Onyx Boox Go 10.3 Monochrome: one-minute review

Onyx has been aggressively pushing out new ereaders and e-paper writing tablets for a while now – the brand released the unique and compact Onyx Boox Palma and the Boox Note Air 3 series in quick succession, then followed it up with a new series called Go. This includes the Onyx Boox Go Color 7 ereader and the Boox Go 10.3 writing tablet that launched together, and a smaller Go 6 ereader that came later. It’s nice to have choices but, at the speed that it’s churning out new models, is Onyx making great products to keep up with the competition?

With the Boox Go 10.3, the Chinese brand has done better than what it did with the Go Color 7, which had too many software flaws when I tested it. The Go 10.3, on the other hand, is a far better device that looks remarkably like the reMarkable 2.

As the name suggests, it’s a 10.3-inch dedicated e-paper writing tablet and, like its Scandinavian counterpart, writes like a dream. Stylus input is fantastic with no lag whatsoever. With different pen and brush choices, plus different nib thicknesses, it will easily work as a digital sketch pad too.

While the reMarkable 2 was designed to remove distractions from the creative process, the Go 10.3 isn’t so discerning – you get full access to the Google Play Store on account of it running on a trimmed-down version of Android 12, plus there are a lot more features in the note-taking application than on a reMarkable. It’s important to note that not all third-party apps will allow stylus input, so you’ll need to decide which ones will be the most useful to you.

It can also double up as an ereader thanks to the baked-in library app (NeoReader), something the reMarkable doesn’t quite master. However, lacking a screen light – just like the reMarkable – you’re not going to be able to use it for nighttime reading.

What I find most impressive here is that Onyx has trimmed its user interface down to make it a lot – and I do mean A LOT – more streamlined than on its previous e-ink tablets, but it still requires a slight learning curve. If you’re willing to put that time in, it could well be the better e-paper writing tablet for you, especially since the price difference between it and the reMarkable 2 isn’t all that different.

Onyx Boox Go 10.3 review: price & availability

• List price: $379.99 / €419.99 (about £355) / AU$699
• Ships with a stylus and magnetic sleep case from the Boox Shop
• Available to buy directly from the Boox Shop or third-party retailers

Launched in June 2024, the Boox Go 10.3 e-paper tablet carries a list price of $379.99 / €419.99 (about £355) / AU$699. When purchased directly from the Boox Shop, this price includes the stylus and a beige magnetic sleep case, but the latter may not be available as part of the bundle in some markets when bought from third-party resellers.

Given the reMarkable 2 has a similar price tag, now available for $379 / £389 / AU$639 bundled with the base Marker – which is a small drop since the reMarkable Paper Pro was launched – the Boox is quite well priced. In fact, it’s cheaper than the company’s own Onyx Boox Note Air 3, which retails for $479 / €549.99 (around £445) / AU$749 at full price.

However, without a screen light, it’s a little hard to recommend over other writing e-paper tablets like the Kobo Elipsa 2E ($399 / £350 / AU$629) and the Amazon Kindle Scribe (starting price of $339 / £339 / AU$549). If you want something far more portable than the 10-inch tablets, the Kobo Libra Colour will set you back $219.99 / £219.99 / AU$359.95 plus an additional $69.99 / £69.95 / AU$119.95 for the Kobo Stylus 2 purchased separately – that's good bang for buck considering you get a good color display and the full suite of Kobo writing features.

• Value score: 3.5 / 5

Onyx Boox Go 10.3 review: specs

Onyx Boox Go 10.3 review: Design & display

• Beautiful, slimline design in white and grey
• 10.3-inch E Ink Carta 1200 screen with no frontlighting
• Built-in speakers and mic

The Boox Go 10.3 takes a lot of its design cues from the reMarkable 2 but there are some differences that make the Onyx tablet smaller, lighter and potentially more durable. For starters, the Go 10.3 has a textured rear panel that feels very much like faux leather but is plastic. It offers a lot more grip than the glass on reMarkable 2, and makes the Boox lighter in comparison. This also means that the Go 10.3 doesn’t need the little nubs that the reMarkable uses as feet to protect its rear panel.

The aluminum edges of the Go 10.3 are rounded, leading to slim bezels that sit flush with the glass screen. The lower bezel, which is broader on both the Boox and the reMarkable, is comparatively smaller on the Go 10.3, making it the slightly shorter tablet and potentially shaves off a tiny weight too. The flip side to that is the Go 10.3 is more prone to accidental screen touches as compared to the reMarkable 2. Personally, I prefer the bezels on the reMarkable 2, with the metallic finish and white borders – epitomizing Scandinavian minimalism – compared to the light grey on the Boox.

Keeping the rest of the design looking sleek, the Go 10.3’s power button, placed on the top right edge (compared to the top left on the reMarkable), sticks out only marginally, so you can find it by feel. The bottom edge houses the USB-C port in the middle, with speaker and mic grills on either side of it.

The Go 10.3 is now arguably the thinnest writing tablet in this class – its thickness is only just enough to enclose the aforementioned USB-C port – measuring just 4.6mm. That’s just a millimeter less than the reMarkable 2 which, until now, has held the title of the thinnest e-paper writing tablet. The Go 10.3 tips the scales at a mere 375g, which is lighter than the reMarkable 2 (403.5g) and the 2022 Amazon Kindle Scribe (433g). Despite that, it doesn’t feel fragile in the hand.

As the name suggests, the Boox boasts a 10.3-inch display, which uses the E Ink Carta 1200 screen technology. That’s now a generation behind with the Carta 1300 already in use in the Kobo Clara BW and Amazon adopting it in its 2024 range of Kindles. Where the Go 10.3 one-ups the reMarkable 2 is in screen resolution and overall contrast – you get a 300ppi display here (compared to 226ppi), while a side-by-side comparison shows that the blacks are blacker on the Boox. This makes text appear sharper on the Go 10.3 as compared to its competition, although the contrast on the Kobo Elipsa 2E (which also has a 227ppi screen resolution) is much better than the Go 10.3, which makes the latter a superior ereader.

That said, the reMarkable’s screen has a better anti-glare coating than the Boox – during my testing I frequently had issues with overhead lights creating bright spots on the Go 10.3, which made reading at certain angles quite difficult.

Thanks to the glass layer on the screen, writing on the Go 10.3 is a pleasure. I’d say it comes close to the reMarkable 2 and the Kindle Scribe – which are my favourite e-paper tablets to write on – with the Boox coming in a very close third. It ships with a stylus, which is a basic pen that doesn’t have the eraser functionality – for such a premium tablet, I think that’s a glaring omission.

If you’re buying the tablet directly from Onyx, you’ll also get a magnetic sleepcover for the Go 10.3. It’s a lovely-looking beige faux-leather folio, with a fold on the rear panel to convert it into a stand. However, the flap that keeps the folio closed is a separate piece that attaches magnetically and is easily dislodged when taking the tablet in and out of the bag. In fact, if you fold the cover back completely, the flap magnetically sticks to the front panel and comes away with it when you close the folio. It’s a small thing but I found it so annoying that I stopped using it after a couple of days into my testing.

Unfortunately you’re likely to lose the stylus without the folio case. While the right edge of the Go 10.3 is magnetic to secure the stylus, it’s too darn weak to be of any use. The curved edge doesn’t help either, reducing the amount of surface area the pen gets to secure itself to.

• Design & display score: 4 / 5

Onyx Boox Go 10.3 review: Software & user interface

As mentioned earlier in this review, the Boox Go 10.3 runs a custom, trimmed-down version of Android 12 that focuses purely on reading and writing. Importantly, Onyx has also used this focus to streamline the user interface on the Go 10.3, which makes it a much easier Boox tablet to use than any I’ve tested before.

