Paperlike goes beyond that duty. It adds an extremely satisfying layer of resistance to the iPad which – you guessed it – makes it feel far more like writing on real paper.

The reMarkable 2 arguably offers a slightly more paper-ish feel, but that’s to be expected, given the screen technology it uses, and the fact that note-taking is pretty much its only role.

Paperlike is a real gem. I even like how it adds a matte texture and feel to the iPad mini (any fear of diluted colours or screen brightness was unfounded). Without it, I doubt I’d have fallen in love quite so deeply with digital note-taking.

If there’s one thing you should take away from this article, it’s that you should just buy Paperlike.

My note-taking app of choice

I’m a big fan of Apple Notes, but only for text-based stuff. For no discernible reason, I’m just not particularly bothered about its Apple Pencil support – even with the new Quick Notes feature that came with iPadOS 15.

A few years back, I discovered Notability, by Ginger Labs. This blog post isn’t sponsored by them, either – I just absolutely love their approach to note-taking on the iPad.

The interface is clean, the folder organisation as simple as it should be, and the ability to save favourite pen styles and have them available in an immediately accessible picker anywhere on the screen is a genuine joy.

It’s available for free with a limited set of features (although you’ll miss out on iCloud sync across devices, which is super useful), but there is a paid tier, which is around $14.99 per year. That’s an absolute bargain in my book.

There’s a tonne of note-taking apps on the App Store, but Notability is my default choice, and it’ll take something pretty special to prise me away from it.

But it’s still missing something…

The iPad mini needs its own Magic Keyboard. It was one of my biggest disappointments with the iPad mini 7 release. And while adding a physical keyboard to such a small tablet might seem like an odd request, there’s a compelling reason for it, in my opinion.

I’m not looking to write a novel on the iPad mini. In fact, I’d barely use it to write these blog posts. But being able to simply undertake some basic, incidental typing (emails, tweets – that kinda thing) would be wonderful. In fact, it would be the crowning glory for the best iPad Apple makes.

So, nice try, reMarkable. I’m afraid as much as I admire your hardware, I have to agree with my audience; all roads appear to lead back to the iPad mini for me when it comes to digital note-taking.

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