Good e-Reader has reviewed over 65 different e-readers that have come out in 2023. We are in a prime position to provide everyone with our top picks from each company that makes them. This time of year, there are dozens of top e-reader lists, and everyone talks about the Amazon Kindle or Kobo when there is a ton of value from other companies. Our best e-readers of 2023 in the top list only have one entry from each brand. This list will be tremendously relevant if you want to buy a new e-reader in 2024.
This list is not exhaustive of every single company in the e-Reader space. We did not include smaller regional players or any product that could be considered an e-note, digital paper or an e-note. This list is solely devoted to e-book readers who have English on them. Each product has a title that links to our comprehensive review, price, and buying link.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition
The 11th Generation Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition is breaking new ground regarding a modern e-reader. It checks all the right boxes for a premium-level device. It has a larger 6.8-inch screen, 32GB of storage, USB-C, and the same white and amber LED lights that the Kindle Oasis employed. You can adjust the lights with a slider bar, but they can be automatically adjusted based on your environment with the ambient light sensor. This is the first Kindle that has QI wireless charging, and Amazon is selling a new docking station for it.
The Signature Edition meets all the customers’ needs for a Kindle. People have been begging for years for the company to adopt USB-C, and they did. A better lighting system was also high on the wish list, which is available. Likely, the most significant thing that people wanted, no pun intended, was a larger screen to provide more text on the screen, and Amazon listened. Therefore, I think this is simply the best Kindle ever made.
Should you upgrade to this Kindle if you have the previous generation Paperwhite, Voyage, Oasis or even older? Yes, for a couple of reasons. Amazon has recently changed their firmware update and security policy. They will now officially support devices for up to five years when they were first made available to sell on the website. So this new Kindle will be tremendously relevant 2026, which is a very long time. I also believe this is the best lighting system currently available. Amazon has some way of making every new Paperwhite the best in terms of even light distribution and clarity of the text. You can purchase the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition for $244.99 from Amazon, and it comes with a charging dock and a case.
Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight 4 Plus
Barnes and Noble has a new premium e-reader that has a well-thought-out design. It has a large 7.8-inch e-paper display with 300 PPI and a matte screen protector installed at the factory to reduce glare. It is waterproof and has audiobook functionality and page turn buttons to make ebook reading enjoyable.
Barnes & Noble has been flip-flopping for quite some time regarding device body construction, never quite landing on any design that was a home run. This one’s different. This one is new, fresh, and unique. All newly redesigned page turn buttons, a 300 PPI flush screen and bezel, the nook logo button at the bottom, is software-driven home button control. Nice and lightweight, with rewarding button presses for the page turn keys that can be key-mapped to reverse directions. This e-reader is sold out and more are available at the end of May 2024, you can purchase it for $199.99 from the Good e-Reader Store.
Kobo Libra 2
The Kobo Libra 2 is a brand new e-reader that has just become available in late October, 2021. This device has a few major selling points, it has double the storage from the original Libra 1 and it is now possible to buy audiobooks from the Kobo bookstore and listen to them via wireless headphones or an external speaker, such as a Sonos sound bar. It is only slightly more expensive than the Libra 2, by about $10 in Canada and the US.
The Kobo Libra 2 takes all of the best elements of the Libra 1, and takes them ever further. You get double the storage, which makes a big difference when buying or downloading audiobooks. If you are not a big into audio, the extra space is great for a big ebook or PDF collection.
It has a great design and there are all sorts of sleep covers that are available, in a wide array of colors, which helps personalize the reader. Should you buy it? If audiobooks are a big draw, pull the trigger and get it. If you have a Kobo e-reader more then 2-3 years old, you will notice faster page turns, higher resolution due to the new Carta display.
The Libra 2 is basically a dedicated e-reader, used to read ebooks,and listen to audiobooks. Page-turn buttons are great, and it has far better battery life than the Sage, which was so bad, Kobo had to release a case with a built in battery. You can purchase the Libra 2 for $239 from the Good e-Reader Store.
Pocketbook InkPad Color 3
The Pocketbook InkPad Color 3 is a new e-reader employing the latest generation E INK e-paper, Kaleido 3. This device is geared towards reading digital content, such as books, comics, magazines or manga. It is running Linux instead of Android, so users cannot sideload their apps. However, it does come with several pre-installed apps, such as Pocketbook Cloud. There is tremendous value in this reader since it has manual page-turn buttons. It also has Adobe DRM support, so users can buy ebooks from Barnes and Noble, Kobo or even Overdrive and load them onto the InkPad Color 3 with Adobe Digital Editions.