I suspect it’s this better UX that has eliminated a lot of the software issues I had with the Onyx Boox Go Color 7, or the company put all its efforts into the bigger flagship tablet and didn’t test out the smaller ereader enough before release. Whatever the reason, it means the Go 10.3 is a superior writing tablet that can give the reMarkable 2 a run for its money.

So while you won’t get the smartphone experience here, you will be able to download third-party apps from the Google Play Store, which makes the Go 10.3 a more versatile writing tablet than anything from the competition.

Android OS and apps

• Customized Android UX
• The most streamlined UX of any previous Boox writing tablet
• Not all third-party apps are usable

All current Boox devices run on a customized version of Android – Android 12 in this case – which is how you’re able to get access to the Google Play Store. Despite the OS being a little out of date compared to what you’d get on the latest Android phone, it’s not an issue for an e-paper tablet.

The Boox already has full support for Evernote and OneNote, as well as easy syncing to cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive, but you can also download and use other apps that you prefer. One thing to keep in mind is that not all of them will offer stylus input if the developer hasn’t allowed for it on the Android version of that particular app, or there could be input delays when rendering the writing on screen, which happened to me when trying Evernote.

Another thing to keep in mind when using an e-paper tablet like the Go 10.3 is that not all apps are optimized for this kind of display. Practically every app on the Play Store will have been developed for use on an LCD or OLED display – so a smartphone or a multimedia tablet – and E Ink’s screen tech doesn’t respond as well. Firstly, the screen refresh rate isn’t fast enough for most non-productivity applications, so while you can watch videos on YouTube in black and white, it’s not the best experience. You can play some mobile games (again, in black and white), but your graphics won’t be as clean as on your phone or regular tablet, and that’s despite the Go 10.3 using a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor paired with an Adreno 610 GPU.

What I really like about the Go 10.3 over other similar Onyx Boox note-taking tablets is the overall user interface – it’s a lot cleaner and streamlined here, and isn’t plagued with the same software glitches I found when I tested the Boox Go Color 7. The only problem is that the default Fonts folder in the Settings isn’t connected to the Storage tab where it needs to live – so anyone sideloading fonts will need to create a new Fonts folder under Storage to make them work on NeoReader (the native library app).

The main applications are arranged to the left, making navigation simple, and an easy swipe up from the bottom bezel exits the app you're on. The system settings are also more streamlined, but there are still plenty of customization options within the System Display tab and Gestures. The latter is similar to what you’d find on other Android devices which, I personally think, is a bit of an overkill for the Go 10.3 but I’m sure other users would appreciate the various options.

As with other Boox devices, there’s also a NaviBall, which is optional to use. Tap on this circular icon and it will open a selection of up to nine configurable buttons to trigger up to 30 different functions.

You also have the Control Center on the Go 10.3 which is an easy way to access specific features like the AI assistant, Boox cloud storage, Kids Mode, Split Screen and, importantly, the E Ink Center. The last option is the most useful in my opinion as this is where you can control a lot of the system settings for the device, especially adjusting the refresh rate from a choice of four speed settings. Better yet, you can set individual apps at different refresh rates to suit.

The one feature on any Boox device that’s been the least useful is the built-in bookstore. You’ll typically find titles that are already in the public domain, but considering you can always use the Kindle or Kobo app on the Go 10.3, you can ignore the Store tab entirely. You can also use the native browser to make purchases online.

One thing to note here: like the Boox Go Color 7, the Go 10.3 doesn't register on a Mac device's Finder application, which makes it hard to transfer files via a cable. It does, however, register on a Windows machine, but I found that existing files cannot be found via the usual pathways. The best way to use this Boox tablet is via cloud sync.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Writing & productivity

• Native note-taking app is great but might be overkill for some users
• Broad support for note apps and cloud services
• Excellent stylus input

When it comes to writing, the Go 10.3 has excellent stylus input – there was never any lag during my testing. That said, I did have the input fail a few times on the native Notes app (where a line appeared on screen the moment the stylus touches it), and a full restart of the tablet was needed to fixed the problem. I’ve encountered this issue on the Kobo Elipsa 2E as well, but the latter allows for just that page to be refreshed, which solves the problem quicker than on the Boox.

Despite being a grayscale device, there is support for a handful of colors on the Go 10.3. You’ll see the options when you choose a pen or brush type in the Notes app and, when exported – as a PDF or PNG file – you’ll see those colors displayed on your computer.

There are five pen types to choose from, each with up to five thickness (width) levels.

There’s a heck of a lot of other functionalities within the Notes app itself, so you really don’t need a third-party application for writing or drawing, unless you’re syncing them to a specific cloud account.

You can add shapes and layers for, say, flowcharts and you can insert links to notes as well. The AI icon helps convert handwritten notes to text and, for the most part, the conversion is correct unless your handwriting is literally chicken scratches. Similar to the reMarkable 2, the Go 10.3 is excellent for annotating PDF files – you can fill forms and sign on the device, then export to your computer or a cloud service of your choice. There’s also image-to-text support (OCR) available if you need it, which will make pretty much anything within the powerful Notes app searchable.

Each document can have up to 500 pages, but I found that the bigger the notebook gets, the slower it is to reopen the next time you want to access it on the Go 10.3. This happened with a 7-page document, and the largest I had during my testing was 10 pages, so I’m not entirely sure how well a 100-page document will perform, let alone 500 pages. The aforementioned 10-page document even crashed once during my testing period.

The one thing I wish the native Notes app had was an easier way to delete individual pages within a document. This functionality exists, but is hidden away: you need to tap on the page number displayed on the top right corner, which opens the individual pages on a side panel. There, you need to spot the three dots for each page and then select ‘delete’. It’s a lot easier to do this on other writing tablets like the reMarkable 2, the Kobo Elipsa 2E and the Kindle Scribe.

Another missing feature for multi-page documents is tap-to-turn – you have to use the arrow icons on the top right corner to navigate page by page, or open the side panel to reveal all the pages.

If you’re a digital artist, the Go 10.3 will make an ideal sketchpad. There’s 4,096 pressure sensitivity levels that can capture nuances of the stylus quite well, with brush strokes looking quite detailed on the E Ink display. That said, there’s no tilt support on the Go 10.3, which you will get on the reMarkable 2.

• Writing and productivity score: 4.5 / 5

Reading

• Native library app is full featured
• Default Fonts folder is not linked for use
• Lacks a screen light for nighttime reading

Like the native Notes application, the baked-in NeoReader is also full-featured and has been built for e-paper screens. Text is sharp and very readable on the grayscale display and the customizable Floating Toolbar is handy for quick access to shortcuts. However, comparing the 300ppi display on the Go 10.3 with the 227ppi Kobo Elipsa 2E shows a marked difference in contrast – the lower resolution screen has darker text, which makes it stand out more without the frontlight on.

On the Go 10.3, however, the lack of a light – which it borrows from the reMarkable 2 – makes it hard to use as an ereader for nighttime reading. So if you want your e-ink tablet to double as both an ereader and a note-taker, you might be better off looking elsewhere.

And while there’s wide font support, the NeoReader only has a single (unnamed) serif option available for use without dedicated weights or stylization (like bold and italics). While you can sideload a plethora of fonts, they don’t get saved within the default Fonts folder – instead, you need to create a new one within Storage for the additional fonts to be enabled within the library app.

If you happen to already have a Kindle or Kobo account, I personally recommend them over NeoReader, although the customizations here will be limited to what the two platforms allow on their Android apps. The page setup, though, is cleaner and makes reading a nicer experience. And, as I’ve previously mentioned, the built-in bookstore isn’t worth checking out at all.

• Reading score: 3.5 / 5

Onyx Boox Go 10.3 review: Performance

• Minimal ghosting compared to other Boox tablets
• Responsive screen
• Decent battery life, but significant drain in sleep mode

The combination of the mid-range Snapdragon 680 CPU and the Adreno 610 GPU is plenty to keep the Go 10.3 ticking along real nicely. During my testing, I noticed no issues with core tasks like writing and reading.

