Greatest book readers for 2024

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 affords 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 just a few even allow you to take notes.

I’ve been utilizing book readers for practically 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 wreck your spa ambiance, these are the most effective book readers for everybody. 

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

For those who largely purchase ebooks from Amazon, you’ll need a Kindle, and the Eleventh-gen Kindle Paperwhite is your best option for most individuals. Beginning at $139.99, it’s cheaper than the Kobo Libra Color — my high non-Amazon book reader, which I’ll dive into later — for most of the similar options. These embrace a big 300pi show and an adjustable heat white frontlight, which make for a transparent and pleasant 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 Version Paperwhite additionally has an auto-adjusting frontlight and no lockscreen advertisements. It additionally has wi-fi charging, which is a uncommon characteristic to seek out in an e-reader.

Amazon is the most important on-line retailer on this planet, and it dominates the US book market, so Kindle homeowners have entry to benefits homeowners of different book readers don’t. A lot of Amazon’s {hardware} technique is dependent upon providing cut-rate reductions to tug you into its content material ecosystem. You probably have Prime and purchase plenty of Kindle ebooks, the Paperwhite is your best option as a result of Amazon makes it extremely straightforward to purchase and skim its stuff. Its ebooks and audiobooks are sometimes on sale, and Prime members get extra free content material by means of Prime Studying. Rivals like Kobo supply gross sales, too, but it surely’s arduous for them to supply reductions as steep as Amazon does.

There are downsides, although. The Paperwhite has lockscreen advertisements until you pay $20 further to eliminate them. It’s additionally too huge to carry comfortably with one hand. Maybe the Kindle Paperwhite’s greatest flaw, although — which it shares with all Kindles except for Fireplace tablets — is that it’s not straightforward 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 information, an open file format utilized by just about everybody besides Amazon. So, for instance, if you happen to usually 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 switch file codecs so you’ll be able to learn on the Kindle and vice versa, but it surely’ll take a few further steps.

Nevertheless, if you happen to don’t purchase your books elsewhere otherwise you don’t thoughts purchasing from Amazon, you’ll be more than pleased with the Kindle Paperwhite.

Learn our Kindle Paperwhite evaluate.

Dimensions: 5.69 x 6.34 x 0.33 inches / Weight: 199.5 grams / Display screen space and backbone: 7-inch display screen, 300ppi (black-and-white), 150ppi (coloration) / Storage: 32GB / Different options: Bodily page-turning buttons, waterproofing, Kobo Stylus 2 help, Bluetooth audio help 

The Kobo Libra Color is a superb different to Amazon’s book readers, particularly for readers outdoors the US or anybody who doesn’t need to faucet into Amazon’s ecosystem. Kobo’s newest slate affords most of the standout options discovered on the Eleventh-gen Kindle Paperwhite — together with waterproofing, USB-C help, and a 300ppi show — together with just a few perks that make it extra useful and pleasant to make use of.

The colour show is the obvious. The Libra Color makes use of E Ink’s newest Kaledio coloration display screen know-how, which gives soothing, pastel-like hues that also pop in direct daylight. It’s not as sharp as studying in monochrome — the decision drops to 150ppi when viewing content material in coloration — but it surely’s a pleasant contact that makes viewing a wider vary of content material extra nice. E book covers and comics, whereas nonetheless muted, have an added layer of depth, even when the colours are nowhere close to as vivid as that of a standard LED pill.

Moreover, the Libra Color works with the Kobo Stylus 2 (bought individually), which suggests you’ll be able to spotlight textual content with numerous colours or take notes utilizing Kobo’s built-in notebooks. It’s also possible to benefit from a number of the extra superior capabilities discovered within the Kobo Elipsa 2E, permitting you to unravel math equations, convert handwriting into typed textual content, and insert diagrams. This lets the Libra Color operate as a mini pocket book of types, although I wouldn’t use it as a major note-taking machine for the reason that seven-inch show can really feel cramped to jot down on.

The colour show is just a part of the enchantment, although. The Libra Color additionally lacks lockscreen advertisements — in contrast to the bottom Paperwhite — and packs bodily page-turning buttons, which really feel extra intuitive to make use of than tapping both aspect of the show. The speedy e-reader additionally helps extra file codecs, together with EPUB information, and makes it a lot simpler to borrow books from the Overdrive library system. Native help for Pocket, in the meantime, means you’ll be able to learn your articles offline if you happen to’re somebody who makes use of the long-standing bookmarking app.

Nevertheless, at $219.99, the Libra Color prices $70 greater than the entry-level Paperwhite — and that’s with out Kobo’s $69.99 stylus, which is required for performing sure duties. That hole widens additional when the Paperwhite is on sale, which it recurrently is. There’s additionally the truth that the Kobo can’t simply faucet into Amazon’s huge library of ebooks, which will be irritating if you happen to’ve amassed a group of Kindle titles over time. It may be executed, however it’s a must to convert file codecs utilizing third-party apps, which is hard and might take time.

But when these issues don’t matter or apply to you, the Kobo Libra Color will provide you with the most effective digital studying expertise of all of the e-readers on our record. It’s my private favourite, if nothing else.

Learn our Kobo Libra Color evaluate.

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

The base-model Kindle ($99.99 with advertisements) is the most effective 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. Plus, it even has USB-C for comparatively quick charging. 

Studying on its six-inch display screen feels slightly extra cramped than it does on the bigger shows of the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Libra Color. Nevertheless, the flip aspect is that its small measurement makes it pocketable, mild, and simple for small fingers to carry. Mixed with its comparatively inexpensive worth, the Kindle can also be the most effective book reader for teenagers — particularly within the children model 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 yr of Amazon Children Plus, which grants children entry to hundreds of youngsters books and audiobooks free of charge. After that, although, you’ll should pay $79 per yr.

