Dimmest e-ink e-reader with invertible screen for reading in the dark?

[SillyStegosaurus]

Essentially a followup to a very similar question someone else asked 4 years ago, with a request for updates now that there've been 4 more years of tech development: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...ght+night+mode

At the time, the Nook Glowlight 3 was declared the best option for dimness and light temperature, but it requires rooting and installing koreader to enable screen inversion. I do not know much the Nook Glowlight 3's other capabilities and whether it meets the other criteria I have (below).

I currently have an old Kobo Aura 2, which can have its screen inverted (black background, white text) via developer settings. This makes it better for reading in the dark, however even at its dimmest I find it is still too bright and harsh to be comfortable. After doing some experiments I think the blue light does seem to keep me awake, despite years of me denying that it affected me.

Must haves:

1. Dim light and dark mode / invertible screen, preferably with temperature adjustment as well so it the light can be less blue.

2. Ability to load epubs onto it over USB cable connection to a Mac computer.

3. Decent repairability when it comes to replacing the battery, since all Li-ion batteries eventually need replacing.

Thank you for any advice you can share!

[Cootey]

Since you’re posting this in a Kobo forum, I’ll suggest the Clara. I don’t know how the Clara HD compares to the 2E or other newer models, but my Clara HD with comfort light turned all the way on while at 1% brightness is extremely dim. I do a lot of night reading. In comparison, my Elipsa (first gen without comfort light) is far too bright at 1% even with an inverted screen.

I imagine any Kobo with comfort light will suit your criteria. Enable Calibre’s web server on your Mac, and you can download a new book in the pitch dark from the comfort of your bed over Wi-Fi. No cables needed.

[Parsley]

I read at night with my Clara HD at 1% brightness, all the way orange, and in dark/inverted mode. It's okay. I'd prefer to not have to use dark mode, but even 1% brightness is much too bright to use in a fully dark room (I'm very sensitive to light; ymmv).

Dark/inverted mode is easy to enable using NickelMenu, but because the Clara HD isn't intended to have it, it ghosts quite a lot. I think the Clara 2E has dark mode properly implemented, though, which would definitely be a worthwhile upgrade.

Unfortunately, I don't have any data on the comparative brightness of different ereaders, although my guess would be that bigger screen => more LEDs => brighter.

[John F]

My Forma at 1% seems too dark to me; the text looks out of focus.

[SillyStegosaurus]

Oh I forgot to mention, but I'm looking for the small size, a Forma won't fit in my pockets. Thank you.

So far we've got one person saying Comfortlight is dim enough and another saying it isn't. There's so much variation in eyes I might just need to get a Kobo with Comfortlight and test it to see if it's dim enough. Luckily, I saw Rakuten has a reasonable refund policy of 30 days from the order so that should be enough to try it out.

[issybird]

Please don't crosspost. Thread closed.