10 Best E-Readers of 2026, Kobo, PocketBook and Boox Readers Compared

If I could keep only one reader on the bedside table, it would be this one. The Libra Colour pairs a Kaleido 3 colour E Ink screen (300 ppi for text, 150 ppi in colour) with physical page-turn buttons, landscape mode and 32GB of storage. It's IPX8 rated for up to 60 minutes in 2 metres of water. Six of the roundups we read include it, more than any other reader here. It has limits, though. Colour pages look softer than plain text, the Kobo Stylus 2 is sold separately, and at 199.5 g it's heavier than the Kobo Clara BW. For a Kobo ereader with colour, it's still the one.

Listening matters as much as reading for some people, and the Verse Pro is built for them. It has a 15.2 cm Carta 1200 touchscreen at 212 ppi, Bluetooth audiobooks, text-to-speech and SMARTlight. IPX8 protection covers fresh water up to 2 metres for an hour, and the listing claims 25 file formats, so you aren't tied to one shop. No roundup we read covered this model. The trade-off is sharpness: 212 ppi is coarser than the Kobo Libra Colour's text, and only touch controls are listed. The link is the red finish (easy to find at the bottom of a bag).

The Go 7 is Boox's reading-focused Android model. You get a 300 ppi Carta 1300 screen under flat glass, page-turn buttons, a warm and cold front light, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and a microSD slot. Android 13 with Google Play means you can add other reading and library apps alongside Boox's own. One independent roundup lists it as a black-and-white alternative. Look, that freedom costs simplicity. Android takes more setting up, the InkSense stylus is an extra, and I'd want a case on that glass front before it goes in a work bag.

This one is tiny. The X4 Pro has a 10.9 cm E Ink screen at 219 ppi, weighs about 72 g and is 5.95 mm thin, so it fits a jacket pocket where a Kobo never would. You get touch controls and physical page-turn buttons, a warm and cool front light, and a 16GB microSD card in the box. Files go across through the Xteink app or USB, and one roundup put it top of its list. But a screen that small means a page turn every few sentences, and a PDF will be a squint. Among cheap e-readers, it's the commuter's choice.

Want colour and Android in the same small reader? The B6 has a 15.2 cm Kaleido 3 colour screen, Android 14 with Google Play, and 64GB of storage (with 4GB of RAM) that expands up to 1TB. Its dual front light has 36 levels from warm to cold. Page turns are invisible tap zones rather than buttons, which keeps the screen clear but is fiddly in gloves on a cold platform. The listing gives no weight, and its battery figures disagree, so I've left them out. None of the roundups we read mention it. Next to it, the Kobo Libra Colour is the simpler colour choice.

PDFs are the reason to look at this. The M8's Carta HD screen measures about 20 cm diagonally at 300 ppi, so documents and manga need less zooming than on the 15.2 cm readers here. It runs Android 14 with Play Store support, pairs 64GB of space with a microSD slot, and accepts pen input for handwritten notes (the listing doesn't say a pen is in the box, so check). One roundup called it a budget large-screen pick. I'll be straight: parts of the listing are in Polish, and it's sold through a third-party seller. At around 265 g, it's a two-handed reader.

Phone-sized readers are a growing niche, and this is the one in our top ten. The AiPaper Reader weighs 138 g, is 6.7 mm thin and has a Carta 1300 screen just over 15 cm across, plus 128GB of storage and Android with Google Play. It has 4G as well as Wi-Fi, and an AI button for voice or text queries. What it leaves out matters more: no warm light, no speaker and no handwriting, so audiobooks need Bluetooth headphones. A protective case comes in the box. Unlike the Boox Palma2 Pro in our grid, it's black-and-white.

The Vision Color is a straightforward colour reader with a thin listing. It has a Kaleido 3 colour screen about 18 cm across with display rotation, 32GB of storage, Bluetooth audiobooks, SmartLight and IPX8 water protection, at 200 g. It reads EPUB. The listing doesn't name a UK bookshop or library service, so work out where your books will come from first. It didn't appear in any roundup we read. If you want page-turn buttons and more evidence, the Kobo Libra Colour makes a safer bet. The link is the white model.

Buy this if you want an Android reader for as little outlay as possible. The Veidoo E60 has a 15.2 cm screen at 212 ppi, adjustable SMARTlight, Wi-Fi, a speaker, 32GB of storage and a 3,000 mAh battery, and a PU cover is included. The Android version isn't given, and neither is Google Play. With 1GB of RAM I'd expect menus to feel slower than on the Boox Go 7.

Honestly, this is the reader I'd hand to a relative who hates touchscreens. The Dickens Light 2 uses physical front keys, a 15.2 cm screen with six brightness levels and 8GB of storage, plus microSD. There's no Wi-Fi, so books load from a computer over a micro USB cable, which feels dated now. It's 168 g.