It’s arguably one of the best writing experiences I’ve had on an e-ink tablet, with absolutely no stylus input lag, although I found some multi-page handwritten documents can take a little longer than expected to open. One of my documents, which was 10 pages, even crashed, although I think I’ll put this down as a one-off as it happened just once. That said, launching Android apps is quite fast for a device like this and can match some budget phones or traditional tablets.

Individual apps can have their own refresh rates set, which is excellent, although even at the fastest speed, some apps might stutter. This includes the browser which, when scrolling through rapidly, will have a few hiccups. That’s natural, though, as it’s just how e-ink screens are.

One improvement I’ve noticed on the Go 10.3 compared to other Boox tablets is the lack of ghosting. During my testing, I experienced only the mildest when I was using the browser, but had no issues when using the Notes app to write or draw. I did have the occasional overlay when using the NeoReader but, again, it was significantly less than other Boox devices.

Without a screen light, the 3,700mAh battery can go quite the distance – depending on how much you use the Go 10.3, it can last 2-3 weeks on a single charge. However, there is a significant drain when the tablet is in sleep mode. I found it can drop anywhere from 2% to 10%, depending on how long it stays inactive. Onyx gets around this issue by allowing you to let the device power down completely after a day or two of inactivity (you can select this in the Settings pane), but even then I found a little battery drain. While this issue might be fixable via a future firmware update, it can mean that a full charge could last no more than a week.

Moreover, if you use the built-in speakers for listening to audiobooks or music, you might end up draining the battery a little faster than when using it for just writing and reading. And while sound quality isn't the best for music, it's perfectly adequate for audiobook narrations and can get quite loud within a small room. I personally prefer using one of the best wireless headphones for listening on any e-ink tablet.

Topping up the battery isn’t too bad – I found the Go 10.3 went from 20% to full in approximately two hours. This is when plugged into a 65W wall charger and using a high quality USB-C to C cable (not the provided one) – it will be slower to juice up if you plug the device into a PC, laptop or a docking station, or if you use a USB-A to C cable.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Onyx Boox Go 10.3 e-paper tablet?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the Onyx Boox Go 10.3

• Used the device for approximately two months
• It became my main writing device during that time
• Did some reading and listened to some audio files as well

The first thing I did when I took the Go 10.3 out of its box was to sign into my Onyx account to sync existing notes across from previous Boox tablets I've used. I then signed into my Google account to transfer some ebooks to the tablet and access the Play Store.

Previous experience with Boox devices had already taught me to avoid the built-in bookstore, so I promptly downloaded both the Kindle and Kobo Android apps to access the libraries I've built up on those two platforms. I also downloaded a couple of benchmarking applications to determine what CPU was being used (Onyx doesn't make it very clear on its site) and check the battery stats.

The Go 10.3 then became my daily note-taker – I used it for a lot of work-related notes, including jotting down points for this review – and, even though I'm no artist, I did try drawing some simple sketches. All my notes are synced to my Google Drive account for access on a laptop or PC, and I also exported a couple of documents to cloud storage as PDFs for printing.

Given this is a writing tablet first and foremost, I tested the native Notes app thoroughly, but also tried out Evernote briefly.

Read more about how we test

[First published October 2024]

The Kindle e-reader was the original ‘Amazon device,’ and the heart of its e-reading lineup has long been the Paperwhite. So much so that Panos Panay, Amazon’s head of devices, described it as the “most loved Kindle” and the one that, as he admitted, owners with the current or previous-gen models are hesitant to upgrade.

That reluctance notwithstanding, Amazon has set out to make the best Paperwhite yet, with the all-new Kindle Paperwhite and more premium Kindle Paperwhite Signature. There are a lot of similarities between the two – both are thinner, lighter, and faster than the previous Paperwhite, with a better, larger 7-inch display that’s designed to be easily readable in any conditions.

It’s still only black-and-white, though – you’ll need to opt for the new Kindle Colorsoft if you want a color display for comics and the like – and is only for reading – get a Kindle Scribe, or maybe a Remarkable, if you want to write.

The new Paperwhite's colors are fantastic, and Raspberry is certainly my favorite. While I haven’t read a book on it yet, I got to spend some time with the Signature Edition at Amazon’s hands-on launch event. So, let’s talk through the new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition.

Pricing and Availability

If you’re a Kindle lover, here’s some good news – the new Paperwhite and Paperwhite Signature Edition are shipping now. The Kindle Paperwhite costs $159.99 / £159.99 (we’re waiting for Australian pricing to be confirmed) and comes in a matte, soft-touch Raspberry, Jade (a green), or Black.

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition costs a bit more at $199.99 / £199.99 (again, we’re waiting for Australian pricing to be confirmed) and comes in metallic variants of those same three colors – aptly named Metallic Raspberry, Metallic Jade, and Metallic Black, which have some extra sparkle thanks to aluminum flakes being sprinkled in. That extra spend also doubles the storage to 32GB, and adds wireless charging capabilities and an auto-adjusting light sensor.

Both are shipping now, and Amazon has also debuted a bunch of new cases, including color-matched ones.

Kindle Paperwhite (2024): One Minute Review

As soon as I lifted up the new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition – technically now the 12th generation – it was clear that Amazon has focused on refining an already successful model. It’s the most popular e-reader in the Kindle lineup, and the one we’ve recommended for most people, at least with the last generation.

It’s still very comfortable to hold with just a hand, and while the back is more reflective on the Signature Edition, it’s still easy to get a grip. Amazon says the Paperwhite weighs in at just 211 grams, which is a good bit under half a pound at just 0.47lbs or 7.5oz. I found it easy to navigate the interface with just one hand, though I think most folks will use both. You’ll still turn pages, scroll through your library, and adjust settings like font size, brightness, or warmth, by touching the screen.

The thinness here shouldn’t be underestimated either – it’s super portable, and at just 7.8-millimeters thick, which is a small but considerable decrease from the 8.1mm of the previous Paperwhite. Just take a look at the photos; it’s thin, and it has a good center of gravity for easily holding it. It’s also still waterproof, so you can safely read in the bathtub or by the pool, and with an anti-reflective coating over the display, it’s easy to see the screen even in bright sunlight.

The display here is a bit bigger than on the last-gen Paperwhite, and feels more front and center thanks to thinner bezels all around. It measures 7 inches diagonally, up from 6.8 inches on the previous version, and has 300 pixels per inch (ppi) resolution. Amazon says it also boasts a higher contrast rate, making it easier to read displayed text in any lighting.

I found that the text looked plenty inky, and it was easy to make out what was on the page… err, screen. The same goes for scrolling through Manga or a Comic on the Paperwhite; this is still very much a screen that’s easy on the eyes, and it’s even easier if you have the Signature Edition, thanks to its light sensor, it will automatically adjust the brightness and temperature throughout the day for better clarity.

What might be most impressive, though, is the speed, and how close to instant the new Paperwhite feels. Thanks to a new custom processor under the hood and a new Oxide back panel, the Paperwhite can refresh and update the E Ink display in record time. It’s 25% faster – at least what Amazon promises for both models – and it really shows when scrolling through a library or zooming through pages.

The Kindle Paperwhite simply flies. Unless you’re a speed reader, being able to quickly flip pages may not help, but it should make the Kindle Paperwhite feel more like a real book, or faster, since it can update what’s being displayed even quicker. This could make a really big impact, especially if you’re upgrading from an older model.

You’ll also have plenty of room to store your books and other documents, with 32GB of storage on the Paperwhite Signature Edition or 16GB on the standard model. Remember, you can offload books to the cloud as well, should you run out of space.

