When you simply desire a strategy to learn ebooks, you have already got what you want in your pocket together with your smartphone. However if you’d like one thing that’s much less distracting and simpler in your eyes, it’s possible you’ll wish to go together with an ereader as an alternative. Because it stands, the market is at present dominated by two manufacturers. Amazon’s Kindle has captured the most important share by far, however Rakuten Kobo gadgets are a profitable different — actually, the Kobo Clara Colour is our present prime choose. Smaller corporations like Onyx Boox and PocketBook produce Android tablets with e-paper screens that may do extra than simply show books.
Different concerns, akin to whether or not or not you want a coloration show or the power to write down on the display for note-taking, will decide which ereader to purchase. Components like library measurement, compatibility with rights-managed content material and extra additionally come into play. Over the previous two years, we’ve examined out greater than a dozen gadgets to create a information that will help you choose the most effective ereader for you — and aid you get probably the most out of your new gadget when you get it.
Desk of contents
The very best book readers for 2025
What to search for in an ereader
Loads of apps, together with the Kindle app, will allow you to obtain and browse digital books on a cellphone or pill. However what makes book readers totally different is the display: practically all of them use expertise from an organization referred to as E Ink. It manufactures digital paper shows (EPD) composed of three sheets: one containing tens of millions of microcapsules full of black and white ink particles sandwiched between clear electrode layers. When a cost is utilized, both the black or white particles shift to the highest, forming letters and the whitespace round them.
Coloration ereaders add a color filter array on prime of the usual black and white microcapsule layer. The result’s two totally different resolutions on one display — the colour readability is 150 dpi whereas black and white pictures and textual content are nonetheless 300 dpi.
As a result of these shows are so totally different from commonplace backlight LED panels, you may count on most ereaders to do quite a lot of issues properly. They’ll be simpler to stare at for lengthy durations of time and simpler to learn in direct daylight. Additionally, since E Ink shows solely require energy to rearrange the ink, these gadgets have for much longer battery lives than even the most effective tablets: we’re speaking weeks on a single cost, not days.
The ereader market just isn’t as saturated as, say, the smartphone market, however there are nonetheless loads of choices on the market they usually do have small however essential variations amongst them. They have an inclination to vary from round $100 to greater than $400, although normally the upper finish choices are stylus-enabled learn/write E Ink tablets just like the Kindle Scribe. Past worth, you need to contemplate bodily properties like buttons, lights, storage and backbone, in addition to how the software program allows you to discover and entry books.
Studying options
With any ereader, you’ll navigate the OS by way of faucets and swipes, and a few add bodily page-turn buttons. Most with built-in buttons have an auto-rotating display so you may press together with your proper or left hand.
As E Ink expertise has superior, decision has tremendously improved – even the funds Kindle ereader has a 300 ppi show. You’ll be able to nonetheless discover fashions with decrease decision, however we don’t suggest them.
Some ereaders have entrance LEDs that assist mild temperature adjustment. Meaning you may swap to a hotter mild after the solar goes down, which can really feel simpler on the eyes. When you’re involved about blue mild, you need to go for a reader with that characteristic. Lastly, darkish mode is obtainable on most later mannequin ereaders, permitting you to invert the black and white textual content and background, which some individuals discover simpler to learn in low-light settings.
Different options
The capabilities of those pocket libraries have advanced significantly because the early days. Along with storing books, some allow you to browse the online, run apps and play music. The display’s body fee can’t deal with gaming, however it’s ok to point out you the Wikipedia entry for Striver’s Row whilst you learn Criminal Manifesto.
When you hearken to audiobooks, you might have considered trying a Bluetooth-enabled ereader able to enjoying them. A lot of the fashions we examined have that means, with the notable exception of the Nook ereader we tried. Take into account that audiobook recordsdata can take up extra space than print recordsdata so you may in all probability desire a gadget with the next storage capability in case you plan on doing a variety of listening.
Above all, you need to contemplate the place and the way you propose to seek out books to learn. Most ereaders make it best to buy via their very own digital bookstores, however all of them (even Kindles) will now allow you to obtain titles from different sources, like libraries, unaffiliated book sellers and free public area websites.
How you can get books to your ereader
Kindle, Nook and Kobo all have their very own shops that you just entry immediately from every model’s gadgets. Costs are the identical amongst all sellers, too. Publishers set the worth of an book, not the retailer, so a title will value the identical at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, eBooks.com and the Kobo retailer.
Amazon affords Kindle Unlimited for $12 per thirty days, and it consists of 4 million titles from which you’ll be able to choose your subsequent learn. It consists of audio and ebooks, however you received’t discover many large, new releases or older bestsellers. Kobo has a subscription referred to as Kobo Plus with about 1.3 million titles: it goes for $8 per thirty days for ebooks solely, $8 for audiobooks solely or $10 for each.
