Running Desktop Linux on a reMarkable Tablet

There is little doubt that the Apple iPad has had the majority of the market share since its release. Other tablets, such as Samsung’s Galaxy series and Amazon’s Fire series, have been somewhat successful, but the iPad has remained king of the hill. Part of the reason for that is name recognition and people wanting to stay within the Apple ecosystem, but the most important reason is that it’s a really good tablet. The reMarkable tablet isn’t designed to compete with the iPad directly, but rather to provide a completely unique experience. Redditor Rmhack was even able to get their reMarkable tablet to run a full desktop version of Linux.

The reMarkable tablet, along with the reMarkable 2 that is currently available for pre-order, is a bit like a cross between an Apple iPad and an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. Its display is a similar size to an iPad’s, but that display is an e-ink display like you’d see on the Kindle Paperwhite. That display is ideal for reading in bright light and is far more efficient than LCD and OLED displays because the pixels are persistent and only need to be refreshed if something on the screen actually changes. The reMarkable tablet isn’t, however, intended specifically for reading. Instead, it’s meant for drawing and taking notes. Most people report that it’s great for that purpose.

Inside of the reMarkable tablet is an NXP i.MX6 SoC, which is used in a variety of devices that need to be compact and power efficient. That SoC is based on Arm architecture and most often runs Linux. The reMarkable tablet is running its own custom Linux distro, but that has been heavily obscured by the UI. Rmhack was able to modify their reMarkable tablet to get a full desktop Linux distro running, along with applications and even Doom.

To do that, they first had to crack open the tablet to gain access to the motherboard and i.MX6 SoC. They then added an SD card reader, which the i.MX6 can access by default through the SDHC1 interface. That interface is disabled on the reMarkable tablet, so Rmhack had to enable it and then recompile the Linux kernel. That made the SD card accessible to the i.MX6 as a storage device. A modified bootloader can then be used to switch the boot device to that SD card in order to load a full Linux distro that is designed for the i.MX6. Rmhack does say that the SD card isn’t strictly necessary, but it does let you run the new distro without losing the original OS that shipped with the reMarkable tablet.