Color e-readers have finally hit the mainstream and many of the top global brands all have a number of ebook readers in their lineup, all with color E INK paper displays. There are a few reasons why color is better than a traditional black and white display.
Shopping for e-books is one of the best reasons to buy a color e-reader. You can browse product listings, including high resolution cover art. Starred rating, product reviews really stand out. When browsing your library, it is easier to sort and view purchased content by the book covers. Highlights, annotations, reading rewards are also very compelling.
Likely, the best reason to buy a color e-reader is the book content itself. Comics, cookbooks, magazines, textrbooks, webtoons, non-fiction and PDF files are all reliant on images and look utterly glorious on an e-paper display, which is as close as you can get to reading a real book.
What are the best color e-readers on the market right now? Most companies offer a number of them, but what ones are worth your time?
The Kindle Colorsoft is our number one pick. Amazon has the best bookstore and the Kindle appeals towards everyone. Many people who are heavily invested in the Amazon ecosystem, this device makes the most sense.
Our second picks are Kobo e-readers. They are new to color, only releasing two variants early last year. The big draws is Overdrive support, physical page-turn buttons and supports many book formats.boo
Pocketbook has many color e-readers, almost too many. They basically have different devices and screen sizes. I recommend the Era Color, because it has the same form factor and software of the award winning Era, but with a color e-paper display. Users will dig the physical page-turn buttons and support for virtually every e-book and manga format.
The last picks are a phone, but can be used as an ultra portable color e-reader that fits in your pocket and the Onyx Boox Go 7, which has a simular page-turn button has the Kindle Oasis.
Kindle Colorsoft
- Read in color – The new 7" Colorsoft display is high-contrast and easy on the eyes, with paper-like color that brings covers and content to life.
- Color your pages – Highlight your favorite scenes in yellow, orange, blue, and pink.
- Marathon reading – A single charge via USB-C lasts up to 8 weeks, or power up with the wireless charging dock (sold separately).
Kobo Libra Colour
- 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗘𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗥 - Book covers, comics, graphic novels, illustrations, note-taking and more come to life. No glare in sunlight, no notifications – just you and your eBooks in full-color
- 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗟, 𝗗𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 - Dive into your stories with colorful markups. With Kobo Stylus 2* compatibility (*sold separately), annotate, highlight, and note take your eBooks in color
- 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗖 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡 - Ergonomically designed with page-turn buttons, left/right screen rotation, full font size and margin customization, and landscape mode
Kobo Clara Colour
- 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗘𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗥 - Read in colour with a 6” E Ink display to enjoy eBook covers, comics, graphic novels, illustrations, and more.
- 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗥 - With multiple colours available at the touch of a finger, you can highlight your eBooks. Add, erase, or change colours as you go, and easily see all your highlights by chapter at a glance.
- 𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗬 𝗢𝗡 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗘𝗬𝗘𝗦 - ComfortLight PRO automatically reduces blue light and personalize your reading settings via font size, line spacing, or even Dark Mode
Pocketbook Era Color
- COLORFUL & EYE-SAFE SCREEN – Era Color features the enhanced 7-inch E-Ink Kaleido 3 color screen with 50 % higher resolution in color compared to the previous generation. The screen displays 4096 colors while remaining completely eye-friendly & glare-free.
- PERFECT LIGHTING – The adjustable SMARTlight allows you to personalize the screen’s brightness and color tone. With the automatic mode, it adapts to the time of day. You can choose a warm or cool screen tone that suits your mood.
- IDEAL AUDIO EXPERIENCE – The built-in speaker brings your stories to life, providing an immersive audio experience. Connect to wireless headphones or speakers via Bluetooth and explore the Text-to-Speech function that transforms any text into natural-sounding speech.
Onyx Boox Go Color 7
- Screen: 7'' Kaleido 3 (4,096 colors) Carta 1200 glass screen with flat cover-lens Resolution: 1680 x 1264 (B/W 300 ppi, Color 150 ppi) Touch: capacitive touch CPU: 2.4Ghz Octa-core RAM: 4GB ROM: 64GB Connectivity: Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz) + BT 5.0 Front Light with CTM (Warm and Cold) G-sensor for Auto Rotation
- OS: Android 12 Document Formats: PDF, CAJ, DJVU, CBR, CBZ, EPUB, AZW3, MOBI, TXT, DOC, DOCX, FB2, CHM, RTF, HTML, ZIP, PRC, PPT, PPTX, EPUB3 Image Formats: PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF Audio Formats: WAV, MP3 Supports 3rd-party apps
- Buttton: Power Button, Page-Turn Buttons USB-C Port (Supports OTG or use as an audio jack) microSD Card Slot Built-in Speaker Built-in Microphone Battery: 2,300mAh Li-ion Polymer Dimensions: 156*137*6.4mm (6.1" x 5.4" x 0.25") Weight: Approx. 195g (6.9oz)
Bigme Hibreak Color
- Revolutionary Color E Ink Display: Featuring a 5.84-inch HD color E Ink screen with a resolution of 720x1440 pixels, delivering a paper-like viewing experience that's easy on the eyes, perfect for reading, browsing, and watching videos.
- 36-Level Adjustable Front Light: The 36-level adjustable front light ensures optimal screen brightness in any lighting condition, reducing eye strain and providing a comfortable viewing experience day or night.
- Smart Voice-to-Text Functionality: Equipped with dual-microphone array technology for crystal-clear recordings and efficient transcription, with secure cloud synchronization to the Bigme cloud for easy multi-device access.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.