The perfect ereaders for 2025

Display measurement: 6” | Show sort: Black/white and shade E Ink | Decision: 300 dpi black & white, 150 dpi shade | Capability: 16GB| Battery life: Weeks | Waterproof score: IPX8 (submergible to six toes for 60 minutes) | Heat gentle: Sure | Lock display advertisements: No

Learn our full Kobo Clara Colour review

Our earlier decide for this class, the Kobo Clara 2E was a wonderful ereader with a crisp show, a heat glow and responsive, intuitive contact controls all housed in a water-resistant design that felt premium. When Rakuten introduced the Clara can be up to date, I frightened we’d see Kobo machine with superfluous revamping to justify an inflated value. Fortunately, that’s not the case. The Kobo Clara Colour not solely provides shade and a quicker processor, it’s simply $10 greater than the earlier technology.

Because the identify suggests, this ereader provides shade to the web page, lending somewhat vibrance to e book covers, tables and graphs, and even the panels of graphic novels. The expertise comes from E Ink, within the type of the Kaleido 3 module that comes with a shade filter layer on prime of the usual black and white microcapsule layer. That ends in two totally different resolutions on one display: 150 dpi for shade and 300 dpi for textual content.

Full-color pages remind me of comedian e book artwork from the ‘60s, muted however saturated. Colour makes e book covers extra attractive and provides somewhat selection to headings, and tables in some non-fiction books. It’s definitely not a essential characteristic, but it surely provides vibrance and it’s enjoyable. 

There’s a slight distinction in readability between the colour and non-color model of the Clara. When you look carefully, you may see a little bit of noise on the white elements of the web page. That is because of the added shade filter layer. It is not distracting and solely one thing I seen when evaluating the 2 generations side-by-side. but when absolute readability is your major objective, it’s possible you’ll be higher off with a non-color ereader.

Most likely the extra helpful improve right here is the twin 2GHz processor, a bump from the Clara 2E’s 1GHz CPU. There’s a noticeable enchancment within the velocity of the web page turns and navigating from the menu to the web page and again once more is almost instantaneous. As with the 2E, the Color hardly ever errors a swipe for a faucet or a web page flip gesture for a menu request.

The adjustable heat entrance gentle continues to be right here (it’s really somewhat hotter on the Color) and makes studying at evening simple on the eyes. The working system is identical, with intuitive entry to the Kobo retailer, your private books and titles out of your native library by way of Overdrive. You may customise your studying expertise with choices for font, font measurement, line spacing, margins and so forth. Kobos don’t have a strategy to save a bunch of show settings just like the Kindle does, so I’d like to see that added with future OS upgrades. However for now, the customizations are simply sufficient to get your e book the way you need it to look.

The Color is almost an identical in form and measurement, and has the identical premium really feel because the 2E, although the plastic has a grainier end. The bezels are noticeably much less flush with the display now, although that didn’t alter my studying enjoyment.

Now that it prices $150, the Kobo Clara Color is $40 greater than the bottom mannequin Kindle. However the waterproof construct, heat entrance gentle, responsive controls and lack of advertisements (which price $20 to eliminate on Amazon’s machine) make it value it. And, in nice information for the right to repair crowd, it’s even designed to be user-repaired as soon as it falls outdoors of guarantee by a partnership with iFixit. 

Rakuten nonetheless makes the Kobo Clara BW, which is almost an identical to our earlier “finest general” decide. It would not undergo from the slight readability loss that the colour overlay presents, but it surely additionally nonetheless has the older processor.   

In fact, in case you already personal a mountain of Kindle books, it’s possible you’ll wish to persist with Amazon’s system. In that case, your finest wager is . It prices $160 and was lately up to date with a extra highly effective processor and new E Ink tech that makes it exceptionally speedy with high-contrast textual content. The nice and cozy gentle is nice and the flush entrance display feels premium. In fact, Amazon now has its personal shade mannequin too, the , however at $280, it’s considerably dearer than the Clara Color and even the Paperwhite Signature Edition.

Display measurement: 6” | Show sort: Black/white E Ink | Decision: 300dpi | Capability: 16GB | Battery life: 6 weeks | Waterproof score: None | Heat gentle: No | Lock display advertisements: Sure

When you simply wish to learn books, and don’t have any want for the perks that the fancier ereaders carry (shade, waterproof score, heat gentle, and so on), then the bottom mannequin is for you. The six-inch, non-flush show is housed in a textured plastic that feels much less premium than, say, the Paperwhite and even the 2 Kobos on our checklist, however nonetheless feels a lot sturdy. And it’s sufficiently small to slot in a coat or again pocket making it very travel-friendly.