Pocketbook released the Inkpad 2 Color earlier this year, and it only had a Kaleido 2 display that was capable of 100 PPI for colour content, six months later, they released the InkPad Color 3 with a Kaleido 3 display, which has 150 PPI for colour. This might not sound like a massive upgrade, but it is. The 3rd generation e-paper has a wider gamut, so the colours pop. It is not a night and day difference, but you will notice it side by side.
Pocketbook has been in the game for longer than any other major manufacturer. They were among the first companies to do colour in both the first and second waves from Triton to Kaleido. They have a giant International presence, pound for pound, covering nearly every continent to some degree. Their devices are anything but cookie-cutter. You can purchase the Pocketbook InkPad Color 3 from the Good e-Reader Store for $329.99
Onyx Boox Palma
The Onyx Boox Palma is a brand new e-reader with a form factor of a smartphone. This makes it easy to pull out of your pocket and read ebooks or manga. This is about as close to a phone that Onyx will likely ever release. I think Onyx is trying to compete in this market segment against the Hisense Hi Reader, which has the same design. However, what makes the Palma compelling is the full access to the Google Play Store and Google Play Services. Users will be able to install any app they want, and the Onyx Boox refresh engine will ensure apps perform well on an E INK screen.
Leave it to Onyx to improve on perfection It’s so hard to even find anything wrong with this device and I feel like I’m grasping at straws to even find cons This unit is fast, built beautifully with almost like a truck bed lining kind of black rubber on the back, making it immune to fingerprints. It has a camera with a flash package, and just absolutely tackled anything I threw at it, it is also good for OCR functionality. I am thoroughly amazed that it performed as well as it did. Google Play opened up right out of the box with nothing except a email and password sign in, the camera is fluid, the speaker at the bottom is decent quality, and the overall build is just flawless. The Palma retails for $279.99 and can be purchased from the Good e-Reader Store.
Bigme Read
Bigme is a company that specializes in digital paper products. The entire offering is for users to make notes, annotate PDF files and freehand draw. Most of their lineup is black and white e-paper, but they also lead the charge with the most colour E INK products in the industry. They had the first commercial product with Gallery 3 and a number of units using Kaleido 3.
It was quite the shock when Bigme disclosed that they were developing a dedicated e-reader that had a singular purpose, to read ebooks and nothing else. The Bigme Read is their first in a future lineup of devices that have no note-taking functionality and is purely a consumer product. What makes the Read standout from the competition? Google Play is available to use right out of the box, so you can download any Android app that you want, such as Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook or Kobo. Borrow ebooks and audiobooks from the public library with Hoopla or Overdrive Libby. Listen to audiobooks via Bluetooth or the accompanied speaker from the likes of Audible or Spotify. Running out space with all of these apps, luckily it has an SD card.
The Bigme Read is a solid e-reader with lots of compelling things that separate it from the competition. However, it does have a few drawbacks. It does not have a 300 PPI display, so fonts will not good as good as reading on most other e-readers, such as the Kindle Paperwhite, Nook Glowlight 4 or the Kobo Libra 2. The Read also does do a good job at reading comics, manga or webtoons. Turning the pages and displaying content is a boon. However it does lack physical page-turn buttons.
Who should buy the Bigme Read? Someone who doesn’t want to be locked into a specific ecosystem, but wants the freedom of choice to do business or download content from whoever you want. The company also supports their e-reader, issuing a number of firmware updates that fix bugs, introduce new features and quality of life improvements. The e-reader is also very affordable and you can order it today from the Good e-Reader Store for $149.99 and has full English support.
Meebook M7
I was surprised how much I really liked the brand new Meebook M7 e-reader. This device has everything a discerning customer could want, physical page-turns, a SD card, Google Play and a new speed mode system that superchargers the reader. 256 levels of grayscale, system wide contrast mode and a screen that is as large as the latest generation Kindle Paperwhite.
Well, now I think they are at a turning point with the M7. By a wide margin, this is the best-looking eBook reader/device they’ve made since the Mimas. Super high-quality materials, good overall weight, beautiful styling, feels good in the hand and comes with key mappable buttons. It also has audio, four-speed modes, Google Play, and an SD card slot with a door. They certainly have turned things around at least for this one unit and I am thoroughly impressed with their release. It retails for $189.99 from the Good e-Reader Store.
HyRead Gaze One SC Color
Finally, harking back to the beginning of the second wave of colour e-ink starting in 2019, comes an actual colour ebook reader, this time from Hyread. The Taiwanese company makes various e-readers and e-notes.
