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Step away from the monitor and give your eyes a rest. Ebook readers, also called ereaders, rely on E Ink screens that let you read for long periods without the brain burn from a radiant LCD or OLED screen. They have long battery life and look terrific in sunlight. Amazon’s Kindles dominate the ebook reader market in the US, but if you’re shopping around, it’s a good idea to look at models from Kobo, Nook, and Onyx.
Here you’ll find the best ebook readers we’ve tested, followed by everything you need to know before deciding which one is right for you.
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Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021)
Best Kindle Overall
Bottom Line:
Amazon’s 2021 edition of the Kindle Paperwhite is similar to the excellent 2018 version, but adds a roomier screen that makes for an even better reading experience.
PROS
- Larger screen shows more per page than previous generation
- Water-resistant build
- Flat-front design
- Color-changing front light
CONS
- No Immersion Reading mode
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids
Best for Kids
Bottom Line:
The Kindle Paperwhite Kids combines Amazon’s excellent waterproof ebook reader with a money-saving bundle of accessories and services.
PROS
- Waterproof, flat-front design
- Long warranty
- Comes with a case
- Kids+ subscription content library
CONS
- Kids+ subscription only lasts one year
Onyx Boox Note Air 2
Most Features
Bottom Line:
No other E Ink tablet offers the build quality and software flexibility of the 10-inch Onyx Boox Note Air 2, making it ideal for taking notes and reading large-format documents.
PROS
- Top-notch build quality
- Built-in reading and note-taking apps work well
- Good battery life
CONS
- Taking notes in third-party apps isn’t great
- App compatibility can be hit or miss
- Not waterproof
Amazon Kindle (2022 Release)
Most Affordable Kindle
Bottom Line:
The 2022 Amazon Kindle has a screen as sharp as the Paperwhite, along with more storage and longer battery life than its predecessor.
PROS
- Much sharper screen than previous Kindle
- Long battery life
- Supports plenty of file formats
CONS
- Not waterproof
- Front light color temperature isn’t adjustable
Amazon Kindle Scribe
Best Kindle for Taking Notes
Bottom Line:
The Amazon Kindle Scribe is an excellent big-screen ebook reader and note-taking device, but don’t confuse it for a drawing pad.
PROS
- Big, sharp, responsive screen
- Temperature-adjustable front light
- Smooth note-taking experience
- Appealing design and hardware
CONS
- Lacks tools for serious drawing
- Awkward to use one-handed
- Not waterproof
Kobo Clara 2E
Best for Library Books
Bottom Line:
The waterproof, environment-friendly Kobo Clara 2E isn’t quite as fast as the Kindle Paperwhite, but it offers broader file support and easier access to public library ebooks.
PROS
- Built-in public library support
- Supports many ebook file formats
- Bright, high-resolution screen
- Waterproof
- Compact
- Made with recycled materials
CONS
- Sluggish performance
- Only supports Kobo audiobooks
Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight 4
Best Nook Overall
Bottom Line:
The Barnes & Noble GlowLight 4 is a simple, compact e-reader for anyone with an extensive collection of Nook books, but it can’t match the features of similarly priced competitors.
PROS
- Small and light
- Physical page-turn buttons
- Sharp text
CONS
- Recessed screen
- Not waterproof
- Clunky public library support
Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2
Biggest Screen
Bottom Line:
The pricey Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2 tablet can handle large-format documents and sheet music on its 13.3-inch E Ink display.
PROS
- Huge screen
- Runs almost all Android apps
- Slim and relatively light
CONS
- Very expensive
- No monitor mode
Apple iPad (2022)
Best for Reading in Color
Bottom Line:
Apple’s 10th-generation iPad remains the best tablet for most people, though its many improvements in design and performance come with a sharp increase in price.
PROS
- Appealing iPad Pro-like design
- USB-C port
- Relocated webcam
- Higher-quality cameras
- Improved speakers
- Faster performance
CONS
- Higher price than previous model
- Loses traditional Touch ID button
- No Face ID
Buying Guide: The Best eReaders for 2023
What’s the Best eReader Screen Type and Size?
Basic ebook readers use monochrome E Ink screens to display text. E Ink, or digital ink (often manufactured by the E Ink company), looks a lot like paper, but it’s easier on your eyes for reading over long periods. On the least expensive models it’s not backlit, so you need a light to see the text, just as you would with a printed book. But most ebook readers now include edge lighting that lets you see in the dark. You can often change the brightness level from barely there to flashlight-bright. On the lowest settings, you can read in the dark while your partner sleeps undisturbed next to you.
In all cases, E Ink is much easier to read in bright sunlight, while glossy color touch screens on tablets tend to wash out and show distracting reflections.
Most E Ink readers in the past had 6-inch screens, but the panel sizes are slowly growing: The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite and the Kobo Libra 2 have 7-inch displays, the Kindle Scribe has a 10.2-inch screen, and Onyx sells larger-format models up to 13.3 inches. We’ve found that you start to have balance issues with one-handed reading at a screen size above 7 inches.
Screen resolutions and quality also vary. Some older Kindles use 167ppi displays that look rough and jaggy compared with the 300ppi displays on more modern models. Amazon’s latest Kindles and Kobo’s Libra 2 go one step further with Carta 1200 technology, which enables faster page turns and even better contrast.
Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight 4
(Credit: Sascha Segan)
If you haven’t updated your ebook reader in many years, you might be stunned by how much more responsive the latest E Ink readers feel. Frequent, startling screen flashes are really a thing of the past.
The Best Color eReaders
If you need to read more than books, tablets with color screens offer many other benefits. Magazines and comic books look great on larger tablets. Even lower-cost tablets like the Amazon Fire 7 let you browse the web, stream video from Netflix, Hulu, and others, play music, and run apps. Because of its high-quality screen and general power, however, we recommend the base-model iPad for most people trying to read rich, full-page color content.
In 2020, we saw a breakthrough in color E Ink displays, with several readers implementing the E Ink Kaleido or E Ink Kaleido Plus technologies. We’ve tested two of them, the Onyx Boox Nova3 Color and the PocketBook InkPad Color, that show some of the exciting possibilities of color E Ink. Unfortunately, we can’t recommend them yet; the screen technology is relatively dim, with low full-color resolution and occasional ghosting. LCD tablets are far superior and there haven’t been many developments in color E Ink displays since then.
The Best eReaders for the Beach
If you like reading in the bath, by the pool, or on the beach, consider a waterproof ebook reader. Options include the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, the Kobo Libra 2, and the Kobo Clara 2E, all of which can withstand some amount of submersion in water. Other readers aren’t quite as resilient.
The Best eReaders for Taking Notes
All ebook readers let you highlight or tag particular phrases for later reference. Some have digital pens that let you take notes directly on the screen. The Remarkable tablet line, the Kindle Scribe, many Onyx Boox tablets, and the iPad line all support pen input. In general, they let you annotate on PDFs and other kinds of documents, plus take freehand notes on a blank page. The Onyx Boox Note Air 2 is our favorite E Ink tablet for pen use because of its paper-like feel and strong document format support. The Scribe feels similarly good to write on, but Amazon’s Kindle ecosystem requires more effort to get the most out of some document formats.
Amazon Kindle Scribe
(Credit: Will Greenwald)
The Remarkable 2 has a passionate following and is the best tablet for taking notes. However, it isn’t a good ebook reader because it supports only PDF and EPUB format books. That means that books from public libraries and many online bookstores are not an option.
The Best eReaders for Audiobooks
Sometimes you’d rather listen than read. Sometimes you’d like to read and listen at the same time. Kindles can now connect to Bluetooth headphones to play Audible audiobooks, and many Amazon books will synchronize with Audible audiobooks on Kindle ebook readers. Kobo uses a proprietary audiobook format. Onyx ebook readers have built-in speakers and can use multiple audiobook apps.
Oddly, Amazon saves its slickest audiobook feature, Immersion Reading, for its Android app, which means you need an Onyx ebook reader to use it. That feature synchronizes words that appear on the page with those you hear aloud.
Where Can You Get Ebooks?
The ebook reader you choose determines which ecosystem you can use.
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo all use copy protection on most of their books, which prevents you from reading titles on other brands’ ebook readers. Removing the copy protection is possible, but you might also remove features such as formatting and character summaries in the process. It’s also gotten much harder to strip the protection specifically from Amazon books in recent years. Onyx ebook readers can run all of their competitors’ Android apps, which means you can read content from every platform on them.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
(Credit: Sascha Segan)
Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited offers more than three million ebooks for $9.99 per month. Amazon Prime subscribers can access a smaller library as part of Prime Reading(Opens in a new window) without paying extra. For kids, the Amazon Kids+ subscription service unlocks a lot of children’s books and starts at $2.99 per month. You get a free year of it when you buy the Kindle Kids Edition.
Recommended by Our Editors
For public library lending, Kobo readers let you use the popular library app Overdrive as a native store, which is convenient. Amazon sends you through the library’s website to pick books that push to your device. Onyx requires you to load a specific library app.
Book selection, size, and pricing vary from store to store. Books by big publishers generally appear in the Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo stores. But Amazon also has exclusive authors and imprints. Many of them are self-published and not very good, but Amazon definitely has the advantage in quantity.
For more, see our article on how to put free ebooks on your Amazon Kindle. And for an in-depth comparison of supported formats across various ebook readers, check out Wikipedia’s article comparing ebook formats(Opens in a new window).
How Much Should You Spend on an eReader?
If you’re reading mainstream fiction or nonfiction books, the sweet spot right now is $100 to $150 for a good 6- or 7-inch Amazon or Kobo device. You can get a low-end model that costs less or a larger model that costs more, but ebook readers at this price point tend to strike the best balance between screen quality and size.
Onyx’s tablet-sized readers cost considerably more than other ebook readers. Still, they’re also much more powerful, letting you run multiple reading apps, annotate PDFs, and read large-format documents on big screens. We see these primarily for academics, lawyers, people who read medical or scientific journals, and others who read for work, school, and fun. The Kindle Scribe is much more accessible and less expensive (though still much pricier than the Kindle Paperwhite), but it has fewer features.
If you’re getting a Kindle, check out our Amazon Kindle tips every reader needs to know. And if you’d rather do your reading on a bigger screen or one with color, head over to our top tablet picks.
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