The best ebook reader to buy right now

Any book reader will allow you to cram a Magnificence and the Beast-sized library’s price of books in your pocket, however so will your cellphone. An book reader provides a extra book-like studying expertise, with fewer distractions and fewer eye pressure, and lots of embrace further options, like adjustable frontlighting. Some actually are pocketable. Others are waterproof or supply bodily page-turning buttons, whereas a number of even allow you to take notes.

I’ve been utilizing book readers for almost a decade, and I’ve gone hands-on with dozens, from the Kindle Paperwhite to lesser-known rivals just like the Pocketbook Period. Whether or not you need one thing your child can throw towards the wall or a water-resistant, warm-glow Kindle that gained’t damage your spa atmosphere, these are the perfect book readers for everybody. 

Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.9 x .32 inches / Weight: 205 grams / Display space and determination: 6.8-inch display screen, 300ppi decision / Storage: 8GB or 16GB / Different options: IPX8 waterproofing, Bluetooth audio help 

In case you principally purchase ebooks from Amazon, you’ll need a Kindle, and the Eleventh-gen Kindle Paperwhite is the only option for most individuals. Beginning at $139.99, it’s cheaper than the Kobo Libra 2 — my prime non-Amazon book reader, which I’ll dive into later — for most of the identical options. These embrace a big 300pi show and an adjustable heat white frontlight, which make for a transparent and pleasurable studying expertise. The latter additionally conveniently improves sleep by chopping down on blue mild that interrupts melatonin manufacturing. 

That heat white frontlighting is a bonus over the cool white of the $99.99 base-model Kindle, and in contrast to the bottom Kindle, the Paperwhite has IPX8 water resistance. The $189.99 Signature Edition Paperwhite additionally has an auto-adjusting frontlight and no lockscreen adverts. It additionally has wi-fi charging, which is a uncommon function to seek out in an e-reader.

Amazon is the biggest on-line retailer on the earth, and it dominates the US book market, so Kindle house owners have entry to benefits house owners of different book readers don’t. A lot of Amazon’s {hardware} technique will depend on providing cut-rate reductions to drag you into its content material ecosystem. You probably have Prime and purchase a number of Kindle ebooks, the Paperwhite is the only option as a result of Amazon makes it extremely simple to purchase and browse its stuff. Its ebooks and audiobooks are sometimes on sale, and Prime members get extra free content material by Prime Studying. Rivals like Kobo supply gross sales, too, nevertheless it’s laborious for them to supply reductions as steep as Amazon does.

There are downsides, although. The Paperwhite has lockscreen adverts until you pay $20 further to do away with them. It’s additionally too massive to carry comfortably with one hand. Maybe the Kindle Paperwhite’s greatest flaw, although — which it shares with all Kindles other than Fireplace tablets — is that it’s not simple to learn books bought outdoors of Amazon’s retailer. Kindle book codecs are proprietary and solely work on Kindle. In contrast to Kobo and different book readers, Kindles don’t help EPUB recordsdata, an open file format utilized by just about everybody besides Amazon. So, for instance, should you typically store from Kobo’s bookstore (or Barnes & Noble or Google Play Books or many different book shops), you’ll be able to’t simply learn these books on a Kindle with out utilizing a workaround. There are methods to transform and transfer file formats so you’ll be able to learn on the Kindle and vice versa, nevertheless it’ll take a few further steps and generally is a problem.

Nonetheless, should you don’t purchase your books elsewhere otherwise you don’t thoughts procuring from Amazon, you’ll be more than pleased with the Kindle Paperwhite.

Read our full review of the Kindle Paperwhite.

Dimensions: 5.69 x 6.36 x 0.35 inches / Weight: 215 grams / Display space and determination: 7-inch display screen, 300ppi / Storage: As much as 32GB / Different options: Bodily page-turning buttons, waterproofing, Bluetooth audio help 

The Kobo Libra 2 is a wonderful various to an Amazon book reader, particularly for readers outdoors the US. It’s simply as good because the Paperwhite, with most of the Paperwhite’s standout options, like waterproofing, USB-C help, and a 300ppi show. It doesn’t work as nicely with Amazon’s ecosystem, in fact, nevertheless it provides a number of further perks that make the e-reader, in some methods, much more pleasurable to make use of.

