Infinix launched the Xpad 20 in late May, and today it's joined by the Xpad 20 Pro in the brand's roster. The Pro model was spotted in some certifications around a month ago, and now it's been listed by Shopee in Thailand, marking its official debut.
Infinix Xpad 20 Pro official marketing materials
The Xpad 20 Pro has a 12-inch 2000x1200 IPS LCD touchscreen with 90Hz refresh rate and 450-nit peak brightness, the MediaTek Helio G100 Ultimate SoC at the helm, 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage, a microSD card slot for expansion up to 1TB, an 8 MP rear camera with...
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots is the latest entry in the beloved casual sports franchise. Developer Hyde (Digimon Survive) is taking over from stalwart Clap Hanz here, but it nonetheless retains the series' captivating charm.
Review information
Platform reviewed: PS5 Available on: PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC Release date: September 5, 2025
If you've felt let down by the recent run of Mario Golf entries and aren't keen on more sim-like titles such as PGA Tour 2K25, then Everybody's Golf Hot Shots occupies a satisfying middle ground. It's a more fulfilling and content-rich outing than, say, Mario Golf: Super Rush, but also has plenty of shotcraft depth. Wrapped in a pleasingly colorful art style, it's almost a best of both worlds situation.
Right out of the box, Everybody's Golf Hot Shots packs tens - if not hundreds - of hours of content. There's a boatload of characters to unlock, courses to play on, and a variety of balls, clubs, costumes, and caddies to gradually add to your roster. Throw in some party-esque modes like Wacky Golf, and you have a game that's suitable for both solo and social play. And yes, both offline and online multiplayer are supported here.
That's not to say there aren't a few bogeys to contend with, however, particularly when it comes to progression. There are around 30 characters to play as in Hot Shots, with just two playable at the start. You'll have to unlock the rest, and while that's no bad thing in isolation, you'll also need to level up each character individually to gain access to their skills, costumes, and ancillary items. When you're only getting one or two levels per 9 or 18-hole run, you'll realize that progression feels like it's stuck in the rough.
Characters, despite having plenty of charming and high-quality animations associated with them, can also be very annoying. Voice lines are at a premium here, so you'll be hearing the same four to five quips on every single hole. At least you can turn voices off in the options menu.
Tee time
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)
There are two big single-player modes in Everybody's Golf Hot Shots. Challenge Mode is broken down into ascending ranks, with each offering 9-18 hole events under a variety of conditions. These can include differing times of day and specific rule sets.
These special rules can be quite fun, and range from casual-friendly modifiers like 'tornado' cups, which magnetize the ball towards it, to rather devilish ones like increasing stroke penalties for hitting hazards like the rough or bunkers. But my favorite has to be the 'impossible pin' rule, which ups the challenge by placing the pin in deliberately awkward spots on the green.
Completing these events increases your rank gauge, and when it's full, you can progress to the next tier and face off against an unlockable golfer.
Challenge Mode should be your first port of call, as it will aid in unlocking scenarios for the other main single-player mode: World Tour. This is a more story-focused mode, presenting simple cutscenes and challenges for the game's cast of golfers. This is also where you'll be able to unlock them as permanent additions to the roster - and thankfully, you typically only have to clear a golfer's first challenge to get them.
You've also got traditional and highly customizable match and stroke play modes, where you get full freedom in choosing course, time of day, weather conditions, and those aforementioned special rules. Then, there's solo play if you just fancy practicing your drive alone.
Wacky Golf is another great, party-centric addition that throws traditional golf rules out of the window. During Wacky Golf, you'll witness things like clubs swapping between opponents, randomized rule sets, and full-on explosives that'll send your ball unpredictably flying. It's great fun, and a suitably Mario Party-esque take on the standard golf formula.
Call me Albert Ross
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)
Of course, heaps of content would mean nothing if the act of golfing wasn't fun to engage with. And thankfully, Everybody's Golf Hot Shots offers some of the series' most satisfying play. The three-button-press system returns here, and is very casual-friendly. Simply hit the button once to begin charging shot power, again to lock that power in, and then one more time to hit the ball.
Best bit
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots really nails the feeling of a perfect drive. Animation and sound design come together to create the perfect feedback here, meaning your best shots always feel incredibly satisfying. The same goes for chip-ins and hole-in-ones, which the game celebrates appropriately with awesome replays.
There are nuances within, though. You'll need to time the hit carefully in order to ensure the ball doesn't veer off course in the air. On top of that, you'll have wind to contend with, and you can add top, back, and side spin to further influence the ball's travel and carry. The ball's lie (or how sloped the surface it's resting on is) will also impact its trajectory, so accounting for this is crucial, especially on the trickier courses.
Putting can also be tricky, albeit in a satisfyingly challenging way. You do get some friendly assistance here via a grid on the green that highlights whether your shot will be uphill, downhill, or flat, as well as if it'll veer off to the left or right. Once again, accounting for this can be all the difference between birdie, par, or the dreaded bogey.
You will find that most of the game's initial characters feel quite weak in terms of their drive distance and stats like impact and spin effectiveness. This is by design, and you may even struggle to get birdies on a par 4 hole. But in theory, I like the style of progression here. These 'weaker' characters are a bit easier to handle, more predictable, thus allowing the player to get a better grasp on golfing as a whole.
You can also permanently improve a golfer's stats by purchasing food items from the main menu's shop. Food, as well as club and ball selection, will influence your stats and means that you can eventually make a beast out of your favorite golfer and caddy pairing.
