Two-minute evaluate
On paper, the Kobo Libra 2 doesn’t seem to be a lot of an improve over the Libra H2O. Nevertheless, what little has modified makes the brand new ereader an absolute winner, notably relating to worth for cash. Kobo is promoting the Libra 2 at nearly the identical value as the unique Libra – simply $10 / £10 / AU$10 more in actual fact – however the brand new mannequin brings a greater E Ink Carta display screen, 32GB inside storage, Bluetooth connectivity for listening to audiobooks through wi-fi headphones, and a USB-C charging port. That places the Libra 2 in direct competitors with Amazon’s 2021 version of the Kindle Paperwhite, however the uneven design that means that you can use the Libra 2 single-handed simply provides to its attraction.Out of all these updates, the addition of audiobook assist is arguably the headline function. It’s taken Kobo a very long time to meet up with Amazon on this regard, however Kobo followers can lastly have their favourite titles learn to them, so long as the audiobook has been bought from the Kobo Retailer. Moreover, Kobo has opened up its book and audiobook subscription service to more markets outdoors of Canada and choose European international locations however, on the time of writing, Kobo Plus has been made out there in Australia and New Zealand, not within the US or the UK. The place out there, you may join instantly from the Libra 2’s dwelling display screen, supplying you with prompt entry to hundreds of titles in digital or audio format. Kobo has upped the interior storage capability of its mainstream ereader, bumping it up from 8GB to a whopping 32GB (taking a leaf out of the Kobo Elipsa playbook). One other important enchancment over older ereaders is the alternative of the Micro-B charging port to a USB-C possibility. Whereas that makes topping up the battery remarkably fast, it slows down dramatically after about 92% – our solely criticism concerning the ereader. There are some minor design adjustments to the Libra 2 as in comparison with its predecessor, however nothing to put in writing dwelling about. The thicker bezel has a cleaner look because the crease (discovered between the page-turn buttons and the display screen) on the Libra H2O has been eliminated, and the brand new gadget is only a smidge greater. Regardless of the millimeter distinction in dimension, the display screen remains to be the identical 7 inches of the Libra H2O, however is a contact more responsive due to the newest E Ink Carta know-how. The distinction in responsiveness between the older Libra and the brand new is minuscule, however for those who’ve been utilizing every other older Kobo, the Libra 2 is unquestionably definitely worth the improve simply when it comes to efficiency. All the opposite Kobo perks are onboard, after all – a a lot wider file format assist in comparison with the Kindles, a more streamlined consumer interface and, importantly, baked-in OverDrive, Pocket and Dropbox assist. Take all these particular person substances, stir them right into a single gadget and also you’ve obtained the profitable recipe for the most effective bang-for-buck ereader but. All we'd like now from Kobo is an ereader with a shade show.
Worth and availability
- Introduced October 2021
- Launch value of $179.99 / £159.99 / AU$279.99
- Kobo Plus out there in choose markets
Kobo introduced the worldwide launch of the Libra 2 on October 6, 2021 for a value of $179.99 / £159.99 / AU$279.99 and it’s available for purchase instantly from the Kobo Retailer on-line or at main retailers worldwide.
That value is sort of aggressive, costing only a tenner greater than the Kobo Libra H2O (with its 8GB storage capability, lack of Bluetooth and outdated Micro-B socket), however lots cheaper than the 8GB Amazon Kindle Oasis’ $249.99 / £229.99 / AU$399 price ticket.
Even in comparison with the 2021 Kindle Paperwhite – which has 8GB of storage within the base mannequin, a 6.8-inch display screen, no page-turn buttons and costing $139.99 / £129.99 / AU$239 – the Libra 2 gives more worth for cash. And it’s cheaper than the 32GB Paperwhite Signature Version, however for $189 / £179 / AU$289, you're getting wi-fi charging on the premium Paperwhite mannequin.
The Libra 2 (and the Sage with it) additionally carry Kobo Plus, an book/audiobook subscription service to Australia and New Zealand for AU$13.99 / NZ$14.99 / CA$9.99. There’s no phrase but on Kobo Plus availability within the US or UK, but it surely has been out there in Canada since 2019 and The Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal since 2020.
Design and show
- Minor design tweaks
- E Ink Carta 1200 show
- USB-C port
Amazon may need been the one to pioneer the uneven design now shared by a number of ereaders, however Kobo appears to have embraced it utterly. Out of the six ereaders in its present catalog, three have the page-turn buttons that make single-hand use really easy – clearly Kobo means for that design to remain and we’re all for it.
That design, although, has undergone a slight refinement. Within the Libra H2O, there was a crease clearly seen on the thicker bezel, which is not there on the Libra 2. Even the little recess between the 2 page-turn buttons on the Libra H2O is gone, as an alternative giving the Libra 2 a barely cleaner look regardless of the plastic chassis.
