Kobo Clara Colour Review

I have been debating for a while on whether or not I should do this post, but I think it is finally time- this is my Kobo Clara Colour review! I know that colour ereaders have been a big debate/question recently and while the colour Kindles have had serious issues, Kobo has actually been okay. I’ve owned a Kobo since 2010 (I’m actually on my fourth model now), and I’ve had this one for four months, so I thought it was time to share my thoughts. Welcome to my Kobo Clara Colour Review! 

Kobo Clara Colour Specs

Here are the major specs that I think that everyone will be looking for! The Clara is a smaller ereader (the Libra would be the larger option) with a colour screen. These specs are directly from Kobo:

Display: 6″ E Ink Kaleido™ 3 display with FastGLR and Dark Mode
1448 x 1072
300 PPI—black-and-white content
150 PPI—colour content

Dimensions: 112 x 160 x 9.2 mm

Weight: 174 g

Battery: 1500 mAh, weeks of battery*

*A single charge on the eReader lasts up to 42 days, based on 30 minutes of reading per day with the front light at 30% brightness and WiFi and Bluetooth® wireless technology off.

Waterproof: IPX8 – up to 60 mins in 2 metres of water

Kobo Clara Colour Review

All in all, I love the Kobo Clara Colour! I have only started recently reading manga and don’t read it often, so I do not need to use the colour function very often but it is nice to have. These are my main highlights for the device! 

The screen: A lot of people complain about the screen on all colour readers. There is a sort of screen-door effect where it is not quite as crisp as the black and white ereader screen- it is because of the technology used to have the colour screen. I don’t move back and forth between my two Kobos (one black and white Clara for on the go, and the Clara Colour at home), so I don’t notice the difference. I have no issues reading at all, and I’m happy with the quality and the colour! 

The battery: I have to say, I am very impressed with the battery life on the Kobo Clara Colour. I had tried the Elipsa back in 2021, and the battery life was atrocious (I returned it). It was the first generation that had the audiobook feature* and it kept trying to download audiobooks which eats into the battery life quickly. (Think about 3 hours of it being on- not being read on, just being on…) The Clara Colour battery life is wonderful, though. It does not try to download audiobooks unless I manually download them, and as I keep my screen brightness below 10% most of the time, I can get 30-60 minutes of reading over three plus weeks before I need to charge it. (And I don’t charge when dead- usually around 30%, so I could get more use out of it.) 

I will say, I only turn on the wi-fi if I need to download something. At first, I thought that would annoy me because it won’t be up-to-date if I open the Kobo app on my phone but I really don’t do that often, it’s not an issue. 

*Audiobooks- who on earth thought that putting audiobooks on an ereader was a good idea?

1. You need bluetooth headphones or a bluetooth speaker to listen.

2. The battery on the ereader lasts about 4-6 hours total when playing an audiobook, which is shorter than the duration of most audiobooks.

3. It is far more inconvenient than just using your phone that probably already has headphones synced or plugged in, has a built-in-speaker, and a better battery.

The homepage: This might be superficial, but I love seeing the colour covers on my homepage. It may seem “out there”, but it makes reading all the more fun (and I already love reading). I do think that there will be limited features introduced to ereaders- they are fairly to-the-point devices, and it is what I like about my Kobo, but the colour homepage is a nice touch that elevates the experience a bit. 

Customising my Kobo: You can do this with any reader but I love my clear case and stickers! Once again, some might think it is superficial but it just makes me happy to look at my Kobo to see Retsuko, Roy Kent, Jeongyeon, and Chopper reading along with me and my Hello Kitty grip to make it easier to hold. 

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Things to Consider With Kobo

I have seen more people than ever on social media asking about switching from Kindle to Kobo, and there seems to be a few questions always asked. 

Yes, there is a Kobo version of Kindle Unlimited- Kobo Plus! There are different authors because Amazon requires author exclusivity for Kindle Unlimited but Kobo Plus is the exact same concept where you pay ~$10/month and can read as many books as you want from a specific catalogue. A lot of people say that they can’t leave KU but you will find a lot of similar genres, authors, and books in Kobo Plus. And Kobo Plus does not require author exclusivity! 

If you had downloaded your Kindle books prior to whatever date in February 2025 where Amazon cut that off, yes, you can use Calibre to convert your books and load them onto your Kobo. 

No, Kobo does not have an equivalent “Send to Kindle” button. (As someone who has never had one, it seems wild that that one feature would dictate your ereader choice but there are many people out there dying on that hill.) 

♠

Want to see my thoughts on Kobo Plus?

I hope that my Kobo Clara Colour review has helped you- please leave any questions you might have in the comments! 

Cheers,
The Historian
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