Stuck in the sand
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)
I say 'in theory' earlier in regards to progression because while I like the general structure, improving any given character's capabilities is a frustratingly glacial process. Characters and caddies will have their loyalty levels improve as you complete courses and challenges with them. However, you'll mostly be getting just one or two levels at a time. And with full courses taking anywhere from 15-30 minutes to complete, the pace of improvement slows to a crawl.
It sucks because said progression is the most efficient way of unlocking new items in the shop, including costumes, clubs, balls, perk-like stickers for your caddy, and so on. You'll need to be in it for the long haul and have some patience with Everybody's Golf Hot Shots, then. Thankfully, the core game always feels excellent to play, but it's an experience best played in short bursts, in my experience.
Although the experience is somewhat tarnished by grating voice lines, and game performance isn't always up to par. For example, hitting a perfect shot can awkwardly freeze the game for a moment before connecting with the ball. Furthermore, the frame rate can dip to as low as 30fps while you watch the ball travel to its destination.
These small blemishes aside, as well as a rather big bugbear in the slow progression, Everybody's Golf Hot Shots is an easy game to love. While the usual series developer isn't behind this one, Hyde seems to fully understand its loveable fundamentals and has created a fulfilling and long-lasting golfing experience, so long as you're the patient type.
Should you play Everybody's Golf Hot Shots?
Play it if...
You want the best casual golf game in years Handily putting Mario Golf in its place and giving sim-heavy titles something to think about, Everybody's Golf Hot Shots marries a charming visual style with in-depth golfing gameplay.
You want a metric ton of content There are plenty of courses, characters, costumes, and more to unlock in Everybody's Golf Hot Shots. It's a game that could potentially last you years if you're after an all-in-one golf game.
Don't buy it if...
You prefer much faster progression If you can't get used to the slow rate at which you unlock things in Hot Shots, then this may be one to miss. Especially as you'll spend your first 10-20 hours with incredibly basic characters and gear.
Accessibility
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots is light in the accessibility department, but there are some handy options to make note of. The 'gimme putt' setting will automatically putt the ball past bogey if it's close enough to the hole. Plus, there are various styles of shot gauge if you're having trouble with the default three-point button system.
How I reviewed Everybody's Golf Hot Shots
I played Everybody's Golf Hot Shots for 12 hours for this review. I played on PlayStation 5, primarily using the DualSense Wireless Controller. During play, I mainly tackled Challenge Mode and World Tour to rank up and unlock various things such as characters, courses, and costumes.
I also spent some time in standard stroke and match play, as well as Wacky Golf, to get a general feel of all modes and the game's performance across its many courses.
A few hours into Cronos: The New Dawn, I saw it. A corpse slumped against the wall, a message scrawled in blood above him: “Don’t let them merge”. If it wasn’t already clear that the latest survival horror game from Bloober Team was drawing from some of the genre's greats, that warning, a nod to “cut off their limbs” seen in equally foreboding lines of jagged crimson in Dead Space, hammered the point home as subtly as a boot stomp to the skull.
Review info
Platform reviewed: PS5 Available on: PS5,Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, Nintendo Switch 2, Mac Release date: September 5, 2025
A feeling of déjà vu was a running theme in my time playing through Cronos. Here’s the main character, gun hoisted high in Leon S. Kennedy’s iconic pose from Resident Evil 4. Here are my limited crafting resources straight out of The Last of Us, ones I must choose to make either ammo or health items. Here are my gravity boots, pinched from Isaac Clarke’s locker on the USG Ishimura.
It’s perfectly fine to be influenced by other works, especially when they are as iconic and genre-defining as the ones I’ve listed above. But when it just feels like you’re retreading the same path with less confidence and not bringing enough new ideas, what’s really the point of it all?
Following in their footsteps
(Image credit: Bloober Team)
Now, that opening may read like I came away massively disappointed by Cronos: The New Dawn. In some aspects, I certainly did. It is painfully derivative in many areas, to the point where it made me question if anything has changed in sci-fi survival horror games in the last 20 years.
But, unsurprisingly, given its influences, it’s also a game that plays well. Combat is tense, shooting is solid, resource management is challenging, exploration is unsettling, and the environments drip with atmosphere. And there are kernels of ideas that, if only they were more fully realised or executed better, could have elevated the game beyond a decent – if standard – survival horror.
Let’s start with the premise: you play as the Traveler, an undefined being encased in a cross between a spacesuit and a diving suit. The game starts as you're activated by a mysterious organisation known as The Collective and told to travel through time to extract important survivors after an apocalyptic infection dubbed the ‘Change’ turns most people on Earth into grotesque and amalgamated monstrosities.
The nexus point of the disaster is Poland in the 1980s, which at least makes for a unique setting that’s far from the spaceships and abandoned mining planets we usually find ourselves stomping around. There’s an inventiveness to the world design, too, which not only sees the infestation overrun dilapidated buildings, roads, and subways with a gloopy and pulsating biomass, but also fractures entire structures to create floating, twisted, and mind-bending new forms.
Add to that violent sandstorms and heavy snowfall, and safe to say, it’s not a pleasant stroll. I had to seriously pluck up some courage to carefully inch forward in many locations, especially towards the latter half of the game, when everything is so consumed by the effects of the infection and dotted with poisonous pustules that you feel suffocated by it – even if this trap is overplayed a dozen too many times.
