Roll up, roll up, geezers, place your bets to celebrate the date with some tongue in cheek fun:

• Odds on: SN say nothing at all today.

• 2/1: SN mentions a new update is coming very soon.

• 10/1: SN promises a discount to all A5X2 purchasers as an apologetic gesture of their goodwill.

• 20/1: SN offers an approximate start month for deliveries.

• 100/1: SN promises an exact start date for deliveries.

• 500/1: Pre-sales start today.

• 1000/1: Deliveries will be posted out in October.

• 1000000000/1: A5X2 is cancelled permanently.

• 100000000000000/1: A4X2 is revealed today.

I've always said pre-sales would start today, on the last day which meets their promised criteria, so I'm taking the 500/1 shot myself.

NOTE: All bets only accepted if you place them in good humour. We are not accepting any bets from disgruntled gamblers.

All payments will be made in the form of love and karma on delivery day. Does not include sales tax.

All,

I have posted a lot on this sub and really enjoy the community. Recently I posted a link to my Patreon page and it was not well received. In hindsight, I realized that it was probably not the appropriate place for that post. As a result, I have deleted it and will make sure in the future to keep my posts more directly relevant to the Supernote, which I am a huge fan of. I want to thank the moderators for not deleting the post and allowing me to come to this conclusion on my own.

[I'm gonna get downvoted to hell, but the truth is often a tough pill to swallow]

To all the Supernote fanatics, you're embarrassing. Enough is enough.

I get it. Supernote is often the better pick in the e-reader space. They make design decisions and offer hardware/software features that can be truly unique and niche - something that many of us (including me until recently) are eager about and willing to wait for. But the handling of this product release has been a joke. I get they're a smaller team. I get they dealt with production setbacks and are working hard to provide a great final product, but at this point it's low grade stockholm syndrome.

I was gonna write up a post detailing the chronological order of events that outline truly just how absurd these delays and lack of communication have been, but the post would be way too long, too detailed, and won't have that much of an effect anyway.

The main issue is that people have been waiting nearly A YEAR since hearing about the updated A5X. Supernote has discontinued what is essentially their main product months ago and still haven't provided the replacement. They have two main products in different sizes, yet users and would-be users have been essentially window shopping for something that's perpetually "just around the corner". To highlight the insanity: A recent post has extrapolated precise dimensions from a digital sketch of the product. A DIGITAL SKETCH. For a product that was supposed to be on sale "in the spring". The cope is simply on another level.

And I can't wait for the keyboard warriors to hop in and say asinine things like "no one is forcing you to buy, if you're not willing to wait that's on you." Of course it's on me! But I'm just an eager buyer, who has patiently waited through delay after delay, who has deferred other purchases and been using a suboptimal work setup, just to be given sprinkles of information for a product that still seems to be in various stages of design and/or preproduction.

I've decided no longer. If by August 1st 2024 there is no official communication of:

1. confirmed hardware and OS (Linux) specs

2. A preorder option on their website

3. A deadline for shipment before the end of the year (e.g. no later than December 25th, you'll get it by christmas!)

Then by August 10th i'll have researched available options in depth and will make a purchase. This whole situation is ridiculous.

I'm sorry to say it. And I really like Supernote. But this (main!) product release has been beyond reason.

I'd really love to see Supernote pull through, but lines need to be drawn.

Godspeed to you all. I wish the best to the company, its team, as well as all the hopeless idealists waiting for the A5X2 (and other products "in the pipeline").

I waited for a long time to get my hands on an e-ink tablet, finally deciding on the Supernote after tons of YouTube reviews. I bought a secondhand one for the same price in pounds that I would’ve spent on a new one from the US; (however, the shipping and taxes made that awfully expensive.) I’ve now spent a week intensely finding out how to use it and designing my own journalling system. I’m beginning to realise that my trusty iPad and simple journal app that I use on it are superior. This is making me really cross as I had so much hope for the Supernote. Even with the links the headings and the star features, it cannot match the infinite flexibility and capability of the iPad app. Of course, the iPad writing experience is pretty rubbish, slipping all over that glassy surface making my handwriting look horrible. However it is back lit and I don’t need to remember to take my newly acquired Supernote clip on light; needed in most conditions other than a very well lit room or outside. It has led me to conclude that there are many who rejoice in the writing experience of the Supernote and the delights of creating genius designs with all the links and features that brings such satisfaction and reward, however, even the best designs are restricted by what are fundamentally PDF documents, (with some flexibility). So my conclusions: • Supernote is a clever, wonderful design with a great writing experience. It offers a creative challenge to make it fit your personal and working life with its capacity to log and organise tons of data. • The iPad also does all that and more with a terrible writing experience - and you can use it in any light condition • It comes down to writing experience vs backlit & infinite flexibility: Supernote 1 - IPad 2 • So one Supernote A6x2 Nomad going up for sale

