The Supernote A5 X2 Manta Digital Notebook Shines in the Pen Game

The Manta also has a built-in art mode, but you’ll have to hunt to find it. Unlike other digital notebooks, you can’t just switch over to the pencils, but instead you’ll need to access the settings and download the Atelier app, which is free and pretty fast to download via Wi-Fi. Once you do that, a little paint palette icon will appear on the top right next to your buttons to make a new note or Word document, allowing you to generate an art file. You’ll be able to tell which is which when you see .spd at the end of a file name, which is Supernote’s file type for the Atelier program.

Once inside an Atelier file, you’ll gain access to seven pencil weights, five ink-pen styles, and three marker options. You can also select the lock button to find two different spray pens, though the lock icon isn’t what I would have guessed to symbolize that. You can add layers, too, and a grayscale range of 16 shades of gray (ending in white and black). The drawing tools are responsive to pressure and fun to use.

Pen Station

Photograph: Nena Farrell

This review might be for the Manta, but it’s also for Supernote’s pens that pair with the Manta—and with Supernote’s smaller digital notebook, the A6 X2 Nomad ($299). While every other digital notebook company offers about two digital markers, usually a basic option and then an upgrade that often features an eraser, Supernote offers four pens. Not only that, but its Heart of Metal Pen 2 ($75) has 10 color options, something no other digital notebook company offers. Even Supernote’s Push-Up Standard Pen ($59) actually looks like a real pen rather than a fancy tablet stylus. Supernote’s pens also don’t require any charging.

I’ve been testing the Manta with Supernote’s Lamy Safari Vista EMR Pen ($89), a digital notebook version of the famed Lamy Safari pen. It’s lightweight and comfortable and looks so real I sometimes grab it and accidentally try to use it in my paper planner. I also really like the Heart of Metal pen, which I tested with the Supernote Nomad last year, though it’s heavier than the Lamy. (They weren’t joking about the metal!) Both are comfortable to write plenty of notes with, whether you’re in six hours of meetings or a five-hour Dungeons and Dragons session. If you’re picky about your writing utensil, even if it’s a digital one, Supernote is the best option.

The only downside? No erasers. If you think you might be an eraser or keyboard person, then the Supernote, whether this Manta or the smaller Nomad, isn’t for you. But if you don’t need either of those accessories, it’s a great digital notebook for notes and sketches alike.