Skin-crawling
(Image credit: Bloober Team)
Visually, it is disgusting (in all the right ways), but huge credit has to go to the audio. It masterfully ramps up that oppressive and stomach-churning atmosphere with all sorts of sloshing and wheezing and bubbling that gives a terrifying sense of life to the coagulated mass that surrounds you. One of the best gaming headsets is recommended.
If Cronos was all just trudging through fleshy corridors, then Bloober Team would have smashed it. Unfortunately, other parts of the game don’t excel in the same way and are merely fine or disappointing in comparison.
Combat is one. The gimmick here is that dead enemies remain on the ground and can be assimilated by other creatures to become larger and stronger foes – hence the bloody message of “don’t let them merge”. Fortunately, you come equipped with a torch. Nope, it’s not a bright light, but a burst of flames that can incinerate corpses and stop this merging from taking place.
Best bit
(Image credit: Future)
Cronos: The New Dawn finds its identity more as the game progresses and the section in the Unity Hospital is when the game hits its stride. It’s one of the scariest and creepiest places to explore, as you descend further into the bowels of the building, where the infection has taken even greater hold and you uncover some horrifying secrets about the impact of the Change.
That leads to the main flow of combat. Take down targets with your weapons, then prevent any survivors from merging by setting the bodies ablaze. It’s a setup that can create some tense encounters – ones where you’re busy dealing with one target, only to hear the awful sounds of two bodies smushing together in the distance (shoutout to the audio design again), and knowing there’ll be an even greater threat if you don’t introduce them to the cleansing flames immediately.
The problem is that I could count on one hand the number of times I felt seriously threatened by the risk of enemies merging. Too many encounters had too few enemies, were in too small spaces, or were littered with too many (respawning) explosive barrels, that I could comfortably handle the situation. It was only towards the end of the game when I felt overwhelmed in some encounters, needing to more strategically pick my targets, hurriedly craft ammo on the fly, and regularly reposition to burn dead enemies so they couldn’t merge.
Burn, baby, burn
(Image credit: Bloober Team)
It isn’t a disaster, just a shame that Cronos doesn’t really make the most of its main idea. Instead, the overwhelming feeling I had was that I was just playing Dead Space again, swapping between the limited ammo in my pistol, shotgun, and rifle to blast away everything. Outside of rare encounters, the mechanics of merging and burning feel like massively underused and unimpactful parts of the game.
It’s a common feeling. Take your main objective of ‘rescuing’ the specific survivors. I use quotation marks there because the actual process of saving them is kept ominously vague, and is instead best described as extracting and absorbing their soul to gain the knowledge needed to save humanity.
It’s here when I thought Cronos might step up from its clear inspirations with some fresh ideas. Not only is there a morbid mirroring at play (wait, are we the baddies?), but those other lives bouncing around inside your head lead to all sorts of different visions and hallucinations, depending on the characters you choose to save.
In its cleverest moments, who’s knocking about in your noggin can influence the environment or completely change how you perceive things in the world to create some genuinely spooky moments. Once again, though, outside of less than a handful of instances, this idea isn’t explored any further when it’s rife for some really interesting, exciting, and unique possibilities.
It frustrates and disappoints me more than anything. I really want to be clear that Cronos: The New Dawn isn’t a bad game: it plays fine, looks good enough, and runs well. Although I’d stick to performance mode on consoles if you can to get a smooth 60fps, as the quality mode feels far too jittery.
I just can’t help but feel that with the way it relies so heavily on what worked in classic survival horror games from yesteryear, I may have travelled back two decades myself to play it.
Should I play Cronos: The New Dawn?
(Image credit: Bloober Team)
Play it if…
You’re looking for your next survival horror fix Survival horror fans who are craving a new game will find enough to enjoy here, even if it’s mostly just playing the hits.
You want a different setting and an intriguing story Signalis this ain’t, but the setting, story, and commentary in Cronos does tickle the brain in new ways, even if some aspects are too enigmatic
Don’t play it if…
You want an action game This isn’t the bombastic and set-piece rollercoaster of a modern Resident Evil. Cronos is tense, slow, full of dread, and light on ammunition.
You have any aversion to body horror Cronos relies heavily on body horror for its story, enemy design, and environments, so if you find this overly unsettling, then it’s best to avoid.
Accessibility
Cronos offers a range of standard accessibility options, including three color blind modes for green, red, and blue color blindness, as well as the option to add clear interaction indicators and subtitles in multiple languages that can be fully customised in terms of size and color.
The game has one Normal difficulty setting, with a Hard mode unlocked after you finish the game once. To customise the difficulty, though, you can adjust settings to get a more generous aim assist and alter whether you hold or tap for quick time events.
A center dot can be added to help alleviate motion sickness, while the game also provides options to reduce or turn off camera shake and sway.
How I reviewed Cronos: The New Dawn
I played Cronos: The New Dawn for around 16 hours on a PlayStation 5 Pro on a Samsung S90C OLED TV using a DualSense Wireless Controller. I mainly played in Performance mode, but I also tried Quality mode for a brief time and found the graphical improvements minimal compared to the benefits of a smoother frame rate.
I swapped between playing audio through a Samsung HW-Q930C soundbar and a SteelSeries Arctic Nova 7, and I definitely suggest headphones for the best experience.
I completed the main game and spent a lot of time exploring the environment to uncover as much of the story and as many hidden extras as I could find.
