Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Kobo quietly updated the Libra Colour with a larger 2,300mAh battery.
- The rest of the hardware remains unchanged, including the 7-inch Kaleido 3 display, stylus support, and page turn buttons.
- The boosted battery helps reduce one of color e-ink’s biggest trade-offs.
Kobo shoppers may be in for a meaningful upgrade if there’s a Libra Colour in their carts. The company just quietly gave the already-popular device a larger 2,300mAh battery. The change, reported earlier this week by Good e-Reader, brings a welcome boost to endurance and should translate to nearly an extra week of reading time. It’s a small tweak on paper, but for anyone who’s eyed color e-ink with skepticism over battery drain, it could improve the day-to-day experience.
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The rest of the Libra Colour remains unchanged. It still features a 7-inch Kaleido 3 display that toggles between sharper 300ppi black-and-white text and softer 150ppi color for illustrated content. Stylus input and Bluetooth audiobook support are also still onboard, as is the asymmetrical design with physical page-turn buttons, a shape I absolutely adored during my Libra Colour review. Kobo also continues using recycled and ocean-bound plastics in the chassis, and the company hasn’t made any broader hardware revisions alongside the battery swap.
This battery update doesn’t fundamentally change what the Libra Colour is, but it could make it a bit more appealing. While steadily growing in popularity, color e-ink remains a niche within a niche, especially for novel-first readers. Improvements like endurance upgrades chip away at the usual trade-offs. For anyone considering a jump into color, this update might nudge Kobo’s vibrant reader a little closer to the cart.
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