It’s unlucky that the 2024 mannequin is $10 greater than the 2022 mannequin when not a lot has modified, but it surely’s nonetheless the most affordable ereader from any of the main producers. And if we all know one factor about Amazon, it’s that the corporate loves an excellent sale, so that you’ll possible discover it on low cost in case you can maintain out for Prime Day or Black Friday offers.

The Kindle is a no-frills gateway to the very best of what Amazon has to supply, together with titles, with books by established authors in addition to newer, self-published writers; gives the widest choice of any subscription-based studying service on the market; and is made up of narrated titles and podcasts you may solely hear by a Kindle machine or Amazon-owned app.

When you like to modify between audiobooks and ebooks, Kindle is the best way to go. Once you purchase each iterations of a title, you not solely get a reduction, however the Whispersync characteristic strains up the place you’re within the e-printed model with the narration, too. Say you pay attention for an hour after which wish to learn – the synchronization enables you to decide up on-screen the place you left off audibly. (Although we should always level out that you may’t pay attention and browse concurrently on the identical machine.) In assessments, the characteristic was pretty correct, getting me shut sufficient on the web page or within the audio to determine my spot.

Web page turns are faster on the brand new mannequin however I’m upset that there’s nonetheless no strategy to regulate the zones and responses to touchscreen gestures, like there may be on each Kobo and Boox units. Kindles all have a really slim strip on the left for going again a web page and I’m continuously lacking it and going ahead as a substitute. Although swipes usually work nicely.

Most likely essentially the most noticeable lacking characteristic is the shortage of heat gentle. In comparison with any ereader with that possibility, the display on the usual Kindle seems harsh and bluish, but it surely’s nonetheless far simpler in your eyes than a telephone or pill display. There’s loads of customization for the font, measurement and margins, too. You may even save your settings as a “theme,” one thing not provided by different units. I created one with bigger textual content and wider line spacing known as “drained eyes.”

Some individuals received’t be bothered by the lock display advertisements that come commonplace on this Kindle (until you pay $20 to take away them). They’re pretty innocuous, principally selling Kindle e book offers or particular titles (it’s not such as you’ll see promos for TVs or robotic pool cleaners). Personally, I like having the ability to set the sleep display to the e book cowl of what I’m at present studying, but it surely’s simple to recover from that if all you need is a extra handy strategy to devour books on the lowest value.

Display measurement: 7” | Show sort: Black/white and shade E Ink | Decision: 300 dpi black & white, 150 dpi shade | Capability: 32GB | Battery life: Weeks | Waterproof score: IPX8 (submergible to six toes for 60 minutes) | Heat gentle: Sure | Lock display advertisements: No

When Kobo got here out with the brand new Clara Color, it additionally debuted the new Libra Colour, which is perhaps the extra thrilling of the 2 units. Along with shade expertise from the E Ink Kaleido panel and an upgraded processor, the Libra now has stylus assist. It’s the one ereader on this checklist with that characteristic, making it quite a bit like a small E Ink tablet — however all of its new options really make it a greater ereader.

After I wrote concerning the earlier technology ereader, the Libra 2, I used to be impressed by how comfy it was for studying. None of that has modified; the buttons and auto-rotating display adapt the machine to simply about any studying place you selected and the skinny design, textured again and soft-touch plastic give it a premium really feel.

Kobo’s interface is almost the identical right here as with different fashions, properly organized to allow you to simply discover your present reads or browse and search new titles from Kobo’s retailer or your native library within the Overdrive tab. The customizations for gentle and textual content allow you to get the web page trying simply the way you prefer it, however there aren’t so many choices that it feels such as you’re writing code.

The brand new options add to the expertise. In shade, e book covers all look extra attractive — although, in case your TBR checklist is already three toes lengthy, this received’t not assist issues. The brand new processor makes waking from sleep, turning pages, navigating the menu and altering orientation zippy quick.

Then there’s the standing compatibility. Attempt as they may, some new applied sciences don’t yet beat their real-world counterparts. That’s principally how I really feel about styluses — I’m only a huge fan of pen on paper. However Kobo’s stylus makes it so enjoyable to focus on textual content and scribble notes within the margins of a e book that I’m beginning to come round. Plus, it neatly and magnetically attaches to the aspect so it doesn’t get misplaced.