This one’s specs are poultry with only a 2000 milliamp battery, a 6-in screen, and just south of 3 GB of usable storage. However it’s got some cool things going for it, it’s simplistic, has a gyroscope, a 3.5 mil headphone jack, and expandable storage. Because of the smaller screen, the colors look dense and vibrant, despite lacking in screen real estate.
Over all the devices are great at reading books, but it falls a bit short with PDFs and comics as it’s just a little frustrating to use at times. But all in all, it is a cheap entry level dedicated eBook reader that will satisfy all your color needs and requirements. You can purchase it for $249.99 from the Good e-Reader Store.
Hisense Hi Reader
The Hisense Hi Reader is the first dedicated e-reader that Hisense has ever released. The company typically focuses all of their e-paper energies towards Android smartphones with either black and white screens or color EINK. This makes the Hi Reader a very interesting product, it looks like a fully featured phone, upon first glance. However, in reality, it is a pocket friendly book reader with no phone functionality. It is great for not only for reading, but also audiobooks, podcasts and music. It has a candy bar design, which really makes it standout in a crowded market of e-readers that all look alike.
This truly is an incredible e-reader, and falls more within the confines of a premium smartphone, in terms of aesthetics. The industrial design is superb and overall build quality are two things are immediately apparent. Everything down to the equalizer shaped speaker grill, is exceptionally built. You can easily hold it with one hand, which is not something you can do with any other 6.8 to 7.0 e-readers. It can do mostly anything from consuming media, downloading your favorite social media apps, or even playing video better than almost any e-paper device, we’ve seen to date. This makes it perfect for listening to audiobooks while on the go and pairing to your favorite over the ear headphones or earbuds. You can buy the Hisense Hi Reader internationally, from the Good e-Reader Store. It retails for $399 and comes with a free case.
Xiaomi Moaan inkPalm 5 Pro mini e-reader
Xiaomi released its first InkPalm of 2023, the InkPalm 5 Mini Pro. This device has a faster processor, 64GB of internal storage and full English support compared to the regular InkPalm Mini 5 that came out a few years ago. The colour scheme is black around the bezels and silver on the sides and back, which makes it look premium. This is one of the few mini e-readers that fit inside your pocket.
The Xiaomi InkPalm 5 Mini Pro features a 5.2-inch E INK Carta HD e-paper display with a resolution of 1280×720 with 284 PPI. The screen is flush with the bezel and protected by a layer of glass. There are 24 warm and cool LED lights to read at night or in low-light conditions.
Underneath the hood is a quad-core 1.8GHZ Quanzi processor, 1GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. You can connect to the internet via WIFI and listen to audiobooks, podcasts or music with wireless headphones, thanks to Bluetooth 5.0. Volume buttons on the side can double as manual page-turn buttons with select reading apps. This device runs Google Android 8.1, and it is possible to sideload your apps. You can do this using the stock internet browser or the USB-C port to load your apps or alternative app stores such as the Amazon App Store or Samsung Galaxy Store. It is powered by a 1,300 mAh battery, so you should be suitable for a week of non-stop use. The dimensions are 143×76.6×6.9mm and weigh 115g, which is very light.
Although this has full English support, some pre-preloaded apps are in Chinese, so you might want to uninstall these right away. You can purchase it for $209.99 from the Good e-Reader Store.
iReader Ocean 3 Plus
This e-reader uses a Carta 1200 panel, 8 inches, 300 PPI. As a comparison, the Ocean3 released in March this year is 7 inches 300 PPI. The latest E Ink Carta 1200 panel has a faster response and higher contrast. Compared with the previous generation, the response speed is 20% higher, the page-turning is smoother, and the contrast ratio is increased by 15%, making the contrast of electronic paper books closer to that of paper books, and supporting Regal images. Refresh technology dramatically reduces the full-screen refresh rate. This device is in English. And is a dedicated book reader.
In addition, Ocean 3 Plus is equipped with a reading light, supports 256 grayscale display effects, is equipped with a physical flip key, is equipped with a 1800mAh battery, and has a 72-hour reading battery life; it is equipped with a dual-core 2.0GHz processor and has a storage capacity of 32GB.
The basic design is a Kindle Oasis-like asymmetrical build with a slightly thicker right edge. The right is also where you have the physical page turn buttons. While the thicker portions are excellent for holding the device comfortably, it tapers to be slim for the rest of the body, measuring just 3.9mm at the thinner section. iReader stated the more prominent display allows for a 32 percent increase in the viewing area compared to the Ocean 3, while the resolution has increased by 30 percent. It retails for $329.99 from the Good e-Reader Store.
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.