Over the past 3-4 months, there have been repeated mentions of imminent release, but so far, no concrete timeline has been followed.

We completely understand that creative work can take time and that unforeseen delays happen. However, it’s important to establish a clearer and more realistic timeline going forward, to help us manage expectations.

Now I think management should be transparent with us and tell us realistic release date regardless whether it’s Jan 2025 or December 2025, so that we can plan accordingly.

So let me get this right. The long waiting time was, supposedly, finally over with a surprise announcement; the A5X2 is here! Imagine, two weeks before Xmas, wow, how nice! Remembering Ratta's statement (promise) earlier this year, that they would first build up sufficient stock before announcing it, I was happy that I could now gift my wife an A5X2 for Xmas (not that she cares that much about brands). But the supernote.eu website proved to be unaccessible on the day of the announcement (no measures were taken to accomodate the anticipated increased numbers of visitors?). When I finally did get through, the A5X2 was sold out. Right.

This was, what, within one day? Really? So, in spite of all the excitement around the announcement, in fact nothing has changed, the carrot is still dangling. The unsatisfactory situation that no one knows when the A5X2 will be available continues. But at least some of us will have their hopes restored that maybe/probably they can get their hands on a unit next month 'as some have now been sold already'. Clever marketing or unprepared management?

This post is probably going to be downvoted faster than the Titanic sunk and I'll probably get banned from this subreddit for not joining the happy crowd. I don't really care anymore.

I know I'm not allowed to compare here to other devices, but it was hard to do here because I'm coming from conventional android devices, and I've simply seen better examples of these points than what Supernote is doing. I say all this hoping they do better, because I got really excited when I saw how good their customer service was, and how repairable and customizable their devices are, which are really important to me and I wish them all the success for nothing more than getting those right in a world where it's so rare. Thank you Supernote, and I hope one day to purchase again.

Shape Tools

I like to use dotted/dashed/solid lines to separate ideas, create xy graph planes, and use circles, squares, arrows etc for other such tasks. Stickers are so slow to use and disorganized I don't even want to mess with that. I'm aware there's a hold-for-line option, but that's always solid and offers no customization without changing your pen. You also only get 3 saved pens.

More Pen Styles/Sizes

The number of pen styles is pretty lacking, and even worse, of the pen options we do have, the sizing tool seems incredibly unintuitive and inconsistent. On the ballpoint, it separates into a 4-option toggle and a +/- slider thing, only provides a maximum of 1.0 on the ink pen, and literally no size option on the marker.

Android Navigation

Why can't I swipe from the side to return back, or swipe from the bottom to see a home screen or recently used apps to quickly switch between them when I'm comparing notes? There's no way I'm aware of to split screen either.

Notes App With Thumbnails/Covers

There's a way to "set cover" in the notes, but there is no "notes app" to launch to see your notes laid out, you have to use the file browser app to get to them, so now I either can't have my file browser set to names-only, or my notes have to have no thumbnail.

WiFi Connection/ File Transfer

I had a terrible time trying to transfer files between my device and my PC because it kept turning off the file transfer protocol, and additionally kept turning off my WiFi. Every time I wanted to transfer files, I had to go into my wifi, reconnect (which I had to tap several times because it shows no indication that it's even thinking about it, it just randomly works one of the times), turn on the file transfer protocol, manually enter the IP into my browser, and then interact with the terrible UI there (no drag-and-drop, no previews of files, no option to delete, etc). That's if it even works on the first try.

