[Cosmos]

Just a final final xD update for anyone who stumbles upon this thread. The Sage has incredible contrast and clarity. Better than the inkpad 4, mobiscribe wave, my old PW4 and the kindle scribe.

Unfortunately, I decided to part ways with the Sage. I do a lot of academic reading at work (on koreader) and found the battery to be an issue for very long reading hours especially when doing intensive reading going back and forth on koreader with several pages etc. It's all battery intensive.

I decided to try the Elipsa 2E but expected to be disappointed based on the useless reviews on YouTube by the big name reviewers. I expected to see an inferior screen although a comment on Reddit saying the Elipsa 2E had much better readability than the Scribe gave me some temptation to try it.

And to my surprise, the screen SCREAMS Kobo. If you come from a Sage, the way the letters pop out and how clear the edges of the letters are is instantly recognisable. Text really just pops out and you think you're reading a book which does not happen on the Scribe. The screen feels completely transparent.
Voja on my deep guide emphasized that the screen is "crystal clear". I agree, it really is CRYSTAL clear. I think reviewers need to do more for people who care about clarity the most. After all, eye strain is why many people migrate to eink. What you see on most reviews is a PPI comparison which is utterly useless.

The scribe in comparison feels like it has cloudiness on top of the text. Some mild haziness/blurriness that can cause significant fatigue for some people (including me) because my brain would try to look harder at the letters to achieve clarity (which is not achievable) and so I get eye strain. I couldn't really bare reading from the Scribe at all. A couple of people on Reddit also noted the same.

I think Kobo must have must have mastered the refractive qualities of the layers on top of the eink screen. They are truly masters at this and I believe they will lead the market at some point especially now that they have done their subscription thing to rival Amazon. I think the fact that they don't use a WACOM layer in their devices is part of why they are crystal clear. Bit disappointing that reviewers keep criticising the lack of WACOM but surely Kobo must have been avoiding WACOM for a reason.

Both the scribe and elipsa 2e have Carta 1200.
I couldn't note any advantage of the increased PPI on the Scribe. The difference in clarity between the screens is incredible to the point PPI difference becomes meaningless. I recommend that you buy both and compare readability over some time.
I think Kobo should advertise their screen clarity a bit more really. Or perhaps give it a marketing name. I got the kindle scribe for around 190 pounds (basic model) with all the discounts trade in etc.. Paid 350 for the Elipsa 2E and despite paying twice it certainly is worth it. Ergonomics of the Elipsa 2E and weight are both excellent. It doesn't feel cumbersome in my hands at all. The same cannot be said for the Scribe.