Urgent and holding the button on the aspect of the stylus highlights textual content whereas flipping it round erases. I by chance pressed the button a number of occasions once I was attempting to jot down, however I bought used to the position after a couple of minutes of utilizing it. You may decide from 4 totally different highlighter colours and think about your written notes and spotlighted textual content within the notes part of any title — which I may see being fairly helpful for e book membership reads, faculty assignments or simply refreshing your self on a previous learn earlier than you dive into the sequel.

Writing within the margins or straight on the textual content labored on each e book I attempted. Although I ought to level out that in case you change the font measurement in a e book, your handwritten notes might be transformed to a sticky note-type field. Going again to the unique font restores your unique scribbles.

The Kobo Libra Color is $30 dearer than the Libra 2, however you get quite a bit for $220. If it had been simply an ereader, the beautiful colours, responsive studying expertise, quick web page turns and straightforward highlights would make it well worth the value. However you additionally get options that make it extra than simply an ereader, like Dropbox and Google Drive integration, a beta internet browser and free-writing and text-converting notebooks.

In fact, the stylus prices additional and also you received’t get options like notebooks and writing within the margins with out it. Collectively, the set prices $290, which is a substantial $110 cheaper than the lately (and hottest) stylus-enabled ereader, . That one has a much bigger, 10.2-inch display, which is good for writing however, for me, is somewhat huge for an ereader. The Libra Color alternatively has simply the fitting options on the proper measurement, plus some extras that stretch its usefulness.

Display measurement: 6” | Show sort: Black/white E Ink | Decision: 300dpi | Capability: 32GB | Battery life: 12 weeks | Waterproof score: IPX8 | Heat gentle: Sure, auto adjustable | Lock display advertisements: No

Learn our full Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition review

After I reviewed the brand new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, I used to be struck by the elevated studying expertise it supplied. It’s remarkably quick, the textual content is splendidly crisp and it has a premium design that feels nice to carry. Amazon was in a position to enhance web page flip and scrolling speeds for each the usual Paperwhite and the Signature Version by giving them new processors and utilizing an oxide thin-film transistor layer to allow quicker adjustments on the web page. The layer additionally permits for higher show readability than different transistor layers.

Each the usual and Signature fashions have heat entrance lights that forged a beautiful glow throughout a display that’s somewhat bigger now at 7-inches (up from 6.8 final time). The battery life is longer, promising as much as 12 weeks (as a substitute of 10), which means you’ll hardly ever must cost your ereader. Regardless of that, the Paperwhite fashions are literally three millimeters thinner than the earlier technology (and only a contact heavier).

With the Signature Version, you additionally get auto-adjusting entrance lights that dim or brighten as daylight fades otherwise you transfer from room to room. The storage capability goes up from 16GB to 32GB, so even in case you obtain a complete bunch of audiobooks, you aren’t more likely to run out of area too rapidly. And eventually, you get a wi-fi charging possibility for the periodic events when it’s time for a refill. All of these options are good to have, although not essential — however for anybody who needs to learn ebooks in essentially the most luxe method potential, the Signature mannequin is the one to go for.

If you would like an expertise that’s almost as deluxe, however don’t want the wi-fi charging, auto-adjusting lights and additional capability, the Paperwhite continues to be noticeably extra premium than the usual Kindle, whereas nonetheless getting you entry to all of the perks that solely Kindles supply, like Goodreads integration, Kindle Unique titles, Kindle Limitless subscription books and Whispersync tech that strains up your audio and e book reads so you may swap between the 2 codecs.

Display measurement: 7” | Show sort: Black/white and shade E Ink | Decision: 300 dpi black & white, 150 dpi shade | Capability: 64GB | Battery life: Weeks | Waterproof score: splash-resistant | Heat gentle: Sure | Lock display advertisements: No

Colour E Ink screens are the “new” factor in ereaders — though the tech has been commercially accessible since around 2010. E Ink introduced its Kaleido 3 show in 2022, and with the fitting mixture of shade saturation and readability, it’s now interesting sufficient for basic consumption. The most recent ereaders from each Boox and Kobo are shade fashions, and there’s little doubt Amazon will stick shade in a Kindle within the close to future (probably as a alternative to the now-unavailable Kindle Oasis).