Talking of bezels, the opposite three are oh-so-slightly greater… by a millimeter or so. It’s hardly noticeable, however meaning the Libra 2 has its personal sleepcover vary. It’s additionally marginally heavier than the Libra H2O, weighing 215g in comparison with 192g.
The charging indicator gentle – which additionally blinks when the gadget is being powered on – is now decrease down the thicker bezel, sitting nearly in a nook. And on the facet of the thicker bezel, near the indicator gentle, is the USB-C port. This replaces the Micro-B socket that was on the older Kobos and Kindles, and can be utilized for each charging the ereader and transferring recordsdata from a pc.
The rear remains to be textured, providing an excellent grip, whereas the ability button, which is not recessed, is less complicated to press within the Libra 2 as in comparison with the older mannequin.
The show remains to be 7 inches, but it surely’s the newest E Ink Carta 1200 display screen that boasts a 20% enhance in response time and 15% higher distinction in comparison with the Carta HD show on the Libra H2O. In real-world use, that distinction is marginal as in comparison with the older Libra mannequin – doubtless as a result of it makes use of the identical 1GHz processor because the predecessor – however a big enchancment in comparison with the older fashions just like the Kobo Forma or Kobo Clara HD. Display screen decision, nevertheless, stays at 300ppi, however the brand new display screen tech provides a darkish mode the place white textual content seems on a black background.
The Libra 2 shares the patented ComfortLight Professional display screen know-how out there on all Kobo book readers, comprising white and amber LEDs organized alongside the underside of the display screen that undertaking gentle evenly upwards. And ‘evenly’ is strictly the way it works – there aren't any vivid spots or shadow areas, not even a lightweight gradient contemplating the frontlight is unidirectional.
As earlier than, brightness may be adjusted on display screen through a slider on the highest menu bar or by sliding a finger alongside the left fringe of the show. There are nonetheless no ambient gentle sensors onboard, however the skill to set the sunshine temperature to vary from cool to heat (or vice versa) relying on time of day is accessible – one thing that’s lacking on the costlier Kindle Oasis.
We have been despatched the white Kobo Libra 2 for testing and, after weeks of use, couldn’t see a single scuff mark or oily fingerprint on it. We’re uncertain whether or not the black possibility holds up as nicely, but when the H2O was something to go by, it could look simply as clear until your fingers are notably oily or sweaty.
The complete ereader may be submerged in a most of two meters of water for as much as 60 minutes, due to its IPX8 certification. For those who’ve obtained the talent to learn underwater (a tremendous talent certainly), you may simply achieve this within the pool – whereas the touchscreen gained’t fairly work as a result of the water tends to work together with the show, the page-turn buttons will maintain you going.
Book and audiobook expertise
- Auto-rotates orientation
- Simple Bluetooth setup
- Sideloaded fonts supported
We’ve been huge followers of the Kobo expertise here at TechRadar – the UX is clear and retains on bettering with every firmware update. The most recent, nevertheless, has moved the Wishlist tab from out of ‘Discover’ and nestled it underneath the ‘More’ tab on the house display screen – we expect it’s previous dwelling underneath the Uncover tab was higher, however that is us simply nitpicking, actually.
It’s fairly arduous to fault the studying expertise of a Kobo, notably one that may be oriented in both panorama or portrait mode, or locked into both orientation. Irrespective of the way you prefer to learn, the textual content on display screen rotates instantaneously. In related trend, web page refreshes are clear and barely noticeable.
The display screen renders copy in sharp lettering, with a number of font sizes to select from. You'll be able to even change the font to any of the default choices, or sideload your most well-liked ones with out a problem.
It’s not simply the font assist that’s nice here, file assist has all the time been Kobo’s sturdy swimsuit. 15 file codecs are supported, together with PDF, JPEG, GIF, TXT, HTML and the 2 comedian fonts of CBZ and CBR.
Whereas studying common ebooks is an absolute pleasure on the Libra 2, comics could be a little tough on the 7-inch display screen. Relying on how the comedian or graphic novel is laid out, some frames or speech bubbles can get lower off.
However irrespective of the file dimension, we by no means discovered the gadget to decelerate, cling or lag.
For those who’re a fan of darkish modes on all of your digital units, you then’ll love the Libra 2. The brand new Carta 1200 permits for a darkish mode and you'll set the pill to show white on black by heading to the Settings pane underneath the ‘More’ tab and choosing Darkish Mode within the Studying Settings possibility. This, nevertheless, solely makes your ebooks seem in inverted colours, not the house display screen or the settings panes. It’s an identical scenario with the auto-orientation as nicely – this works just for ebooks (in any format), but it surely doesn't change the orientation of the house display screen, which is all the time in portrait mode. That’s actually not a lot of a difficulty in any respect, but it surely’s nicely price mentioning.
