More e-readers have come out this year, than any other year in history. This gives users unpresented levels of choice when determining what e-reader will be best for them. Summer is still ongoing and this results in camping trips, relaxing at the beach or traveling. What are the top e-readers of 2022? Today, we explore some of the best new devices that have hit the market this year and provide an extensive selection of recommendations. This list primarily focuses on new e-readers that came out in 2022, however there is one that came out in late 2021, since it is very popular.
Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight 4 – Limited Edition Pearl Pink
Barnes and Noble has just done something they have never done before. They have released a variant color for the Nook Glowlight 4, Pearl Pink. The back platting of the e-reader is pink and the front of the unit is white, instead of black on the regular model. This is basically a fresh coat of paint that makes it unique and likely a hit with women. B&N disclosed to Good e-Reader that pre-orders have been off the charts and it is likely that most bookstores won’t even receive the hardware, only their largest bookstores will get any sort of inventory.
Did Barnes and Noble do anything different with the Nook Glowlight 4, other than changing the back of it to pink and the front to white? In short, no. The hardware is exactly the same as the model that came out a couple of years ago, the software too is mostly the same. However, B&N has been issuing firmware updates every couple of weeks lately, as they are finally taking software stability seriously, which has typically been slow and sluggish. This e-reader is available for $169.99 from Good e-Reader.
Xiaomi Inkpalm Plus 3rd Gen
The Xiaomi InkPalm Plus is the companies 3rd generation e-reader. This is the first one that has English on it, right out of the box. All of the previous models only had Chinese and had to be rooted with a complicated process just to make it usable in the Western world. What are the big differences between the 2022 model and the one released last year? It has a larger display, with better resolution. The RAM and internal storage has been doubled, which makes the Plus, extremally viable.
The InkPalm Plus is very user friendly. There is little to no learning curve when using this as a dedicated e-reader. There are no complicated elements that bog the average user down and confuse them. It basically looks like an Android smartphone and even functions like one, but it is not a phone. It retails for $239 from the Good e-Reader Store.
Onyx Boox Poke 4 Lite
The Onyx Boox Poke 4 Lite is an e-reader that goes back to basics. It is a dedicated book reader with no note taking functionality and is totally geared towards the consumption of digital media. It might just be the biggest value for the money due to a number of key selling points. It is running Android 11 and has Google Play preinstalled, so you can download millions of free and paid apps. It also has optimizations for a number of apps, such as Kindle, which eliminated animated page turns. It has various speed modes to increase the performance of the entire software experience.
The Lite is the only modern dedicated e-reader from Onyx that is worth it to buy if you are on a budget and still want to buy an dedicated E INK reader and you want Google Play and Android 11. I would likely not upgrade to this if you have the Poke 3, but I would if you have the first or second generation. If you are coming from another brand, the Poke 4 lite deserves a serious look. It gets the job done, without any frills or fancy e-paper tech, while still being platform agnostic. It retails for $149 and you can get it from the Good e-Reader Store.
Pocketbook Era
Pocketbook is been making e-readers for 15 years and their new Era e-reader just might be the best one they have ever released. Most Pocketbooks tend to be slow and sluggish at times, but the Era is quick and snappy. This is due to the new e-paper display panel they they are using, E INK Carta 1200. This increases page turn speed by 25% and overall performance by 35%. This, in conjunction with some series hardware updates, make this a must buy.
This is by far their best eBook reader they’ve ever made. One could argue the InkPad X is also up there, but given the size and the price, I’ll exclude that from my thoughts This is everything in e-reader should be. Sleek, sized properly, and have a high resolution screen with physical page turn buttons. Not only that, they bless you with onboard audio and an audiobook player, music player, and a dual toggle bookstore so you can buy and download audiobooks to your heart’s content
The glow light is phenomenal, the side bezel buttons are rewarding to press, and design-wise it’s absolutely very fitting to the name, this definitely is an all new era for Pocketbook and a perfect way to celebrate their 15-year anniversary. It retails for $199 and is available from the Good e-Reader Store.
Kindle Paperwhite 11th Generation
The Amazon Kindle is the most popular e-reader brand in the world, everyone has heard of it, even if they have never seen one in person before. The 11th Generation Kindle Paperwhite 5 is now available and there are a few major selling points. It is using a brand new E INK Carta 1200 display, which has increased page turn speed by over 20% and the overall performance of navigating around, is 50% faster than the previous generation. The large 6.8 display provides ample screen real estate for more text and manga looks really really good. Amazon has also introduced a new page turn animation system, which seamlessly blends the text.
The 11th generation 2021 Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 5 is a great e-reader that has a number of serious benefits. The large 6.8 inch screen fits more text than ever before. This is useful for the everyman, but also if you wear glasses and need the fonts jacked up, you can do that and still have lots of text. The page turn animation system is really good and page turn speed increases to performance, ensure that there are no delays. You can buy this from the Good e-Reader Store for $169.99.
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.