The only physical button for the Kindle Paperwhite still lives on the bottom, slightly off-center to the right, next to the USB-C port. You’ll use this to jump into the Kindle’s interface from the lock screen’s E Ink lock screen or to put the Paperwhite to sleep. The USB-C port may not see much action either, as Amazon promises up to 12 weeks of use on a full charge, and judging by my experience with previous models, it may last even longer, depending on use. This is also an improvement of the previous generation, which topped out at 10 weeks. You can also charge your Kindle wirelessly if you get the Signature Edition, which is convenient as you can simply lay it on a charging pad to ensure it’s always topped off.

All-in-all, with a larger display to let you see more of whatever you might be reading (it’s likely a reread of Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen for me, or diving into The World’s Worst Assistant by Sona Movsesian), an even lighter design that does indeed suggest ‘paper’, faster performance, and even better battery life, there’s a lot to like here.

And at $159.99 / £159.99, or $199.99 / £159.99 with the bells and whistles of the Signature Edition, it’s a bit more than the previous generation, which was $149.99 for the standard and $189.99 for the Signature Edition. We’ll need to spend a bit more time with it, and do some serious reading, but from our early impressions, fans of previous Paperwhites will be happy with the latest one, and those looking for a Kindle that can go anywhere will be equally pleased.

Amazon Kindle (2024): One-minute review

I was initially a little surprised that Amazon is calling the 2024 Kindle the “11th generation”, which was what the 2022 model was designated as. Delving deeper into the specs of the new entry-level Kindle – a lot of which Amazon hasn't actually revealed – and after spending some time with it, I can see why it's more a 2022 Kindle version 2.0.

I love the new Matcha Green color, though. It looks so much brighter than last year’s Denim Blue, but after years of seeing only black ereaders, any deviation from that is a breath of fresh air. I wish the rear plastic panel had some texture. It’s so smooth that I feel insecure when using it on public transport – a case to add some grip is definitely called for.

While Amazon isn't revealing what screen technology has been used here, a side-by-side comparison with the new 2024 Kindle Paperwhite and the Kobo Clara BW tells me it's still using the E Ink Carta 1200 display from the previous 2022 Kindle. That's not a bad thing, but it means you can get more contrast – and thus darker and sharper text – on other models that use the E Ink Carta 1300 screen. And the Kobo Clara BW, which does, isn't much more expensive than the 2024 Kindle.

The only thing different about the screen is the maximum brightness it's capable of and that’s likely not because of upgraded technology, but rather the addition of an extra LED. This improvement, to me, isn’t particularly a big deal as it will be the rare reader who needs the display set to maximum brightness. I, personally, found it hurt my eyes at full bore if there wasn't much ambient light around.

Like the previous model, there’s still no waterproofing and there’s still just 16GB of storage on board. While that’s plenty for hundreds of ebooks and some audiobooks, only 11.5GB of that is available for use as, I think, Amazon has done something with the operating system that's using approximately 2GB more than on the 2022 edition.

I can’t tell what the changes with the OS are exactly, as the interface is still quintessentially Kindle with no new features, but it's possible that these are performance changes. In testing, I found the 2024 Kindle to be a touch faster and more responsive than the previous generation, with no ghosting whatsoever. That said, it could also be because Amazon may be using a new processor, but that's another spec the company isn't revealing.

All said and done, the 2024 Kindle, to me, is just matcha ado about nothing (sorry, I just had to let that one out) as it truly is just version 2.0 of the previous model and I'm struggling to justify the price increase over the 2022 Kindle.

Amazon Kindle (2024) review: Price & availability

• Priced higher than the 2022 Kindle
• Listed at $109.99 / £94.99 with ads, or $129.99 / £104.99 / AU$199 without ads
• Available now directly from Amazon and some third-party stores

The 2024 Kindle might come in a lovely new color but it’s essentially still the same 11th generation model that was released in 2022, which is why I’m disappointed that Amazon saw fit to increase the price of its entry-level Kindle.

The 2024 release now costs $109.99 / £94.99 with ads or $129.99 / £104.99 / AU$199 without (note that, in Australia, only the ad-free version is available). In comparison, the 2022 edition cost $119.99 / £94.99 / AU$179 for the non-ads model before it was discontinued.

Another point of comparison could be the Kobo Clara BW, which is the same size, offers the same amount of onboard storage, but has an updated screen and IPX8 waterproofing too. It will set you back $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$239.95. That’s the same price as the 2024 Kindle in the US, but more expensive in the UK and Australia, although I'd argue that it easily justifies the higher cost.

The good news is that Amazon will always discount its Kindles during major sales in your location, which is when I think it might be worth considering the 2024 Kindle over the Kobo Clara BW.

There are two colors of the 2024 Kindle to choose from – a lovely Matcha Green and the usual Black – and both cost the same. I would recommend getting a case for the Kindle as it’s not very grippy, so be prepared to spend a little bit more – you can always pick up a third-party option which would be cheaper than buying an Amazon-made one.

• Value score: 3.5 / 5

Amazon Kindle (2024) review: specs

Amazon hasn’t disclosed a bunch of the usual specs for the 2024 Kindle, like which specific E Ink screen is being used here, the processor under the hood or the battery capacity. I’ve listed the official specs that Amazon has chosen to release, but have also added my thoughts in parentheses where necessary.

Amazon Kindle (2024) review: Design & display

• Match Green in a lovely, bright color
• 6-inch display makes for a very compact and lightweight ereader
• Lacks any kind of grip

I suppose it’s fair to say that ereader design, particularly the entry-level ones, are getting very dated, but Amazon has countered that by offering a brand-new color for the 2024 release of the basic Kindle. The Matcha Green is a breath of fresh air – it looks bright and beautiful, more so than the Denim Blue from 2022, and makes quite the statement. There is the usual black version too if you prefer, but why would you when you can have something different for the same price? Another reason to opt for the green model is that oily fingerprints and smudges aren’t as visible as they would be on a darker version.

Other than that, not much else has changed physically on the Kindle, including the rear plastic panel that is smooth and makes me feel rather insecure when I’m using it during my daily commute. A case could solve the lack of grip easily enough, but that’s an additional cost you will need to bear.

As lovely as the 2024 Kindle looks (in green, specifically), I’m a little concerned about its longevity based on what I’m seeing on the 2022 edition. Two years on, the older model’s plastic chassis is cracking, with hairline breaks clearly visible along both curved edges.This is despite the fact that the 2022 Kindle has always been in a case since it was sent to me for testing and I can’t remember ever dropping it. I’m not saying this will happen to the 2024 version, but it would be remiss of me to not mention it.

I will admit that I’m not a huge fan of a 6-inch ereader – I find the screen too small, personally and prefer a 7-inch display – but there’s no denying that, at just 158g, the Kindle is very compact and portable. It would easily slip into a large pocket of a jacket or any bag for that matter, but you might want to keep it away from water. The entry-level Kindle still lacks waterproofing, which is a shame as Kobo’s counterpart is IPX8 rated and won’t cost you too much more. In fact, the Kobo might offer more value for money considering it also boasts the latest E Ink monochrome screen (Carta 1300) that the new Kindle seemingly misses out on.

While Amazon is tight-lipped about which screen is being used on the 2024 Kindle, I compared it to its Kobo competition and the 2024 Kindle Paperwhite – there’s a visible difference in contrast that makes text appear darker, sharper and clearer. That’s not to say reading on the entry-level Kindle is bad, far from it. The 6-inch screen still gives you a lovely 300ppi resolution and text looks great… it’s just that there’s something ever so slightly better out there for about the same cost.

Amazon claims that there’s 25% more screen brightness on the 2024 Kindle, and that’s definitely true, although I suspect it’s not because of a screen upgrade, but rather the addition of an extra LED. Again, the number of LEDs being used for a Kindle’s frontlight is something I can’t remember Amazon having ever revealed, so I can’t give you an exact number, but it’s an improvement I don’t think was necessary. I doubt there are too many users who will want to set their ereaders at maximum brightness. I usually have my Kindles set at brightness level 5, which is perfect for nighttime reading without straining the eyes, and you usually don’t even need a screen light in bright sunshine. I did try the maximum brightness setting on the device (which is level 24) and found it hurts my eyes on a cloudy day. It’s not too bad in bright sunshine when everything else around you is well-lit too, but it’s physically painful for me in a dimly lit room. That said, I’m sure there will be the rare reader who appreciates the extra brightness.