A Sony Xperia phone connected to a Sony Alpha camera used to be a staple of Sony’s marketing – this highlighted a cool feature that allowed the phones to work as an external monitor by using the Monitor & Control app (or the External Monitor app on older devices). This used to be free, but someone over at Sony decided that the company can make a few bucks off this and now charges a subscription.
Sony’s Monitor & Control app
Here’s what happened – the wired external monitor functionality is now behind a paywall. You need to pay $5 a month or $50 a year to use it. You can...
Hohem’s new smartphone stabilizer, the iSteady V3 Ultra, is the latest in the manufacturer’s long-running range of mobile gimbals. Like most products of this type, clamping your phone onto the arm will keep its movements smooth and level while you’re filming content – but here, the main selling point is the built-in AI-assisted tracking functionality.
The iSteady V3 Ultra comes with a tracking module that, through the use of a built-in 2MP camera, is able to keep the attached phone constantly pointing at a tracked subject, no matter how much they move. The V3 Ultra’s handle has 360 degrees of motion so, when set up on its built-in mini tripod, it can track a moving subject even if they circle right around it multiple times. And, unlike some of the other tracking modules, this one is able to follow not only human faces and bodies, but other objects too.
I should also note that all of the above applies not only when capturing content using Hohem’s own camera app, but also first-party and third-party camera apps like Zoom, TikTok, and Instagram. And, because the tracking module can be pointed forwards or backwards, it’ll work with both the main rear camera(s) and front-facing camera of any smartphone.
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(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
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(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
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(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
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(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
While testing the iSteady V3 Ultra, I found this tracking to be the clear standout feature. It’s accurate and reliable, and surprisingly adaptable too.
I was able to use the gimbal’s joystick to manually adjust my position in the frame, and the module would continue tracking me while keeping me in the new position rather than just in the dead center of the frame, which is brilliant for those times you want to use the rule of thirds and keep yourself off-center.
I should point out that you can also track using software, via the Hohem Joy app – but it will keep subjects centered at all times. I much preferred the versatility and adaptability of the module-based tracking. And as a nice bonus feature, the AI tracker module doubles as a fill light with a choice of cool, warm, and neutral tones, plus fully adjustable brightness.
There’s a lot to like about this stabilizer besides its tracking capabilities, too. The compact, folding design of the device isn’t anything I haven’t seen before on competitors or Hohem’s own range, but it’s easy to unfold and set up. The built-in mini tripod, which consists of three metal rods that are pulled out of the handle, is sturdy, and a standard tripod thread mount on the base means you can attach the entire thing to an even sturdier full-size tripod or similar should you wish.
An extension rod, concealed in the handle, provides up to about 20cm of extra reach on the gimbal arm. It’s useful if you want to fit more in the frame while using the iSteady V3 Ultra handheld.
I’m also a big fan of the removable remote control module, which comes with a 1.22-inch touchscreen. I first encountered one of these on the Hohem iSteady M7, a larger and pricier smartphone stabilizer, and was pleased to see the concept transferred down the range to a more portable and affordable model.
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(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
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(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
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(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
The controller has a wireless range of up to 10m / 33ft, and its joystick, button, and touchscreen let you adjust the gimbal arm angle, change settings, and stop/start recording from a distance. The screen also provides a live view from the AI tracker module’s camera, so you can set tracking subjects remotely too.
In my time with the Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra, I’ve only encountered one major issue: sound from the gimbal’s motor gets picked up by my iPhone 13’s mic. This results in a quiet, but noticeable, background noise in all the videos I’ve recorded using the built-in mic; when I recorded using the DJI Mic 3 instead, the noise wasn’t audible.
It’s an irritating issue, but it’s not exclusive to this model. I went back and re-tested the Hohem iSteady M7 and Insta360 Flow Pro 2 with the same phone, and found the noise got picked up on these gimbals too. Still, if you’re going to rely on your smartphone’s built-in mic to record videos while using the iSteady V3 Ultra, do be aware that you’ll likely hear this sound in the background. I’ve included a short video clip below so that you can hear it for yourself.
While it’s really the only major problem I have with the iSteady V3 Ultra, it’s a fairly notable one. If you’re using an external microphone for vlogging, it’s not going to be an issue for you; if you’re relying solely on your phone’s mic, you may want to look elsewhere.
The only other potential flaw with the V3 Ultra is that it uses a standard grip on the arm rather than a quick-release magnetic grip of the type seen on the recent DJI and Insta360 smartphone gimbals. This is more of a preference thing, however – some may prefer having the grip built into the gimbal arm, as it reduces the number of components required.
All in all, I’m generally impressed with the Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra. Its standout tracking skills and remote control make it the best small stabilizer around at the moment – although I expect the likes of DJI and Insta360 to offer strong competition in the near future.
Hohem iSteady V3: price and availability
Priced from $169 / £169
Black and white color finishes available
Available to order now
The iSteady V3 Ultra has an MSRP of $169 / £169 / AU$299 and is available to order now at Amazon or the Hohem online store. I’m also told by Hohem’s PR representative that it will be sold at Best Buy from September 14, 2025. An Australian launch will follow – expect an update to this review once it's confirmed.
Given the gimbal's specs and features, that feels like a competitive price to me. In comparison, the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro currently retails for $159.99 / £144.99 / AU$199.99, and the DJI Osmo Mobile 7P is $149 / £135 / AU$219, so you’ll pay a slight premium for the iSteady V3 Ultra, but in my opinion, its tracking capabilities and remote control module make it worth the extra outlay.
Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra: specs
Dimensions:
98 x 44 x 160.5mm (folded)
Weight:
428g / 15.1oz
Compatible phone weight:
Up to 400g / 14.1oz
Compatible phone thickness:
Up to 12.5mm
Compatible phone width:
58 to 98mm
Connectivity:
Bluetooth, USB-C
Battery life:
4 hours (with AI tracking and fill light) / 9 hours (balanced and stationary)
Should I buy the Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra?
(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Buy it if...
You want the best small stabilizer for tracking Not only does the AI module offer the best tracking we've seen on a compact gimbal, it lets you track more than just people and pets.
You like to shoot from a distance The tracking talent, combined with the remote control unit, makes this a great gimbal for remote shooting. It's basically a camera operator that fits in your pocket.
Don't buy it if...
You’re on a tight budget The V3 Ultra is a little pricier than its DJI and Insta360 flagship rivals, and a lot pricier than entry-level alternatives.
You don't want to use an external mic If you don't want unwanted gimbal motor noise in your videos, you'll need some kind of external microphone.
Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra review: Also consider
Insta360 Flow 2 Pro The Flow 2 Pro’s big party trick is native support for subject tracking in hundreds of third-party iPhone camera apps, plus an included LED fill light. With no tracking module, Android users are left out in the cold, however, and trackable subjects are limited to people and pets. The iSteady V3 Ultra is a little more advanced in this regard.
DJI Osmo Pocket 3 The Osmo Pocket 3 is a self-contained camera rather than a smartphone gimbal, but offers much of the same functionality – superbly stabilized 4K capture and subject tracking – in a much more compact and easier to deploy package. You’ll pay a little more for it, but it’s a great all-in-one alternative for vlogging.
I used the Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra for around a week in total, testing it out both handheld and set up on its built-in mini tripod. It was used with my Apple iPhone 13's front-facing and rear cameras, both indoors and outdoors, and I recorded video using a range of apps (the iPhone camera, Hohem Joy, Instagram) and both the iPhone's own microphone and a DJI Mic 3.
Apple has released the ninth developer beta of iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and others ahead of the September 9 iPhone 17 launch event. The latest beta is also available for macOS 26 Tahoe, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26.
The eighth developer beta for Apple products was seeded on August 25. Developers or users who’ve registered for the beta program can head to the Software Update page on their Apple devices to download and install the latest developer beta 9.
It is likely that Apple is adding the finishing touches to iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and others before releasing them to the public in...
The reMarkable Paper Pro Move embodies everything I want in a writing tablet. The size is perfect. The features are focused. The writing experience is divine. This is the tablet I’ve been hoping somebody would create, and it’s both surprising and not surprising that reMarkable has created it.
It's surprising because reMarkable doesn’t make many products. Its first mainstream (read: not a Kickstarter) tablet was the reMarkable 2, which launched in 2020, and the colorful follow-up, the reMarkable Paper Pro, arrived only last year. For reMarkable to launch another tablet so soon after its last one is uncharacteristic, and the Paper Pro Move must have been in the works since before the Paper Pro was announced.
I spent a few weeks using the reMarkable Paper Pro Move, and it mostly replaced the reMarkable Paper Pro that I use daily. The Paper Pro Move is much easier to carry – it even fits in the pockets of some of my pants. It’s taller than a Moleskine notebook, but also more narrow across and thinner front to back. I kept the Paper Pro Move enclosed in a Folio, and it was the perfect size and weight.
Having a reMarkable tablet that's pocket-sized is a dream come true, because it means I can truly take my writing tablet everywhere. The Paper Pro and the Paper 2 tablets are too large to carry to the grocery store, for instance, or keep on a nightstand if you want an uncluttered look.
Journaling is easy enough with the bigger reMarkable tablets, but if you want to keep a food journal during the day, or track your workout progress at the gym, a smaller tablet like the Paper Pro Move is ideal.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The Paper Pro Move came with me everywhere, and I used it to do everything I do with my Paper Pro tablet, and so much more. Like most reMarkable owners, there are one or two other things I wish it could also do, but I love the simplicity the Paper Pro Move offers.
It’s unsurprising that the Paper Pro Move is such a fantastic experience, because the Paper Pro was nearly perfect. It delivered on reMarkable’s singular focus – a distraction-free sheet of digital paper that will help you gather your ideas and access them from nearly anywhere. No more and no less than that lofty ambition… now in color.
If you’re looking for an electronic reader like a Kindle, look elsewhere. If you want to run your favorite apps, or chat with an AI, or browse the web… this is the wrong tablet. The reMarkable Paper Pro Move is focused, refined, and it doesn’t do much, by design.
At least, if you’re new to reMarkable, it won’t appear to do much, but fans of previous reMarkable Paper tablets will find the most advanced reMarkable yet in the Paper Pro Move.
What doesn’t it do? There's no clock, for instance. You won’t be hassled by the time. There are no alerts or notifications. It won’t ever buzz or vibrate for your attention. It also won’t serve you ads in any way, or spam you with messages you don’t care about.
A reMarkable Paper Pro Move in front of a reMarkable Paper Pro (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
What can it do that's new to reMarkable? There are features coming to all reMarkable tablets, leading with the Paper Pro Move. Now reMarkable tablets will convert your text to type, and finally the search feature will look through the handwriting in your documents, not just typed text and the tags that you append.