The Boox Go Color 7 (Amazon, Boox) is a pure option to supplant our earlier winner on this class. The Boox Page continues to be accessible, and represents an awesome multipurpose pill that simply handles ereader and pill duties. The brand new Go Colour not solely layers shade on prime of that, it additionally has double the storage capability, an additional gig of RAM and ships with Android 12. The again can be textured as a substitute of slick, an improve my accident-prone fingers are grateful for. And all of this comes on the similar $250 checklist value because the Web page.

Boox caught a quicker quad-core processor within the Web page. That made for a noticeable uptick in velocity when in comparison with the reader’s predecessor, the Leaf 2. This appears to be the identical CPU within the Go Colour and I haven’t seen an enormous velocity distinction with the brand new reader — although it’s a lot quick. The battery has the identical 2,300mAh capability, however ereader batteries final the order of some weeks, so an improve in that division wasn’t actually essential.

The Go Colour 7 runs on a fork of Android 12, which permits it to behave extra like a pill than a standard ereader. Like all Boox units, this method is finest fitted to the tech-savvy. In contrast to a Kindle or Kobo, which come preconfigured with a retailer and straightforward library-book entry, Boox ereaders supply little hand-holding in setup and utilization. Whereas there’s a retailer, it’s made up of public area titles — most individuals will learn books by importing ePubs manually or by ereader apps like Kobo, Kindle, Libby and others from the built-in Google Play retailer.

Boox’s built-in ereader app, NeoReader, is properly featured with an excellent quantity of management over the look of the textual content. But it surely solely handles DRM-free ePubs from websites like Mission Gutenberg or publishers like Tor. If you wish to learn ePubs with digital rights administration, which make up the overwhelming majority of present ebooks, you’ll want to make use of a distinct app. Paradoxically, I’ve been utilizing PocketBook’s ereader app to learn DRM ePubs I purchased from third events.

The pill is impressively customizable, with programmable buttons and fine-tunable settings. Boox users have created APK recordsdata to tweak and enhance the expertise additional. The machine even has a microphone and audio system, and might run apps like Spotify. Briefly, the Go Colour 7 can do excess of a typical ereader can, in case you’re prepared to experiment.

The studying expertise is enhanced with a tender, adjustable entrance gentle with temperature management that makes for nice low-light studying and the flush, glare-free, display is lush and detailed. Like all shade ereaders, you do surrender a modicum of readability to accommodate the colour array, and the heat is noticeably extra yellow. I solely seen the distinction once I set comparable ereaders side-by-side and, actually, it’s the distinction between a brilliant duper crisp display and solely a brilliant crisp display.

The tender and muted colours have a saturated appear to be watercolors or previous comedian e book illustrations. Evaluating the identical e book cowl on the Kobo Clara Color and this, the Boox hues do look a contact grainier and fewer wealthy. However that’s a small sacrifice in case you want an ereader that may do excess of simply carry your books round.

Display measurement: 6.13” Decision: 300 dpi | Capability: 128GB | Waterproof: Sure, splashes and spills | Heat gentle: Sure | Lock display advertisements: No

Boox makes two sizes of its ereader. The is smaller than the , doesn’t have buttons and goes for about $80 much less. However after attempting it, I don’t suggest it. It’s laggy and getting the Google Play Retailer to work was a ache. As soon as I did, web page turns in apps like Kindle had been excruciatingly gradual.

The Boox , nonetheless, is sort of enjoyable. It’s the identical measurement and form as a smartphone and, in quite a lot of methods, acts like one. The house display is a muted black and white model of what you would possibly discover on an ordinary Android — you may even add a number of widgets. Just like the Web page, it may well obtain and run apps from the Google Play Retailer and has audio system to play music and movies. The E Ink display (a Carta 1200) renders textual content crisply, however photos, notably shifting ones, look far grainier and rougher than they might on an actual telephone’s LED display. That mentioned, the video high quality is the very best I’ve seen on an E Ink display, because of a software program enchancment Boox calls Tremendous Refresh Know-how.

However make no mistake, it’s not going to exchange your telephone. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are the one connectivity and the 16MP digicam is only for making doc scans you may convert to PDFs. However the phone-like construct is comfortingly acquainted and the E Ink display is gorgeous to learn. At $280, it’s dearer than an ordinary ereader — and a few E Ink tablets — but it surely’s a extremely transportable strategy to learn Kindle, Kobo, Google Books and different ePubs, whereas additionally dealing with easy video games and apps like a smartphone. When you’re sick of the glow of your handset, the Boox Palma is an enthralling various.