Another thing to note about the Kindle’s frontlight is that there are no amber LEDs here, so you won’t be able to adjust the light temperature to warmer tones for evening or nighttime reading (something you can do on the Kobo Clara BW). However, there is a dark mode that you can use to further reduce the effects of white light on your eyes.

• Design & display score: 4 / 5

Amazon Kindle (2024) review: User interface

• Easy-to-use interface
• Can feel cluttered to some users new to the Amazon ecosystem
• Native EPUB support, but still requires extra steps to load files

I’ve been a very strong proponent for simple ereader interfaces – after all, these are devices designed for the main purpose of reading, so anyone should be able to use them. Amazon nails this for the most part, with the Kindle OS quite easy to navigate and find what you need.

In fact, the entire setup process is simple – you just need to follow the on-screen instructions and choose the right options. In my case, I just had to sign in with my Amazon account (which is a paid Prime subscription) and my existing library – which at this point is still in the cloud – is displayed. Any of the books I want from there, I just have to tap and they download to the device.

While I love the Library tab of the Kindle, I’m not a huge fan of the Home screen – I find it excessively cluttered with too many recommendation options. It feels like I’m being forced into entering the Kindle Store every time I go to the Home screen. In comparison, Kobo’s Home screen is a little less recommendation heavy and, in my opinion, looks a little cleaner.

I wish there was a way to make the Library tab the default Home screen (something you will find on some Onyx Boox ereaders running an Android OS), but there’s no option for that in the Settings. However, if you set the Kindle to sleep mode with the Library pane open, that’s what will show when you wake it up again. Or, if you have a book open, it will wake up to the page you left off at, so you really don’t need to interact with the Home screen unless you need to access the Kindle Store to find your next read.

Settings are accessed by swiping downward from the top of the screen, where the screen brightness slider and dark mode button also sit. What I really appreciate about the Settings options is that it’s not overkill like I’ve seen on Boox devices – a handful of useful options that are easy to understand is exactly how it should be. I love the fact that I can remove practically all page furniture from a book, leaving me a clean display with just the text or comic frame I’m reading.

Speaking of comics, all Kindles have a frame view that is fantastic, even on a small ereader like the entry-level Kindle. Open the comic or graphic novel of your choice, double tap on the page and each frame will open separately so you can read the speech bubbles comfortably. Without this feature, speech bubbles would be nigh impossible to read on a full-page view as they’d be too small on a 6-inch screen.

Gone are the days of Amazon's dislike of the EPUB file, the most common ebook format there is. With MOBI nearly dead now, there is native EPUB support on the Kindles, but you still have to jump through hoops to sideload them. You can either send them via email using the Kindle address you get set up with when you first start using the ereader, or you can use the Send To Kindle desktop app. Both have file size caveats, though, but you can also always use software like Caliber to convert EPUBs to AZW/AZW3 formats, which are Amazon’s proprietary files.

You can listen to Audible audiobooks if you have a subscription, but you will need to pair a set of Bluetooth headphones to the Kindle first. The pairing, I found, needs a few tries, but once connected, you can listen to the stories rather than read. With Whispersync turned on in Device Options, you can stop reading at a page and, if you also have the audiobook version, the narration will start on that page. It will even sync to your Echo device if you have one.

While you can connect to a Goodreads account if you use it, there are no other third-party options available for either cloud sync or borrowing library books, While readers in the US can use a Kindle to borrow from a local public library, it’s a limited feature that’s not available elsewhere, which makes a Kobo a compelling alternative if you don’t want to spend money on book purchases or subscriptions.

• User interface score: 4 / 5

Amazon Kindle (2024) review: Performance

• Slightly faster page turns and overall performance
• Lacks contrast compared to the competition
• Decent battery life, depending on brightness setting

Performance measurement for an ereader is simple, really – you determine how well the tap (or swipe) to turn functionality works and if there’s any ghosting (or overlay of previous page) on the screen, something that’s been very common with ereaders for years.

On both counts, the 2024 Kindle excels. In fact, I think the overall performance is a wee bit faster on the new model over its predecessor. While I’d love to say that’s because of a new processor, I don’t have that knowledge, but it could be software tweaks that have improved performance. Again, this is just a theory I have based on how large that OS is on the 2024 Kindle, so don’t quote me on that.

Whatever the reason, page turns are snappy and not once did I have any overlay while reading or typing via the on-screen keyboard. The latter also feels quite responsive – entering my WI-Fi password at setup and typing out my Amazon credentials happened with barely any lag. So while I might say that this doesn’t feel like an ‘upgrade’, I appreciate whatever Amazon has done to improve performance over what was already a pretty good budget ereader.

I also appreciate that downloading books from the Kindle Store is also very speedy compared to what I’ve experienced when sourcing titles from the Kobo Store on a Kobo ereader.

Battery life remains the same as before, with Amazon saying you’ll get up to 6 weeks of use on a single charge, although I think it’s more like 4 weeks. That, though, will depend on how bright you like your screen set at.

On my Kindle, I had the brightness set to 5 at all times and page refresh set to each page turn and saw an average drop of 2% per hour of reading. That increases to about a 3% to 4% drop each hour with Kindle Store browsing thrown in as well. With the brightness level set at 24, which is maximum, I found battery levels drop by an average of 7% per hour. So, depending on brightness settings and how long you read per day, I’d say you’ll get a top of 4 weeks between charges and that’s still pretty good.

Using a 65W wall charger and a good quality USB-A to C cable, the 2024 Kindle took 1 hour 52 minutes to go from 9% to full, which is average for an ereader. I haven’t had the opportunity to try charging it via a USB-C to C cable yet, but that might speed things up a touch, as long as you’re still plugged into the wall socket and not using your computer or dock.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Amazon Kindle (2024)?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the Amazon Kindle (2024)

• Used as main reading device for one week
• Viewed both graphic novels and regular books
• Checked performance at various settings

I didn’t have the 2024 Kindle with me for too long before first publication, but I made sure I spent as much time as I could reading on it. Over the course of 7 days, I read an average 4 hours per day on it, reading history and fantasy novels, as well as my favourite The Sandman graphic novel.

These were already available in my Kindle library, so I only needed to sign into my Amazon account, then sync to the device via the cloud. I didn’t sideload any new titles to the 2024 Kindle though.

While I don’t have a Kindle Unlimited or Audible account, I used the free trial of the former to find some titles to read, but mostly used my Prime Reading subscription to borrow some books. I found one audiobook available on Kindle Unlimited to try pairing a set of wireless earphones to test audiobook functionality, although I’m not much of a listener.

I also repeatedly changed light settings to see how the battery held up, and did direct screen comparisons with the Kobo Clara BW and the 2024 Kindle Paperwhite.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed November 2024]

Kobo Clara BW: Two-minute review

The Kobo Clara BW is the first big-brand ereader to feature the latest E Ink grayscale screen tech. While the screen resolution remains at the standard 300ppi, the E Ink Carta 1300 display promises a 25% increase in screen responsiveness and better contrast than the previous Carta 1200 panels being used in the current crop of ereaders, and these improvements are on full display on the Clara BW.

I initially began using the ereader without removing the plastic screen protector that comes stuck on newly-purchased tablets, and every light tap was registered by the Clara BW with the function correctly implemented. That’s an improvement over the Kobo Clara 2E and the base Amazon Kindle (2022) model, both of which sport the Carta 1200 screen and did have a few misses when I tried them with the sticky plastic film still on.