Both of those features are powered by machine learning – aka AI – but you don’t have to care about AI on the reMarkable Paper Pro Move. It won’t offer to draw doodles for you with AI, and it won’t prompt you with insipid AI journal queries.
Nope, the reMarkable Paper Pro Move experience is restrained, and though most reMarkable fans have one or two features they wish were included (I’d kind of like to read my books on the tablet), reMarkable software remains distraction-free by design, and slow to evolve.
I hope it stays that way, because the reMarkable Paper Pro Move does just enough to be the perfect writing tablet. If you want more, keep looking. If you need less, the Paper Pro Move gets less just right.
reMarkable Paper Pro Move review: price and availability
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Very expensive – this is a luxury device, not a bargain
The required subscription stings a bit at this price range
The reMarkable Paper Pro Move is an expensive writing tablet, there's no doubt, and it justifies the price by giving you less, not more. It’s much less expensive than the reMarkable Paper Pro, which has a display that's more than twice as large, and even more expensive than the reMarkable 2 monochrome writing tablet. Color is pricey, apparently.
The Paper Pro Move costs $449 / £399 / AU$779 for the bundle with a Marker and $499 / £439 / AU$849 for a bundle with a Marker Plus, which adds an eraser function to the opposing end. Is $50 / £40 / AU$70 worth having a dedicated eraser? If you’re asking that question, you’re considering the wrong tablet. This is a luxury device, not a practical tool.
It’s hard to measure the reMarkable Paper Pro Move against the competition, as there isn’t any real competitor at this size. The Amazon Kindle Scribe is the closest competitor on features, but the Kindle Scribe is a big and chunky (albeit gorgeous in green) reading tablet, and its price is very close to the Move at $399.99 / £379.99 / AU$649.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
You can find smaller ereader tablets with a pen from Boox, like the Boox Go Color 7 Gen II that we recently reviewed. That tablet costs $299.99 / AU$439 (about £245), which might seem like a bargain compared to the Paper Pro Move, but read our review first – it’s not exactly our favorite writing tablet.
The Paper Pro Move launches with new folio options, and reMarkable supplied me with a leather folio and a recycled cloth folio. Surprisingly, I may prefer the cloth; it’s a fantastic color with a unique design that's very appealing. There’s a discount on folio accessories at launch, but no cheap bundle with a folio.
The larger reMarkable tablets have a type folio keyboard option, but reMarkable has skipped this accessory for the Paper Pro Move, at least for now. I think it would be cool to see a mini keyboard for this tablet, but reMarkable had nothing to show me.
reMarkable Paper Pro Move pricing
reMarkable Paper Pro Move
reMarkable Paper Pro
reMarkable 2
With Marker
$449 / £399 / AU$779
$629 / £559 / AU$929
$399 / £389 / AU$669
With Marker Plus
$499 / £439 / AU$849
$679 / £599 / AU$999
$449 / £429 / AU$749
reMarkable Connect
$2.99 / £2.99 / AU $4.99 /month
Value score: 4/5
reMarkable Paper Pro Move review: specs
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The reMarkable Paper Pro Move uses a dual-core processor that runs at a higher clock rate than the quad-core processor in the larger Paper Pro. You can see the difference when you use the two tablets side by side, as I discuss in the Performance section below.
The Paper Pro Move isn’t as thin as other reMarkable tablets. The reMarkable 2 is still one of the thinnest tablets you can buy overall at 4.7mm, while the Paper Pro is a svelte 5.1mm. The Paper Pro Move is 6.5mm, which is just a bit thicker than an iPad mini (6.3mm), and thinner than an iPhone 16 (7.8mm).
The Paper Pro Move also weighs much less than an iPad mini, at 235 grams versus the iPad’s 293 grams. More importantly, it weighs less than a standard Moleskine notebook.
reMarkable Paper Pro Move specs
Starting price
$449 / £399 / AU$779
Operating System (as tested)
reMarkable OS - Linux-based
Chipset
1.7GHz dual-core Cortex A55 chipset
Memory
2GB LPDDR4 RAM
Storage
64GB
Display
7.3-inch Canvas Color, based on E Ink Gallery 3
Weight
235g
Battery
2,334mAh
Supported File Formats
PDF, ePUB
Supported Cloud Services
Google Drive; Microsoft OneDrive; Dropbox; Slack
reMarkable Paper Pro Move review: display
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Great for writing with a unique feel
Caveats apply – this is not a bright, illuminated screen
The color E Ink display on the Paper Pro Move is probably not what you’re expecting, and while it’s a fantastic display for a writing tablet, you should be prepared before you buy one.
E Ink technology does not use light to create an image, it uses tiny particles that float closer or farther from the surface – including transparent color bits and reflective white particles. Because the particles actually move, E Ink displays react slower than a normal display – by a lot! You can see the ink move, and if you draw in color, you’ll see the display shift a few times as it forms the final image.
Some folks find this distracting – I think it looks cool. I love E Ink technology; it reminds me of steampunk and alternate future concepts that don’t rely on bright, irritating LCD and OLED panels. It’s not for everybody, though.
The reMarkable Paper Pro is admittedly dark to read. The panel is not a perfect white when it's blank; it looks more like light-grey newspaper. There are lights on the Paper Pro Move – just like on the Paper Pro – but they're not bright enough to even light the screen adequately at night. You’ll need extra light if you want to write in the dark (and you can’t use the Paper Pro Move as a flashlight to get to the bathroom – I tried).
