This replaces the Micro-B socket that was on the older Kobos and Kindles, and can be used for both charging the ereader and transferring files from a computer. And on the side of the thicker bezel, close to the indicator light, is the USB-C port. The charging indicator light – which also blinks when the device is being powered on – is now lower down the thicker bezel, sitting almost in a corner. USC-B charging finally comes to Kobo (Image credit: TechRadar) It’s also marginally heavier than the Libra H2O, weighing 215g compared to 192g. It’s hardly noticeable, but that means the Libra 2 has its own sleepcover range. Speaking of bezels, the other three are oh-so-slightly bigger… by a millimeter or so. Even the little recess between the two page-turn buttons on the Libra H2O is gone, instead giving the Libra 2 a slightly cleaner look despite the plastic chassis. In the Libra H2O, there was a crease clearly visible on the thicker bezel, which is no longer there on the Libra 2. That design, though, has undergone a slight refinement. Out of the eight ereaders in its current catalog (the Libra H2O is still available in some markets), four have the page-turn buttons that make single-hand use so easy – clearly Kobo means for that design to stay and we’re all for it. The Kobo Libra 2 lets you read horizontally (landscape orientation) or vertically (portrait orientation) (Image credit: TechRadar) Kobo Libra 2 review: design and displayĪmazon might have been the one to pioneer the asymmetric design now shared by several ereaders, but Kobo seems to have embraced it completely. The Libra 2 (and the Sage with it) debuted Kobo Plus, an ebook/audiobook subscription service, to Australia and New Zealand, and as of April 2023, the platform is also available in the US and UK with three tiers to choose from. The Libra 2 is available to buy directly from the Kobo Store online or at major retailers worldwide. And it's priced well when compared to the 32GB Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, but for $189 / £179 / AU$289, you are getting wireless charging on the premium Paperwhite model. It's a lot cheaper than the 8GB Amazon Kindle Oasis’ $249.99 / £229.99 / AU$399 price tag, and even offers better value than the 2021 Kindle Paperwhite that will set you back $139.99 / £129.99 / AU$239 for 8GB of storage, a 6.8-inch display and no page-turn buttons. Since then, however, Kobo has upped the price tag to $189.99 / £169.99 / AU$299.99.ĭespite the higher cost, the Kobo Libra 2 remains competitively priced, particularly when you take into account its storage capacity of 32GB. Kobo announced the global launch of the Libra 2 on Octofor a price of $179.99 / £159.99 / AU$279.99. Kobo Libra 2 review: price and availability

Kobo Libra 2 (32GB White) at Amazon for $169.99.

All we need now from Kobo is an ereader with a color display.Īudiobook support finally comes to Kobo ereaders (Image credit: TechRadar) Take all these individual ingredients, stir them into a single device and you’ve got the winning recipe for the best bang-for-buck ereader, despite the price hike.

There's no Dropbox support on the Libra 2, however.

The thicker bezel has a cleaner look as the crease (found between the page-turn buttons and the screen) on the Libra H2O has been removed, and the new device is just a smidge bigger.Īll the other Kobo perks are onboard, of course – a much wider file format support compared to the Kindles, a more streamlined user interface and, importantly, baked-in OverDrive and Pocket support. There are some minor design changes to the Libra 2 as compared to its predecessor, but nothing to write home about. Our only complaint with the ereader was the trickle charging while topping up the battery after it hits the 92% mark – the rest 8% does take quite a while to get through. The Libra 2 was also the first Kobo ereader to adopt the USB-C port, and it got a higher capacity battery as compared to its predecessor. Since then, all other high-end Kobos come with default 32GB of storage.

The Libra 2 was Kobo's first mainstream ereader to get its storage capacity bumped up significantly – going from a mere 8GB to a whopping 32GB.

Kobo h2o deal