There’s also a visible difference in contrast between older 6-inch models using the Carta 1200 screen and the Clara BW, meaning the text on the device appears sharper and clearer, no matter how small or large you like your fonts to be, or how bright you set the frontlight. And that makes reading on the Clara BW an absolute pleasure, although some users might prefer a slightly larger screen.

The Kobo interface, as always, is easy to use and navigate around, which adds to the Clara BW’s appeal, and the ecosystem doesn’t keep you as locked in as Amazon does with its Kindles. Where you do get locked in with Kobo is audiobook support – the only ones a Bluetooth-enabled Kobo ereader will play are those purchased from the Kobo Store or downloaded as part of a Kobo Plus subscription.

Unfortunately, there’s no support for cloud file transfers via either Google Drive or Dropbox, as is available on the Kobo Libra Colour – you can, however, easily sideload content via a USB-C cable linking the device to a laptop or PC. You do, of course, get OverDrive support to borrow digital content from a public library that supports the platform.

It's also a shame that Kobo hasn’t improved the battery life or increased the storage from 16GB. It also still uses a 1GHz processor. While none of these affect how good the ereader is, it does make a difference to the overall value of the Clara BW over its color sibling, the Kobo Clara Colour. With similar specs but a color display, the Clara Colour costs more, but offers you a little more too.

That said, if you don’t need a color screen, then the Clara BW is competitively priced considering it’s boasting a much-improved display, and the ability to repair it to prolong its lifespan makes it easy to recommend to anyone looking for their first ereader.

Kobo Clara BW review: price and availability

• Announced April 2024
• Launch price of $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$239.95
• Repair kits and guides available from iFixit

Available to buy now directly from Kobo for $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$239.95 apiece, the Clara BW is only a little more expensive than the 2022 release of the Amazon Kindle (which costs $119.99 / £94.99 / AU$179 for the non-ads option), despite boasting a better screen. That’s good value for money where performance is concerned. 

To give it another point of comparison, the Kobo Clara 2E had a launch price of $129.99 / £129.99 / AU$229.95, but was last listed for $139.99 in the US (UK and Australia pricing remained the same) on the Kobo Store, so the Clara BW is well priced compared to its predecessor too.

Moreover, the Clara BW is repairable, which can increase its life once its warranty has expired. Kobo has partnered with iFixit to provide both spare parts and the repair kits you will need, plus there are step-by-step instructions you can follow to perform the self-repair.

The parts – screen, motherboard, front and back covers, and battery – aren’t cheap, but they’re not what I would call terribly expensive either. For example, a new battery will cost you $39.99 / AU$67.99 (price not listed for UK and Europe at the time of writing), plus you need to factor in the repair kit too. However, it’s definitely cheaper than buying a new ereader when you’re still happy with the one you have… and you’re comfortable with self-repairing the tablet.

Value score: 5 / 5

Kobo Clara BW review: Specs

Kobo Clara BW review: design and display

• 6-inch E Ink Carta 1300 display – the latest in E Ink’s grayscale screen tech
• Same design as used in the Kobo Clara line since 2018
• 85% of the body is recycled plastic

The Kobo Clara series of ereaders all look the same, resembling the Amazon Kindle, including raised side bezels that provide just enough room to hold the tablet without accidentally touching the screen while reading. The sunken screen also helps in reducing glare from overhead lights and can hide smudged fingerprints better than a flush screen.

According to Kobo, the Clara BW comes in just one colorway – black. Strangely, though, my test unit had black bezels on the front but a navy-blue rear panel. I’m going to assume this is an anomaly with just the test sample, but it looks a little odd – I’d much prefer a single-color body for an ereader or something with a bit of trim or detail using a lighter color, like silver maybe.

I personally think the overall design is getting a little stale, although I understand that not a lot can be done to make the 6-inch ereaders look more modern, other than perhaps making the screens flush with the bezels, like on the Onyx Boox Poke 5.

Using recycled plastic to make the body is a good trajectory, though, and Kobo says the Clara BW, like the Clara 2E before it and the Clara Colour, has about 85% of recycled plastic in its body. Even the packaging it comes in is fully recycled and recyclable, with the soy ink used to print the boxes being biodegradable.

Its eco-friendly credentials aside, the device’s repairability is also a good move by Kobo, making it an industry first. There are parts available on iFixit in some countries, with very detailed, step-by-step guides on how to go about self-repairing the tablet when the need arises. These parts include a rear panel, which might also explain why my test unit looked like it was cobbled together.

The display here, though, is the headline. The 6-inch E Ink Carta 1300 screen makes its debut on the Kobo Clara BW, with a 10-inch iReader note-taking model being the only other ereader to boast this screen technology thus far. The Carta 1300 makes the screen more responsive and adds more contrast. The screen resolution remains at 300ppi, but the text on the display appears clearer and sharper than older models using the Carta 1200 screens.

The Clara BW shares the same proprietary ComfortLight Pro screen lighting tech as the other Kobo ereaders, and this adds to the device’s readability. Boasting both white and amber LEDs, the Clara BW can be set to automatically change its frontlight to warmer hues for evening and nighttime reading, or you can adjust it manually whenever you feel the need – a feature missing in the current base Kindle (2022) model. Brightness, too, is adjustable.

The dimensions here are identical to the Clara Colour, with the BW model also tipping the scales at 174g, a mere 4g more than the Clara 2E. It’s still light in the hand, comfortable to hold for long periods of time and the perfect size for a travel partner that can carry your entire digital library for you wherever you go. The fact that it’s got an IPX8 waterproof rating helps with giving you some peace of mind.

Design and display score: 4.5 / 5

Kobo Clara BW review: user interface

• Simple, easy-to-use UX
• Good font and file support
• No Google Drive or Dropbox support

I’ve said this several times in my previous Kobo reviews and I’ll say it again – I’m a fan of the interface. Kobo’s UX is user-friendly and easy to navigate around. There’s no extraneous options in the settings to confuse matters and anyone can quickly learn their way around, even if they’ve never used an ereader before.

More importantly, I like how open the ebook ecosystem is – you can sideload your own collection of titles if you already have a bunch, and good font support means EPUB and MOBI are both natively supported (unlike on a Kindle where you need to jump through a few hoops to sideload an EPUB file). PDF and TXT files are also natively supported, plus two comic formats help display manga well.

The only audio format that any Bluetooth-enabled Kobo ereader supports, though, is the Kobo Audiobook, so you can’t sideload audiobooks you’ve sourced from outside the Kobo Store. This is the only part of the ecosystem that’s closed and, to me, that’s a little disappointing from a company that has always been more open than Amazon.

Font support is also excellent and you can sideload any that you think is missing, including Amazon’s own Bookerly and Ember fonts. 

Whether it’s file transfer or font upload, getting the Clara BW loaded up is as simple as plugging it into a laptop or PC with the files already stored via an USB-C cable, then hitting the Connect button on the ereader screen, and finally dragging and dropping what you need onto the device. You can then move any fonts you’ve transferred to the Fonts folder or, if it’s missing, just create a new one. Disconnect, allow the ereader to finish a sync and you’re ready to get reading. Sadly there’s no Google Drive or Dropbox cloud transfer support on the Clara BW – these are only available on Libra Colour and the more premium Kobo models.

Like the Carta 1200 screen, a dark mode is available here, so if you prefer, you can switch that on and the colors get inverted to white text on a black background.

One interesting feature on all Kobo ereaders is the Activity option in the Settings pane. This displays the total time you’ve spent reading, although specific stats are only related to ebooks you’ve purchased from the Kobo Store or read via a Kobo Plus subscription. Importantly, Kobo rewards you for reading more, awarding you badges as you hit specific targets and milestones. This goes a long way in developing reading into a habit.

