Kobo Libra 2 review: Freedom with a small price

Amazon Kindles dominate consciousness with regards to e-readers—associates and kinfolk ask me what Kindle they need to get, not which e-reader. 

But overlooking the competitors can restrict each accessible options and locations to purchase books. Take the Kobo Libra 2, a detailed competitor to the Amazon Kindle Oasis. Its native help for library books and a greater diversity of guide codecs allows extra studying choices, whereas nonetheless offering related options because the Oasis, like bodily controls and a 7-inch display. It additionally presents an interface some folks may like much better. Oh, and also you pay much less.

In truth, after months of utilizing the Libra 2, it’s usually my first suggestion to people in search of an e-reader with bodily buttons—even folks already deeply invested within the Kindle ecosystem.

Kobo Libra 2 (2021): Specs, options, worth

• Price: $190 MSRP (as of 2023)
• Colors: Black, white
• Storage: 32GB
• Display: 7-inch, 300 ppi E Ink touchscreen 
• Front gentle: Yes (plus adjustable brightness and colour temperature)
• Dimensions: 6.4 x 5.7 x 0.35 inches (144.6 x 161.6 x 9mm)
• Weight: 7.6 oz (215g)
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 4, Bluetooth
• Battery life: “Weeks of battery life”
• Charging: USB-C
• Waterproof ranking: IPX8
• Supported codecs: EPUB, EPUB3, FlePub, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR, Kobo Audiobooks

Kobo is a longtime veteran of the e-reader wars—for over a decade, the corporate has steadily produced inexpensive fashions which have pushed the envelope on options. For instance, Amazon wasn’t the primary to introduce waterproofing and heat lighting with its Kindles. Kobo already had achieved it years prior.

The Libra 2 marches on on this vein, although with out the launch of revolutionary new tech. Instead, you get a stable assortment of premium options designed for energy studying. Its spec checklist ticks off all the key bins: a 7-inch 300 dpi touchscreen, 32GB of storage, two bodily facet buttons, a compact, IPX8 waterproofed physique, and Bluetooth help for audiobooks (new to Kobo gadgets). The display additionally helps each computerized and handbook colour temperature adjustment for nighttime studying. And while you activate the system, you drop into a completely ad-free interface that features built-in help for OverDrive, a service utilized by many libraries for digital guide loans.

This Kobo e-reader does nevertheless have a heavier, cheaper physique in comparison with its major rival. The Amazon Kindle Oasis is about three-quarters of an oz. (22 grams) lighter, and housed in aluminum, whereas the Libra 2 is encased in plastic. The Libra 2 additionally lacks computerized brightness settings. But it largely makes up for these variations with a cushty really feel in hand, and a nifty person interface trick that allows you to alter the brightness by sliding a finger alongside the facet of the display.

It’s exhausting to complain about it missing sure options, nevertheless, given Kobo’s decrease pricing. Originally launched at an MSRP of $180 again in 2021, the value has nudged as much as $190 for 2023—which continues to be extra than $100 cheaper than an Amazon Kindle Oasis with close to equal specs.

PCWorld / Amazon

Kobo Libra 2 (2021): Reading expertise

The Libra 2 makes devouring books a pleasure, partly as a result of 300 dpi display. It’s crisp and straightforward on the eyes—correctly, because it’s the identical decision as printed books. But the {hardware} contributes as effectively, with web page turns responsive even in graphic novels, magazines, and PDF paperwork. Pinch-and-zoom in these file codecs can be fluid.

The display itself is evenly lit, with good visibility in outside conditions and blackout situations alike. The colour temperature of the LEDs shift broadly between cool and heat, although with much less granularity than on Amazon’s readers. No numerical scales right here; you solely have a sliding scale with 11 positions to select from. I discovered it much less problem to make use of the automated adjustment between daytime and nighttime temperatures—I chosen transitions at set instances, however you may also tie it to your native dawn and sundown. Brightness settings are simpler to navigate, with a share given. You’ll get extra exact management by sliding your finger alongside the facet of the left display (relative to the system’s present orientation); utilizing the highest navigation possibility jumps alongside in small, irregular increments.

