The perfect ereaders for 2025

Display dimension: 6” | Show sort: Black/white and colour E Ink | Decision: 300 dpi black & white, 150 dpi colour | Capability: 16GB| Battery life: Weeks | Waterproof ranking: IPX8 (submergible to six toes for 60 minutes) | Heat gentle: Sure | Lock display screen adverts: 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 nervous we’d see Kobo system with superfluous revamping to justify an inflated worth. Fortunately, that’s not the case. The Kobo Clara Colour not solely provides colour and a quicker processor, it’s simply $10 greater than the earlier era.

Because the identify suggests, this ereader provides colour to the web page, lending a bit of vibrance to e book covers, tables and graphs, and even the panels of graphic novels. The know-how comes from E Ink, within the type of the Kaleido 3 module that includes a colour filter layer on high of the usual black and white microcapsule layer. That leads to two totally different resolutions on one display screen: 150 dpi for colour and 300 dpi for textual content.

Full-color pages remind me of comedian e book artwork from the ‘60s, muted however saturated. Shade makes e book covers extra engaging and provides a bit of selection to headings, and tables in some non-fiction books. It’s definitely not a obligatory function, 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. Should you look intently, you’ll be able to see a little bit of noise on the white components of the web page. That is because of the added colour filter layer. It is not distracting and solely one thing I observed when evaluating the 2 generations side-by-side. but when absolute readability is your main purpose, you could 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 pace 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 not often 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 truly a bit of hotter on the Color) and makes studying at night time straightforward on the eyes. The working system is similar, 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 dimension, 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 equivalent in form and dimension, 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 screen 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 adverts (which value $20 to eliminate on Amazon’s system) make it price 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 way of a partnership with iFixit. 

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

In fact, for those who already personal a mountain of Kindle books, you could need to keep on with Amazon’s system. In that case, your finest guess is . It prices $160 and was not too long ago 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 screen feels premium. In fact, Amazon now has its personal colour mannequin too, the , however at $280, it’s considerably dearer than the Clara Color and even the Paperwhite Signature Edition.

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

Should you simply need to learn books, and don’t have any want for the perks that the fancier ereaders carry (colour, waterproof ranking, 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 foremost producers. And if we all know one factor about Amazon, it’s that the corporate loves a very good sale, so that you’ll seemingly discover it on low cost for those who can maintain out for Prime Day or Black Friday offers.

The Kindle is a no-frills gateway to one of the best of what Amazon has to supply, together with titles, with books by established authors in addition to newer, self-published writers; provides the widest collection of any subscription-based studying service on the market; and is made up of narrated titles and podcasts you’ll be able to solely hear by way of a Kindle system or Amazon-owned app.

Should you like to change between audiobooks and ebooks, Kindle is the way in which to go. Whenever you purchase each iterations of a title, you not solely get a reduction, however the Whispersync function traces up the place you’re within the e-printed model with the narration, too. Say you hear for an hour after which need to learn – the synchronization allows you to decide up on-screen the place you left off audibly. (Although we must always level out which you can’t hear and skim concurrently on the identical system.) In exams, the function 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 disenchanted that there’s nonetheless no strategy to modify 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 consistently lacking it and going ahead as a substitute. Although swipes usually work nicely.

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

Some individuals gained’t be bothered by the lock display screen adverts that come customary 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 with the ability to set the sleep display screen to the e book cowl of what I’m at present studying, but it surely’s straightforward to recover from that if all you need is a extra handy strategy to devour books on the lowest worth.

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

When Kobo got here out with the brand new Clara Color, it additionally debuted the new Libra Colour, which may be the extra thrilling of the 2 units. Along with colour know-how 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 function, making it loads like a small E Ink tablet — however all of its new options truly make it a greater ereader.

After I wrote concerning the earlier era ereader, the Libra 2, I used to be impressed by how snug it was for studying. None of that has modified; the buttons and auto-rotating display screen adapt the system to only 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 wanting 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 colour, e book covers all look extra engaging — although, in case your TBR checklist is already three toes lengthy, this gained’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 could, 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 spotlight 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 facet so it doesn’t get misplaced.