As with all Kobo ereaders, OverDrive and Pocket support are baked in. The former allows you to borrow titles from a public library directly from the device – you just need a library card from one that supports OverDrive. The latter is essentially a browser plugin that allows you to save longform web articles for reading offline and you can access these on a Kobo ereader by just signing into your Pocket account on the ereader.

If you are buying the Clara BW for your child, Kobo allows you to block access to its store and the web – a very basic browser is available in the Beta Features section under the More tab. Kobo also allows you to lock the device by applying a four-digit PIN.

Bluetooth connectivity is also available so you can pair a set of wireless headphones or earbuds to listen to Kobo Audiobooks.

User interface score: 4.5 / 5

Kobo Clara BW review: Performance

• Improved screen responsiveness
• Best-in-class contrast and readability
• Good battery life

I’ve barely ever complained about a Kobo ereader’s performance – they do what they do well. With the Clara BW, that performance has gone up a notch because of the Carta 1300 screen. Despite still using a 1GHz processor, it’s faster than the previous Clara models or the Kindle. As I’ve said previously in this review, even with a plastic screen over the display, the Clara BW registers taps correctly and implements them without any lag. 

Even when it comes to displaying text, there’s none better. Not yet at least, as I’m sure other brands will follow suit by adopting the new generation of screen technology soon enough. Even if they do, not many ereader makers give you the option to add ‘weight’ to the fonts or make them slightly thicker, making them even easier to read.

I compared the 2020 Amazon Kindle with the Clara BW and, to make sure it was a fair comparison, I sideloaded Amazon’s Bookerly font onto the Kobo. Displaying a page from two different books but in the same font, with the frontlights switched off and no weight to the font on the Kobo, the Clara BW was still superior, with the text looking darker and crisper on the screen. Even at full brightness, the Clara BW screen was the clear winner when comes to readability. I also did a side-by-side comparison with the 6-inch Onyx Poke 5 and, again, the Clara BW wins hands down.

Other functions are also snappy – opening a title (ebooks or audiobooks), turning pages, or navigating around the UX is quick. Even inputs via the on-screen keyboard didn’t have any lag during my testing period. 

Kobo hasn’t changed the battery pack inside the Clara BW over the Clara 2E, meaning you still get only a 1,500mAh battery. This isn’t too bad but it’s not quite earth-shatteringly good either – you can get approximately six weeks of use if you read about an hour each day, depending on how bright you have the screen set and how often you keep turning pages. 

During my testing, I had the Clara BW set at 15% brightness with auto light temperature change for 9:30pm local time, Wi-Fi always on, Bluetooth only on when listening to audiobooks, and the refresh rate set to every chapter. Reading for approximately 2 hours each day at these settings gave me 35 days of use – five weeks. This is good but I should point out that I didn't do a lot of listening during my testing period, which would have made a bigger dent on the battery. So I'd say you can get anywhere between 4-6 weeks of use from a full charge, depending on your use of the device.

Topping up the 1,500mAh battery in the Clara BW doesn’t take long – about 57 minutes to go from 19% to full during my testing period. I saw no trickle charging here, which I’ve seen in other Kobo ereaders, including the 2024 Clara Colour and Libra Colour. This seems a little strange for Kobo to not have trickle charging here as well when its other ereaders do, but I suspect a future firmware update might change that. Trickle charging will help maintain battery health, so it's not a bad thing, but if this happens, the charging time will likely double.

Performance score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Kobo Clara BW?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the Kobo Clara BW

• Used it as my main reading device for five weeks
• I used it to listen to some preloaded audiobooks
• Sideloaded my own ebooks and fonts

The Kobo Clara BW test unit that was sent to me for this review came preloaded with a few ebooks and audiobooks. I didn’t reset the device to sign in with my own Kobo account, but I sideloaded a few titles that I was reading on another ereader. So while I didn’t read any of the preloaded ebook titles, I did listen to a couple of the audiobooks that Kobo had set up for me. For the latter, I paired a set of Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds to listen.

I used the Clara BW to read more than listen though, spending about two hours each day over a period of 5 weeks to finish a book. Through this testing period, I spent approximately three hours listening to audiobooks.

To see how different the new screen is, I did a side-by-side comparison with the Amazon Kindle and the Onyx Boox Poke 5 – both 6-inch ereaders – and, to make the comparison as fair as possible, I sideloaded Amazon's Bookerly font onto the Clara BW. This also gave me an idea of how easy it is to add new fonts to the device.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed May 2024]

Kobo Clara Colour: One-minute review

Kobo might play second fiddle to the popularity of Amazon’s Kindles, but the Japanese-Canadian brand has beaten the tech giant in being the first to deliver mainstream color ereaders that are also relatively affordable. Two were announced side by side, with the Kobo Clara Colour being the cheaper option.

It’s an entry-level model compared to its bigger 7-inch Libra Colour sibling but, despite its 6-inch display size and lack of stylus support, the Clara Colour is a great option for anyone looking for a dedicated reading device. With no other functionality on board, it’s distraction-free reading at its best and in color too.

In fact, Kobo makes full use of the E Ink Kaleido 3 display technology that’s adopted for the Clara Colour. Not only are the book covers displayed in color, but the selected tab on the bottom of the home screen changes to a reddish-brown when selected. Even the download status bar is that color.

There’s even a dark mode available here and, if you happen to have highlighted words and passages in an ebook, they will still be displayed in color – only the text and background colors get inverted.

Page turns are fast, the on-screen keyboard is responsive and the battery life is good too. It’s waterproof, lightweight and portable as well. It looks like the Amazon Kindle (2022) but its biggest selling point is that color screen, for which you will be paying a little more. All in all, Kobo has done really well with the Clara Colour.

Kobo Clara Colour review: price and availability

• Announced April 2024
• Launch price of $149.99 / £139.99 / AU$259.95
• Available in one colorway with optional slipcovers

There aren’t many mainstream 6-inch ereaders with a color display, so it’s hard to compare the Kobo Clara Colour with others. Still, at $149.99 / £139.99 / AU$259.95, it’s arguably the cheapest big-brand color ereader on the market. If you don’t need the color display, then opting for the 2022 edition of the Amazon Kindle or even the 2024 Kobo Clara BW will save you some cash, with the former costing only $119.99 / £94.99 / AU$179 without ads and the latter setting you back $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$239.95.

If the color display is important to you, then you’re looking at going up one size at the very least, with the Kobo Libra Colour being one of the cheapest in the 7-inch size class at $219.99 / £219.99 / AU$359.95. All other color ereaders worth their salt are more expensive.

• Value score: 4.5 / 5

Kobo Clara Colour review: Specs

Kobo Clara Colour review: Design and display

• Body built with up to 85% recycled plastic
• Sharp, responsive 6-inch display
• Sunken screen, which reduces glare

Kobo has stuck with the same design formula it used for the Clara 2E, bringing an identical black plastic body and raised bezels over to the Clara Colour – while its monochrome sibling, the Clara BW, gets a two-tone chassis to shake things up a little. Available in just a black colorway, the rear panel is textured to provide a little grip, while the side bezels on the front are just broad enough to offer your thumbs a place to rest.

While the raised bezel design might look a little dated now, it’s better at preventing glare from overhead lighting (indoor or sunshine). Less glare also means you won’t be spotting smudged fingerprints as much either.

That’s not to say the screen is reflective – far from it. The 6-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 display is, like all other e-ink displays, glare-free but its smooth surface can have bright spots from overhead lights. That said, the built-in frontlight on the display can help reduce those bright spots.

The ComfortLight Pro on the Clara Colour is the same frontlight Kobo has been using on all its ereaders for a long while now. It lights up the screen evenly – I didn’t notice any areas of shadows or excessive lighting – which makes the reading experience a good one. Moreover, there are amber LEDs on the device, so you can adjust the light temperature to warmer tones for evening or nighttime reading to reduce eye fatigue.