Alaina Yee / Foundry

Arguably, the most effective half concerning the Libra 2 are its two bodily buttons. One-handed use is a no brainer, particularly with the crisp suggestions for every button. I completely beloved utilizing it whereas cooking and consuming, as a result of I by no means received sidetracked with person interface flubs as on touchscreen-only e-readers. Same with the place of the ability button, which rests on the again—I personally discover side-mounted energy buttons extra fiddly to cope with.

Physically, the only awkward facet of the system is its charging port, which is positioned on the facet with the buttons. You can solely comfortably maintain the Libra 2 in your proper hand when studying whereas charging.

Kobo Libra 2 (2021): Battery life

The lone problem—in case you can name it that—with the Kobo Libra 2 is its battery life. Kobo offers its estimate as “weeks,” reasonably than any quantifiable quantity, as Amazon does. Can you get weeks of use from a single cost? Yes, and I did throughout my months of use.

But on the entire, the Libra 2 burns just a bit sooner by way of battery life than anticipated, even with gentle use, a dim display, and no energetic Wi-Fi. Even when left on standby for lengthy stretches, it simply quits somewhat earlier than long-time Kindle customers could also be accustomed to. I seen it most throughout heavy intervals of studying, once I binged books for a number of hours an evening and not less than three or 4 instances in a 7-day span. I ran out of cost by the tip of such per week greater than as soon as.

The distinction in battery life doesn’t really feel big, although, and so didn’t negate the system’s enchantment for me. It fees fairly fast, and you’ll nonetheless use the e-reader whereas topping up. The placement of the port isn’t elegant (as talked about above), however it’s workable.

Kobo Libra 2 (2021): User interface

Alaina Yee / Foundry

I genuinely don’t assume the Kobo Libra 2’s battery life is a big problem for most individuals—they’ll be close to electrical shops continuously. (It’s a distinct story in case your life usually takes you into off-grid areas; you could discover a Kindle a greater match.)

But in equity, I’m presumably extra affected person with the Libra 2 due to its worth, bodily buttons, and its built-in options, that are a great match for my priorities. Most necessary to me is direct entry to library books, magazines, and graphic novels by way of OverDrive, as libraries are a significant supply of content material for my studying binges. You can log in to your OverDrive account by way of the Libra 2. My one quibble: Search outcomes present the paid Kobo retailer model of a guide. To try the library model, you need to use the drop-down menu within the guide’s itemizing.

I’m additionally a fan of how my books are displayed. Kindles presently use a extra streamlined interface, which seems to be cleaner however buries filtering and sorting choices in drop-down menus. While you’ll be able to handle books in an analogous approach as on a Kindle, the Libra 2 additionally has a tabbed menu on the prime of the display that allows you to immediately view books as one massive pile or as a substitute grouped by authors, sequence, and collections you’ve created. Between all of the choices, I typically discover a desired guide sooner on the Libra 2, because of fewer faucets and fewer scrolling.

Alaina Yee / Foundry

Within books, navigating is simple and intuitive. Kobo makes book-related settings seen as quickly as you faucet the middle of the display—a second faucet normally will get you to the place you need. The solely lacking possibility? A local means to make the time at all times seen, as on Kindles. If I’m not cautious, I can lose complete hours whereas studying.

Curiously, Kobo doesn’t provide screensavers for Libra 2 whereas it’s in standby mode, like Kindles do. Instead, your two choices are the duvet of the guide you’re presently studying, or a clean display and a little bit of textual content that claims “Sleeping.” You must do some work by yourself so as to add your own custom screensavers.

In addition to downloading borrowed books from OverDrive and bought titles from the Kobo retailer, you’ll be able to in fact plug the system right into a PC to switch information. Windows will acknowledge your Libra 2 as a USB drive, into which you’ll be able to copy books and different appropriate codecs like PDFs and even Microsoft Word information onto. (Books can’t be protected by DRM for this technique to work, nevertheless.)

Should you purchase a Kobo Libra 2?

Kobo’s e-readers pack in options at inexpensive costs, and the Libra 2 isn’t any exception. Its sharp display and bodily buttons makes digital studying extremely pleasant, and its software program presents flexibility in supported books and different studying content material. If battery life is the very best precedence for you, you could want to stay to Amazon’s tightly built-in ecosystem, however for many everybody else, the liberty you get with this system is price its minor quirks.