reMarkable is an e-ink tablet manufacturer and full disclosure, I have one and I use it all the time which makes this email hurt just a little bit more. I want to talk to you about some recent pricing changes made by Remarkable regarding their product.
Remarkable sells a premium, but rather simple product. It’s basically a digital notebook. They are focused on being the most ‘pure writing’ device. As such, their current model (reMarkable 2) doesn’t even have a backlight. This means if you want to use it, you’ll need actual ambient light to see it (unlike some kindles). However, this still works for them because well, an actual notebook doesn’t have a back light. Hard to get more ‘pure writing’ than that.
As such, reMarkable has grown a somewhat Apple and dare I say, cult-like following? All I mean to say is that people are passionate about their devices and fiercely defensive when criticism arises related to their limited functionality. There are many other e-ink tablets that are more fully featured.
However, there’s trouble in paradise. You see reMarkable recently introduced a subscription pricing model for what used to be included for free. As such, people are VERY upset. Their new model, requires you to pay a subscription to access future updates. They are still dealing with this fallout and it’s yet to be seen how much this will impact their company.
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The risk reMarkable is running is again related to the existing solution. If we compare their device to an iPhone, they are both premium and priced accordingly, but Apple devices get updates for free – reMarkable devices do not. This is a problem for reMarkable and could cause major issues for them down the road.
Be careful with your product pricing strategy. Making aggressive changes like these can unwind all of the success and momentum that you previously built.