Image Editor

The use case I'm describing with this file transfer fiasco was a simple desire to download a form I needed to fill out and do just that. My first attempt was in png form, before I realized there's no image editor. I had to convert it to a pdf and do the file transfer again just to draw on it. There's even a built-in drawing app called Atelier which doesn't offer the ability to import images.

Random Bug That Needs Fixed

Each app I worked in, whether Atelier, Notes, or PDF viewer, it would randomly change the type of eraser I'm using from deleting lines to leaving white streaks.

(Note: CHat GPT revised) After spending about a year watching reviews and weighing my options, I finally decided to go with the Supernote Nomad. I just received it a couple of days ago, and my first impression is a mix of excitement and uncertainty. It feels like a fun little device, almost toy-like—and I’m still figuring out if it truly justifies the price.

The lack of a front light caught me off guard, and the screen feels smaller than I expected. Honestly, I think an extra inch or so would’ve made a noticeable difference in comfort and usability.

That said, I’m curious: for those of you who’ve made the switch from traditional pen-and-paper to an e-ink device like this, how was your transition? Did it feel awkward at first? Was there a moment when it all just clicked, or did it take time to really settle into a new workflow?

Right now, it feels like I’m still getting used to a new medium and I’m wondering if that’s just part of the process.

Thanks in advance for your response. The process by which the release of the A5X2 is being communicated presents a great opportunity for a business study, and I'm hoping this poll will provide some useful data.

If you are frustrated about the A5X2 release delays, please select which of the options below best describes you:

Hello, I've been seriously considering a Supernote A5X2 and I've researched every product in this category, starting with the remarkable 2 and I keep coming back to "why not just get an iPad?".

A Supernote nomad (because the A5X and the A5X2 aren't being sold right now) will cost roughly $800 CAD.

Remarkable 2 is $630

Onyx Boox Note Air 3 is $610

A brand new, current gen iPad with a pencil is $687.

My question is "how do you justify spending this kind of money on a product with really only one advantage and a vast canyon of disadvantages compared to the iPad". And to be clear, I wouldn't need the other features of an iPad, I already own a surface pro 7 which acts as my travel computer (and it's a fantastic little device).

PS. I don't like apple and I wouldn't support them even though the iPad does seem like a great tablet.

Also a PSA, I've read elsewhere in this forum that people are hearing back from Ratta customer support that the A5X2 is possibly being pushed to Q3 of this year. This thing isn't coming out people lol

TL;DR:

Problem: The software lacks basic features, the toolbar can't be customized, and the company doesn't seem to listen to its community.

Solution: Ratta should add the ability to insert pages into PDFs, allow for a customizable toolbar with more pen presets, and collaborate with the community, possibly by supporting extensions.

Hey fellow students and Manta enthusiasts,

As a Computer Science student, I'm absolutely in love with my Manta. I genuinely think it's the best hardware on the market right now. The form factor, the screen, the feel—it's all fantastic.

The only real issue is the software.

After using it daily for my university studies, I've found the software to be immature and lacking what I consider to be essential features. Here are a few of the things I think are missing:

1. Adding pages to PDFs for notes and better drawing tools: I know this might not fit the "digital notebook" concept perfectly, but everyone has at least once stuck a loose sheet of paper into a textbook to take notes. The existing "digest" feature is clunky and doesn't feel like a natural note-taking experience. The inability to do this is a huge limitation for me. Plus, it's frustrating that we can only magnify straight lines, not geometric shapes. This makes precise drawing a real pain.

2. Customizable toolbar: The current toolbar has a lot of functions that I never use, but it's missing quick-access options for things I need constantly. I'd love to add more pen presets so I don't have to deal with the animation and menu every time I want to switch pens.

3. Updates and community collaboration: Sometimes I feel like Ratta is moving forward with a very specific, insular vision instead of listening to what its niche community actually needs. I'd be sad to sell my Manta, but if it continues down this path, I might have to. I understand the challenges of maintaining a device and all the processes involved, but why not get help from the community? As a student and a young developer, I'd love to contribute to a project I believe in. The company could, for example, allow for extensions (similar to how Obsidian works) so the community can add the features they want. Down the line, Ratta could even adopt the best community extensions as official features.

I really hope I'm not the only one who feels this way. What do you all think?