As the name of the device suggests, the display can now handle some color – 4,096 hues to be precise. As I’ve mentioned in all my other reviews of color ereaders: don’t expect the colors to pop with saturation as they do on an LCD screen. They will appear a little muted in comparison and that’s a limitation of the e-ink screen technology, not an issue with Kobo’s implementation.

Anything displayed in black and white on this screen will have a resolution of 300ppi, while anything shown in color will be at 150ppi resolution. The lower resolution might sound like color images (like comics and book covers) won’t look good, but far from it. In fact, the higher pixel density actually renders colors well, making them appear a little more saturated than they would on a larger E Ink Kaleido 3 display as used in the 7-inch Kobo Libra Colour or the 7.8-inch Onyx Boox Tab Mini C.

Despite tipping the scales at 174g – just 4g more than the Clara 2E – the Clara Colour is light and compact, being the perfect size for traveling with. It’s also waterproof, with an IPX8 rating that will keep the device in working condition if immersed in 2 meters of water for up to an hour.

Like its predecessor, over 85% of the body is recycled plastic, which includes waste that would have ended up in our oceans (like plastic bottles and CDs). The packaging it comes in is made from 100% recycled materials and is recyclable in turn, and the ink used to print the text and images on the box is soy, so biodegradable.

Rounding out the design elements is a concave power button on the rear of the device, a USB-C port placed off-center of the bottom edge, and the Kobo branding on the lower bezel. It’s a simple design that reflects the device’s single-minded purpose of digital reading.

It’s also possibly one of the most repairable ereaders on the market, along with its 2024 siblings. Kobo has partnered with iFixit to provide spare parts and instructions on how to perform some repairs, although, at the time of writing, neither of these are available on the iFixit website. I'll update this review when there's more information from either Kobo or iFixit.

• Design & display score: 4 / 5

Kobo Clara Colour review: User interface

• Streamlined, easy-to-use UX
• Good font and file support
• Cloud transfer files not available

I have always been a fan of Kobo’s easy-to-use interface on its devices, with everything neatly laid out on the home screen. Up to four of your current reads are listed right up top of the home screen, followed by a My Books section and another that cycles through either new recommendations, access to Kobo Plus or one of your Collections within your library.

Above the book tiles is the quick menu for screen brightness, Wi-Fi, battery, cloud sync (for firmware updates) and search, while at the bottom of the home screen are the four tabs to navigate around the device and the Kobo Store.

It’s nice to see Kobo has taken full advantage of the E Ink Kaleido 3 screen by displaying the selected navigation tab in color. The same red-brown hue is also used for the download status of a title you’re either purchasing or accessing via Kobo Plus.

OverDrive support to borrow from partnered public libraries is still a stalwart presence on Kobo ereaders, as is Pocket. The latter, which is essentially a browser plugin that allows you to save web articles for reading later, gives you access to those articles on the Clara Colour if you already have a Pocket account.

Unlike the more expensive Kobo ereaders, there’s no Google Drive or Dropbox support on the Clara Colour. The only way to sideload titles is by plugging the device into your laptop and PC via the USB-C port and dragging files over.

File support is good, although not as extensive as what you’ll get on an Onyx ereader. Despite that, all the essential file formats are supported, including EPUBs, the most common ebook file format. Two comic files are also supported, plus 4 image formats. The only audio format supported is Kobo Audiobooks, so you can’t sideload audiobooks you might have sourced from a third party – you have to either purchase it from the Kobo Store or listen via Kobo Plus.

Audiobooks, however, take up storage space on a device and the Clara Colour only has 16GB to offer, with no microSD slot to increase it. So you may need to keep an eye on the storage if you're more into audiobooks than ebooks. 

A new addition to the Clara Colour’s settings is the option to “reduce rainbow effect” when viewing in color. I’ve never come across this option in color ereaders from other brands, and I haven’t been able to figure out what exactly a rainbow effect is, so I haven’t a clue how the setting works. I suppose, if color content starts to look a little strange, selecting this setting might help.

Dark Mode is available here and that only inverts text color while you’re reading an ebook. If your book has color images, you will see them displayed in color on a black background, which I think can make some pictures pop a little more.

One change I’ve been waiting for Kobo to make to its interface is the ability to create subfolders within the library. You can create what Kobo calls Collections, but you can’t set up nested sub collections within your main ones. Kindle allows for it, so I think it’s time Kobo adopted a similar option.

• User interface score: 4.5 / 5

Kobo Clara Colour review: Performance

• Responsive touchscreen
• Good battery life
• Less contrast in black-and-white compared to some other ereaders

It’s been hard for me to fault Kobo’s ereaders when it comes to performance and it’s the same with the Clara Colour too, especially with a 2GHz processor keeping things ticking along nicely. Reading on it is a pleasure, although I personally find a 6-inch screen too small due to needing to turn a page a touch too often for my liking – that can eat into the battery life of the device. The small size might also make reading comics and graphic novels less enjoyable as, depending on how the title has been formatted, some frames could get cut off.

Both black-and-white books and color content look good on the Clara Colour, but I found the former lacked little contrast in comparison to some other monochrome ereaders I’ve previously tested. That said, you'll only notice the difference if you compare two different models side by side and it doesn't affect the reading experience at all. If it does, though, Kobo allows you to make the text on the screen ‘heavier’ by making the font a little thicker. Colors, on the other hand, appear comparatively more saturated on the 6-inch screen when compared to larger color ereaders and that’s down to the pixel density. 

Opening an ebook on the Libra Colour during testing had a significant lag, but that’s not the case with the Clara Colour. It’s faster in that respect and, just like its bigger sibling, has a peppy screen performance. Page turns are quick and the on-screen keyboard has no major lag either, whether that’s to make annotations or type in your Wi-Fi password.

I had no issues pairing the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones to the Clara Colour to listen to audiobooks, although the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II took a few tries before they paired. I’m putting that down to the slightly temperamental nature of the earbuds as I’ve had this issue with the same set and other ereaders before.

As with other ereaders, the Clara Colour will give you weeks of reading pleasure on a single charge. It has a 1,500mAh battery pack – the same as the Kobo Clara 2E but smaller than the 2,050mAh in the Libra Colour – and you can easily eke out up to 5 weeks of use, depending on how you use it. In my case, a screen brightness of 15%, the refresh rate set to every chapter and the Wi-Fi always on, gave me 34 days of reading about an hour each day before the battery dropped to 21% from full. So you can definitely get more. In fact, the Clara Colour has better battery life than the Libra Colour despite a smaller capacity, but then it doesn’t need to handle as many tasks as its bigger sibling needs to.

A recharge can take up to two hours, but that’s only because trickle charging kicks in at about the 95% mark – as happens with other Kobo ereaders. While it might seem frustrating to have to wait for an hour to see just a 5% top up, trickle charging preserves the battery for longer, thus ensuring a longer lifespan for your device.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Kobo Clara Colour?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

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How I tested the Kobo Clara Colour

• Used for three weeks alongside the Kobo Libra Colour and the Onyx Boox Palma
• Used it for both reading ebooks and listening to audiobooks
• Compared it with other 6-inch and 7-inch ereaders

I was lucky to have been sent the Kobo Clara Colour ahead of the official announcement, so I'd been using it for a few weeks before publishing this review. I used it alongside the Kobo Libra Colour as well as the rather different-looking Onyx Boox Palma. I also had the brief pleasure of comparing it to the Kobo Clara BW as well.

I used to the Clara Colour to both read and listen – I have a Kobo account, so signing into it via the device gave me access to my existing library. It also gave me access to my Kobo Plus subscription, which is where I found some audiobooks to listen to.

While using the Clara Colour, I had the opportunity to compare it to other ereaders, both black and white as well as color. These include the Libra Colour, the Onyx Boox Tab Mini C, the Onyx Boox Poke 5 and the PocketBook InkPad 4.

Read more about how we test.

[First reviewed April 2024]