For one factor, it helps extra file codecs, together with EPUB. It’s additionally a lot simpler to immediately borrow books from the Overdrive library system, whereas native help for Pocket means you’ll be able to learn your saved articles offline. The Libra 2 additionally comes with easy-to-use bodily buttons and begins at 16GB of storage, double the capability of the bottom Paperwhite. There are not any annoying lockscreen adverts to cope with, both. Plus, as a substitute of a flat-front display screen, the show is barely recessed into the body. I beloved that because it meant I didn’t by accident faucet the display screen and skip a web page, as I typically did with the Paperwhite. It additionally stored the display screen cleaner and — mixed with the extensive facet bezel — made the Libra 2 extra comfy to carry.

The Kobo Libra 2 is my favourite book reader to make use of. I stored having to restrain myself from utilizing it on a regular basis to offer the opposite e-readers on this listing a good likelihood.

Nonetheless, at $189, it prices $50 greater than the ad-supported Paperwhite, although it’s solely $20 greater than the ad-free Paperwhite. That hole widens much more when the Paperwhite is on sale, which it commonly is. Plus, as any person whose digital library consists primarily of Amazon ebooks, I discovered the truth that I couldn’t simply and shortly learn my huge assortment of Kindle books irritating. You are able to do it, however you’ll should convert file codecs utilizing third-party apps, which might take time, particularly when you’ve got a big library. But when these issues don’t matter or apply to you, the Kobo Libra 2 gives you the perfect digital studying expertise of all of the e-readers on this listing.

It’s price mentioning, nevertheless, that Barnes and Noble will be releasing the Glowlight 4 Plus on September sixth. On paper, the brand new e-reader appears to supply a number of what makes Kobo’s Libra 2 stand out — together with waterproofing, bodily page-turning buttons, and a 300ppi display screen — which may make it Kindle Paperwhite various at $199.99. We’re nonetheless within the early levels of testing it, although, so keep tuned for our last verdict.

Dimensions: 6.2 x 4.3 x 0.32 inches / Weight: 158 grams / Display space and determination: 6-inch display screen, 300ppi decision / Storage: 16GB / Different options: USB-C help, Bluetooth audio help 

The base-model Kindle ($99.99 with adverts) is the perfect low cost book reader. Its 300ppi decision makes textual content clearer and simpler to learn than the lower-resolution screens on different book readers in its worth vary, and its 16GB of storage is double even that of the Paperwhite. It even has USB-C for comparatively quick charging. 

Studying on its six-inch display screen feels a bit of extra cramped than it does on the bigger shows of the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Libra 2. Nonetheless, the flip facet is that its small measurement makes it pocketable, mild, and straightforward for small fingers to carry. Mixed with its comparatively inexpensive worth, the Kindle can be the perfect book reader for youths — particularly within the kids version Amazon sells for $20 extra. It shares the identical actual specs however is ad-free with parental controls, a two-year prolonged alternative assure, and a case. It additionally comes with one 12 months of Amazon Children Plus, which grants youngsters entry to 1000’s of children books and audiobooks without spending a dime. After that, although, you’ll should pay $79 per 12 months.

The bottom Kindle doesn’t have further conveniences just like the bodily page-turning buttons discovered on Barnes & Noble’s entry-level e-reader, the Nook GlowLight 4e. Nonetheless, you do get one thing extra necessary: snappier responses. On a lot of the different entry-level book readers I examined, together with the GlowLight 4e, I needed to wait a number of seconds after tapping the display screen for the web page to show. The Kindle, compared, provided no perceptive lag.

There are different tradeoffs. There’s no water resistance, in contrast to the Paperwhite, and battery life is sweet, nevertheless it’ll final you three weeks tops — not months, just like the Paperwhite. And since it’s an Amazon book reader, you’re additionally locked into the Amazon ecosystem and should pay further to do away with adverts. But when you are able to do with out all of that, the Kindle delivers the necessities for underneath $100.

Read my full review of the Kindle.