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
If you're expecting an iPad or even an e-paper display like the TCL NXTPaper, this will be a disappointment. If you're looking for a screen that looks – and more importantly feels like real paper, this is the tablet for you.
Writing on the reMarkable tablet feels exactly like writing with a pen on paper. I feel like I'm using my favorite Pilot Precise roller ball pens on a thick Moleskine notebook. When the results appear, looking remarkably like ink on paper and not bright lights on a display, the effect seems magical.
I'm astonished that reMarkable continues to refine its writing experience with each new device. While reMarkable tablets become even more pleasing and paper-like, the competition… doesn't exist? It doesn't even seem like any other tablet maker cares about the feel of writing and making its tablets feel like pen and ink on the page. So reMarkable is only improving to impress itself and its return customers.
Display score: 4 / 5
reMarkable Paper Pro Move review: Design
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Tall and thin like a great reporter's notebook
Pocketable, even inside a folio case
The reMarkable Paper Pro Move is a thin and very lightweight writing tablet that feels incredibly solid for its subtle heft. I had no trouble holding the tablet in the palm of my left hand and writing comfortably across the whole page with my right. Then I just tucked the tablet into the back pocket of my jeans.
I've always wanted a writing tablet like this. The Kindle Paperwhite might be a good candidate for a pen some day, but it's wider than the reMarkable Paper Pro Move, and just a bit harder to stuff in a pocket, especially with a nice cover.
The Paper Pro Move fit easily in my larger pockets, even with the leather or recycled cloth cover attached. I kept a cover on my device because it's looks great and keeps the pen in place, not because I was worried about durability. The Paper Pro Move feels very sturdy, even though it sadly lacks the IP water and dust protection you'll find on a smartphone or a fancy Samsung Android tablet.
Image 1 of 3
Compared to a standard Moleskine notebook (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 2 of 3
Compared to a standard Moleskine notebook (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 3 of 3
Compared to a standard Moleskine notebook (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
There's only one button on the Paper Pro Move – the power button – because the tablet doesn't have speakers. It doesn't make any noise, so there's no need for volume rockers. There's a USB-C port for charging on the bottom.
The pen attaches magnetically, and I need a case to feel secure with this arrangement or else I'm sure to lose my pen. The pen is proprietary technology, like the Paper Pro tablet, and not common EMR technology, like the reMarkable 2 tablet and the Samsung S Pen, so it's expensive to replace.
Design score: 5/5
reMarkable Paper Pro Move review: Software
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
There's more things it can't do than things it can – by design
New AI features are disappointing, but could be improved easily
The easiest way to think about the reMarkable Paper Pro Move is as digital paper, and little more. You can create notebooks, then save them in folders. You can also insert tags throughout notebooks to make them easier to search.
What reMarkable does best, besides the luxurious hardware and writing experience, is the background templates it offers for your writing. The selection is enormous, better than you'll find on the Amazon Kindle Scribe or other writing tablets. That selection is growing fast, too – but there's a catch.
Sadly, reMarkable has become friendly with two of the evil villains of the digital world: subscriptions and AI. These are bugbears for the Move tablet.
Some of the best features on the reMarkable Paper Pro Move require a monthly subscription. It isn't much money – $2.99 / £2.99 / AU$4.99 per month – and it adds good value if you use the new templates reMarkable offers only to subscribers, called Methods. But it stings that this ultra-simple tablet needs a subscription plan at all.
Other new features will use AI machine-learning tools, but these don't run on the Paper Pro Move. If you want to convert your handwriting to typed text, that happens in the cloud.
The handwriting recognition results ranged from useless to dangerously hilarious. When I wrote a checklist of items and asked the tablet to convert my writing, I got a paragraph of items, not a list.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The reMarkable AI doesn't format text neatly. In fact, instead of converting my writing on the page where I wrote it, the tablet would create a new page with my converted text. I suppose reMarkable expects me to cut and paste those results into the right spot. No thanks; I'll stick to writing.
The actual results were bad, too. My handwriting can be terrible, but I've been a teacher and I know students can read my scratch off a blackboard, so it's not a terminal case.
The remarkable Paper Pro Move got many words wrong, and in one case it got R-rated. Instead of a “Vertical kitty” toy from my list, it typed “vertical titty.”
Ummm, what the what!?! You can't say that, reMarkable tablet! You can't make a mistake that offers one of the seven words you can't say on television! Even on a simple writing tablet like this, AI proves once again that it can be horrible and useless.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Since this happens in the cloud, I'm hopeful that reMarkable can just hook up with a better service. Handwriting recognition is a useful tool for a writing tablet, and it drives better features like searching through handwritten text.
I've seen much better AI-based handwriting recognition on the Kindle Scribe, so if your main goal is converting your scribbles into type, that's the tablet to choose.
Software score: 3/5
reMarkable Paper Pro Move review: Performance
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Best performance of any reMarkable tablet so far
It doesn't do much, so there isn't much to worry about
The reMarkable Paper Pro Move is not an Android tablet running apps. Still, it has a unique interface, and the display technology from E Ink is very complicated and requires some formidable hardware development. I’m happy to say the Paper Pro Move is the most responsive and fastest reMarkable tablet I’ve used, for whatever that’s worth on a writing tablet.
That means the tablet opened faster from sleep, and it was more responsive to typing from the moment I tapped out my passkey. Menus respond faster to touch, and I can pan and zoom on documents faster on the Paper Pro Move than on the Paper Pro tablet. The difference is noticeable.