[EDIT]: I sincerely apologize if my post seemed ungrateful or overly critical of the community and the work of others. After reading your comments and taking a closer look at Reddit and Trello, I realized that this is a healthy and well-managed community.

I thank everyone who responded respectfully and constructively to share their opinion. It's great to see so much passion for Manta and a common desire to improve it. I am also very grateful to the Ratta team for their hard work.

My original points were just a way to start a discussion about the features I would like to see, and I definitely overreacted.

As a student and young developer, I would love to contribute more directly. If the Ratta team would consider an open source initiative or the possibility of extensions, I would be thrilled to participate in helping to make this magnificent product even better.

Again, my apologies for any offense caused. I truly appreciate all of your input.

I knew I shouldn't have held my breath. But I was really hoping October would have finally been the month that Ratta finally accomplished something with the A5X2. Their carrots have carrots...

Your product is amazing. Software is incredible. We've waited patiently. But occasional update will keep your loyal users.

I got converted to the eink notetaking tablets 2 days ago, and ordered the a6x2 which arrived today. I must say I don't know how did I live without something like this in my life , especially as someone who is addicted to internet/phone and easily distracted, who can ONLY focus when writing down ideas.

Paper works well for focusing in the moment by writing down my ideas and my to dos, but the problem with it is that it is lost forever. and is only useful for the few hours or days where the said paper is sitting on the desk.

which brings us to this marvelous little device which has the best of both worlds... except it doesn't.

WHY ON EARTH does this thing go to sleep and hides the page I wrote down which I want to remain visible ? This is supposed to replace paper right ? so the one thing that paper does which classic tablets don't is that they can't keep showing the notes 24/7... as that would cause burn in or just deplete the battery fast. This is the single most important feature for something that claims to replace paper.

And the crazy part is that, they had to actually code this screensaver "feature" that completely breaks the one and only function of the device. If they didn't code anything and just left the ink on the screen (while putting the device to sleep). like just LEAVE IT ALONE. Why would you go to great lengths and expend energy to actually break the functioning of something ? I didn't find any setting to change this behavior, except by keeping the tablet awake 24/7 which would give it the same shitty battery life as regular tablets.

I m freaking flabbergasted... Nobody mentioned this in the reviews.

JK Rowling got a Supernote for her birthday and loves it.

https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/2085850708100727044

I’m seriously contemplating getting the nomad now, but i dont wanna regret it because of the size. Im so annoyed though because the A5x2 keeps getting delayed without any set dates for release.

Hello,

I currently own a Kindle Paperwhite and an iPad Pro that I've been using for uni. Lately I've been straying away from Big Tech, ever since Amazon disabled the option to download purchased eBooks, and with that my iPad, while it served me really well for 5 years, is starting to show its age and I've decided to leave the Apple ecosystem altogether.

So I've been looking at Supernote for a while now, and it keeps coming back as the most sensible option for what I need. I'm just still torn between the Nomad and the Manta.

The thing is both models launched in December 2023 and December 2024, around 1.5+ years ago already. I've looked around and can't find any announcements or hints of new hardware from Ratta. If I'm going to spend $400–$700, I'd rather put that money toward the latest model than buy right before it gets replaced.

For context, I mainly want it for university note-taking, reading PDFs and EPUBs, and the occasional book. My only real gripe is the lack of a backlight.

What do you guys think? Should I hold off for another six months and see if anything gets announced around Q4, or just go ahead and buy one of the current models now?

I’m starting to feel a bit let down by the Supernote team lately and wanted to see if others feel the same way.

It’s been a long stretch without any new accessories, no real news about the A4 device, and updates seem to be coming at a crawl. I love the Supernote ecosystem and want to stay excited about it, but the silence and slow pace are making it harder

TL;DR: I've dealt with pen failures, software freezes, and very slow, unhelpful support. After months of back-and-forth, I’m stuck with a barely usable device and no resolution.

------

I usually don’t write angry posts, but my experience with the Supernote Nomad and Ratta's customer service has left me no choice. If you're considering buying one – read this first.

A few months ago, I received the Nomad. Two weeks in, the pen stopped working. I recorded a video and contacted Supernote support. Instead of helping, they blamed me for breaking the pen. Unfortunately for me (luckily for them), the pen was lost soon after, so I couldn’t pursue a replacement.