The most recent display screen tech hasn’t eliminated the problem of ‘ghosting’ although. That is the place you may sometimes see a lightweight picture of the earlier display screen/web page – notably if it has a picture – overlaid on the present web page. This is a matter with each E Ink display screen we’ve seen and, to be sincere, the overlay is so gentle, you’ll both get used to it actually rapidly (for those who’ve by no means used an ereader earlier than) or barely even discover it.
With regards to audiobooks, you may solely take heed to ones you’ve bought from the Kobo Retailer. Some libraries would possibly provide you with entry to audiobooks, however since they’re often in MP3 format, they gained’t play on the Libra 2. That is the primary time we’ve seen Kobo go in opposition to its claims concerning the openness of its ecosystem, but it surely’s additionally the primary time the corporate has provided audiobook assist, and we hope Kobo makes it more inclusive in future.
Pairing with Bluetooth headphones was remarkably straightforward for us – similar to the way you’d do it on a telephone.
The controls out there on the Libra 2 are the play/pause choices, and skipping 30 seconds backwards and forwards. Like a chapter checklist on ebooks, there’s a monitor checklist as nicely, which corresponds to totally different chapters within the audiobook, and you'll choose any of these for those who want to begin within the {middle}. The audiobook management panel additionally provides you entry to statistics on the titles you’ve listened to, together with how lengthy you’ve listened, how a lot is left and a graphical illustration of the chapters.
Audiobooks proceed to play for those who put the display screen to ‘sleep’ and you should utilize your headphones’ controls to play and pause too.
As with all Kobo ereaders, having OverDrive on the gadget means you’ll have the ability to borrow ebooks from a neighborhood library that helps the platform – all you want is a library card. This function works in most international locations that Kobo is formally out there, not like Kindles the place borrowing library books is just for US prospects. For anybody who makes use of Pocket to save lots of and browse longform web articles offline can log into their account on the Libra 2 and use the pill to learn these articles. And, for wi-fi switch of recordsdata, there’s Dropbox assist too.
Battery life
- 1,500mAh capability
- Glorious battery life
- Faster charging than earlier than... kind of
One other improve over the Libra H2O on the brand new mannequin is the battery capability – that’s been upped from 1,200mAh to a more beneficiant 1,500mAh. On a single cost, we squeezed out a median of 54 hours of use, and that features a mixture of studying, listening and looking the Kobo Retailer, plus with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi all the time on, display screen brightness set at 15% always and pages set to refresh as soon as per chapter.
To place that quantity into perspective, that’s about seven weeks of use for anybody who reads about an hour a day. Even for those who’re an avid reader and spend three or 4 hours a day studying and looking the Kobo Retailer, you’ll nonetheless simply eke out three weeks or more, relying on how vivid you want your display screen to be. And that’s outstanding for an ereader.
Topping up the battery, nevertheless, is a unique story – and a complicated one at that. In testing, we discovered the Libra 2 went from an nearly empty battery to 92% in about 50 minutes... however then slowed means, means down. Whereas 'trickle charging' a battery because it approaches its full state is theoretically a very good factor for its {health} and lifespan, the sheer distinction in velocity was baffling: that final 8% typically took as much as an hour to finish.
One other surprising conduct is the battery proportion displayed on the gadget’s ‘sleep’ display screen as quickly as you plug within the charging cable – it exhibits you the share on the time you arrange charging, then will get caught there. It doesn’t update because the battery tops up and is somewhat deceptive because it gives the look that the Libra 2 isn’t charging in any respect. That’s exacerbated by the truth that the indicator gentle stops blinking a minute after the charging cable has been connected. The one option to reliably know that the battery is being charged is to maintain the display screen on and faucet on the battery icon. This brings up a field that shows the ‘estimated time remaining’. The timer ticks right down to zero seconds at concerning the 92% mark, after which it simply shows ‘charging via USB’ for the remaining 8% or thereabouts. So even the Libra 2 doesn’t appear positive whether or not its battery has topped up or not after a sure level.
We’re uncertain whether or not this can be a software program glitch and fixable through a future firmware update, however these battery shenanigans don’t have an effect on the efficiency of the Libra 2 in any means. You'll be able to proceed utilizing it whereas it’s charging, even take heed to audiobooks. And, to be sincere, even for those who cease charging the ereader at 92%, there’s days, if not weeks, of battery life out there so that you can probably not fear about it.
Ought to I purchase the Kobo Libra 2?
Purchase it if...
Do not buy it if...
[First reviewed December 2021]
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