One of the best ereaders for 2025

Display measurement: 6” | Show kind: Black/white and coloration E Ink | Decision: 300 dpi black & white, 150 dpi coloration | Capability: 16GB| Battery life: As much as 42 days (30 min. every day, 30% brightness, Wi-Fi/BT off) | Waterproof ranking: IPX8 (submergible to six toes for 60 minutes) | Heat mild: Sure | Lock display advertisements: No | Textual content codecs: EPUB, EPUB3, FlePub, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR

Learn our full Kobo Clara Color evaluate

Our earlier decide for this class, the Kobo Clara 2E was a superb 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 anxious we’d see Kobo system with superfluous revamping to justify an inflated value. Fortunately, that’s not the case. The Kobo Clara Color not solely provides coloration and a quicker processor, it’s simply $10 greater than the earlier technology.

Because the identify suggests, this ereader provides coloration to the web page, lending just a little vibrance to guide 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 coloration filter layer on high of the usual black and white microcapsule layer. That ends in two totally different resolutions on one display: 150 dpi for coloration and 300 dpi for textual content.

Full-color pages remind me of comedian guide artwork from the ‘60s, muted however saturated. Colour makes guide covers extra engaging and provides just a little selection to headings, and tables in some non-fiction books. It’s definitely not a mandatory function, nevertheless it provides vibrance and it’s enjoyable. 

There’s a slight distinction in readability between the colour and non-color model of the Clara. If you happen to look carefully, you may see a little bit of noise on the white elements of the web page. That is because of the added coloration filter layer. It isn’t distracting and solely one thing I seen when evaluating the 2 generations side-by-side. but when absolute readability is your main objective, chances are 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 pace of the web page turns and navigating from the menu to the web page and again once more is sort of 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 mild continues to be right here (it’s truly just a little hotter on the Color) and makes studying at evening straightforward 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’ll be able to customise your studying expertise with choices for font, font measurement, line spacing, margins and so forth. Kobos don’t have a method to save a gaggle 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 guide the way you need it to look.

The Color is sort of 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 mild, responsive controls and lack of advertisements (which price $20 to do away with on Amazon’s system) make it value it. And, in nice information for the proper to restore 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 sort of an identical to our earlier “greatest general” decide. It does not endure from the slight readability loss that the colour overlay presents, nevertheless it additionally nonetheless has the older processor.   

After all, for those who already personal a mountain of Kindle books, chances are you’ll wish to persist with Amazon’s system. In that case, one of the best Kindle is Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite. It prices $160 and was just lately up to date with a extra highly effective processor and new E Ink tech that makes it exceptionally speedy whereas displaying high-contrast textual content. The nice and cozy mild is nice and the flush entrance display feels premium. Another consideration, now that Amazon now has its personal coloration mannequin too, is the Colorsoft, however at $280, it’s considerably costlier than the Clara Color and even the Paperwhite Signature Version.

Display measurement: 6” | Show kind: Black/white E Ink | Decision: 300dpi | Capability: 16GB | Battery life: 6 weeks | Waterproof ranking: None | Heat mild: No | Lock display advertisements: Sure | Textual content codecs: Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, DOCX, DOC, HTML, EPUB, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP by conversion

If you happen to simply wish to learn books, and haven’t any want for the perks that the fancier ereaders convey (coloration, waterproof ranking, heat mild, and so forth), then the bottom mannequin Kindle 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 listing, however nonetheless feels lots 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, nevertheless it’s nonetheless the most affordable ereader from any of the key producers. And if we all know one factor about Amazon, it’s that the corporate loves an excellent sale, so that you’ll doubtless discover it on low cost for those who can maintain out for Prime Day or Black Friday offers.

The reader is a no-frills gateway to one of the best of what the Kindle ecosystem has to supply, together with Kindle Unique titles, with books by established authors in addition to newer, self-published writers; Kindle Limitless presents the widest number of any subscription-based studying service on the market; and Audible Originals is made up of narrated titles and podcasts you may solely hear by a Kindle system or Amazon-owned app.