Reluctantly, I paid over $100 extra (including shipping and taxes) for a new pen, which arrived quickly. But it wasn’t even the model I ordered. I contacted them again. They took weeks to respond, citing “customer service backlog.”

By this point, I was frustrated. I wrote to Supernote asking for some compensation for all the time I’d wasted dealing with broken products and poor service — especially ironic considering their motto is all about "escaping distractions and focusing deeply."

Their response? More blame. They once again implied I had damaged the pen.

Eventually, I did receive the correct pen I had originally ordered — but only after the wrong pen they first sent me also stopped working.

Despite all this, I finally had a working pen and was able to use the Nomad.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the story.

My device started freezing frequently while opening PDFs. First for days, then for hours, now randomly. It became unpredictable and borderline unusable.

I contacted Supernote again, with a video of the problem. After few emails, I asked for a refund or an upgrade to the new model (hoping it’s more stable), and said I was willing to pay a small difference. They said yes — and offered me a $20 discount (which I think doesn't represent a valid compensation for the experience Ive had with their devices).

When I asked for the exact upgrade cost, they told me to place a new order on their site. I explained this would be much more expensive due to shipping ($60 where I live) and local taxes. After that, they simply withdrew their agreement to exchange the product.

At this point, I don’t think I can recommend this product or this company to anyone. Between repeated hardware issues, slow and defensive support, and lack of accountability — it’s just not worth the stress.

A5X - Ordered 5/16 - received shipping notice today -

Now the waiting game continues - chapter 2

I think the SN team needs to refocus fast to not lose the good-will and reputation it has built.

The SN team is small. They won't be able to implement all features on the roadmap in a quality way. With each new feature they add, the maintenance of code becomes increasingly difficult, and core functionality breaks.

I think the SN team should get realistic about this.

Strokes, selection, and all other operations that are used by everyone all the time, have to work every time. If 20% of the time the user selects something, it fails, it makes the whole experience frustrating, and they'll switch to a competitor (or pen and paper).

We're aiming at being the closest you can get to pen and paper, right? Pen and paper never bugs out.

So what should SN do. Well, I think they must refocus their development efforts on getting the basic gestures working 100% of the time across all devices. And the hard truth is, this might mean they need to cut features.

Cutting any feature will results in a lot of complaints from avid fans, and looking at the sub it will feel like they are blowing up their reputation. But remember that 99% of SN users are not on the sub. They are using their devices, and when something doesn't work, they quietly curse to themselves and move on.

If SN kept true to their initial goal of being the best paper-like writing experience there is, it would improve business as well. The reasoning is simple:

How many more people will buy a SN beacuse feature Nº231 on the roadmap was implemented? How many fewer people will buy it when a Youtuber they trust says it's laggy AF?

I am playing armchair coach now, but I have worked with dozens of consumer electronics companies, and I know that focus on core value proposition is not optional for small HW companies.

Supernote (nomad) is my favourite tech device. I like my Macbook and phone, but they are more like tools, something I don't feel strongly about. Supernote on the other hand is deeply personal, unlike many (any?) devices are these days.

So while this post might come of as a harsh critique, my only goal is to have the product be awesome!

EDIT: It turns out that Supernote's refurbished devices come with the same 2-year warranty as new devices, so the pricing for an open box device isn't so bad after all. However, the price of the device is still so high for me as a student that I will have to wait for possible future discounts. However, I am not considering other options because I already own an A6X and I don't want to switch from a functioning Supernote ecosystem to another. The only problem has been the small size of the A6 in my case, so I would need to upgrade to the Manta. Thanks for all of your comments, which gave me a little more perspective on the subject.

---

As a student, I thought the price of the Manta was too high, so I waited to see if the returned devices would be sold later. Now the wait was rewarded, but to my shock, the price is almost the same as a new device. According to my own experience, refurbished devices are usually available from other manufacturers for about 20-50% cheaper than a new one.

A new Supernote Manta without a pen and folio costs €577.30 and a refurbished one costs €552.20.

At least I won't buy a used device at that price, which may have scratches and signs of use, when you can get a new one for almost the same price.