Shopping for a e book from a proprietary retailer immediately delivers it to your gadget, supplied you’re linked to WiFi. It additionally syncs your studying throughout gadgets and apps, so you may choose up the place you left off in your cellphone in case you forgot your ereader at house. It actually is probably the most handy strategy to go, however in case you don’t wish to be locked into one model’s retailer, or in case you go for an ereader with out its personal market, you do have choices.
How you can add ePubs onto an ereader
Shops like ebooks.com and Google Play have tens of millions of ebooks on the market as digital rights-managed (DRM) ePub recordsdata, which Kobo, Nook and PocketBook readers can learn of their native ereader apps. Kindles don’t assist DRM ePub recordsdata in any respect and Boox gadgets require third celebration studying apps (of which there are lots of) to learn these recordsdata. Titles from Apple Books are solely readable in iOS gadgets.
Titles from some publishers like Tor and public area classics from websites like Project Gutenberg are additionally offered as ePubs, however with out the added DRM. Consequently, Kindles and the Boox Neoreader do assist these recordsdata. Books you get from third-party sources will look similar to ones you purchased from a proprietary retailer, due to the flowable, formatted nature of ePub recordsdata. Whereas these device-agnostic book collections provide you with further choices for locating your subsequent learn, they require a couple of extra steps to get the recordsdata onto your ereader.
To take action, you’ll sometimes want a pc operating a free program referred to as Adobe Digital Editions (ADE). After shopping for and downloading the ePub file, open ADE and plug your ereader into your pc (all readers right here have a USB-C port for charging and knowledge transfers). Your gadget ought to pop up within the left panel. Drag and drop the ePub file out of your downloads folder into the principle panel in ADE. The file will show as a picture of the e book cowl. Drag that picture onto your gadget on the left panel. If the file consists of digital rights administration (which protects towards unauthorized copying) you’ll must authorize your ereader, which requires utilizing or making a free Adobe ID. When you’ve completed including recordsdata to add, eject the reader out of your pc to finish the switch course of.
Kindles use a web-based uploader as an alternative of the ADE methodology. However since Kindle makes use of its personal proprietary DRM expertise as an alternative of Adobe’s, the one recordsdata it will probably settle for from third events are non-DRM recordsdata, akin to from Tor Publishing or Challenge Gutenberg. After downloading a suitable ePub file, drag and drop it into your browser with the Send to Kindle web page open. So long as you’re signed into Amazon, this wirelessly transfers the recordsdata to your related gadget.
Boox additionally makes use of a browser uploader referred to as BooxDrop (together with many other methods) to ship ePubs to the gadget. Open it from the Boox App menu and also you’ll see a device-specific url. Sort that into your browser to entry a file supply portal that uploads to your library. Boox’s built-in ereader app, NeoReader, additionally doesn’t assist recordsdata with DRM, so that you received’t be capable of learn present titles from most publishers utilizing that app. Thankfully, Boox gadgets run practically each ereader app on the market, Kobo and Kindle included, letting you entry ePubs any variety of methods.
Not too long ago, Bookshop.org, the web vendor of bodily books that helps indie bookstores, began promoting ebooks and up to 100 percent of the profits will go to native booksellers. The corporate makes use of a distinct rights administration system than ADE so, proper now, you may solely learn titles you purchase from them on the Bookshop.org app, however the firm is working with the makers of each Kindle and Kobo to increase compatibility to these ereaders.
How you can learn library books on an ereader
Your native library card allows you to borrow audio and ebooks via a program referred to as Overdrive and its companion app Libby. On a Kobo, you’ve gotten have built-in entry to Overdrive in a separate tab. When you’ve linked your public library card, the search operate will embrace outcomes for titles out there out of your native library system; a couple of faucets will add your picks to your gadget for the size of the mortgage. I personally discover it best to borrow the title I need via the Libby app on my cellphone. After that, the e book pops up on my Kobo’s house display as soon as the gadget syncs.
To learn library books on a Kindle, you may both undergo the Libby app or the Overdrive part of your library’s web site. When you click on Borrow, you’ll see the choice to “Learn now with Kindle,” which takes you to Amazon’s website to sign up. After that, the e book will probably be delivered to your gadget the subsequent time it connects to WiFi.
For different ereaders, you’ll undergo your library’s Overdrive portal and obtain the ePub after clicking the Borrow button. You’ll be able to then use the ADE course of we described above. Units that run exterior apps, like Boox’s Web page, Go Coloration 7 or Palma, will let you learn library books by way of the Libby app, simply as you’d on a smartphone or iPad.
You can even use the Libby app to borrow audiobooks, however you received’t be capable of entry them via your ereader. (The exception is an ereader, like a Boox gadget, that permits exterior apps). I discovered it was simpler to hearken to an audiobook on my cellphone anyway, no matter whether or not I borrowed it via Libby or purchased it from Kindle or Kobo.