If you happen to like to change between audiobooks and ebooks, Kindle is the way in which to go. Once you purchase each iterations of a title, you not solely get a reduction, however the Whispersync function 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 allows you to decide up on-screen the place you left off audibly. (Although we should always level out that you would be able to’t pay attention and browse 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 dissatisfied that there’s nonetheless no method to regulate the zones and responses to touchscreen gestures, like there may be on each Kobo and Boox units. Kindles all have a really slender strip on the left for going again a web page and I’m consistently lacking it and going ahead as a substitute. Although swipes typically work effectively.

Most likely probably the most noticeable lacking function is the 6-inch display’s lack of heat mild. In comparison with any ereader with that choice, the display on the usual Kindle seems harsh and bluish, nevertheless it’s nonetheless far simpler in your eyes than a cellphone or pill display. There’s loads of customization for the font, measurement and margins, too. You’ll be able to 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 folks gained’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, largely selling Kindle guide 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 guide cowl of what I’m at present studying, nevertheless it’s straightforward to recover from that if all you need is a extra handy method to devour books on the lowest value.

Display measurement: 7” | Show kind: Black/white and coloration E Ink | Decision: 300 dpi black & white, 150 dpi coloration | Capability: 32GB | Battery life: Weeks | Waterproof ranking: IPX8 (submergible to six toes for 60 minutes) | Heat mild: Sure | Lock display advertisements: No | Textual content codecs: EPUB, EPUB3, FlePub, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR

When Kobo got here out with the brand new Clara Color, it additionally debuted the new Libra Color, which is likely to be the extra thrilling of the 2 units. Along with coloration expertise from the E Ink Kaleido panel and an upgraded processor, the Libra now has stylus help. It’s the one ereader on this listing with that function, making it so much like a small E Ink pill — however all of its new options truly make it a greater ereader.

Once I wrote concerning the earlier technology 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 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 sort of 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 mild 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 coloration, guide covers all look extra engaging — although, in case your TBR listing 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 but beat their real-world counterparts. That’s largely how I really feel about styluses — I’m only a large 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 guide 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 accident pressed the button just a few instances after I was making an attempt to write down, however I acquired used to the location after a couple of minutes of utilizing it. You’ll be able to decide from 4 totally different highlighter colours and consider your written notes and spotlighted textual content within the notes part of any title — which I might see being fairly helpful for guide 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 immediately on the textual content labored on each guide I attempted. Although I ought to level out that for those who change the font measurement in a guide, your handwritten notes will probably be transformed to a sticky note-type field. Going again to the unique font restores your authentic scribbles.

The Kobo Libra Color is $30 costlier than the Libra 2, however you get so much for $220. If it have been simply an ereader, the beautiful colours, responsive studying expertise, quick web page turns and simple 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.

After all, the stylus prices additional 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 just lately up to date (and hottest) stylus-enabled ereader the Amazon Kindle Scribe. It is also cheaper than Kobo’s personal 10-inch mannequin, the Elipsa 2E. The Scribe has a, 10.2-inch display and the Elipsa 2E has a ten.3-inch display. That is a pleasant measurement for writing however, for me, is just a little large for an ereader. The Libra Color alternatively has simply the suitable options on the proper measurement, plus some extras that stretch its usefulness.

Display measurement: 6” | Show kind: Black/white E Ink | Decision: 300dpi | Capability: 32GB | Battery life: 12 weeks | Waterproof ranking: IPX8 | Heat mild: Sure, auto adjustable | Lock display advertisements: No| Textual content codecs: Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, DOCX, DOC, HTML, EPUB, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP by conversion

Learn our full Kindle Paperwhite Signature Version evaluate

Once I reviewed the brand new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Version, 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 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 forged a beautiful glow throughout a display that’s just a little 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 for those who obtain an entire bunch of audiobooks, you aren’t more likely to run out of house too shortly. And eventually, you get a wi-fi charging choice for the periodic events when it’s time for a refill. All of these options are good to have, although not mandatory — however for anybody who needs to learn ebooks in probably the most luxe approach attainable, the Signature mannequin is the one to go for.

In order for you an expertise that’s practically as deluxe, however don’t want the wi-fi charging, auto-adjusting lights and additional capability specs, the non-Signature Paperwhite continues to be noticeably extra premium than the usual Kindle, with a bigger display, ultra-crisp textual content and an opulent construct. Plus you continue to get entry to all of the perks that solely Kindles provide, like Goodreads integration, Kindle Unique titles, Kindle Limitless subscription books and Whispersync tech that strains up your audio and book reads so you may swap between the 2 codecs. 