Dimensions: 7.6 x 8.94 x 0.30 inches / Weight: 390 grams / Display space and determination: 10.3-inches, 227ppi decision / Storage: 32GB / Different options: Handwriting to textual content conversion, magnetic stylus, Bluetooth audio help 

Of all the big book readers I examined, the Kobo Elipsa 2E stood out probably the most due to its glorious note-taking skills. You’ll be able to immediately write on pages, and the notes won’t disappear, which makes for a extra intuitive note-taking expertise than the Kindle Scribe, which solely helps on-page notes on choose Kindle titles. In any other case, you’re restricted to creating annotations on playing cards which might be like disappearing sticky notes. 

It’s also possible to sync your notes with Dropbox or view them on-line, and Kobo may even convert handwriting to typed textual content. Amazon recently rolled out an identical functionality for the Kindle Scribe, however it could possibly solely convert handwriting to typed textual content if you export notebooks and never as precisely. In contrast, Kobo allows you to convert your handwriting not simply whereas exporting but additionally from inside a pocket book itself.

The Elipsa 2E additionally provides different useful note-taking instruments. It’s even succesful, for instance, of fixing math equations for you. It’s also possible to insert diagrams and drawings, and it’ll robotically snap it into one thing that appears cleaner and nicer. There’s additionally an important collection of pen varieties and ink shades. 

True, the Kindle Scribe begins at $60 much less, however the Kobo Elipsa 2E comes with twice the storage. You can step as much as the 32GB Kindle Scribe if you would like the identical storage capability, however that places it at basically the identical worth because the Kobo. I like to recommend simply forking out the cash on the Elipsa 2E as a substitute.

I additionally suggest the Elipsa 2E over the Onyx Boox Word Air 2 Plus, despite the fact that it, too, provides significantly better writing instruments than the Kindle Scribe. That’s as a result of it prices a whopping $449 and likewise isn’t as available within the US market. The Onyx Boox Word Air 2 Plus additionally comes with too many distracting extras, like an easy-to-access music participant and the Google Play app retailer preinstalled so you’ll be able to obtain a number of studying apps, together with each the Kindle and Kobo apps. Nonetheless, Kindle and Kobo notes didn’t present up on the Onyx Boox Word Air 2 Plus — and you may’t annotate their books anyplace as simply as you’ll be able to on their respective units.

Word-taking capabilities apart, the Kobo Elipsa 2E can be e-reader, nevertheless it comes with the identical strengths and weaknesses as different Kobo e-readers. There’s help for a variety of file codecs, however you’ll be able to’t simply learn Kindle books with out changing them first. Its 227ppi show can be barely much less sharp than the 300ppi display screen discovered on the Kindle Scribe and the Kobo Libra 2. Nonetheless, the ten.3-inch display screen does steadiness issues out a bit and makes textual content simpler to learn, so it’s probably not a noticeable downside.

There are another book readers I examined that I didn’t function above however are nonetheless price highlighting. One in every of these is the Kobo Clara 2E e-reader. In case you’re searching for a non-Amazon various that’s extra inexpensive than the Kobo Libra 2, the Kobo Clara 2E is price a glance. It sells for $139 and likewise provides waterproofing in addition to a pointy, 300ppi show, nevertheless it lacks buttons. As I mentioned in my review earlier this 12 months, I additionally preferred that it doesn’t include adverts however discovered it’s not as quick because the Kindle Paperwhite. Nonetheless, now that I’ve used the e-reader for fairly a while, I discover it’s snappy sufficient, and the occasional lag isn’t as distracting as I imagined it’d grow to be. The Libra 2 remains to be quicker, although.

I additionally didn’t point out the Kindle Oasis, which additionally has bodily page-turning buttons and which many take into account a high-end gadget. At this level, although, it’s previous and lacks some options even the bottom Kindle provides, like USB-C help. That makes it much less interesting at $249. If you’re prepared to pay that a lot for a high-end reader, I’d check out the Kobo Libra 2 or the Kobo Sage as a substitute. The latter is $269, but not solely does it include buttons and USB-C, however it’s also possible to use it to take notes. The eight-inch display screen feels very cramped to jot down on, although, so I wouldn’t suggest it as a main note-taking gadget. 

Replace August twenty second, 2023: Vetted hyperlinks, adjusted costs, and added details about Barnes and Noble’s forthcoming Nook Glowlight 4 Plus e-reader.