How we check ereaders
When placing collectively any information, the very first thing we do is spend hours researching the sector. We take a look at what’s out there, what’s new, and what consumers {and professional} reviewers should say. Then we slim an inventory to the most effective candidates for hands-on testing.
Over the course of the previous two years, I’ve examined simply over a dozen ereaders, representing 5 totally different manufacturers: Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Boox and PocketBook. I purchased, borrowed and uploaded books for every gadget utilizing the strategies above. I used every one for between a couple of days to a couple months. I evaluated every one within the areas of e book entry, ease of studying, further options and general worth. Right here’s the whole lot we examined to date:
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Amazon Kindle (2022)
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Amazon Kindle (2024)
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Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021)
Different ereaders we examined
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft
Amazon’s first color Kindle impressed with its fast page-turns and cargo occasions, auto-adjusting entrance mild and, in fact, a decently hanging coloration E Ink show. However at $280, it’s costlier than all the different coloration ereaders in its measurement vary, together with the Kobo Libra Color and the Boox Go Coloration 7.
Additionally, some Colorsoft homeowners reported seeing a yellow band on the backside of their ereader’s show. This difficulty didn’t have an effect on our first evaluation unit through the authentic testing interval, however it will definitely appeared. An Amazon spokesperson advised Engadget: “A small variety of prospects have reported a yellow band alongside the underside of the show. We take the standard of our merchandise severely—prospects who discover this may attain out to our customer support staff for a substitute or refund, and we’re making the suitable changes to make sure that new gadgets won’t expertise this difficulty transferring ahead.”
Amazon despatched us a brand new Colorsoft ereader on the finish of 2024 and it does seem that the fixes the corporate made resolved the yellow-band difficulty. The display on our second evaluation unit seems hotter general, however not overly so. It’s extra akin to the display on the Kobo Libra Color, and that’s factor.
Ereader FAQs
Which ereaders can learn Kindle books?
Amazon’s Kindle ereaders are the apparent reply, however different gadgets able to operating apps also can learn titles from the Kindle retailer. For instance, you may obtain the Kindle app on a Boox ereader via Google Play (the shop comes commonplace within the Boox app menu). You’ll be able to then signal into your Kindle account and entry all of the books in your library — the identical method you’d learn Kindle books in your cellphone or pill.
Can you purchase Kindle books with no Kindle?
Sure. You should buy Kindle books via the Kindle app or via Amazon’s web site by way of a browser. You’ll be able to learn these titles on a Kindle or any gadget that may run the Kindle app, akin to a smartphone, pill or pc. Simply bear in mind that Kindle titles can solely be learn via one in all Amazon’s ereaders or the Kindle app. The corporate makes use of proprietary digital rights administration on all ebooks it sells that may’t be learn by different ereader apps like Kobo or Adobe ADE.
What is the distinction between Kindle and Kobo?
Each Kindle and Kobo are manufacturers of devoted ereaders that assist looking, shopping for, downloading and studying ebooks from their very own shops. Each additionally assist borrowing books out of your native library by way of Overdrive and Libby.
The distinction is that Kindle is owned by Amazon and makes use of the Kindle retailer, whereas Kobo is owned by Rakuten and its books come from the Kobo retailer. Each shops come pre-loaded as a tab on their respective ereader and each carry most in-print books. Every retailer additionally carries their very own unique ebooks as properly, however Amazon’s library of Kindle-only books is far bigger than Kobo’s. Amazon additionally affords Amazon Original tales to learn on the Kindle, that are free brief fiction and nonfiction reads which are free to Prime members.
Which ereader is finest for library books?
Each Kobos and Kindles have easy programs for borrowing library books. Different ereaders, like Boox, allow you to borrow books after downloading the Libby App. Solely Kobo ereaders allow you to seek for and borrow books immediately on the ereader, with a devoted Overdrive tab. Kindles, alternatively, make the most of a handy “learn on Kindle” operate from the Libby app or web site. You’ll be able to ship a borrowed e book to your Kindle simply by signing into your account. Each strategies are fairly simple, so which is the most effective for you in all probability relies on different components than simply the library-book characteristic.
Latest updates
March 2025: Added information about Bookshop.org entering into the book market. Up to date details about price-setting by publishers.
January 2025: Up to date the “Others we examined” part to incorporate impressions of the second Kindle Colorsoft evaluation unit we obtained.
August 2024: Changed our Android pill choose with the brand new Go Coloration 7 ereader from Boox. Up to date e book titles to present examples. Added an FAQ part to elucidate the distinction between Kobo and Kindle ereaders and additional element library-book assist on totally different fashions.
November 2024: Following the discharge of Amazon’s new Kindle ereaders, we examined and reviewed the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Version, the base-model Kindle and Amazon’s new coloration ereader, the Kindle Colorsoft. Accordingly, we up to date our funds choose, added a premium choose and famous our expertise with the Colorsoft.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cellular/tablets/best-ereader-130013808.html?src=rss
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