Kobo released only one new e-reader this year, the Kobo Elipsa 2e, their second-generation digital notebook device. The company has just attained FCC certification for a brand new e-reader that should come out sometime in the next few months. The model number is N428, so it is currently unknown what device this will be, but I bet it would be the Kobo Sage 2e or the Kobo Libra 2e. Rakuten Kobo has prioritized environmental sustainability, such as the hardware being partly made of ocean-based plastic.
Few specs are available since Netronix files FCC applications on behalf of Kobo; they get a six-month window when no information is publicly shared, such as a user manual and technical information. We know it has WIFI 2/5 and Bluetooth; the application was granted on October 15, 2023. Typically, when Kobo gets approval on a new e-reader, this is the last step in an entire release. In the past, when they got FCC approval, it usually took 3-4 months for something to come out since they still needed to do an entire manufacturing run.
What would we like to see in a new Kobo? E INK Carta 1300 screen would be best since this is a cutting-edge e-paper, and Kobo has previously taken risks like this. Carta 1300 is unannounced by E INK, but we have seen the tech in the new iReader Smart X3, which excited a 30% performance increase from Carta 1200. I have a feeling Kobo will not embrace a Colour e-reader yet.
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.