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

Writing within the margins or instantly on the textual content labored on each e book I attempted. Although I ought to level out that for those who change the font dimension in a e book, your handwritten notes shall 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 loads for $220. If it have been simply an ereader, the beautiful colours, responsive studying expertise, quick web page turns and straightforward highlights would make it well worth the worth. However you additionally get options that make it extra than simply an ereader, like Dropbox and Google Drive integration, a beta net browser and free-writing and text-converting notebooks.

In fact, the stylus prices further and also you gained’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 not too long ago (and hottest) stylus-enabled ereader, . That one has a much bigger, 10.2-inch display screen, which is sweet for writing however, for me, is a bit of huge for an ereader. The Libra Color then again has simply the precise options on the proper dimension, plus some extras that stretch its usefulness.

Display dimension: 6” | Show sort: Black/white E Ink | Decision: 300dpi | Capability: 32GB | Battery life: 12 weeks | Waterproof ranking: IPX8 | Heat gentle: Sure, auto adjustable | Lock display screen adverts: 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 offered. It’s remarkably quick, the textual content is splendidly crisp and it has a premium design that feels nice to carry. Amazon was capable of 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 modifications 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 solid a beautiful glow throughout a display screen that’s a bit of 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 not often must cost your ereader. Regardless of that, the Paperwhite fashions are literally three millimeters thinner than the earlier era (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 for those who obtain a complete bunch of audiobooks, you aren’t prone to run out of area too shortly. And at last, 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 obligatory — however for anybody who needs to learn ebooks in essentially the most luxe manner doable, the Signature mannequin is the one to go for.

If you would like an expertise that’s practically as deluxe, however don’t want the wi-fi charging, auto-adjusting lights and further 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 provide, like Goodreads integration, Kindle Unique titles, Kindle Limitless subscription books and Whispersync tech that traces up your audio and e-book reads so you’ll be able to swap between the 2 codecs.

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

Shade E Ink screens are the “new” factor in ereaders — regardless that the tech has been commercially out there since around 2010. E Ink introduced its Kaleido 3 show in 2022, and with the precise mixture of colour saturation and readability, it’s now interesting sufficient for basic consumption. The most recent ereaders from each Boox and Kobo are colour fashions, and there’s little doubt Amazon will stick colour in a Kindle within the close to future (presumably as a substitute 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 out there, and represents a fantastic multipurpose pill that simply handles ereader and pill duties. The brand new Go Shade not solely layers colour on high 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 identical $250 checklist worth because the Web page.

Boox caught a quicker quad-core processor within the Web page. That made for a noticeable uptick in pace when in comparison with the reader’s predecessor, the Leaf 2. This seems to be the identical CPU within the Go Shade and I haven’t observed an enormous pace 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 obligatory.

The Go Shade 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 suited to the tech-savvy. In contrast to a Kindle or Kobo, which come preconfigured with a retailer and straightforward library-book entry, Boox ereaders provide 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 way of 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 a very good quantity of management over the look of the textual content. However it solely handles DRM-free ePubs from websites like Undertaking 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 special app. Sarcastically, 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 system even has a microphone and audio system, and might run apps like Spotify. In brief, the Go Shade 7 can do excess of a typical ereader can, for those who’re prepared to experiment.

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

The mushy and muted colours have a saturated seem like 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 for those who want an ereader that may do excess of simply carry your books round.

Display dimension: 6.13” Decision: 300 dpi | Capability: 128GB | Water-resistant: Sure, splashes and spills | Heat gentle: Sure | Lock display screen adverts: 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 have been excruciatingly gradual.

The Boox , nevertheless, is sort of enjoyable. It’s the identical dimension and form as a smartphone and, in lots of methods, acts like one. The house display screen is a muted black and white model of what you would possibly discover on a typical Android — you’ll be able to 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 screen (a Carta 1200) renders textual content crisply, however pictures, notably shifting ones, look far grainier and rougher than they might on an actual cellphone’s LED display screen. That stated, the video high quality is one of the best I’ve seen on an E Ink display screen, because of a software program enchancment Boox calls Tremendous Refresh Know-how.

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