There’s additionally the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Childs, which is identical gadget, however comes with a canopy, an extended guarantee and a six-month subscription to Amazon Youngsters+. 

Display measurement: 7” | Show kind: Black/white and coloration E Ink | Decision: 300 dpi black & white, 150 dpi coloration | Capability: 64GB | Battery life: Weeks | Waterproof ranking: splash-resistant | Heat mild: Sure | Lock display advertisements: No | Textual content codecs: PDF, CAJ, DJVU, CBR, CBZ, EPUB, EPUB3, AZW3, MOBI, TXT, DOC, DOCX, FB2, CHM, RTF, HTML, ZIP, PRC, PPT, PPTX, PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF

Colour E Ink screens are the “new” factor in ereaders — although the tech has been commercially obtainable since round 2010. E Ink introduced its Kaleido 3 show in 2022, and with the suitable mixture of coloration saturation and readability, it’s now interesting sufficient for normal consumption. Now Boox, Kobo and, eventually, Amazon all have fashions with coloration screens.

The Boox Go Colour 7 (obtainable from Amazon and Boox) is a pure option to supplant our earlier winner on this class, the Boox Web page. The Go Colour 7 not solely provides coloration, it additionally comes with double the storage capability, an additional gig of RAM and ships with Android 12. The again is now textured as a substitute of slick, an improve my accident-prone fingers are grateful for, and the processor is quicker too, going from a 2.0Ghz octa core CPU to a 2.4Ghz chip. This all comes on the similar $250 listing value because the Web page. 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 mandatory.

For the reason that Go Colour 7 runs on a fork of Android 12, it acts extra like a pill than a traditional ereader. Like all Boox units, this method is greatest fitted to the tech-savvy. Not like a Kindle or Kobo, which come preconfigured with a retailer to purchase books, in addition to straightforward borrowing out of your native library system, 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, extra doubtless, you’ll learn on a third-party ereader app like Kobo, Kindle, Libby and others, which you’ll obtain 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. However it solely handles DRM-free ePub information from websites like Venture 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. Mockingly, I’ve been utilizing the ereader app from PocketBook (a rival firm) to learn the DRM ePubs I buy from third events.

The Go Collection readers are impressively customizable, with programmable buttons and fine-tunable settings. Boox customers have created APK information to tweak and enhance the expertise additional. The system even has a microphone and audio system, and may run apps like Spotify. In brief, the Go Colour 7 can do way over a typical ereader can, for those who’re keen to experiment.

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

The comfortable and muted colours have a saturated appear to be watercolors or outdated comedian guide illustrations. Evaluating the identical guide 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 way over simply carry your books round.

Display measurement: 6.13” | Decision: 300 dpi | Capability: 128GB | Waterproof: Sure, splashes and spills | Heat mild: Sure | Lock display advertisements: No | Textual content codecs: PDF, CAJ, DJVU, CBR, CBZ, EPUB, EPUB3, AZW3, MOBI, TXT, DOC, DOCX, FB2, CHM, RTF, HTML, ZIP, PRC, PPT, PPTX

Boox has the widest vary of codecs of any ereader firm I’ve examined — and the Boox Palma is probably the most enjoyable. It’s the identical measurement and form as a smartphone and, in a variety of methods, it acts like one, too. The house display is a muted black-and-white model of what you would possibly discover on a typical Android cellphone — you may even add widgets. Like most Boox units, 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 transferring ones, look grainier and rougher than they might on an actual cellphone’s LCD or OLED display. That stated, the video high quality is one of the best I’ve seen on an E Ink display, due to a software program enchancment Boox calls Tremendous Refresh Know-how.

The most recent technology of the Palma provides an upgraded processor, a fingerprint unlock button and ships with Android 13, all of which ought to make it much more succesful. However make no mistake, it’s not going to switch your cellphone. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are the one connectivity and the 16MP digital camera 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 costlier than a typical ereader — and even some E Ink tablets — nevertheless it’s a extremely moveable method to learn Kindle, Kobo, Google Books and different ePubs, whereas additionally dealing with easy video games and apps like a smartphone. If you happen to’re sick of the glow of your handset, the Boox Palma is a captivating various.