Kobo Libra Color Review – E-Readers Just Got More Colorful

Unboxing

Meet the Kobo Libra Color – the first of two e-readers from Rakuten Kobo featuring the new E Ink Kaleido 3 display that finally brings color to what used to be just a plain monochrome display commonly associated with devices of this kind.

In this packaging, you’ll get:

• Quick start guide
• User guide
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• Kobo Libra Color

Additionally, we’re provided with the SleepCover for the Kobo Libra Color, as well as the Kobo Stylus 2 pen – both sold separately. The pen is the identical unit seen in the Kobo Elipsa 2E we reviewed last year. The pen gets its dedicated housing within the SleepCover case, though you can always attach the pen magnetically to the Libra Color itself if you prefer less bulk.

Specifications

Kobo Libra Color

Display	7″ E Ink Kaleido 3 display with FastGLR and Dark Mode Resolution: 1264 x 1680 @ 300 ppi (monochrome) / 150 ppi (color) ComfortLight PRO backlighting
Processor	Dual-core, 2.0GHz
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac (dual-band 2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth & USB-C Stylus: USB-C
Storage	32GB onboard
Battery	2,050mAh
Supported file formats	E-books: EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, FlePub, MOBI Audiobooks: Kobo Audiobooks only Images: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF Text: TXT, HTML, RTF Comic Books: CBZ, CBR
Stylus	Not included Compatible with Kobo Stylus 2
Ingress Protection	IPX8 (up to 60 min submersion <2m)
Dimensions	144.6 x 161 x 8.3 mm
Weight	199.5g

The Good

The biggest upgrade over the standard Kobo Libra 2 model is the new color display – while it’s nothing close to the vibrant colors you’ll see on self-emissive displays like IPS or OLED, the 4,096 hues available should provide a big jump over monochrome displays, and this is especially apparent when a book cover is displayed. Text is very sharp thanks to its 300 ppi pixel density, and color elements still provide a 150 ppi resolution – that’s roughly the same density as an FHD+ display on a 16-inch laptop.

Its footprint is fairly small, too: to give you a rough idea, its size is about two smartphones stacked side-by-side – meanwhile, its sub-200g weight makes it plenty easy to carry around or just tuck into the backpack. Provided you have the supported stylus (Kobo Stylus 2), all the writing/drawing functions are readily available, which can be charged via the USB-C cable just like the e-reader itself.

Like the Libra 2 that comes before it, the Libra Color gets IPX8 water resistance, meaning it’ll survive up to 60 minutes under a 2-meter liquid submersion. Of course, that isn’t to say you can dump it into the water and forget about it – it’s just that you won’t have to worry about liquid getting all over it if you’re taking it for a pool party or a beach trip (or just plain old rainy days).

The Bad

When it comes to the downsides, there aren’t many to point out for the Kobo Libra Color, but it’s not entirely flawless. For one, the lack of a headphone jack is a bit frustrating for me since I’ll have to go back and check my earbud’s pairing process – not something I do all the time for obvious reasons. If there’s a 3.5mm jack present, I can easily grab a wired headphone, plug it in, and just get straight into audiobook listening sessions without thinking twice.

Secondly, while the e-reader supports the Kobo Stylus 2 for drawing and annotating, it’s not included in the price you buy the main unit. This will be a separate purchase (costs RM319 apiece), so unless you get this add-on, you won’t have access to the features I just mentioned.

Verdict

At RM1,079, the Kobo Libra Color is only slightly pricier than the regular Kobo Libra 2, but you’ll have to pony up for the Kobo Stylus 2 to utilize features like annotations and more (and the price adds up). Overall though, the e-reader is fine for its purpose – I’d say the overall experience isn’t all too different from the Kobo Elipsa 2E we previously reviewed, especially if you have the stylus tagging along.

Special thanks to Rakuten Kobo for providing the Kobo Libra Color for the purpose of this review.