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. Nevertheless, you do get one thing extra essential: snappier responses. On many of the different entry-level book readers I examined, together with the GlowLight 4e, I needed to wait just a few seconds after tapping the display screen for the web page to show. The Kindle, compared, supplied no perceptive lag.

There are different tradeoffs. There’s no water resistance, in contrast to the Paperwhite, and battery life is sweet, but it surely’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 eliminate advertisements. But when you are able to do with out all of that, the Kindle delivers the necessities for underneath $100.

Dimensions: 7.6 x 8.94 x 0.30 inches / Weight: 390 grams / Display screen space and backbone: 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 essentially the most due to its wonderful note-taking talents. You’ll be able to instantly write on pages, and the notes is not going to 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 are 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 rolled out the same functionality for the Kindle Scribe, however it might probably solely convert handwriting to typed textual content if you export notebooks and never as precisely. In contrast, Kobo permits you to convert your handwriting not simply whereas exporting but in addition from inside a pocket book itself.

The Elipsa 2E additionally affords different useful note-taking instruments. Just like the Kobo Libra Color, it’s succesful, for instance, of fixing math equations for you. It’s also possible to insert diagrams and drawings, and it’ll mechanically snap them into one thing that appears cleaner and nicer. There’s additionally an ideal number of pen sorts 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 primarily the identical worth because the Kobo. I like to recommend simply forking out the cash on the Elipsa 2E as a substitute.

I additionally advocate the Elipsa 2E over the Onyx Boox Observe Air 2 Plus, regardless that it, too, affords a lot better writing instruments than the Kindle Scribe. That’s as a result of it prices a whopping $449 and in addition isn’t as available within the US market. The Onyx Boox Observe 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. Nevertheless, Kindle and Kobo notes didn’t present up on the Onyx Boox Observe Air 2 Plus — and you may’t annotate their books anyplace as simply as you’ll be able to on their respective units.

Observe-taking capabilities apart, the Kobo Elipsa 2E can also be an excellent e-reader, but it surely 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 also be barely much less sharp than the 300ppi display screen discovered on the Kindle Scribe and the Kobo Libra Color. Nevertheless, the ten.3-inch display screen does stability issues out a bit and makes textual content simpler to learn, so it’s not likely a noticeable downside.

There are another book readers I examined that I didn’t characteristic above however are nonetheless price highlighting. Listed here are essentially the most notable:

For those who’re searching for a non-Amazon different that’s extra inexpensive than the Kobo Libra Color, the brand new Kobo Clara Color — the successor to the Kobo Clara 2E — is price a glance. At $149.99, the ad-free e-reader prices greater than the Kobo Clara 2E (which you’ll be able to nonetheless purchase), however I feel it’s price the additional $10. It continues to supply the identical six-inch show and IPX8 waterproof design, however the e-reader now affords coloration. Plus, it’s noticeably quicker — one thing I used to be comfortable to see, contemplating the occasional lag on the Clara 2E generally acquired on my nerves. You don’t get the Clara Color’s bodily buttons or stylus help, however that’s a good tradeoff at this worth level.

In 2023, Barnes and Noble launched the brand new Nook Glowlight 4 Plus. For those who personal plenty of digital books from Barnes and Noble, this could possibly be an excellent Kindle different. In any other case, I’d nonetheless advocate the Kobo Libra Color to all people else. The $199.99 Nook Glowlight 4 Plus is an effective e-reader with so much to supply, together with a beautiful 300ppi display screen, waterproofing, bodily page-turning buttons, and even a headphone jack. Nevertheless, it’s simply not as snappy, which makes setting it up, shopping for books from the machine itself, and navigating the interface a sluggish ordeal. It didn’t assist that the display screen generally froze, too, which meant I needed to restart the machine whereas in the midst of a ebook.

Lastly, I didn’t point out the Kindle Oasis, which has bodily page-turning buttons, a bigger display screen, and was thought of a high-end machine when it launched in 2019. Amazon now not lists the growing old e-reader in its official Kindle lineup, nonetheless, and it lacks some options even the bottom mannequin affords, together with USB-C. That makes it much less interesting at $249.99 — that’s, assuming you’ll be able to even discover it in inventory. For those who’re prepared to pay that a lot for a high-end reader, I’d check out the Kobo Libra Color as a substitute.

I’ve simply gotten my fingers on the next e-readers from Boox: the note-taking Go 10.3, the Go Colour 7, and the pint-sized Palma. I’ve solely simply began testing the Go 10.3, however up to now, I’ve loved utilizing it. I’m a fan of the slate’s crisp, 300ppi show, which is even sharper than that of the Kobo Elipsa 2E. Writing on it feels extra akin to writing on paper, whereas its slim design makes the e-reader really feel extra like a standard pocket book.

I’ve but to check the latter two, although my colleague David Pierce is a giant fan of the $280 Boox Palma after spending a while with it. The smartphone-sized, 6.1-inch book reader runs on Android and might entry the Google Play Retailer, which means you’ll be able to obtain a wider number of apps, from Amazon’s personal Kindle app to numerous note-taking apps. That stated, it’s too sluggish to actually use apps that could possibly be distracting, like TikTok or Instagram, so that you in all probability don’t want to fret about shedding focus or distractions in the identical you’ll with a pill or a extra succesful machine. I’m curious to see the way it holds up towards different e-readers I’ve used, even when I haven’t examined many small-screen fashions.

Replace, August thirtieth: Up to date to say my preliminary impressions of the Boox Go 10.3, Go Colour 7, and Boox Palma, in addition to to accommodate numerous worth modifications.