If you're just writing with the tablet the response feels instantaneous – there's no perceivable delay between touching the Market Plus to the screen and the E Ink appearing. If you write calligraphy or draw with the paint brush tools, you'll appreciate the responsiveness.
Of course, adding color adds a delay, but this happens after you lift the pen. Some folks have told me they find this too distracting, as there's a slight flash of color once or twice as the different layers activate. I actually find the effect kind of cool-looking, but your mileage may vary.
Performance score: 5 / 5
reMarkable Paper Pro Move review: Battery
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Doesn't last as long as the big reMarkable tablets
Still lasts for days and days, not just hours
I'm not disappointed with the battery life I got from the reMarkable Paper Pro Move, but it didn't blow me away like the Paper Pro. I've had the tablet for more than two weeks and I've charged it twice, including the initial charge time. That's pretty great for modern electronics.
Of course, the reMarkable Paper Pro lasted through my entire review period without needing a recharge, but that tablet is more than twice the size – and weight – of the Paper Pro Move. I think the trade-off is fair. I still get more than a week of battery life, and I can stuff this tablet in my back pocket.
It's possible the Paper Pro Move died faster because I used it more. Since it's so portable, it was easier to use in more places, like I said. If I used it as sparingly as I used my Paper Pro, it may have lasted another few days.
The reMarkable Marker has a battery inside, which makes it different than the Marker on the reMarkable Paper 2 tablet or styluses for other tablets like Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S11 devices. I would rather not have another battery to charge, but the Paper Pro Move juices up the pen when you attach it magnetically to the side. It charges very quickly, too, in case you let the pen battery drop to zero.
Battery score: 5 / 5
Should I buy the reMarkable Paper Pro Move?
reMarkable Paper Pro Move scoreboard
Attribute
Notes
Score
Value
It’s expensive, but not shockingly so. Still, it’s price is more for the luxury than for a wealth of features on offer.
3/5
Dsplay
A display that makes writing feel like pen on paper. The unusual refresh may be offputting to some, but I found it charming. It’s not bright enough for nighttime writing.
5/5
Design
Thin and light enough to keep in the back pocket of my 501 jeans, but big enough to be useful for journaling and all sorts of writing tasks.
5/5
Software
Simple and elegant at best, with tons of template options and perfect writing tools. At worst, you’re paying subscription fees and relying on AI for handwriting recognition – yuck.
3/5
Performance
Perfectly responsive writing, and now the interface responds faster to touch than any previous reMarkable tablet could. It keeps things simple and that pays off in performance.
5/5
Battery
Amazing battery life means you can forget to charge it for days, it lasts at least a week after tons of writing. Too bad you have to charge the pen, but at least it charges very quickly.
5/5
Buy it if...
You want a digital notepad to effectively, simply organize your thoughts That’s the promise of reMarkable – it’s a simple pad for gathering your thoughts and storing them digitally, locally and in the cloud.
You love the feel of writing, but you've left paper behind A reMarkable tablet doesn’t feel like dragging plastic over glass; it feels like writing with a real pen on thick paper: tactile and wonderful.
You’ve been eyeing writing tablets but they’re all too big My dream tablet is an elegant writing tablet I can take anywhere with ease. That makes the reMarkable Paper Pro Move the tablet of my dreams.
Don't buy it if...
You want to read books, browse the web, yada yada yada This tablet is only for writing. You can’t even make shapes easily, you can only write with the pen. Want more? Look elsewhere.
You like to write but want to convert your writing to type The Paper Pro Move can convert handwriting to text, but the results aren’t reliable and the layout is ruined. The Kindle Scribe does this better.
You want a bright, shiny display that's colorful and bright and shiny The Paper Pro Move looks more like newsprint on greyish paper than the glossy magazine you’d expect from an iPad. It’s not for reading, it’s for writing.
Also consider
Amazon Kindle Scribe The Kindle Scribe doesn’t have as many writing tools or templates, but it does a better job of handwriting recognition, and you can read your books on it.
reMarkable Paper Pro The bigger Paper Pro gives you more battery time, more screen size, and even more writing and drawing tools. You can even buy a keyboard folio for it.
☑️ 100s of tablets and e-readers reviewed ☑️ 15 years of product testing ☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total ☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech
How I tested the reMarkable Paper Pro Move
I've had the reMarkable Paper Pro Move for almost three weeks of testing, during which time I used it as my primary writing tablet for note taking, making lists, and journaling. I use a writing tablet daily, multiple times a day, even when I am not reviewing a new tablet, so you can trust I have experience with these devices.
I used the reMarkable Paper Pro Move to write notes for work that I would then send to my Google Drive, my work phone and tablet, and my laptop web browser. I sent web pages and documents to the reMarkable Paper Pro Move from my web browser and from the app. I shared doodles and notes on Slack using the new Slack integration.
I paid for a reMarkable Connect subscription to test reMarkable’s new Methods templates, as well as the advanced sharing features it offers. I also tested handwriting recognition by connecting the reMarkable to my home Wi-Fi.
For battery testing, I charged the reMarkable Paper Pro Move completely on the morning after I first received it, then measured the days until it ran out of battery. In 20 days of testing the tablet, I charged it twice.
I used the reMarkable Paper Pro Move in a leather folio and cloth folio provided by reMarkable. To keep the tablet secret and because I liked the feel, I kept the tablet in the folio for the entire review period.
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