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Kobo Aura HD vs Kobo Aura H2O

By 6 Comments

kobo aura hd vs kobo aura h2o

Kobo released the HD e-reader in April 2013 and the company expected it to only account for 3% of their overall revenue. This was primarily due to the 6.8 inch screen being unproved in the market and the premium cost. Within six months, it quickly became a bestseller and CEO Michael Tamblyn said now accounts for 25% of hardware sales. This has prompted Kobo to developer a spiritual successor, the brand new waterproof H20 e-reader.

Today, we take a look at the Kobo Aura HD and the Kobo Aura H20. You will get a sense of what the new model brings to the table and check out some of the advancements in e-paper technology. We also test the glowlight capabilities to see if there are any differences between the way the front-lit display functions. If you are thinking of upgrading from the HD to the H2o, you don’t want to miss this video comparison.


Michael Kozlowski

Michael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and Verge.

  • Jason

    The difference between the HD’s Pearl screen and the new Carta display on the H2O is rather minimal judging from the video’s shown. Waterproof is nice, but for me not needed. I’ll stick with the HD for now.

  • Schwartz

    Hi Guys, do you actually notice a difference between the screens? I too have an Aura HD. I bought it immediately when it came out, and don’t really need the waterproof. From the video, it looked like the H2O screen was very slightly lighter, but the speed and touch looked identical.

  • in the real world, i thought the H2O gave a better e-reading experience, the text stands out more.

  • urteq .

    Hi everyone,

    from the videos one could see a slightly improved screen in the new version. It seeme like Kobo Aura H2O is a minimally uprgaded Aura HD. I also bought three or four months ago an Aura HD and had a very positive experience. The only problem is the long loading time of the Kobo store on the device and the very slow synchronization process, when connecting Aura HD to your PC.
    In my opinion the improvements to the original model are rather marginal and it doesn’t make sense to by H2O if you already own the Aura HD.

    What would really drive me to buy a new e-reader would be:
    1. A much bigger model with a diagonal from 10 to 13,3 inch (DIN A4 format). The reading experience would definitely improve since more text on a page helps you better focus on the information you´re assimilating.
    2. A coloured screen, even if the colours are not particularly intensive, due to the e-ink’s technological limitations.

    Hopefully Kobo and the competition read your site Michael and listen the clients´ voice!

  • Daniel

    For those who like: My review of Kobo Aura H2O (in German):

    http://www.heinz-hq.de/wpONE/ebook-reader-test-kobo-aura-h2o/